How the GOP lost the White House, and new voters

When Donald Trump decided to run for president, the establishment dismissed him. Their opposition research didn’t exist. Why didn’t the GOP primary candidates do the same? Simple, they never took him seriously. 

Then, when he beat them, most decided to attack and undermine him. Unlike in the past when our party came together to defeat the Democratic nominee, these candidates were determined on discrediting Trump. They attacked him with a viciousness we’ve never seen, especially against President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. 

{mosads}Trump, good or bad, was able to motivate the base and turn out new voters, many who had never voted before. Those voters were angry and disappointed with the establishment. They felt betrayed, lied to, and used. They are certain that politicians only care about staying in power, keeping their seats, and continuing to enjoy their perks.

They also see Clinton as an extremely flawed candidate, with a failed and dismal record and part of “what’s wrong”. They understood that Trump wasn’t the perfect candidate, but he was what they wanted, someone “outside” the system they see as corrupt.

Unfortunately the GOP establishment didn’t want Trump, and they still don’t. If they had, we would be up in the polls. But the notion of such a thing was something that they couldn’t stomach. They knew if Trump won, they would lose their “access” and power.

With Clinton, even though a Democrat, one way or another, access will be granted. This election is about money, special interests, and the big donor’s chokehold on our political system. See, if lobbyists don’t have access to a Trump administration, they lose their clients.

With Hillary, that’s not a threat. It will be business as usual in our nation’s capital. That’s why the Republican establishment was against him, and remains against him. Not because of all the other reasons they have tried to make everyone believe.

If Trump loses, as it appears he’s well on his way to doing, it will be, for the most part, a loss of his own doing. The GOP establishment, however, will have played a role and will have some responsibility to own. This responsibility will be too big and cause the Republican machine to implode. And when our party needs Hispanics and African Americans to join us, we will be falling apart.

But with just less than a month to go before the election, anything is possible, especially if Trump stays on message. Even with the Podesta emails released by Wikileaks, however, it will still be a very heavy lift to reach victory.

One thing I am 100% certain of is this: 2018 will be 2010 on steroids and most, if not all establishment politicians will be targeted in a primary and ousted.

If, for some reason, that doesn’t happen, then we will have the opposite: a repeat of 2014, where nobody shows up to vote. If that’s the case, they might never show up again. 

Garcia-Hidalgo is a seasoned expert in business development and is chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Council PAC. He is also chair of the Maryland Republican Party’s Hispanic Leadership Council.

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