Didn’t we once have a two-party system where both parties behaved reasonably?
I was 10 years old in 1960 when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon ran against each other for the presidency. In one of their debates, I believe it was Nixon, the Republican, who said that he and Kennedy, the Democrat, both wanted essentially the same things for America. The only difference was that one party saw progress as something to be done more slowly than the other.
The fact was that the difference between liberal and conservative wasn’t as large a gap as it is now.
Both parties believed in progress. Conservatives just wanted it to happen more slowly than liberals.
Both parties believed in essentially the same things, including the fact that rich people and profitable corporations should pay taxes.
There certainly were people at both ends of the spectrum. Radicals on the left wanted bigger, faster change. Reactionaries on the right not only wanted no progress, they wanted to eliminate some of it and go back to the way things were.
Then there was Ronald Reagan.
Reagan, who didn’t believe government was a positive force.
Reagan, who believed only people who weren’t good enough to make it in the private sector would go to work for the government.
Reagan, who thought rich people should pay much lower taxes.
And of course Reagan led first to George W. Bush and then to Donald Trump.
In the process, the Republican Party essentially ceased to exist.
That was never more apparent than this week. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate negotiated a compromise on the toughest issue facing Congress — immigration.
Democrats essentially gave Republicans everything they wanted, including the possibility of closing the border to get things under control.
The chief Republican negotiator, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, is a. hard-core conservative.. He believed he had negotiated the best deal Republicans would ever get. Imagine his shock when Donald Trump said no.
Trump said he didn’t want the issue solved now because President Biden would get credit for it.
Trump said immigration was HIS issue and he wanted Republicans to block any progress on it.
They voted it down in the Senate, but even if it had passed the Senate, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wouldn’t allow a vote in the House.
Adios, Republican Paqrty.
Hello, MAGA.