On Wednesday, an image that went viral on X noted that some of the most prominent Republicans were not taking part in the Republican National Convention.
The names included former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Mike Pence, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former Rep. Liz Cheney (Wy.) and 2012 vice presidential nominee and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
Each of these Republicans were, and are, committed to the neoconservative version of the GOP that guided and defined their party two decades ago. A fantasy world in which the Bush-Cheney administration remained the Republican archetype, the U.S. invading Iraq was the right decision, and, in that spirit, America’s number one mission today is to send taxpayer dollars to Ukraine to fuel an indefinite proxy war with Russia.
In their time, hawkish foreign policy was the primary definition of what it meant to be a Republican. That agenda is still definitely part of the party, particularly among its entrenched establishment.Â
The convention was awesome and better without these neocons. I, for one, watched it in its entirety for the first time ever in my lifetime of 75. I’ve always watched a little of the RNC, but never more than 1-2 nights and not the entire nightly show.