General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Open letter from a constituent: "I am relieved to say I no longer think of myself as a Republican" [View all]Caliman73
(11,694 posts)Republicans have always been restrained by the liberal ideas of due process and the simple fact that growth and change are inevitable.
The modern Republican party, beginning in the 1890's have been the representatives of the wealthy, which is why Roosevelt split with the party and formed the Progressive Bull Moose Party. There may have been "reasonable" Republicans in the past, but they were not "reasonable" by choice. They were constrained by the social constructs of the period.
Sorry but those Republicans who represented only a "differing viewpoint" represented the view that there is a hierarchy and that those with wealth deserve to be on top and those of use with less are subservient. Government to Republicans, serves only to reinforce the hierarchy and maintain the status quo. There was always the voice of the fringe who held the belief in this hierarchy and a disdain for the poor. The fringe, which was ALWAYS a part of the Republican Party was actually made up of those who wanted to shed the pretenses that Republicans used to maintain their public face.
The last Republican politician who did not commit some form of treason or illegal and unethical act to win the presidency was Eisenhower.
Nixon sabotaged the Peace Talks in Vietnam to win, then coordinated the Watergate break in to retain the presidency.
Reagan sabotaged the Iranian hostage negotiations then sold missiles to Iran to win the 1980 election.
GHW Bush was part of the cover up for Reagan and introduced us to William Barr.
W Bush was given the presidency with the help of dirty tricks in Florida, which was being run by his brother.
There is NO rational case for limited government, tax cuts for the wealthy, against universal health care, or most of what Republicans advocate. There may be some discussion around the edges of what constitutes excessive government power and overreach, but Republicans for the last 50 years have sought and accomplished a systematic dismantling of the government serving the needs of the majority of the people while trying to expand the government's power to suppress the rights of minorities, women, and to interdict in our daily lives through police authority and surveillance.
That is definitely the problem. Trump is the natural end point for where Republicans have been heading the last 50 years. The period of time between 1930's and 1970's where Democrats had the presidency and majorities in both houses was the backlash against the Republican excesses from the Gilded Age to the Crash. That is again, because Republicans enacted their "rational" policies of small government and "market based solutions to societal problems".