How an Outsider President Killed a Party

[KamaAina]

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/history-campaign-politics-zachary-taylor-killed-whigs-political-party-213935

It was summer, and a major U.S. political party had just chosen an inexperienced, unqualified, loutish, wealthy outsider with ambiguous party loyalties to be its presidential nominee. Some party luminaries thought he would help them win the general election. But many of the faithful were furious and mystified: How could their party compromise its ideals to such a degree?

Sound like 2016? This happened a century and a half ago.

Many have called Donald Trump’s unexpected takeover of a major political party unprecedented; but it’s not. A similar scenario unfolded in 1848, when General Zachary Taylor, a roughhewn career soldier who had never even voted in a presidential election, conquered the Whig Party.

A look back at what happened that year is eye-opening—and offers warnings for those on both sides of the aisle. Democrats quick to dismiss Trump should beware: Taylor parlayed his outsider appeal to defeat Lewis Cass, an experienced former Cabinet secretary and senator. But Republicans should beware, too: Taylor is often ranked as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history—and, more seriously, the Whig Party never recovered from his victory. In fact, just a few years after Taylor was elected under the Whig banner, the party dissolved—undermined by the divisions that caused Taylor’s nomination in the first place, and also by the loss of faith that followed it.

"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -George Santayana

[liberal N proud]

1. What we want to do is allow him to destroy the party but deny him the White House

I don't care what happens to the Republicans, I only care what happens to this country. Allowing Trump to be President would most likely mean the end of the United States of America as Democratic Republic.

We are not looking at a repeat of Zachary Taylor and the Whigs but rather a Fascist and America.

[world wide wally]

2. Two absolute guarantees "IF" Trump gets elected:

1) There will be demonstrations along with riots, and
2) He will declare martial law within two weeks of his innauguration

[liberal N proud]

3. He will also jail anyone who challenges him

We will have political prisoners.

[Gabi Hayes]

15. uhhhh.......

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32043-beyond-innocence-america-s-political-prisoners-and-the-fight-against-mass-incarceration

[ProudProgressiveNow]

7. +1 nt

[braddy]

4. The Whigs were only a 23 year party, and their reason for existence largely died and they were

replaced by an anti-slavery party, started 6 years before the Civil War.

[scottie55]

5. Republicans....

[HuckleB]

6. This can only happen to a party that was already wounded badly.

To ignore that is to ignore the full history.

[Wounded Bear]

8. I agree...

They've been on a slide, covered by the fact that they still managed to win elections, largely because of voter apathy assisted by generous helpings of voter suppression and electioneering. Hopefully, this will lead to a nadir of sorts in which the Repub party, if it wishes to continue, will dust off that autopsy it did last cycle and re-read it, update it, and follow it.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind thinking that there was a conservative out there that deserved my vote should the Dems fail to put up a candidate anything less than outstanding in quality. With the current state of the Repub party and the conservative movement in America today, that ain't happening. Haven't voted R in a good long time and I'm not planning on starting soon. But the overall drift to the right, largely caused by defecting Repubs finding a home in the Dem party, that has been going on desperately needs correcting.

[HuckleB]

9. Gerrymandering has been their number one help, IMO.

[Wounded Bear]

10. After 2010, yes...

but the inroads have been moving that direction for many years. They had to own the state governments before 2010 in order to command that gerrymandering. They had a long term strategy in place for decades because they knew that demographics has not been on their side since the 70's.

[HuckleB]

12. All true. All too true.

[FSogol]

13. Their number two help has been Democrats dropping the ball during midterm elections.

IMO.

[HuckleB]

14. Alas, no doubt.

[Midwestern Democrat]

16. That's kind of a cop out that Democrats promote to avoid talking about the real problem.

Midterm turnout has never been at the level of presidential years - that didn't prevent us from holding the House for 60 of 64 years between 1930 and 1994 and the Senate for 52 of 62 years between 1932 and 1994. Our problem is that our current coalition makes it virtually impossible to win the House - our support is far too concentrated in urban areas.

[randome]

11. Drawing parallels between now and something that happened nearly two centuries ago...

...is probably not very useful. It's a very different world now. Much more interconnected.

But Trump is still a dangerous fool, that's for sure.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]