Earlier this week, a group of Republicans led by former presidential candidate Evan McMullin signed a letter outlining 13 principles they believe should define the Republican Party. The publication of that letter underscores an important trend and a potential turning point for the conservative movement.
There is a significant fracture within the Republican Party. Republicans like McMullin disagree with Trump loyalists on many issues, and vice versa. The challenge for Republicans now is this: Does the Republican party have the ability to listen to all Republicans?
If we let our differences fester and grow to the point of vilifying one another, it will lead to a weakening of the Republican Party specifically, and American conservatism broadly, at a time when increasingly liberal ideas are gaining traction among many voters. Alternatively, our differences in perspective can lead us to reassess our views, sharpen our arguments and refine our messaging — resulting in a better and more cohesive party with a clear message for the country.
These differing perspectives and competing interests are not new to the American political system and they are not new to the Republican Party. The debates around the Constitution during the American founding era were heated and intense. Yet rather than succumb to resignation, the framers found a way to create the greatest and most successful political system the world has ever seen.
The GOP tent has always been big enough to accommodate different perspectives, and I believe the tent is big enough to handle them now. But if we want conservative ideals and policies to move forward, we must understand that not everyone is going to share our exact point of view.
While serving as the executive director of the Utah Republican Party many years ago, I had the opportunity to work for two party chairmen. Their management styles were completely different, but each one got the job done effectively. The first, Frank Suitter, had a knack for working effectively with donors, candidates and elected officials. The second, Rob Bishop, was a gifted communicator who wanted to meet with the grassroots in the party whose voices weren’t always heard or listened to.
The same challenges faced by Rob Bishop and Frank Suitter are the challenges that the GOP face today. Can the Republican Party be inclusive of varying degrees of conservative thought: really conservative versus pretty conservative? We’ve not always been good at this, and when Evan McMullin gathered 120 conservatives on a call in February, it was evidence of the significant frustration about the party’s failures. In a poll conducted among those on the McMullin call, approximately half wanted to start a new party, while the other half didn’t. The danger in starting a new party, however, is that it divides conservatives and all but guarantees Democratic victory. When Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992, it was in large part due to a fractured Republican Party.
Creating a new party would only benefit Democrats.
Finding an inclusive path forward among the various perspectives within the party is important. The sooner we can begin the 2024 presidential cycle and candidates announce they’re running for president, the sooner we can move past the last election. Presidential candidates and the nomination process help to coalesce different factions and shape the national dialogue. This is the power of a single voice and the executive branch.
There are obviously many who are still “flying the Trump flag,” literally and metaphorically. But embracing the notion that the election was stolen is not productive for the party. It is not productive because it is not true. Nor is it helpful for Republicans to threaten to expel from the party anyone who believes otherwise. Our political system has worked for nearly 250 years. In every presidential election, someone wins and someone loses, and in all cases the winner assumes the presidency.
As to whether or not Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee, is a proposition that party activists and political pundits love to talk about, but a former president has never been picked to run again in the Republican Party. There is no doubt that President Trump could seek the nomination again, but his presidency would only result in a four-year administration. We need a unifying figure who has the potential to serve for eight years, and it’s not too early to begin building that bench of candidates.
In the short term, there’s a silver lining to what McMullin and other frustrated Republicans are doing. Their critique of the Republican Party is healthy, even constructive, for the Republican Party — as long as those conversations stay within the Republican Party. Creating a new party would only benefit Democrats, many of whom are surely enjoying the bickering within the Republican Party ranks.
There is only one way to push our agenda forward and that’s by keeping these debates within the party. So, Republicans, let’s keep the booing to ourselves, let’s be civil to one another and let’s start listening and finding common ground in order to elect Republicans.
Spencer Stokes is the president of Stokes Strategies, a political consulting firm. He served as the chief of staff for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, from 2011-2013, as executive director of the Utah Republican Party from 1996-1999, and hosts the weekly political podcast “Stokes and Folks.”