Can Steve Bannon destroy the Republican Party?
Blustery nationalist Steve Bannon continued his war on Republicans over the weekend at the Values Voter Summit, and while we didn't hear a peep from the anti-immigration strongman while he was in the White House he's been pretty agitated and vocal lately.
He then went on to ask if it was over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. While nervous establishment elephants have cause to pause, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) accepted Bannon's logic.
So is Bannon the hulk with the fury and power to destroy the Republican Party and sculpt it anew in the president's image, or is he just a small, yapping dog who accidentally pulled Roy Moore's damaged carcass over the finish line?
Bannon and Graham both have a point that frustrated Libertarians share: if you're worthless, lazy and can't get anything done then you should just go. There is something wildly attractive about blowing up both major parties in simultaneous civil wars.
If the Paul Ryan's and Mitch McConnell’s of the world are only worried about their self-preservation, why should i care if they're tossed out in the face of their own failure? Let them worry, maybe it will spark a booty fire that finally gets them moving on tax reform. Populism, economic or otherwise, is not the answer to government failure as it implicitly calls for growing the size of and reliance on more government.
Bannon's crusty black heart may be in the right place, but his Bernie-esque everyman Schtick will land us on the wrong side of the economic war that ultimately limits freedom, mobility and growth.