In the wake of Trump, the Republican Party needs to make acknowledgments, amends, and apologies, effect a dramatic course-correction, grow up, show it’s even remotely capable of being trusted with power if anyone with an (R) behind his or her name is to ever come close to earning my vote again.
Until then, I won’t feign political neutrality.
But I will meme Republicans of the past (up until the Mitt Romney era) in a positive light, because while they may have made mistakes (sometimes terrible ones), they easily meet what I consider bare minimum criteria of acceptability in leadership — and it’s the tradition the GOP will have to reconnect with in order to have any respectability again.
You will notice that modern-day Trump cultists seldom or never meme past Republicans in a positive light, and indeed frequently trash Republicans as recent as Romney and McCain as traitors. That is significant. It’s a sign of how far they’ve gone off the rails.