If the present trajectory doesn’t change, Republicans will learn what Democrats learned after their 1980 landslide defeat.
By David French
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/449608/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-excuse-jimmy-carter-democratic-legacyA few days ago, I was at a conservative gathering talking to a friend about my dismay at the latest turns in the
ongoing Russia controversy. A “collusion narrative” that once seemed far-fetched was back — front-and-center — in the
investigation. Indeed, the argument for attempted collusion seemed airtight. Donald Trump Jr. was asked to meet with
purported Russian officials as part of a purported Russian plan to help his father. His response? “I love it.”
An older gentleman, a donor to the event, was eavesdropping and obviously irritated. He jumped into the conversation
with the mic-dropping comment that’s always and everywhere the last refuge of the Trump apologist. “What? Are you
saying that you wish Hillary had won?”
My response? “It’s too soon to tell.” Before he could voice the fury that covered his face, I followed up with a question.
“With the benefit of hindsight, how many Democrats are glad that Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford in 1976?" . . .
. . . I am certain that a Democrat in November 1980 could look back on Jimmy Carter’s failed, disastrous four years and
point to individual policies or appointments that they preferred over a hypothetical Ford administration, but were
Democrats truly glad to be facing the future with the Carter legacy hanging around their necks? As they spent three
full election cycles trying to convince Cold War–era voters that the party could handle the Soviet threat, were they
thrilled with that narrow win in 1976?
When it comes to presidencies, the stench of overall failure can easily overwhelm the fragrance of an individual judicial
appointment or a laudable regulatory rollback. Donald Trump has done good things in his first six months — the Neil
Gorsuch and James Mattis appointments most notable among them — but he can’t stop shooting himself in the foot,
he hasn’t yet shown that he can lead his party in Congress, and even a GOP conditioned to disbelieve all negative polls
has to be concerned that only about 25 percent of Americans strongly approve of the president. His honeymoon was
over before it had a chance to begin.
In the face of this reality, every cry of “better than Hillary” actually hurts Trump. It hurts the GOP. Rather than demanding
the best of Trump, it enables and excuses his worst. Soon enough, the president will stand on his own record, against a
different opponent. It’s still early, and Donald Trump has a chance to learn to lead, but if the present trajectory doesn’t
change, Republicans will learn what Democrats learned after 1980 — that you don’t want to be the political party begging
the nation for a second chance.
