As we look at what is happening to the Republican Party, it may seem difficult to believe that it was originally formed as a reform party. In the 1850s political landscape, the major parties – the Whigs and the Democrats – struggled for dominance, and neither party was above anti-democratic impulses in order to achieve domination.
George Washington warned Americans in his Farewell Address not to indulge in what he called “factionalism.” He wanted every citizen to unite in order to set the new republic on the right path. Did anyone take his words to heart? No-o-o-o. Every office-seeker had his own agenda, and birds of a feather organized into political parties. Elections were bought and sold every two years (and they still are!).
Exasperated by the shenanigans of the Whigs and the Democrats, a group of reform-minded individuals gathered together in 1854 right here in River City (Aurora) and laid out a plan for creating a new political party which would put America on the path that Washington had hoped for. They called themselves, fittingly, “Republicans,” and they soon expanded their numbers in every state in the Union. In 1856, they recruited the first candidates for state and national offices; one such was a lawyer from Salem, Ill., who won a seat in the lower chamber of Congress. Sadly, this gentleman was not re-elected in 1858. But, in 1860, the Party elders nominated him to seek the highest office in the land, and the rest is history with his victory.
The Chas suspects that Mr. Abraham Lincoln would have a difficult time seeking election for any office today. The present GOP might think he would be too “woke” to suit their purposes. Critical Race Theory comes immediately to mind; MAGA-think rejects the idea that Negro slavery ever existed in these United States.
The present Republican Party is engaged in a “civil war” of its own, and members are as uncivil as it gets. There are three factions involved – moderates, the Freedom Caucus, and the Trumpites – and they toss around insults and name-calling as if they were holy writ.
They fired their Speaker of the House of Representatives for collaborating with the Democrats to avoid a shut-down of the government. The new Speaker has done the same thing, even though he is a MAGA, and his future appears dim.
They argue over whether T. Rump won the election of 2020 and whether he incited an insurrection in January 2021.
They make the most outrageous political, cultural, and religious, statements imaginable, despite having no evidence to back up their claims (Greene, Gaetz, and Boebert, anyone?).
They want to finish T. Rump’s wall on the southern border and then start the construction of a similar wall on the northern border in order to keep “illegal immigrants” from entering the U.S. (Yeah, we don’t want no “Canucks” polluting our country!)
They argue over who loves T. Rump the most, or if each other is not sufficiently loyal to him to warrant his endorsement of their election/re-election bids.
They argue over the wars in Ukraine and Israel in language unbefitting a rational person.
Basically, they behave like school children who accuse each other of cheating in a game of [fill in the blank].
And, at the center of this uncivil war is T. Rump. He is pathologically unable to keep his mouth shut and therefore creates the template for his followers’ behavior.
The GOP used to be a cohesive political body. Their ideology was often odious, but at least they were civil and promulgated their ideas without rancor. Today’s GOP, however, can be regarded as “RINO’s,” and that is just one more thing that they argue over, i.e. who is the “true” conservative and who is the RINO.
What any of them is, is anyone’s guess. I suspect that even they don’t know.
Just a thought.