The Stronghold: How Republicans Captured Congress but Surrendered the White House
Thomas F. Schaller
Language: English
Pages: 368
ISBN: 0300172036
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
In this fascinating and important book, Tom Schaller examines national Republican politics since President Ronald Reagan left office in 1989. From Newt Gingrich’s ascent as Speaker of the House through the defeat of Mitt Romney in 2012, Schaller traces the Republican Party’s institutional transformation and the political consequences.
Gingrich’s “Contract with America” set in motion a vicious cycle, Schaller contends: as the GOP became more conservative, it became more Congress-centered, and as its congressional wing grew more powerful, the party grew more conservative. This dangerous loop, unless broken, may signal a future of increasing radicalization, dependency on a shrinking pool of voters, and less viability as a true national party. In a thought-provoking conclusion, the author discusses repercussions of the GOP decline, among them political polarization and the paralysis of the federal government.
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John A. Boehner down, who have been unable or unwilling to restrain the radicals.” He specifically cited the capitulation of House Republican moderates Peter King of New York and Devin Nunes of California, who in October 2013 voted against a stopgap spending bill that would have ended the government shutdown, as part of the long-term pattern that led to the rise of Newt Gingrich a quarter century ago: “It was Mr. Gingrich who pioneered the political dysfunction we still live with…. But here’s the
so-called Republican establishment is searching for ways to reassert control over the party. Speaking to conservative pundit Michael Gerson for a column about what he calls the “structural and technological” changes overtaking the Republican Party, Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks explained the mind-set of outside groups, including his: “You’re really seeing a disintermediation in politics…. Grass-roots activists have an ability to self-organize, to fund candidates they’re more interested in, going
Cheney misquotes the fatality rate as 146; it was 148, but see note 46. 49. Mel Steely, The Gentleman from Georgia: The Biography of Newt Gingrich (Mercer University Press, 2000), 227. 50. http://www.4president.org/speeches/buchanan1992announcement.htm. 51. Robin Toner, “Buchanan: Urging New Nationalism, Joins ’92 Race,” New York Times, December 11, 1991. 52. J. Jennings Moss, “Buchanan: Balance Books or Shut Down,” Washington Times, December 10, 1991, A4. Chapter 3. Reinvention 1. Martin
pledge and to the Clinton-Gore campaign’s detailed economic program. House Republicans demanded more than apologies: they wanted a policy reversal. Kemp predicted to the media that Bush would make a “dramatic announcement” during his acceptance speech.1 Sure enough, Bush gave Kemp and his cohorts exactly what they expected: Now let me say this: When it comes to taxes, I’ve learned the hard way. There’s an old saying, “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
party-switcher during this era of American politics. But his was an exceptional case. Since the mid-twentieth century, most party-switchers had left the Democrats to join the GOP. Most famous among them was Ronald Reagan, a New Deal Democrat with a labor movement background who became the most beloved Republican since Teddy Roosevelt. Reagan didn’t switch parties after being elected, but South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond did, breaking open the dam for southern Democrats in 1964, when he declared
