I Reckon: Gov. Hutchinson can correct the Republican Party’s course

Earlier on in his candidacy, Donald Trump claimed he could stand in the middle of New York’s 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any votes. Time has only proven that Trump would go on to do the political equivalent of what he proposed — inspiring an insurrection at the nation’s capital and disrupting political discourse for the worse for the foreseeable future. Oh, and getting indicted and attacking the legal system to which he’s finally being subjected. And still, there’s a feverish base that laps up his quick-fired statements.

All those years of Trumpism make someone like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who just announced his candidacy for president, seem like a great foil to the brash and bullying brand of politics that made the Trump years — and Trump supporters — incredibly infuriating to have a dialogue with. On the surface, Hutchinson might as well be the Jaws of Life needed to pry open Trump’s vice grip on the Republican Party.

For better or for worse, Hutchinson stands out from the crowd because his platform is more traditionally conservative than others who have thrown their hat in the ring — in the sense that he represents a return to the GOP’s past as a party of Reagan, rather than the party of Trump. He’s for international cooperation when it comes to foreign affairs and is fairly embedded in the Republican establishment. Before he was the governor of Arkansas, he was a member of Congress, the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration and an alum of the Reagan administration. He even said that Trump should drop out, reasoning that the indictment hanging above the former president’s head will just become a sideshow that devalues the office of the president. With all that considered, his campaign slogan might as well read: “I’m the anti-chaos candidate.”

If you come from a politically mixed family like me (in that, you’re the only person resembling a liberal of some sort in a sea of conservative family members including some current or former Trump supporters), you probably wish that there was a “sensible” GOP candidate to lead those beloved family members out of the darkness and into some kind of neutral ground where you can actually talk constructively about politics with them. You might even wish for candidates that don’t put any stock into QAnon conspiracies about how those darn Democrats are going to end the world as we know it.

By virtue of his bona fide traditional conservative roots, Hutchinson makes for an interesting litmus test for the future of the Republican Party and what moral and ethical standards conservative voters have for their future leaders. Hutchinson’s candidacy represents the choice between a straight-edge candidate, versus one that’s criminally indicted. It also makes even the most loyal of conservative voters question whether or not it’s worth supporting a candidate that would drag their legal baggage into the once-esteemed office of the president of the United States.

But don’t get it twisted. While Gov. Hutchinson’s initially sensible appeal might make him seem like some kind of moderate savior, his relative lack of name recognition and his perceived Southern charms allow him to cover and tone down his all-too-familiar rhetoric when it comes to dealing with issues within the nation.

In a sit-down interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Hutchinson rattled off all of the usual Turning Point USA-esque talking points about how conservative viewpoints are repressed on college campuses, and how the government should butt out of business affairs and stop shoving a “leftist” social agenda down the throats of state governments. It’s his takes on foreign policy and his trust in the legal system that sets him apart from an otherwise rabid pack. But not much else. Everything else he believes in seems to be ripped out of the current GOP book on “How to Own the Libs: Trump Edition.”

The revolving circus of GOP presidential candidates, whether they’ve announced they’re running or not, seem to be just different shades of the former president. Hutchinson just stands out as somewhat sensible thanks to his view on what quality of character should occupy the Oval Office. But remember, that doesn’t mean he won’t sing the rest of the GOP’s greatest culture war hits.

Quynh Anh Nguyen is a junior writing about the implications of current Southern political events. Her column, “I Reckon,” runs every other Monday.