THE COMPLETE REPUBLICAN PLAN FOR AMERICA: (1) ELECT MORE REPUBLICANS; (2) OWN MORE LIBS

What does the Republican Party stand for? What are its beliefs? What do Republicans want to do if they regain power? An opinion piece by the Washington Examiner's Zachary Faria makes the answer clear.

Faria writes:

Republicans' choice for 2024 should be abundantly clear

Whatever debate there is about the 2024 presidential race, and about whether Republicans should nominate former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, it is not much of a debate at all. Both men, and the establishment media that hate them, have made it clear who the right answer is.

Surely we'll be told about clear policy differences between the two men -- right?

Nope:

DeSantis has a campaign war chest of $122.5 million. While he coasts toward a likely reelection in Florida, he has also given $2.5 million to the Florida Republican Senatorial Committee in hopes of expanding his state party's majority in the state Senate....

Meanwhile, Trump’s PAC, Save America, is hoarding its $99 million haul while siphoning grassroots donations that should be going to competitive races this year. Save America spent $4 million in July, but just $200,000 of that went to GOP candidates.... Trump’s PAC is otherwise not very interested in sending money, not even to the candidates whom Trump himself has endorsed.

The contrast is stark between DeSantis trying to boost his state party and govern more effectively and Trump tanking Republicans' chances in those 2021 Georgia Senate runoffs.

So when Faria is describing what makes DeSantis likely to be a good president of the United States, the first thing that comes to mind is ... the fact that DeSantis is trying to elect more Republicans than Trump is.

But surely Faria talks about policy after that, right? Again, nope:

But if that isn’t enough, why not let establishment media and Democrats tell you who they want? ... Who does the media view as a bigger threat than Trump? Let’s ask Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times, as reliable a Democratic partisan as you'll find in the media. DeSantis “may be a more competent Trump” when it comes to wielding power, and “he’s also meaner and more rigid, without the soft edges and eccentricity” of Trump ... meaning that he would likely deem DeSantis the bigger threat should he actually become president. Democratic strategists and other liberal pundits, including Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast of the Daily Beast and the Washington Post’s Max Boot, are already on that boat. The worst Republican is always the next Republican, and they are far more afraid of DeSantis being next than a Trump sequel.

And that's all Faria has to say. Nothing about policy. Nothing about ideology. DeSantis helps more party members get elected and DeSantis, at least at the moment, makes the libs -- including Max Boot, who was a Republican for decades -- cry more.

That's the complete list of relevant criteria for GOP voters, according to Faria.. Those are the only things that matter. And if he's wrong, it's because most GOP voters care only about item #2.