Local opinion: Trump calling himself a “republican” is Orwellian

The Republican Party, once the Party of Lincoln, has now become the Party of Trump.

Republicans used to be enthralled by Abraham Lincoln’s soaring rhetoric in the Gettysburg Address, where he spoke about how our ancestors brought about “a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” where we enjoy a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

But no more. Republicans now are enthralled by Donald Trump’s predatory confession that he grabs women “by the p****,” his dehumanizing, bullying references to his political opponents as “vermin,” and his reverence for dictators including Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán.

America’s democratic elections once were a forum where we the people debated ideas and policies, with the majority of us selecting government representatives espousing the ideas that make that the most sense to us. Not anymore.

Now, elections are treated by Trump Republicans as sporting events in which we Americans are separated into two teams. They don red hats with the logo of their team and cheer for whatever their quarterback does. They boo any penalties imposed against him for violating the rules of our democracy, which they treat as merely a game. They want their team to win at all costs. They find fun in shouting epithets against those they view as their team’s opponents.

We still have a republic — a government in which political power rests with the public through our representatives. But Trump threatens to undo our republican form of government to rule as a dictator, announcing he will do so beginning “on day one” if elected. Trump calling himself a “republican” is Orwellian. Nothing could be further from the truth. And those who have joined his team are no republicans either.

The 2024 presidential election, unfortunately, is not about whether we the people prefer classical conservative economic policies, or liberal economic policies. It is not about whether we want to limit the use of our tax dollars to protection of private property, national defense, and law enforcement, or whether we also want to use some of our tax dollars for healthcare and a social safety net. This election instead is about whether we will keep our republican form of democratic government or lose it.

Benjamin Franklin was famously asked in 1787 at the convention of delegates from the states what sort of government they had formed, and he famously responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” We likely will not keep our republican form of government if Trump wins this election. Those of us who love the Constitution must get out and vote to ensure we retain our republican democracy.