OK, tell me ONE great thing any Republican Administration did in our country's history. Just one.

[CTyankee]

Under Democratic administrations we:

Won WWII

Went to the moon

Established major civil rights legislation

Established Social Security

Established Medicare and Medicaid

I'm just ticking these off and wondering why this year's election seems difficult for Democrats.

And just what the hell did "small government Republicans" ever do for ANYBODY (except already rich people)?

Just my rant after watching Brooks and Shields tonight. I've been disgusted and angry all day today since Trump just outTrumped himself with me last night or whenever (it doesn't take much).

Gotta be careful with this race thing...the march in Washington is "great" but ya gotta be careful, Dems. Can't look angry, nononono...some people said nasty things to Rand Paul last night, tut tut. SO WHAT???

I've been MAD AS HELL all day. Poor hubby had to listen to my rant after Brooks and Shields tonight. I got the feeling that we Dems and Joe Biden were being given a lecture in not getting so happy that Dems are doing well and Trump is continuing to be a real shithead. But WATCH OUT Dems! Don't be so sure of yourself you're gonna win this thing! NOT ONCE was even "possible" election cheating by the pukes mentioned. NOT ONCE!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Eisenhower established the US highway system.

Nixon approved the creation of the EPA.

That's all I've got.

[CTyankee]

3. OK. I give you that. But were Dems AGAINST those two achievements or had they been pushing

for them all along?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Not sure about the highways but they pushed for the EPA.

[Marthe48]

7. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught on fire

and that really helped clinch the passage of EPA

https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/63

[H2O Man]

32. And that made for

the opening of Vine Delotia's classic, "We Talk, You Listen." He noted that Indian people had never even thought about making a flaming river.

[Marthe48]

40. The Cuyahoga was disregard

Industry didn't think about consequences then. We are making progress. Corporations think of consequences as an afterthought. Maybe someday, they'll think of consequences before they begin.

[H2O Man]

59. There was a water reservoir

in Delaware County, NY, where some genius decided was a prime area to dump toxic industrials wastes. After initially dumping directly into the small lake, he moved in about a hundred yards away. Eventually, it became a 130-acre Superfund Site. One afternoon, a fellow driving by tossed his cigarrette butt out the window. It landed in the lake, and the surface of the lake caught on fire. Amazing.

[rickford66]

11. Eisenhower drove across the country before there were decent roads.

I believe it was at the direction of the Army. He used this experience, plus seeing the German Autobahn, as the reason to build the Interstate Highway System.

[Marthe48]

16. I learned in school it took 11 days to go coast to coast

I learned that in grade school, and after all this time, hope the right number stuck in my head.

My family drove between Cleveland and S.E Ohio all through the 60's, through the construction of I77. When we first started taking the trip, it took 6 hours to get from just south of Cleveland to Monroe County. Now, it takes about 2.5 hours.

Later, we would drive from Ohio to Myrtle Beach over I77 through WV, and it took years for them to build that road.

[Ron Green]

48. The Interstate Highway System, along with the accompanying

suburban development and urban highways, is one of the worst events in the history of this country. The car-centric world is so much a part of our culture that it’s almost impossible to discuss it.

[StarfishSaver]

65. The interstate highway system was an excellent thing

However, the way the infrastructure was designed and sited - for example, going almost exclusively through poorer, minority neighborhoods, thereby destroying and cutting off entire communities and, as you noted, creating it with only automobiles in mind - was the problem.

[Marthe48]

2. Mr. Lincoln freed the slaves

n/t

[CTyankee]

5. I'm thinking about this century and the modern Republican Party which is why I narrowed it.

The Democratic Party was the slave party in those days, nothing like the Dem Party of the 20th century and the 21st so far.

[Marthe48]

10. While I'm at it

nixon was in the White House when we landed on the moon.

I know that the Space Race was underway many many years before nixon.

[CTyankee]

14. JFK didn't live to see that all happen.

I detested Nixon. I realize he pales in comparison to Trump (so does Bush, who I thought was a war criminal). but even they didn't fleece us, rob us, strip us.

[Marthe48]

12. I thought it was all the way back. Sorry.

The Dems adopted a civil rights plank in the mid 40's (or so) and alienated the dixiecrats, and as time went on, other segments of American voters. Seems to me that the parties have both done a 180 since I was young.

