When Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy in 2015, many predicted he would herald a new era of Republican politics centered on populist messaging and protectionist economic policy. But across the last seven years, the emergence of Trump has revealed the dangers of how the Republican Party holds primary elections.
It has become commonplace to hear people fed up with the polarization of the system, the constant personal attacks, and the lack of substantive debate and action by both political parties. The simple fact is that the Republican National Committee has been hollowed out and reduced to a fundraising mechanism for whoever controls the party at any given moment.
Trump and his wing of the party would argue that the RNC and Republicans in name only, or RINOS, have a stranglehold on politics and are stifling the voice of the American people. But Trump’s wing of the party exacerbates this problem when it only follows the constantly swaying praise of a former one-term president.
The MAGA Republicans destroy the ability of the Republican Party to organize against its political opponents by directing all of their effort toward purging the party of RINOS and anyone else who doesn’t wholeheartedly pledge allegiance to Trump.
But the blame cannot be placed solely on the MAGA wing. The RNC itself has stripped states and localities of their power through nationalization of every issue.
The primary system relegates the national Grand Old Party, which defeated slavery and Communists through patronage and closed-door dealings, to an open air colosseum anyone can enter to fight against other candidates for the honor of having that little “(R)” next to one’s name on the ballot.
But what is that designation worth if the Republican Party chooses its candidates is by allowing them to bloody each other up for 18 months, then sending volunteers to knock on doors and praying that enough people on the other side stay home?
Political parties used to be backbones of local communities, providing essential welfare services, running local governments efficiently, and building ground-up coalitions of principally minded individuals. The best way to organize the primary system is to abolish it. Allow local parties to run states and communities, giving citizens the ability to vote for delegates who can hash out disagreements behind closed doors, and then come together on a national stage to announce, with unity and strength, what the party believes and who is running for office.
Not only does this allow the party to control its own affairs, but it makes sure that candidates are beholden to the party and, ultimately, its local branches. Candidates cannot undermine the party platform without the repercussions of losing the blessed “(R)” next to their name on the ballot. The candidates who downvote good bills, or constantly struggle against their own party, should not be rewarded with TV air time and fundraising boosts, but should be excommunicated from the party and replaced.
The fringes of the party are then able to run their own states and localities, so long as they agree that when the time comes to have a national convention of delegates, they will stand behind whatever compromise has been reached and not undercut it for personal gain.
The loser of the Republican primary debates is the American public, which gains nothing from arguments over curtains and petty name-calling. Each one of the candidates on that stage is operating within a system that lacks the scaffolding to support them if they become the nominee. The strength of the party must be in localities that support themselves, and work with other localities, states, and regions to run national candidates who can find compromise and actually effectuate policy.
Joshua Mistry is a sophomore studying politics.
