Departments

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Republican Party

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    6/17/2021

    There Once Was a Republican Fight for D.C. Statehood

    Historian Derek Musgrove's research on DC statehood shows that prominent Republicans, including conservative Barry Goldwater and segregationist Strom Thurmond, have strongly supported the cause in the past. 

  • SOURCE: Jacobin
    6/5/2021

    There’s Less Than Two Years to Save American Democracy

    Voting Rights scholar Ari Berman discusses the past, present, and future of the ballot, and the parallels between the overthrow of Reconstruction-era voting rights and today's proposals to empower state legislatures and suppress the vote. 

  • SOURCE: Substack
    6/4/2021

    9/11 and 1/6: How an American Nightmare Becomes Real

    by Timothy Snyder

    A historian and analyst of democratic collapse describes a slow-moving nightmare unfolding to ensure minoritarian rule. Will Americans, and their elected representatives, wake up in time? 

  • 6/6/2021

    The New Meaning of "The Loyal Opposition"

    by Glenn C. Altschuler

    The concept of a loyal opposition depends on the deference of non-governing parties to the authority of democratic institutions and the normative framework in which they operate. That deference seems to be collapsing. 

  • SOURCE: Substack
    6/3/2021

    We Don't Need a Commission to Study January 6

    by Claire Potter

    The Republicans' success in blocking a January 6 Commission is a disturbing sign of political extremism in one party, but there's no reason to believe that such a commission would have solved the problems underlying the insurrection.

  • 5/30/2021

    The Post-Trump GOP: Rebirth or Stillbirth?

    by Michael A. Genovese

    The Republicans are betting that sticking with Trump's MAGA posture will usher in a political realignment with a broader GOP base. History shows that with anger and resentment standing in for a substantive policy agenda that meets the challenges of the times such a realignment is unlikely.

  • SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
    5/20/2021

    What Liberal Comparisons between Bush-Cheney and Trump Get Wrong

    by Joseph Stieb

    Liberal critics of Liz Cheney have suggested she's a hypocrite, blasting Trump's "Big Lie" while having championed the deceptions that led to the Iraq War. This is an imperfect comparison, which ignores the real lessons of Iraq – that fixing the fact-finding process to fit a policy is a common and continuing danger. 

  • 5/16/2021

    Are Republicans Courting Disaster with Trumpist Loyalty Tests?

    by Michael Landis

    The Antebellum Democratic Party purged itself of members who were insufficiently dedicated to slavery and white supremacy. It ended badly for the party and worse for the country. Will the Trump-dominated Republicans today heed the warning? 

  • SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
    5/12/2021

    House Republicans’ Leadership Fight Signals A New Direction

    by Zack C. Smith

    Intramural leadership fights in Congress are nothing new; a battle for Republican leadership that began with the Reagan Revolution led ove a decade to a party committed to confrontation. It remains to be seen what the fallout will be from today's purge of Liz Cheney from the Republican House leadership. 

  • SOURCE: Heather Cox Richardson
    4/7/2021

    April 6, 2021: On the Republican Party

    by Heather Cox Richardson

    Since the time of Lincoln, the Republican Party has been part of a bipartisan understanding that expanding the nation's infrastructure – meaning investing in all sorts of supports to economic and social activity – has been a boon to prosperity. That commitment is fraying today. 

  • SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
    3/26/2021

    Bill Brock was the Forgotten Father of the Modern GOP

    by Seth Blumenthal

    Bill Brock lost two related battles: to keep the Republican Party establishment in charge of conservative policy priorities and to marry fiscal conservatism with some more moderate positions on social issues. A biographer argues that conservatism and the country are worse off for not following Brock. 

  • 3/21/2021

    Rally 'Round the Rune: Fascist Echoes of the CPAC Stage

    by Mark Auslander and Jay Ball

    The incorporation of a Norse rune associated with the SS into the stage of the recent CPAC conference probably isn't an accident; the choice reflects the cultural cachet of Norse myth on the far right, the conservative movement's desire to maintain deniability about its ties to the far right, and the recognition that the design would be crystal clear to viewers of internet memes.