Der Fuerherprinzip, the Republican Party, and Leader Trump

By Steven Jonas

“Der Fuhrerprinzip” (Ger.: The Leadership Principle) “prescribed the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the [German] Third Reich [1933-45]. This principle can be most succinctly understood to mean that ‘the Fuhrer‘s word is above all written law’ and that governmental policies, decisions, and offices ought to work toward the realization of this end. In actual political usage, it refers mainly to the practice of dictatorship within the ranks of a political party itself, and as such, it has become an earmark of political fascism.” Translated succinctly, in Nazi Germany it meant: “The Fuhrer is always right.”

Adolf Hitler was granted this position very early on in the history of the (German) National Socialist German Workers Party (1921). A riveting speaker even then, Hitler had been recruited to lead what was then one of many small right-wing parties that had formed after the end of World War. There was a contretemps about who would be in charge and Hitler was able to make a deal that if he were to stay on, he had to be the unquestioned leader, Fuhre r in German. From then on, Hitler made very major decision for Germany, both political and military.

It worked fine for him and Nazi Germany until during the War he started making major military decisions, for which he was totally unqualified — like diverting an Army that had an absolutely open pathway to the Caucasus mountains in the Soviet Union — and the Baku oil fields beyond them — to attack a target that was already being by-passed, Stalingrad, primarily because of its name. That move, and the Wehrmacht’s ultimate defeat there, led inexorably to Nazi Germany’s defeat. But as I said, the Fuhre r prinzip worked well for him for quite some time.

Now, how does all of this apply to Trump and the contemporary Republican Party? Since the election of 1876, with a few exceptions — Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower —that Party has represented the right-wing of U.S. politics. Since then, for most of the time it has been xenophobic. (It is not widely known that one of the founding members of its original coalition was the American Party, the wildly anti-Irish/German “Know-nothings.”) Since Nixon and the establishment of his “Southern Strategy” it has also been becoming ever more openly racist (although leaning heavily on “dog-whistles,”) leading up to Donald Trump, who has made no bones about it. And now, in the 3½ years of his Presidency, Trump has put more and more of his own political stamp on the office, while more and more making the Republican Party (with which he had never previously identified, e.g., he was a one-time contributor to Hillary Clinton and to Kamala Harris[!]) into what I have called “The Trumpublican© Party.”

It is well-known that Trump has had major difficulties in holding onto traditional Republicans who had joined his Administration. More and more his appointees’ primary qualification seems to be a willingness to be totally loyal to Trump. As for the Congress, Republican House members and Senators more-and-more seem to be staying loyal only partly because they agree with is major policy initiatives: tax cuts for the wealthy and the large corporations, the Deconstruction of the Administrative State, and the appointment of far-right wing judges. They (some of them, at least) may be quite uncomfortable with his ignorance, his lack of learning ability, his almost total absence from the tasks-of-President, his personality, his speeches when he strays from the texts to attack whoever is in his sights for that particular day, his tweets, especially when the latter might be aimed at them, possibly bringing out primary-challengers. But there still has been a Republican Party.

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Source: OpEdNews