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JANUARY 8, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 Public Square Public Square weclomes all points of view. Published submissions do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Keizertimes. Submit a guest opinion, column or letter to the editor to publisher@keizertimes.com. House Republicans splitting apart from President Trump Are ‘Never Trumpers’ the future of the GOP? have a future. By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN What followed? When Congress votes to declare Richard Nixon, who had stood by Joe Biden the next president, Donald Goldwater when the party’s liberal Trump is not going to go quietly. The anti-Trumpers and “Never elite abandoned him, would lead the Trumpers” are assuring each other that GOP to recapture 47 House seats in Trumpism and Trump are dead and 1966, take the presidency in 1968, and run up a 49 state landslide gone for good in two weeks. in 1972. The future of the GOP, Thus began a period of they suggest, belongs to the guest GOP presidential ascen- Republicans who resisted and renounced Trump through the column dancy, with Nixon, Reagan and Bush I winning fi ve of last fi ve years of his candidacy six elections from 1968 to and presidency. As for those cowards and collabora- 1988, until the fi rst baby boomer presi- tors who stood by Trump and refused dent, Bill Clinton, arrived on the scene. And while there are differences be- to repudiate him, they will, in turn, be repudiated by history and the Ameri- tween now and then, there are many similarities. can electorate alike. Do the anti-Trumpers or “Never The wish, here, is very much the fa- Trumpers” represent the future of the ther to the thought. For if the past is any guide, not only GOP? If so, where is the postwar prec- are the reports of the death of Trump- edent for this? No Republican who ism premature, the probability is that turned his back on Goldwater was ever Trumpism has put down roots in our nominated for president or vice presi- national politics that are not soon, if dent following Goldwater’s defeat. When President Gerald Ford put ever, going to be pulled up. For those of us of a certain age, a Rockefeller on his ticket after taking comparable situation arose at Christ- over from President Nixon, the Kan- mas 1964. Barry Goldwater had just sas City convention of 1976 demanded been crushed in a 44-state landslide, Rockefeller’s removal as the price of winning the votes of only 27 million party unity. Rockefeller was sacrifi ced, as the Americans. The senator had carried only fi ve states of the Deep South and right had demanded. Four years after Ford’s defeat, Mr. his home state of Arizona. The establishment saw in the crush- Conservative himself, Ronald Reagan, ing of Goldwater the defeat and rout Goldwater’s most effective surrogate in of the “extremist” movement that had 1964, was nominated and won succes- produced him. The Party That Lost Its sive landslides in 1980 and 1984. Other factors and forces point to Head was the title of a widely hailed post-election book by two Ripon So- the probability that Trumpism has a major role in the party’s future. ciety Republicans. Where Presidents Truman, Nixon, The establishment consensus was that Govs. Nelson Rockefeller of New and George W. Bush left offi ce with York, William Scranton of Pennsylva- approval ratings in the 20s, Trump’s ap- nia and George Romney of Michigan proval rating is still in the 40s, where it were the future of the party, if it was to has been for the duration of his presi- the cracks. One former student reached out telling me the letters To the Editor: Salvation Army had can- I would like to take this celed her appointment for opportunity to thank some toys for her 3-year-old. special community individ- Together, we helped fi ve uals who stepped up when I families with a total of 35 members asked for some help. and 20 women at a shelter with food The year 2020 has been specially and Christmas gifts. RJ Navarro and diffi cult for families and the homeless his volunteers helped an additional 65 who lost jobs and found themselves families. just “out there.” Several local agencies The following individuals answered like the Salvation Army, Keizer Cham- my call to help: Jeanie G. White, Joy ber of Commerce, Keizer Police and Baird, Karla Tibbits, Terri Fritz, Jes- the Keizer Fire District helped many sica Graham Gomez, Dawn Reichle kids and families but some fell through Baylon, Linda Warner, Joanne Sandhu, The unselfi shness of Keizer dency. Second, the issues that propelled Trump to the nomination and the Oval Offi ce still resonate with the American people. Among them are mass migration, insecure borders and dependency upon foreign imports for the necessities of our national life. Moreover, there is shrinking sup- port for a foreign policy that has us tied down militarily in Europe, East Asia and the Middle East, to fi ght if need be, in the defense of scores of nations, few of which have a direct bearing on the national security of the United States. Another issue Trump elevated and exploited that is more acute now than in 2016, is a distrust of the media, the “deep state” and the political, cultural and academic establishments that have alienated the 74 million who voted for Trump. And if the past is prologue, the Republican Party will make a major comeback