Who was the last real "Republican"

[bluecollar2]

Was just thinking about this after having a conversation on Facebook...

I'm 62 years old...and in my lifetime I keep thinking about Howard Baker...

Help me out here guys...

[First Speaker]

1. Probably McCain in 2000...

...by 2008, the Bush crowd had broken his spirit...

[Yeehah]

6. Not a chance

McCain was scum, despite his honorable military service.

[Ferrets are Cool]

24. Nope, try again

[Atticus]

2. Senator Chuck Percy of Illinois. nt

[CanonRay]

8. Percy was the first campaign I ever worked.

And the last Republican I ever voted for.

[LW1977]

3. As far as Presidents go.

Maybe Dwight.

[Lochloosa]

4. Bob Dole

[zipplewrath]

12. Ditto

Probably the last person in a leadership position that was serious about governing.

[Hoyt]

36. And he had a great sense of humor.

[Silent3]

5. Eisenhower n/t

[essme]

18. Agreed. nt

[rurallib]

22. At the presidential level I would agree.

[TheBlackAdder]

23. Yeah, I'd say Ike.

.

After that, feeble works of F. A. Hayek and later by the articulate William F. Buckley and his warped perceptions of reality and faulty logic started to create and further pollute New Republicanism and that started the party spinning out of orbit.

.

[NRaleighLiberal]

25. yup.

[crickets]

31. Yes. nt

[Dave in VA]

7. Sen. Mark Hatfield - Oregon

He and Sen. George McGovern together sponsored the McGovern/Hatfield Act*.

*
The McGovern–Hatfield Amendment (alternately, Hatfield–McGovern Amendment) was a proposed amendment to an appropriations bill in 1970 during the Vietnam War that, if passed, would have required the end of United States military operations in the Republic of Vietnam by December 31, 1970 and a complete withdrawal of American forces halfway through the next year.

[Yeehah]

9. Howard Baker

Good pick.

[Buckeyeblue]

10. Poppy Bush in the 1980 primary

[LuvNewcastle]

13. He was pretty moderate then, especially for a Republican.

If I recall correctly, he was pro-choice back then. I think his wife was always pro-choice. He sold out to get the evangelical vote for Reagan.

[Buckeyeblue]

21. Yes. And he double-downed in 1988

Poppy was never anti-choice. He also didn't believe believe in trickle-down economics. He was the last of the country club Republicans that were socially liberal but economically conservative.

[Raine]

11. President Ford nt

[bottomofthehill]

28. To me , the Ford Presidency was amazing

The country could have gotten quite ugly and President Ford did all the right things to keep the country stable.

[Rhiannon12866]

44. And he was quite helpful to President Carter

Carter had only two previous presidents still living back in 1977, Ford and Nixon. He reached out to Ford who was helpful with dealing with Congress and they eventually became good friends. In fact, Ford called on Jimmy Carter to deliver his eulogy.

[bottomofthehill]

45. On his statue in the US Capitol

There is a quote from Tip ONeill. The Democratic Leader when he was President. Not the person you would think of to have a quote on your statue is you were a President of a different party.

[stillcool]

14. John Lindsay..

[Under The Radar]

15. I am going with Bob Dole too, a leader with a strong spine and heart

[jpak]

16. Bill Cohen

Yup

[johnp3907]

17. Donald Trump

Don’t kid yourself.

[AnyFunctioningAdult]

19. McCain in 2000

If he had defeated Bush in the primaries, the country would look a whole lot different.

[Polybius]

26. Would he have beaten Gore?

That's tough.

[regnaD kciN]

20. Abraham Lincoln

[rownesheck]

32. Agree.

It's been all down hill since then. I think that's why republicans hate actors.

[Hugin]

47. Yep.

And the only Republican, ever. The rest are warmed over Whigs.

[blue neen]

27. Senator John Heinz

He was a really good man.

[rickford66]

29. Grant

[Kaleva]

30. William Milliken who recently passed away.

"William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th Governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serving more than three full four-year terms from 1969 to 1983. During this period he dealt with dramatic changes to the state economy, due to industrial restructuring and challenges to the auto industry, resulting in loss of jobs and population from Detroit, the state's largest city."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Milliken

[roamer65]

43. THIS.

Bill Milliken was a good man.

[SlogginThroughIt]

33. Goldwater.

[JHB]

34. Millicent Fenwick?

[yortsed snacilbuper]

35. Abraham Lincoln

[bluecollar2]

37. Keep it going y'all.. n/t

[Renew Deal]

38. Trump

90% of them support him. That seems pretty real to me.

[GulfCoast66]

39. Trump of course.

Are we trying to do the No Real Scotsman to the Republican Party?

They are what they have become. The Know Nothings has a short run as well. Their fate is the same.

[MrsCoffee]

40. Dick Lugar was a decent guy.

Died last year.

[liberaltrucker]

41. Senator Edward Brooke

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Brooke

[pecosbob]

42. Eisenhower

[JI7]

46. By Real do you mean the last "good" one ? Because the ones right now are "real" also

[bluecollar2]

50. Nah...this batch calls themselves republican

But they're just a bunch of tea party assholes.,

[mountain grammy]

48. Everett Dirksen

Except for Vietnam, and Dems share that debacle.

[Demsrule86]

49. No such thing...they all going all the way back to Hoover and the decade before are awful.