HOW DID THE "PARTY OF LINCOLN" BECOME THE "PARTY OF TRUMP"?
- Joseph E. Royce
- Feb 25, 2021
- 5 min read
The drama of the second Trump impeachment trial is behind us and like the first, the verdict of innocence was predetermined despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Unlike the first trial, the evidence of malfeasance was visual exposing the darkest and deadly details of the attack on Congress. It was there for all to see unless you were willfully blind as the majority of Senate Republicans chose to be. What happened to the Republican Party? How did the “Party of Lincoln” birthed on the noble principles of unity and freedom morph into the “Party of Trump” based on intolerance and division? What impact did the Reagan years have on this transition?
Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican president in 1860. He led the nation to victory in the Civil War, ended slavery and set the foundation for reconstruction. The result was a Republican Party which dominated American politics through the balance of the 19th century up to the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the aftermath of President Kennedy’s assassination, President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During the signing ceremony, it was rumored President Johnson turned to an aide and said: “We have lost the South for a generation”. Nevertheless, Johnson won a landslide presidential victory in 1964 over Senator Barry Goldwater and his conservative platform. This overshadowed Goldwater’s victories in the southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina which ignited a slow but steady transformation from the Democratic “Solid South” into a future Republican stronghold.
“A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND” - Abraham Lincoln
In the following presidential election, Richard Nixon anticipated a tight race with Vice-President Hubert Humphrey and Governor George Wallace. To limit Wallace’s influence, Nixon created a southern strategy based on a combination of a “law and order” platform and a whispering campaign of limited enforcement of the Civil Rights Act. The result was a narrow Nixon victory where racism and voter suppression became an unspoken pillar for future Republican platforms. It would set the stage for Ronald Reagan’s presidency that would take the Republican Party even further to the right.
During his initial presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan ran against President Jimmy Carter who had strong support in the South. In order to gain Southern support, Reagan gave his famous “states’ rights” speech outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi. The location was symbolic as it was where three civil rights workers were murdered which became the basis for the movie “Mississippi Burning”. The speech reaffirmed the continuation of the Republican Party’s southern strategy while making states’ rights a divisive issue.
President Reagan’s victory installed in power the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Their distorted views on economic policy such as massive tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy created large budget deficits which increased the levels of inequality. Science supporting environmental and medical issues or business regulations came under attack when facts collided with special interests or religious beliefs. The religious right became a political force on domestic and international issues. Reagan’s relentless attacks on the credibility of the Federal Government to enhance the lives of Americans would have a long term negative impact. The Reagan Revolution combined with the rise of conservative social media planted the seeds of today’s Republican Party. Ronald Reagan became a Republican myth and the long transition to Donald Trump commenced.
In the mid 1990’s during the presidency of Bill Clinton, two factors emerged that would push the Republican Party to the extreme right. Congressional firebrand Newt Gingrich became speaker of the House of Representatives in 1995 and Fox News was launched by Rupert Murdoch on October 7, 1996. The Republicans under Gingrich’s aggressive and uncompromising style of governing would shut down the Federal Government and unsuccessfully try to impeach President Clinton. From the start, Fox News became the de facto voice of the Republican Party. As a result, partisan politics became the norm. Nevertheless, Americans were confident as they entered the twenty-first century. Little did we know what awaited us as the New Year unfolded.
The terrorist attacks on 9/11, the impact of globalization, the increasing threat of climate change and a financial crisis shattered America’s sense of superiority. All of a sudden the world was small and America was vulnerable. As people looked for answers and politicians looked for scapegoats, social media exploded with wild conspiracy theories and if that wasn’t enough, the United States elected its first black President. The door for Trump started to open.
“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMYY AND HE IS US”
-Pogo
President Barack Obama started his presidency facing the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. After years of Republican financial mismanagement and weakened regulatory oversight under President George W. Bush, the American banking system failed and required a massive taxpayer bailout. Nevertheless, Senator Mitch McConnell and his Republican cohorts pledged to do everything possible to insure Obama would be a one term President no matter how much it hurt the American people. In addition, after years of reckless spending fiscally conservative Republicans started the Tea Party movement to place further restraints on Obama’s ability to navigate the crisis. Conservative Republicans placed their party before their country. To sell their distortion of reality, Republicans turned to Fox News. Donald Trump would also turn to Fox to sell his version of reality.
Donald Trump started to gain traction within conservative Republican circles and the world of internet conspiracy theorists when he started his “birther movement”. He accused President Obama of not being born in America thereby being ineligible to be President of the United States. It was seen by most Americans as an outrageous and racist attack nevertheless there was a multitude of ignored Americans who wanted to hear more. Trump would tap into these forgotten voters and fuel their frustrations and prejudices with a combination of nostalgia and lies built around the vow to make America Great Again. A base was born which propelled Trump to the top of the Republican ticket and eventually to the White House.
Trump is a master communicator. Even though he lacks the oratory skills and soaring rhetoric of his predecessors, his use of twitter connected him to the outside world especially his base. He used twitter to spread a constant flow of disinformation as well as a weapon against real and perceived enemies. He attacked the press by labeling them Fake News. Fellow Republicans followed the party line as they feared a Trump twitter attack, while those seeking office begged for a positive Trump tweet. As Trump’s power and influence strengthened, few Republicans dared question the President. The result is an alternative world of Donald Trump merging with the world of conspiracy theories. American Democracy was under threat.
“ALTERNATIVE FACTS”
-Kellyanne Conway
All the crazy theories from Pizza Gate to QAnon, converged on Washington on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to overturn the election of Joe Biden. Fueled by Trump’s Big Lie about a stolen election, the mob attacked the Capital Building. They were repelled but lives were lost and damage was done. It was a sobering moment as the Faustian Bargain Republicans made with Trump exploded. The “Party of Trump” was finally exposed for all the world to see. Where does the Republican Party go from here? Will the explosive mix of lies, conspiracy theories and mistaken ideology continue to pose a danger to our freedom and democracy?
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