[Proud liberal 80]

6. Liberal Republicans

Lincoln and TR did great things, but that’s when the parties were flipped ideologically. Eisenhower’s freeway system imitative was great and I believe without looking it up, he sent the national guard down south to protect black students after the brown vs board education decision

[CTyankee]

8. Yes, Ike upheld the law of the land, which Brown v. Board essentially was.

[Proud liberal 80]

13. I understand what you are getting at

But I like the labels liberals vs conservatives over Dems vs Reps.....all of the Dems of the 19 century sucked and would be Republicans now (and the current Republican Party act like we have to claim them), and even up to FDRs time the Republicans were better than the Dems...of course things changed because of Truman’s, JFKs, and LBJ stance on race

[CTyankee]

25. I'm aware of that history, but I was talking about the modern Republican Party and should have

been clearer. I was talking about the 20th and 21st centuries.

[Hekate]

9. Eisenhower nationalized the State Guard and made Southern schools integrate

Of course, as GOPpers like to remind us all, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Unfortunately, they have to dishonor that achievement every day.

[CTyankee]

17. As I said earlier, it was the US Supreme Court who FORCED Ike and Nixon to carry out the

suprme Court decisions on race. And that was when a lot of southern Dems became repukes, no surprise there.

[PufPuf23]

15. Teddy Roosevelt was GOP

TR was a trust buster (what we need now among so many other issues).

TR Roosevelt established the United States Forest Service, signed into law the creation of five National Parks, and signed the 1906 Antiquities Act, under which he proclaimed 18 new U.S. National Monuments. He also established the first 51 bird reserves, four game preserves, and 150 National Forests. The area of the United States that he placed under public protection totals approximately 230 million acres (930,000 square kilometers).

[CTyankee]

19. OK, we got a winner in TR! Thank you for reminding me.

Thats one.

[DFW]

63. If you start with the 20th century, the Republicans can boast exactly one great president

That was Teddy Roosevelt. Establishing the National Park System was truly revolutionary. Can you imagine what places like the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Everglades, Cape Cod National Seashore, Big Bend, Yosemite, Acadia, Rocky Mountain NP, Glacier, Yellowstone, and SOOOO many others would be if they had all been open to development between then and now?

Add to that one of the greatest quotes from any American President of the 20th century:

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

Show that to any Republican today, and they'll tell you it must have been said by a "kommanist." Nope, just an intelligent, patriotic Republican--an extinct species.

[CTyankee]

64. Betcha Trump is trying to get rid of the National Park System even as we speak. Whaddya think?

[DFW]

66. If anyone were to explain to him what it is, I'm sure he would.

If anyone were to come to him and say they want to start an open pit mine in Yellowstone National Park, his response would probably be, "so what's stopping you?"

[Marthe48]

23. I read that he was chosen as McKinley's VP

to keep him under wraps. Then McKinley was assassinated and TR soared as a progressive. He also ran for president representing the Bull Moose party.

[Wednesdays]

46. And the official name of the Bull Moose party

was the Progressive Party!

Gives you an idea of TR's political philosophy. The GOP regulars hated him.

[irisblue]

67. TR & trust busting

Source--https://www.ushistory.org/us//43b.asp


And yeah 100 +yrs ago is a freaking reach

[DeminPennswoods]

18. Nixon created the EPA,

signed the Clean Water Act and proposed SSI, which Congress passed. His admin also implemented the first affirmative action plan and extended the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

[CTyankee]

21. OK. Glad to give them that!

[ananda]

22. Yeah, Nixon would be considered a flaming liberal these days.

Sigh

[DeminPennswoods]

24. That's for sure!

[al bupp]

34. He also signed the Endangered Species Act of 1973

Quoting Wikipedia:

The U.S. Supreme Court called it “the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation.”

[ananda]

20. Well, Lincoln emancipated the slaves and won the Civil War.

And Teddy Roosevelt was wonderful on conservation.

That's all I can think of right now.

[rurallib]

27. that's about all I came up with also.

[ProfessorGAC]

44. TR Was Also A Trustbuster

The codification of those moves were incomplete during his terms, but he did cause a lot of concentrated money to be broken down.

