The Great Divide in American Politics is not between Republicans and Democrats, although one could make a case that that it is. The two major parties are hardly philosophically monolithic. The Democrats are split into a Progressive element that favors group over individual identity, which I realize is a gross oversimplification, but I'm not in a mood to get bogged down in the weeds this morning.
The truth is, (and I've frequently made this point), Progressives are humorless scolds who will reject any initiative that is proposed by a 'Straight White Male, however virtuous that initiative might be, yet will celebrate any cockamamie theory put forward by a POC or LBGTQ activist. Examples include folks such as Pramilla Jayapal, Elizabeth Warren, Ro Kahanna, and the formidable Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The other wing of the Dems represent what might be called the 'Traditional', or 'Moderate' element of the party. These are the more down to earth Democrats who tend to believe in what might be described as 'American Values', (at least as compared to their Progressive brethren). Think Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi,Seth Moulton and Adam Schiff.
This wing of the Party used to be made up of the so-called 'Lunchpail Democrats': principally men, who worked in the factories and mills that made America into an economic powerhouse. But many of them fell for the siren songs of anti-labor activists who whispered into the ears of Ronald Reagan and convinced him that unions and the workers who made America great were somehow less important than the lawyers and other social parasites who work at cross purposes to the very real needs of ordinary Americans. They have been replaced by female voters who understand, as many male voters fail to do, that a robust social safety net is essential for America to thrive, rather than merely exist.
Whatever philosophical differences exist among the Democrats, they manage to Get Things Done, at least in comparison to their Republican colleagues. The divide in the once Grand Old Party might be more accurately described as a schism, which is normally a theological term, rather than a political one. But I do think that the term does accurately describe the current reality show that is today's Republican Party.
The rot that transformed today's Republican Party from a typical opposition party in a Democratic Republic into the misbegotten collection of conspiracy theorists and fabulists that they are today, requires more time than we have available.
There has always been the whiff of an anti-government cabal about the GOP that has waxed and waned over the years, but the roots of today's nihilistic Republican Party can be traced to Ronald Reagan and former house Speaker Newt Gingrich. While there has always been a rift between the so-called 'Country Club Republicans', and their more populist brothers; and the differences between these wings of the GOP were largely class-based.
The country club republicans were largely based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with tendrils reaching into the old Western Reserve and along Lake Michigan, while the more populist part of the party could be found on the South and West.
This is an oversimplification, but, as the wise lady said: "It's good enough for government work". Over the past half century, most of the country club types have been run out of the party, along with anyone who demonstrated a willingness to "...reach across the aisle...", and make common cause with the opposition to work on behalf of the American people.
Bit by bit, the ideological bomb-throwers have taken over the party, as evidenced by their propensity to make life difficult for the various GOP party leaders, particularly in the House, where they've dispatched John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, and nearly did the trick with Mike Johnson, with only the willingness of House Democrats to intervene on his behalf keeping him in the Speaker's chair.
The wild card in all this is the 'Trump Factor', which causes otherwise relatively moderate republicans to quake in fear of a primary challenge by some tin foil hat wearing challenger who never did stop believing in fairy tales, (such as the one in which Donald Trump won the 2020 election).
There are signs that the fractures within the House GOP caucus will tear it apart in an orgy of fratricidal bloodletting. As an example of what I'm talking about, consider Rep. Bob Good, (R-VA), who has endorsed a primary challenge to Rep. Don Bacon, (R-NE), for being insufficiently "conservative".
There has always been the whiff of an anti-government cabal about the GOP that has waxed and waned over the years, but the roots of today's nihilistic Republican Party can be traced to Ronald Reagan and former house Speaker Newt Gingrich. While there has always been a rift between the so-called 'Country Club Republicans', and their more populist brothers; and the differences between these wings of the GOP were largely class-based.
The country club republicans were largely based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with tendrils reaching into the old Western Reserve and along Lake Michigan, while the more populist part of the party could be found on the South and West.
This is an oversimplification, but, as the wise lady said: "It's good enough for government work". Over the past half century, most of the country club types have been run out of the party, along with anyone who demonstrated a willingness to "...reach across the aisle...", and make common cause with the opposition to work on behalf of the American people.
Bit by bit, the ideological bomb-throwers have taken over the party, as evidenced by their propensity to make life difficult for the various GOP party leaders, particularly in the House, where they've dispatched John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, and nearly did the trick with Mike Johnson, with only the willingness of House Democrats to intervene on his behalf keeping him in the Speaker's chair.
The wild card in all this is the 'Trump Factor', which causes otherwise relatively moderate republicans to quake in fear of a primary challenge by some tin foil hat wearing challenger who never did stop believing in fairy tales, (such as the one in which Donald Trump won the 2020 election).
There are signs that the fractures within the House GOP caucus will tear it apart in an orgy of fratricidal bloodletting. As an example of what I'm talking about, consider Rep. Bob Good, (R-VA), who has endorsed a primary challenge to Rep. Don Bacon, (R-NE), for being insufficiently "conservative".
But the divide in the GOP caucus isn't a matter of the degree of conservatism evinced by any individual member; rather it's the degree to which they are willing to pledge fealty to Donald Trump.
The Republican Party, at least in its current incarnation, is not at all conservative in the sense that the term has been historically understood. A more appropriate description might be to call the GOP the "Radical" Party. Another accurate descriptor might be to call it a Cult of Personality centered around The Donald; God's Messenger. But he's nothing of the sort. He's just a fat, old, grifter with a flatulence problem. I think the House will revert to Democratic control in the fall, because so many of those in the House GOP caucus appear to be certifiable.
The Republican Party, at least in its current incarnation, is not at all conservative in the sense that the term has been historically understood. A more appropriate description might be to call the GOP the "Radical" Party. Another accurate descriptor might be to call it a Cult of Personality centered around The Donald; God's Messenger. But he's nothing of the sort. He's just a fat, old, grifter with a flatulence problem. I think the House will revert to Democratic control in the fall, because so many of those in the House GOP caucus appear to be certifiable.
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