Stuart Stevens, chief strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid, says he originally was attracted to the Republican Party for its conservative ideals. He is a seventh-generation Mississippian and was named for Confederate General Jeb Stuart.
Stevens now argues that the Republicans have suffered a complete moral collapse. He regrets not recognizing it sooner.
He wonders how he could have been blind to the GOP’s racism for so long. “It is hard to see when you’re in the middle of it. … Trump made it impossible to deny what the party is. I don’t get why these Republican senators don’t stand up to him. What’s the worst thing? You’ll be an ex-senator? What most matters now is not policy ideas but the ability to attack and exploit fears, divisions, tribalism and resentment.”
Trump alone could not be blamed for that. “Republicans only exist to elect Republicans. … They are down to one idea: How can we win?”
Stuart Stevens’s remarks are taken from an article by David Corn, Washington, D.C., bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine, in the September-October 2020 edition.
Jim Marquardt
Sag Harbor
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