Webb: Broken trust, broken party

The GOP has broken the people’s trust. How many times have we heard the phrase, “You break it, you buy it”? 

I’m a proud member of the party of Lincoln and Reagan and will remain so, as will many Americans who have watched the Republican Party depart from its founding principles, led by power brokers who are reticent to surrender their control. Feckless GOP leadership and elected officials will help lose the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton.

{mosads}Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is backing away from Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, to focus on House races. There are two ways to look at this. 

Primarily, protecting the Congress — especially if Clinton takes the White House — is important. But it is highly unlikely Republicans will lose the House this year. They have a current 247 to 186 advantage over Democrats. On the Senate side, with close races in New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin, it may be a difficult task for Republicans to maintain a majority, but it isn’t impossible. 

The second way to look at this move by Paul Ryan goes back to the failure of the Young Guns, who were going to take over the next generation of the party. 

When Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), then the House majority leader, was ousted for his failure to represent his district, the Young Guns were effectively disbanded. The wedge driven into the House succession plan by the people’s disdain with the party’s repeated failure to address the economy, national security and other issues that matter to Americans and affect their daily lives — that is, the fuel of Donald Trump’s candidacy — is more than worrisome to current elected leadership in the GOP. Republicans may not have won every battle against President Obama and the Democrats, but for many it seemed as if they were even refusing to fight. Perception in politics is often reality, and from outside the Beltway looking in, this is the reality for many party faithful.

We’ve heard from Ryan; we’ve heard little, if anything, from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). It’s telling that we’re hearing the most from GOP power brokers, like Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

The senator has waffled on his support for Trump, now saying he will not vote for the Republican nominee. McCain is one of those Republicans who fears losing power and influence — seems the devil you know, in Hillary Clinton, versus the president you may not be able to control, in Donald Trump, is more appealing. 

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) for her part tweeted that she would not vote for Trump — she’s writing in the VP candidate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, for president. Other Republicans have said as much. My question to them is this: How does writing in Pence for president help the Republicans win the presidency? There is no second place in politics — period, end of story.

The people — not the party leadership — selected Donald Trump. The party belongs to the people because the people live with the policies of the party. 

We have more than just the standard “change election” in play right now. We have a change in generations and ethnic make-up in America— the Hispanic population is the fastest growing ethnicity, with a younger median age. We have a change in the challenges that people deal with on a daily basis, both when it comes to their personal economic security and their awareness of domestic and national security related to domestic terrorism, open borders and increases in crime in America’s top cities. And not only is Congress up for election, the political system is under scrutiny — on both sides. 

Libertarian-leaning Americans combined with independent disdain for both major parties is a small but consistent factor. This small percentage can make a big difference. The Republican “big tent” must be exactly that — not politically segregated for those who agree with the party elites. The big-change election is here, and it cannot be stopped by those who want to hang on to the past.

If you like Trump, you have GOP leadership to thank. If you hate Trump, you have GOP leadership to thank. Pence as a vice president is a needed counterbalance to Trump. I’ve said before that it will take a team effort to put America back on a good course going forward. My advice — no, my demand — to Republicans of any stripe and to anyone leaning away from Hillary Clinton is to get behind the GOP team and push. 

Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City. His column appears twice a month in The Hill.