Death of the Republican Party: Failures in the Trump Era and the ‘Chosen People’ of the Mormon Corridor
How Mormons Can Save the Dying Conservative Movement
Donald Trump’s rise to success presented an unimaginable opportunity for decision-makers to reshape the modern American political experience and provide a robust platform from which the Grand Old Party (GOP) could finally deliver on the promises it had made for decades. With the American populist iron grip over the American political Zeitgeist and growing social and cultural movements, the GOP had every opportunity to revitalize its national platform and readily curry the favor of its bottom-rung, boots-on-the-ground politickers largely responsible for popularizing Trumpian policies and disseminating it throughout contemporary modern discourse.
The Echoes of Lingering Promises and the Eternal Grift
Promises of heavier restrictions on immigration, repealing the Affordable Care Act, and securing the Pro-Life lobby, are amongst the most well-known promised policy changes that the GOP had championed throughout its existence. Unfortunately, we have seen quite the opposite occur following the Trump regime.
Seemingly bad-faith actors have permeated the GOP structure and reconfigured the party's intentions without conferring to the bottom-rung members. The national vilification of Trump was largely adopted by major figureheads of the conservative movement. Apart from party officials, thought-leaders were embodying the cultural tides of the conservative mindset, including Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, and Mark Levin, among other establishmentarian manifestations. Meanwhile, to the contrary, more fringe movement leaders, including Richard Spencer, Alex Jones, Nichols J. Fuentes, Ann Coulter, and Steve Bannon, among others; were the first to usher in his political and cultural supremacy. (Things have obviously changed now.) Of the aforementioned figures, some were socially tossed into the bin of irrelevancy due to strict censorship policies silencing apt discourse spurring lamenting conservative voices, while others flourished in the dark underbelly of political online exchange where it metastasized in a much larger, secondary cultural movement. Regardless of present opinions, what is apparent is that Trump’s initial popularity first grew among the fringe.
Over time, establishmentarian beliefs would change according to popular demand. Charlie Kirk’s ideological metamorphosis stands out among the rest in this sentiment. Shifting from secular libertarian cynicism to religious, pro-Israel conservativism, principally led by the Seven Mountain Mandate, was seen amidst a major rise in contributions from a myriad of donors, ranging from unknown, backroom stakeholders to affluent housewives; leading him to become a major GOP power broker. Kirk’s response was about as advantageous as it was predictable: Trumpian culture, alongside populist conservative roots and religious zealotry, was the upcoming cultural trend coloring the movement at large. Religion, and identity, matter.
Despite the demand for change in the face of this cultural transformation, the GOP and its orbiting organizations essentially remained practically lame as they pertained to policy-making and lobbying. Never was this more obvious than the events following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Anti-abortion non-profits, initially emerging from the highly lucrative pro-life movement explosion post-Schaflian politics of the 1970s, who were responsible for lobbying the sentiments of pro-life and anti-feminist religious conservatives amidst consistent national pushback, fell silent. Tax returns revealed a serious cancer in the movement, mostly having to do with poor financial management. It has been revealed by one unnamed anti-abortion organization that, on average, 3 million of the usual donations went to individual salaries, with the founder making over $270,000 that year. Nearly zero went to pregnancy centers. This is not a unique case.
The pro-life lobby is just one of many facets contributing to the constellation of bad-faith actor guild in American conservative politics, exacerbating policy stagnation.
Other examples of the conservative grift can also be found in your own political backyard; where county-level GOP leadership regularly funnel money through both local-level and statewide campaigns to furnish individual salaries. These actions include overbilling for inconsequential services, such as “consulting” and charging for advertising material that never transpires, sometimes even conveniently owned by county GOP stakeholders. All this, while basic services, such as a State GOP website fail to provide basic political requirements like candidate endorsement, or even accurate event information.
Rising Actors and the Elite Mormon Capital
Ascending tertiary organizations preying on the dying establishment GOP is keeping watch and silently restructuring the conservative movement by systematically installing direct employees as the current GOP fails to address this concerning trend of silence and grift.
Turning Point Action (TPAction), a 501(c)(4) organization affiliated with Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA, is spearheading an improved movement with a large number of field staff serving RNC delegates to the 2024 convention, and more quietly occupying positions of power in county and state-level GOPs. Cleverly, they have established a network of full-time political operatives nationwide, with almost a dozen in Arizona alone. TPAction is the brainchild of Tyler Bower, a long-time senior member of TPUSA’s leadership, acting COO of TPAction, as well as a protective Mormon.
