Thread by @BamaStephen

1. There is an interesting, painful, necessary conversation/debate happening among principled Conservatives whom I admire. Some say the #Republican Party was always inherently deeply flawed and that today’s #Trumpist #GQP is simply a natural progression of this process.
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2. Others say the #Republican Party was not always a haven for conspiracy theorists, racists, populist nationalists, theocrats; that it once was a party that valued the Constitution, competence, character, and integrity, in addition to Conservative policies.
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3. May I say, both perspectives have merit? For decades, a profound tension has existed within the #Republican Party — the Conservative statesmanship vs the angry populism; appeals to aspiration vs appeals to fear and grievance. John Birch Society called Ike a “Communist!”
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4. The same party that stood for Civil Rights in the 1960s later absorbed the racist “Dixiecrats” and became increasingly the party of white grievance. This tension ebbed and flowed, but flared up again in 1992 with the ascension of Pat Buchanan, who, along with ... ->

5. ... Populist Democrat George Wallace form the spiritual fatherhood of Donald Trump. After 1992, though Bob Dole, George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney were #GOP Presidential nominees, the “establishment” was no longer in ascension in the #Republican Party. And with ->

6. ... the rise of Internet and social media, the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, and the celebrity status of Trump — coupled with deep frustration with the Obama Presidency (and some personal animus fueled by racism), many Republicans were willing to “make a deal with the devil” ... ->

7. ... and “own the Libs” no matter what it cost them. Blindly pursuing “winning” and “power” — even if only for the short term — became the Republican raison d'être. Integrity, competence, principles were jettisoned. Longtime Conservative champions were scorned. And the GOP ->

8. “Brain trust” moved from competent, principled leadership to grifting pundits on talk radio, Fox News, sketchy websites, and Russian bots and trolls, who stoked flames of fear and outrage and cried out for a “messiah” to save them. #GOP mutated into a cult of personality. ->

9. So, let’s acknowledge the complex DNA of the modern #Republican Party. Some of the past is beautiful and some is ugly. What it has become now is a combination of many factors. I don’t know if it is salvageable now; I’m #ExGOP since 2016-2017 after 37 years of activism. ->

10. I respect these voices, even if we may sometimes disagree.

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