[Thekaspervote]

26. Nixon gave right turn on red...

[CTyankee]

28. How did he do that?

[unblock]

29. I think that was after Nixon was gone and also at the state/local level

Was Nixon involved somehow?

[anamnua]

30. US Grant suppressed the KKK

Albeit temporarily. Hard to believe it but back in those days the Repubs were the goodies and the Dems were the baddies.

[anamnua]

31. The thread title has (sort of) reminded me of the famous Monty Python clip

Please don't interpret this as a defence of the Repubs by the way!

[still_one]

33. I think the better question that needs to be asked is what has trump and the republicans

accomplished in the last three and three quarter years?

[CTyankee]

35. My point (besides being a rant) was just what use the damn repuke party has been to us ever?

[still_one]

36. I know

[dawg day]

37. Eisenhower

The interstate highway system was started in his administration.

[CTyankee]

38. I was reminded here that he saw the autobahn built and what it meant to the people of

Germany, after all the destruction of WW2. He must have seen the Interstate highway system as the destiny of the country, in terms of its greatness. He knew that great things were required to be considered a great leader and he strove for it.

[Johonny]

39. I believe Bush the first did the Human genome project in 1990

His son passed Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) 2008. Both were probably good things. Bush also did the prescription Drugs thing which laid a crappy framework that has slowly improved under the ACA, but still isn't great. There was also his work on Malaria in Africa.

Reagan did some gun control. Almost any good Reagan did was overwhelmed by all the historic mistakes we're still paying for.

I was looking for things in the modern GOP as opposed to 19th century or Ike-Nixon era when there was a strong liberal-moderate wing of the GOP. In general the two Bushes are so removed from the modern party, they almost seem as foreign as Ike and Nixon. And W wasn't that long ago!

About the only thing I can come up with for Trump ERA Republicans is his modest criminal justice reform and Space Force. Space Force is probably a real stretch at this point but might turn into something useful under a real president.

[DavidDvorkin]

41. Nixon and the opening to China.

[CTyankee]

43. Yep and it was about time. Perhaps only Nixon COULD (safely politically) open China. No

Democrat at that time could advocate that and survive politically.

Facing reality is, I guess, something we can all applaud...yeah...

[DavidDvorkin]

53. Some commentator said at the time that only Nixon could have gone to China

For a Democrat, it would have been political suicide.

[CTyankee]

56. So a republican president gets "points" for finding China on a map...

how "woke" is that...

[DavidDvorkin]

60. Well, that's more than the current Republican president could do.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

42. Philadelphia Plan

[tenderfoot]

45. I can't help but notice that the GOP hasn't done anything "good" in almost 50 YEARS

And that Ronald Reagan erased all the positives.

[CTyankee]

49. that was essentially my points and I admit I overlooked "some" rather nice things the pukes

did, after the ideas behind them had been "normalized" to the extent that they could safely come out of their caves to support them.

Yeah, I'm in a bad mood.

[SharonClark]

52. That's okay, you're allowed to be in a bad mood.

[CTyankee]

55. I think the Kenosha thing just got to me. Hubby is from Wisconsin and the son of proud union

people. We have friends, very liberal Dems, from Kenosha. It's so personal to him and to our friends, still in WI but now retired in Door County. They must be abject.

I am surprised how demoralizing this has been to me (I know, "poor me" and that's making me angry too...).

[SharonClark]

51. They're hell bent on destroying all that is

good and positive in our country.

[tblue37]

47. Nixon--EPA

[CTyankee]

50. Do you think Nixon was truly "on board" with the EPA or was it a "handwriting on the wall" kind

of realization?

[Autumn]

54. George H.W. Bush championed,supported and signed into law Harkins Americans with Disabilities Act.

That was one good thing.

[CTyankee]

57. Yes, and he was a good man, perhaps one of the last in his party...

he couldn't have seen a Trump presidency coming...

[Autumn]

58. The last sane Republican.

[hardluck]

61. Little things like

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, defeating the South in the Civil War. I mean seriously. I get your point but let’s not be blind to history.

[In It to Win It]

62. Just saying... I think the scope of the question should have been limited to the GOP

as we know it today which started in like the 60s and 70s.