Similarly, such as Bower’s work headquartered in Arizona transforming the state, in the Pacific Northwest Brain Heywood and his Let’s Go Washington initiatives are building momentum for Republicans in formerly unreachable quarters of the country. Heywood is also a world-travelled Mormon having served his mission in Japan.
It is no surprise that a lot of constructive political activity is situated within the Mormon corridor, with much of the population concentrated in the Western portion of the United States.
Mormons make up about 1.7% of the American adult population, a portion that is comparable in size to the U.S. Jewish population.
The utopian separatism of Mormonism is infectious to its followers. Placing great emphasis on reproduction and family organization, as well as heralding a primarily White population, is it well documented that the Elite Human Capital of the American Mormon population is quite high, albeit dogmatic. The rigid organization leads to the Mormon family standing in as a paragon of family values and personal virtues, whilst also sitting cloistered, shrouded behind an occultic sense of mystery. These rites, serving as a barrier from the rest of the American population, aid in the preservation of the groups’ privy to its ordinances.
It also appears that Mormons are more eager to get married, with over 70% of the Mormon American population married, compared to 54% of the general population. Resulting from these marries is a higher output of offspring. Despite this, Mormons are more likely to advance into higher education, with 61% having some kind of college education, compared with only half of the general population. This is unusual, given that the general trend reveals that the more college education a woman has the less likely she is to become a mother.
The Elite Future of the Conservative Movement
The Elite Human Capital presently spawning in the United States, a uniquely American culture and religion, can save the GOP and the greater American conservative movement. It is comprised of individuals who, not only seemingly have a high IQ, but are markedly innovative and creative, while also systematic and efficient.
The breeding patterns and social organization of this population is highly conducive to mobilization and community-building. Since the years of religious toil and culture generation, since Brigham Young’s leadership, and since the culviation of its very own mecca, Mormons are entering into the frontlines of political action, proving themselves to be dangerously effective. (It really is not a wonder why Turning Point USA goes out of its way to permeate its management structure with Mormons), and happily re-vitalised its message towards zealotry.
Cultivation of the Elite Class of effective conservatives, removed from the fringes of perceived extremism, may just save the movement from eternal polarization and grift.
Protestantism is far more malleable and fluid than any hyper organized version of Christianity. For that reason, I'd rather work with what we have than try to replace it with something centralized. If anything, what we need is, "life affirming," Christianity that works in tandem with a pagan youth.
Mormon's may have a unique propensity towards actualization. The Religion itself is mocked by the bulwark of the population. It's like Judaism except you're allowed to make fun of it. While it's possible for Mormon's to rigamarole specific policies that encourage a facet of their religious dogma and culture, it's unlikely it'll be America's, "future," religion. There's no way it gets picked up by a mass amount of people and merges with the state. Future influence? I'll take your word on that one. America's future holistically? Doubtful
The rest of the stuff can be addressed in an article I'll now write. Elite Human Capital and it's hopeful consequences is a myth. It's real, in the sense that certain positions grant more influence and prestige, but it vastly overestimates the ability for this influence to enact change in the bureaucracy. In order to create real change, the so called, "used car dealer," needs to be brought into the game. They have a ton of potential energy, and it's a core facet of the future, "right wing," coalition currently arising. If they're brought into the fold (along with a few others), actual change is possible. That's a lot more difficult, but unless something like that happens, the United States will fracture and balkanize given the nature of the uni-party consensus. There's really no choice in the matter... However, given this event takes place, your Mormon theory makes a lot of sense. I just don't want it to get to that point...
Hannania wrote that article as much for himself and his own mental well being as his, "audience."
I think many of the people reading this misunderstand the point. What I took from this notion of Mormon EHC is that a more integrated collaboration with them, not a 'replacement' of the more prevalent Protestantism (or even traditionalist Catholicism), would be desirable for the Republicans. And besides the sense of Mormons being largely coreligionist with most Republicans, one could focus on the strategic benefits of having more organized political operations, which the Mormons appear to be well-suited for due to their systematic religious hierarchy, higher birthrates, level of educational attainment, and a possibly higher average IQ (though we need more studies).