By Paul Lenchner
In its 170-year history, the Republican Party has had some glorious chapters. It has elected consequential presidents who have been well-regarded by historians. Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower rank among our top-ten chief executives, and Ronald Reagan comes in at number 16 among the 45 occupants of the Oval Office. Under its stewardship, the Union was preserved, the economy transitioned from agrarian to industrial, and the Cold War came to a satisfying conclusion.
Acknowledging that American parties have always had disparate elements (recall Southern segregationists and Northern machine politicians as pillars of the New Deal coalition), by the late twentieth century, the Republican Party had a reasonably consistent message resting on three foundational principles. First, a strong national defense was necessary to preserve freedom and deter threats to security. A robust system of alliances strengthened our global position. In confronting the Evil Empire centered in Moscow and Islamist groups like Al-Qaeda, the best defense was a strong offense. If defense expenditures limited funds for domestic programs, that was a price worth paying.
Second, the benefits of an economy that was only modestly regulated generally outweighed whatever gains might come from expanding programs to help economically and historically disadvantaged groups. Environmental legislation was viewed skeptically, free trade was extolled, and the benefits of properly-controlled immigration were recognized.
Third, traditional morality and order, often with religious underpinnings, were cherished. Abortion was stigmatized, and LBGTQ people received at best grudging acceptance. Entertainment and media elites, perceived enablers of changing morals, were scorned.
To these three principles, where differences in degree and sometimes kind were evident between Democrats and Republicans, we can add a fourth principle, one broadly shared by both parties. The principle is democracy, including free, fair elections, peaceful transfer of power, due process of law rather than arbitrary action by those with power, and other tenets enshrined in law and through long practice. While these ideals were not always realized, they were not normally subjects of partisan controversy.
Things have changed as we enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century. Foreign and defense policy is the most prominent illustration of Republican transformation. Large sections of the GOP, headed by Donald Trump, now take an America First stance. Historic enemies are courted, while traditional alliances are mocked. Immediately after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Trump called Putin’s move “genius” and “savvy.” He has also backed away from the collective-defense clause at the heart of the NATO alliance, saying he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any country not meeting spending guidelines on defense.
On the economy, principled free-market beliefs have taken a backseat to blind faith in tax cuts, primarily benefitting corporations and the wealthy, as the panacea for all problems. Climate-change denial has (fossil) fueled opposition to regulation. Tariffs are embraced, and wall-building and mass deportations have become the cornerstones of immigration policy proposals. Meanwhile, some prominent Republicans, including JD Vance and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, have become more critical of corporations and more open to acknowledging the contributions of unions (Vance visited a U.A.W. picket line in 2023). This is not the economics of Ronald Reagan.
Traditional order and morality appears to be the area where the GOP has changed the least. Religious ties are still stressed, “woke” entertainment and media elites remain mortal enemies, and the revolution in gender identity remains deeply disturbing (though now the focus seems to be on transgender care and rights with matters like same-sex marriage apparently settled). Republicans remain the pro-life party, but Donald Trump’s transparently transactional behavior on this subject has given abortion opponents pause. During his 2016 campaign and his term in office, he said he would sign a national abortion ban if it reached him. He took full credit for the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. By 2024, after gauging public opinion and election results, he was saying that he would not sign a national ban and the issue should be left to the states. That position was written into the Republican platform to the profound disappointment of sincere pro-lifers like Mike Pence
The roots of the Republican policy transformation are varied. Perceptive politicians were able to tap into longstanding predispositions in the electorate including nativism with its underlying elements of racial and ethnic prejudice, anti-intellectualism, political cynicism, and nostalgia for fondly remembered (or imagined) times. Entrepreneurial candidates could play to these beliefs and sometimes ride them to victory.
Parties evolve as society changes, so we should not be surprised that the GOP is different than it was a generation ago. What is stunning is the party’s degradation. It has become the vehicle, perhaps even the plaything, of an unqualified, amoral, authoritarian figure. That this has happened says something about American parties, Donald Trump, and the American electorate.
For some time, American parties have been very permeable institutions. An ambitious person need not work their way up the party hierarchy before having a real chance to win high office. With the right message and organization, a fresh face can rise quickly. This change is arguably a good thing. Recall a young, first-term senator from Illinois who brought hope and change to the country in 2008, defeating a pack of more experienced candidates to win the nomination and a more senior colleague in November.
Donald Trump, to be charitable, is deeply flawed. But he does have a talent for self-promotion and an ability to connect with a substantial minority of the American public. His bombastic, in-your-face style and his anti-establishment persona, combined with his penchant for highlighting hot-button issues, are appealing to lots of folks fed up with politics as usual.
Finally, and most disturbingly, there is the matter of Trump’s thumbing his nose at democratic norms while bringing most of his venerable party’s officeholders and tens of millions of ordinary voters along with him. Republican officials and voters were not backed into a corner. They had lots of choices—Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, and Mike Pence, among others in 2024---who met the baseline criteria of being qualified, having some sort of moral compass, and supporting democratic values and practices. Moreover, they were not felons, adjudicated sexual predators, or insurrectionists. The inability of the Republican Party to reject this extraordinarily dangerous figure signifies its profound, possibly fatal degradation.
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