Republican Party

Pat Robertson Helped Make Intolerance a Permanent Plank in the Republican Platform

by Anthea Butler

Pat Robertson lived at the intersection of public piety, apocalyptic rhetoric, and the pursuit of profit, and did as much as anyone to make the vilifiation of opponents as threats to the moral fiber of the nation a part of conservative politics. 

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. 

Inside a Key Part of the Republican Base: Car Dealers

As legally protected middlemen who do business in every part of the country, auto dealers have been political players for a century. 

Conservatives Hate Tenure (Except for Clarence Thomas)

by Tom Nichols

Right-wing politicians with Ivy League degrees are eager to attack tenure at public institutions for political gain, but won't abide questions about Clarence Thomas's integrity.

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."

You Can't Have Ideological Conflict When One Side Abandons Ideas

by Timothy Noah

Sociologist Daniel Bell described ideology as "the commitment to the consequences of ideas." If this doesn't describe the GOP today, the author wonders how well the term "party of ideas" ever applied. 

What's the Point of Nikki Haley's Campaign?

by Tom Nichols

No candidate is going to "restore sanity" to the Republican Party, even if any want to. 

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. 

The History of Consumption Taxes Shows GOP Won't Eliminate IRS

Consumption taxes are successful when they target luxury purchases and the rich. A broad-based consumption tax like the one proposed by House Republicans to replace the income tax would be suicidal to even bring to a vote. 

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. 

House GOP Invokes Church Committee, but Echoes Earlier McCarthy

While they claim to be fighting abusive government agencies, promised investigations have uncomfortable parallels to McCarthy and HUAC, warns historian Beverly Gage. 

Conspiratorialism is Now a Defining Feature of Republican Politics

While both British and American politics have become bitterly polarized and dysfunctional, the embrace by American leaders on the right of conspiracy theories as a uniquely American phenomenon. 

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.