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Republican Party



  • James Comey is Deluded About Trump's Influence on Republicans

    by Julian Zelizer

    The former FBI director blamed Trump for the growing Republican hostility toward the FBI, among other government institutions. But the belief that major institutions are compromised by un-American elements has a long and deep history on the right that won't be eliminated whenever Trump happens to leave the political stage. 



  • The Debt Ceiling Law is now a Tool of Partisan Political Power; Abolish It

    by Mark Weisbrot

    There is no "ticking bomb" of national debt; the use of the debt ceiling to threaten the nation with default to secure spending cuts that damage Democratic presidents is by now a clearly established partisan trick, and the US government should no longer be held hostage to it, says an economic policy researcher. 



  • After Dobbs, Abortion Politics are Straining the Republican Coalition

    by Daniel K. Williams

    When the party could focus on appointing anti-Roe judges, the Republicans could make abortion a political issue without having to decide matters of policy that inevitably leave parts of their coalition angry and disappointed. Have they lost by winning? 



  • Why the GOP Can't Balance the Budget—and Why they Don't Care

    by Monica Prasad

    An ideological commitment to tax cuts and political unwillingness to cut entitlements (or defense spending) means post-Reagan Republicans can't balance the federal budget. Their solution has been to stop pretending to care about it. 



  • Tucker Carlson Embodies the GOP's Cynicism

    by Tom Nichols

    "If you were trying to undermine a nation and dissolve its hopes for the future, you could hardly design a better vehicle than Tucker Carlson Tonight."



  • Nikki Haley's Campaign May Capitalize on Gender Stereotypes, but at a Cost to Women

    by Jacqueline Beatty

    The former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador is seeking to separate herself from other conservatives by leaning into certain gendered stereotypes; this reinforces the idea that women leaders are fundamentally different, which has historically kept women from equal political footing. 



  • Can Republicans Rally Around DeSantis as an "Electable" Choice?

    by Robert Fleegler

    In the wake of disastrous overreach by House Republicans in impeaching Bill Clinton, the party cohered around George W. Bush as a candidate without Beltway baggage. If the party can't do the same thing in 2024, they risk being dragged down by Donald Trump. 



  • Nikki Haley's Confederate Flag Revisionism

    by Kevin M. Levin

    "Hopefully, Haley understands that a presidential bid means that she is no longer sitting in a room with the Sons of Confederate Veterans."



  • Nikki Haley's Confederate Flag Story

    The former South Carolina governor, now once again a presidential candidate, has claimed credit for taking the Confederate flag off of the state house. A timeline shows she was often more conciliatory to the powerful pro-Confederate constituency in the state. 



  • Miami-Dade has Lurched Right, but Still Loves "Obamacare"

    by Catherine Mas

    Even though conservative Latinos in Miami are generally suspicious of "socialism", the long history of local government support for medical access means that many carve out a big exception for the Affordable Care Act. 



  • Why do Republicans Keep Calling it the "Democrat Party"?

    by Lawrence B. Glickman

    The odd rhetorical device isn't just trolling—it reflects 70 years of the Republican Party seeking to define itself against the opposition even as terms like "liberal" and "conservatism" had not yet taken on stable meaning. 



  • As a History of Insurrection, the January 6 Report is a Mess

    by Jill Lepore

    The Committee delivered a potent indictment of Donald Trump's responsibility for the events of January 6, but shed little light on the origins or the future of the antidemocratic insurrection and failed to tell a compelling story about what happened. 



  • New Anthology Mistakes the Roots of the Problem as "Misinformation" Rather than Power

    by Paul M. Renfro and Matthew E. Stanley

    The new "Myth America" offers insight into some recurrent myths about history from some excellent scholars, but it hews too closely to the idea that historical lies are a Trumpian phenomenon, rather than a broader aspect of the pursuit and consolidation of power for MAGA and New Democrats alike.