Republicans need to reinvent their party

Republicans used to stand for a small government. Mostly, this has been more talk than anything. They frequently talk about cutting spending, but they never do.

The Republicans have since been infiltrated by a Democrat, Donald Trump. Trump doesn't even know what the Republicans stand for. He tries to pander to a base, but he doesn't understand that base. He gets a lot wrong. When he does, partisan conformity kicks in. The Republican party changes to better match the views of someone who doesn't understand them.

Thanks to Trump, the Republicans have essentially become the second Democratic party. A lot of the things that I despise about the Democrats are now being embraced by the Republicans. For example, I oppose Democrats forcing schooling and using propaganda as a means of molding minds. Republicans used to believe in allowing students alternate pathways, but Trump shifted his focus to introducing conservative propaganda. Instead of fighting propaganda, we are now fighting over which party controls the propaganda.

I have long insisted that there is something worse than a two-party system, and that's a one-party system. Although Republicans have done a lousy job of living up to their ideals, they have since abandoned those ideals. They have abandoned their identity.

The Republican party needs to take a step back. Who are they? What do they value and why? What makes them a viable alternative to the Democrats? Why should we vote for them?

I would like the Democrats to change as well, but I don't think that will happen in the foreseeable future. Their heavy-handed authoritarianism and hostilities toward individualism have worked well for them. They also have benefited from their control over the schools and the media.