In 1986, I was a 22 year old Marine and I was very much a Republican. I was a true believer in the Republican agenda: lower taxes, a prohibitive military, and the ideal that while there were some social programs that worked, many were overfunded and ineffective.
But then a funny thing happened on the way to the election of 1992. The Republican Party of my Uncle and my Grandfather became less interested in individualism, self reliance, and national unity, and more intertested in the agenda of the evangelical right and the extemists who absolutley hated government.
The ideoological shift took some time, but by 2000, it was complete. The Republicans had been co-opted by the extremists in their party, just as the Democrats had been co-opted by the extreme liberals in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
There is no single reason for this shift. It happened slowly over a period of years. I view it as more of a reaction to the successes of the Reagan Administration strategically outspending the Soviet Union on defense until it collapsed.
But the fact is that many of us in the middle of the party were left behind. Where the party used to merely be opposed to some government spending, they began to attack it. Where they used to be pragmatic on foreign policy, they became hawkish. Most important, they began to turn their backs on those who were less fortunate. The compassion was replaced by the false encouragement that if you worked hard enough, you too could be one of the one percent at the top! Nevermind that most of those at the top were the beneficiaries of generational wealth.
The change for me was complete when Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992. A moderate Southern Democrat, he recognized the need for centrist policies in order for America to grow and expand. Without Ross Perot inthe election, he might well have won the popular vote by 60%.
To be sure, the Clinton Administration benefitted from unprecendented growth as the result of the internet/ home computer boom. But the fact is that the budget was balanced and the debt clock was running in reverse when Clinton left office in 2001.
Under George W. Bush, federal spending went up, and along with his tax cuts, the national debt began rising again.
Today, the Republicans have become a party of extremist bitter old men who have no interests beyond outlawing abortion, eliminating taxes on the rich, and screwing over the working class. And they want to know why the country is so divided. they should be ashamed.
But then a funny thing happened on the way to the election of 1992. The Republican Party of my Uncle and my Grandfather became less interested in individualism, self reliance, and national unity, and more intertested in the agenda of the evangelical right and the extemists who absolutley hated government.
The ideoological shift took some time, but by 2000, it was complete. The Republicans had been co-opted by the extremists in their party, just as the Democrats had been co-opted by the extreme liberals in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
There is no single reason for this shift. It happened slowly over a period of years. I view it as more of a reaction to the successes of the Reagan Administration strategically outspending the Soviet Union on defense until it collapsed.
But the fact is that many of us in the middle of the party were left behind. Where the party used to merely be opposed to some government spending, they began to attack it. Where they used to be pragmatic on foreign policy, they became hawkish. Most important, they began to turn their backs on those who were less fortunate. The compassion was replaced by the false encouragement that if you worked hard enough, you too could be one of the one percent at the top! Nevermind that most of those at the top were the beneficiaries of generational wealth.
The change for me was complete when Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992. A moderate Southern Democrat, he recognized the need for centrist policies in order for America to grow and expand. Without Ross Perot inthe election, he might well have won the popular vote by 60%.
To be sure, the Clinton Administration benefitted from unprecendented growth as the result of the internet/ home computer boom. But the fact is that the budget was balanced and the debt clock was running in reverse when Clinton left office in 2001.
Under George W. Bush, federal spending went up, and along with his tax cuts, the national debt began rising again.
Today, the Republicans have become a party of extremist bitter old men who have no interests beyond outlawing abortion, eliminating taxes on the rich, and screwing over the working class. And they want to know why the country is so divided. they should be ashamed.
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