Sea Change Coming

In the past two weeks, two former Presidents, two current Republican Senators, and sleuth of commentators have railed against the “current state of political discourse.” I presently am doing the same thing here in this column, and that resounding chorus seems to fall on deaf ears. My question, as it were, is that following a remarkable few weeks culminating with the arrest of, not one, but three former campaign advisers to Donald Trump, one of which plead guilty already, will the Republican Party change in the coming months?

Will the party of Lincoln again stand up for their true values, and not be held hostage by a fringe base that threatens challenges and chaos? It feels as though the Republican establishment is too gun shy from the Tea Party escapades in 2010 to hold firm to their beliefs and push a modern mainstream agenda that will take them towards the future and provide for good governance. Instead they keep making concession after concession to Trumpism, and they have exactly nothing to show for it. Save for some great Twitter jokes that make me laugh every time I read them, but I digress.

What the last week has shown is that despite everything happening in the world there are those who will not call it like it is, and decide to get things done. There are those who believe that the current state of affairs is the “new normal,” and those who believe that this is not a problem. My question is when will that change? Is Manafort’s arrest the beginning of a sea change in the party going forward? Will Senators Corker and Flake’s comments sway minds to see the reality of where we are today? Will conservatives correct course and take on reforms, and their agenda with a sense of legitimate duty, or will the new normal be maintained and stagnation, division, and rhetoric continue at the expense of those who voted for change?

Will anti-corruption, morality, decency, civility, and hope win out over a dystopic assessment of our current state of affairs? Will a moderation to government take hold, or will partisan lines continue to be the standard at which we legislate? I can’t answer these questions, but it is obvious that Manafort’s arrest marks the beginning of something new. The only question is how will that affect everything else in D.C., and if it will matter enough to change the outcome of our current state of our Union.