in 2022. Consider. Two years after his smash- ing victory over Goldwater, LBJ and his party lost 47 House seats. Ronald Reagan, after his landslide in 1980, lost 26 House seats in 1982. After routing Bush I in 1992, Bill Clinton lost 54 House seats and the Senate. Two years after winning the presidency, Barack Obama lost both the House and Sen- ate in 2014. Is it likely Joe Biden will be cele- brating his 80th birthday after making history by leading his party to control of Congress in 2022? For Republicans, the nomination of 2024 is a prize to be sought. However, if one has spent the last four years trashing Trump, it may be as out of reach as it was for Rocky. for the measure. The cookie is crum- By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS “So, we spent a whole election on bling. Another reason I call it a stunt: It my side of the fence talking about, ‘We got to fi ght socialism.’ And now likely won’t go anywhere. Senate Ma- you’re going to throw a half-trillion jority Leader Mitch McConnell put dollars” with “absolutely no targeting” three Trump asks in one bill—$2,000 for earners hurt economically by the checks, repealing protections for tech companies like Facebook or Twitter coronavirus? under Section 230 of a com- That’s Rep. Mark Amo- munications law and estab- dei, R-Nev., talking about lishing an election integrity President Donald Trump’s other panel— that should ensure call for Congress to in- the package won’t make it to crease COVID-19 relief voices the president’s desk. checks for individuals from Stunt No. 2: Trump’s veto $600 to $2,000. of the National Defense Au- “I’m the guy who cam- paigned for the president, contribut- thorization Act because it did not in- ed to the president and voted for the clude a repeal of Section 230, which president,” Amodei offered during a shields tech platforms from legal liabil- wide-ranging hour-long phone con- ity. Amodei has a history of supporting versation last week. The only Repub- lican in Nevada’s congressional delega- Trump in general but still saying things tion, Amodei stressed that he wanted your standard MAGA bootlicker would not say. So while it is not extraordinary Trump to serve four more years. But that doesn’t mean Amodei has that the Carson City Republican voted to vote in lockstep with Trump. As to override Trump’s veto of the defense Amodei said in a statement released af- spending bill, it is a big deal that 108 ter he voted on Monday against $2,000 House Republicans joined him. “The Section 230 stuff, I complete- “helicopter checks,” the Treasury doesn’t have the money. The measure ly agree with the president,” Amodei didn’t target workers hurt economical- said—but its repeal has no place in a ly by the pandemic; it instead targets defense bill. Did Trump win the 2020 election? those who earn up to $75,000. He “No, he lost Nevada,” Amodei re- would prefer to see funds disbursed to help stressed-out health care providers. sponded. And the Trump legal team For the past four years, House repeatedly has lost as it appealed states’ Republicans have groveled readily decisions in court. Amodei feels for Vice President every time Trump engaged in an at- tention-grabbing stunt. In this case, Mike Pence, who, on Jan. 6, did what the stunt was a demand for $2,000 then-Vice President Al Gore did in check—after Trump’s own team had 2001 after George W. Bush won the negotiated a deal with $600 stimulus White House, and what then-Vice checks and the COVID-19 bill had President Joe Biden did in 2017 when reached his desk. Indeed, Trump is de- progressive Democrats challenged manding the larger haul even though Trump’s victory as the fruit of Russian interference. he signed the bill. Amodei resented Democrats whose But this time, Trump’s antics are not working so well. Sure, 44 House “resist” movement tried to de-legit- Republicans voted with House Dems imize Trump’s 2016 victory for four for the bigger checks. But 130 GOP years. So he offered, “I’m not going to turn around and become what I was so members voted no. Amodei told me the White House offended by.” Smart and principled. didn’t lobby for his support on the bill, (Creators Syndicate) and GOP leaders didn’t whip support Share your opinion Submit a letter to the editor (300 words), or a guest column (600 words) by noon Tuesday . Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com sudoku (Creators Syndicate) Jennifer Luth, Megan Kay, Keizer Family Dental, Maggie Paolucci, Kim Reyes and Roland Herrera. I got a call from the director of the women’s shelter and I had tears in my eyes. The women have had a very diffi cult year and our presents to them brought tears to their eyes because someone cared enough to think of them. I don’t think they have gotten Christmas presents in a very long time. My heart is full of gratitude for the generosity these individuals showed during this time of need. Carrie Lee Brown Keizer Enter digits from 1-9 into the blank spac- es. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. maze Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 • Phone: 503.390.1051 www.keizertimes.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER PRODUCTION MANAGER SUBSCRIPTIONS Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com Andrew Jackson graphics@keizertimes.com MANAGING EDITOR LEGAL NOTICES Eric A. 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