What happened to the Republican party?

[Arlette]

Trump's GOP shows its extremism could be a problem in November​

If former President Trump and his fellow Republicans lose in November, weeks like this might be to blame.
Why it matters: Trump is beloved by the Republican Party's MAGA base. But the far-right stamp he's put on the GOP is bursting into view in ways that are giving even some Republicans pause — and could complicate their push for the swing voters they'll need in November.

• By week's end, Trump's GOP was tied to calling frozen embryos children, appeals to kill democracy, and giving Vladimir Putin a pass on targeting his enemies.
• It's all giving Democrats another chance to cast MAGA Republicans as extremists bent on destroying rights and traditions that most Americans support.

https://www.axios.com/2024/02/24/trump-gop-extreme-maga-ivf-cpac-putin

The movement to the far right by the former GOP, now POT, is well documented and well understood. As is the cost the party has paid as MAGAist candidates have been largely rejected for their allegiance to the extremism of trumpery. It's a big part of the reason what was supposed to be the congressional Red Wave in the last election cycle completely fizzled.

Far more difficult to explain than their radicalization, which actually began in the 80's, is their choice of a current leader. He does not possess conservative bona fides. Or any coherent political philosophy for that matter. Yet he has galvanized support like no other figure in US history around his boorish personality.

As a consequence, the party has morphed in to one working on a national ban on abortions, virtually unrestricted gun ownership of any kind of gun, is in denial of the scientifically proven affect of burning fossil fuels which releases billions of tons of CO2 in to the atmosphere, support for voter suppression laws, turning back the clock on gay rights, centralized power in the hands of the executive, the right of the minority to rule, etc.

It didn't use to be this way. Repubs from Eisenhower to McCain were reasonable men who sought compromise rather than confrontation. Their impulse when addressing a national problem was, "how can we fix this?" "We" meaning both Repubs and Dems. The first impulse of MAGAists is to ask, "how can we blame this on Dems and then obstruct anything they want to do to address the problem."

It's a long story but what happened to the GOP is that they crawled into bed with the religious freaks.

 

[konradv]

It's a long story but what happened to the GOP is that they crawled into bed with the religious freaks.

They crawl into bed with whomever offers them bucks, rubles, yuan…

#MAGASELLSOUT

 

[candycorn]

What happened to the Republican party?​

Trump.

He broke it when they bought it.

 

[konradv]

Trump.

He broke it when they bought it.

The GOP had already been damaged by the Gingrich Revolution and the Tea Party. Donny just picked up
another distressed property and proceeded to bankrupt it, both financially and ethically!

#DONNYDISASTER

 

[candycorn]

The GOP had already been damaged by the Gingrich Revolution and the Tea Party. Donny just picked up
another distressed property and proceeded to bankrupt it, both financially and ethically!

#DONNYDISASTER

You can probably walk back from the hate offensive Gingrich launched. Walking back from their total divorce from reality? That is going to be much harder for the GOP in the post blob world.