Make America Great Again Does To The Republican Party What Progressives Did To the Democrat Party

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, THE FEDERALIST: "I think the Republican party probably needs to understand the reason why its prospects are so good is because Donald Trump kind of reshaped the party into a working-class multiracial party and that is why they're going to have electoral success and they should acknowledge that and understand why people are moving to their party in a way they didn't before."

Such as I realized at the North Jersey Republican Party Watch Gathering during the Trump Acceptance Speech at the Republican National Convention in August 2020. During the leadup to the speech, we applauded the many candidates for local office who differed from what I had perceived Republicans to be in several ways. Women who owned their owned businesses, Real Estate Agents, Retired and Active Reserve Military many among them starkly different from the previous norm, white, country club, buttoned-down conservatives. I sat at table with three men in uniform who were quite enthused about the impact they were confidant they would have on their communities once elected. Likewise, a terribly rude woman at the table next to the buffet in a voice laced with hostility threatened me that I should remove my fingertips from the table at which she was seated. This was a nice restaurant and we met some lovely young people at the bar who asked what all these name-tagged people were doing here. We chatted amiably as we waited for our drinks and as we paid for out cocktails, the man who acknowledged that he was a Democrat confided that the Democrats have lost their minds. As the line for the food got to the buffet, and the nasty black woman demanded that I remove my finger from her table, my companion - a feisty independent Trumper, her temper heated up - wanted to engage her. There I was, a step from the first item on the buffet, hungry and eager for what was a lavish spread of some promising tidbits, about to witness a confrontation I sorely wanted to avoid. Gripping her shoulders,I turned her towards the food and used the most calming, reassuring voice I had to defuse the tension. But there it was, a stark demonstration of what now drives the Democratic Party with hate in even the most elegant, civilized setting. In turn, Working Class people with an educated understanding of economic influence on communities were stepping forward to take up activism in a positive, self-guided leadership role. Not seeking to recruit triggered supporters, they express their ideas intelligently, letting the audience make wise choices and on the strength of President Trump's message, were doing so within the framework of the Republican Party. As I looked around, I saw none of what once said "Republican" to me: no yellow ties, no blazers and khakis, no ladies with big hair and jewelry. What I saw were the kind of folks who hold down a couple jobs and volunteer to coach Little League, empty nesters able to devote newly acquired free time to their passion and neighbors who immigrated to New Jersey who were solidly American and loving their new country for all the reasons they left where they had lived.