How has the Right changed

[Jolly_Penguin]

I am not sure if this thread is more suitable to Politics or History, but my inquiry is how has the right wing in the US changed over the past 20 or 30 years?

Those of you old enough to remember politics 30 years ago, how different did the Republicans behave then compared to now? Did they have different goals and priorities? Different policies? Have they shifted to the left or to the right?

My own impression is that they have become more tribal and vitriolic, especially during and since Obama era, and especially especially now with Trump. Tribalism for the sake of Tribalism feels on the rise to me.

But also many of their social policies have become more liberal I think. Their Fundy Christian aspect appears to have faded and they seem to be much more accepting of homosexuality now.

Thoughts?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I am not sure if this thread is more suitable to Politics or History, but my inquiry is how has the right wing in the US changed over the past 20 or 30 years?

Simple, they went from being a conservative part of the spectrum to a partisan to hyper-partisan party.

90s was when Limbaugh caught on fire and the GOP used partisan tactics to try and overthrow a democratically elected President.

00s was when the GOP started carrying Limbaugh's water and Fox News was itself growing like crazy in popularity and became more partisan than conservative. I remember when Dennis Hastert sounded like Rush Limbaugh in an interview with NPR. That was regarding the obstruction of 12 or so W judicial appointees, compared to the record number approved by the Democrats, and Hastert was trying to paint it as record obstruction, which it wasn't compared to the GOP against Clinton nominations and Blue Slip vetoes.

10s was when the GOP lost their fucking minds and became hyper partisan and attempted to derail a US economic recovery (well that dates back to the Fall of '08 when they refused to sign off on TARP to save the US economy). They then began using the threat of filibuster to require a super majority of the Democrats in power in the Senate. In North Carolina very recently, the GOP controlled House actually passed legislation to reduce the power of the incoming Democrat Governor! Judicial nominations were blocked en masse by the Republicans, including a SCOTUS seat which had never been done in our history. It has become impossible to tell the difference between AM Radio propaganda and the GOP.

Look at the numbers, in 8 years, Obama appointed 55 justices to the Court of Appeals. And in his last two years, he was able to seat 2 of those 55 justices. 2 in two years!

Trump has appointed 29 in less than 2 years!!!

 

[marc]

I agree with them becoming more tribal and vitriolic. I don't see them becoming more liberal on anything, and don't see them being accepting of homosexuality at all. It might be more of a backburner issue now with them focusing more on immigration. Just like how when open racism became less acceptable in the past they shifted to abortion as their go-to issue. The racism was still there, just not as pronounced.

Where things have changed is the ability to promote the propaganda. With the rise of Fox News, a host of radio hosts, and promotion of various extreme right wing online sources, the lifelong Republicans have become detached from reality. The party has become more of a cult, with 'true believers' in all kinds of nonsense. While this was originally to help the establishment Republicans manipulate people, it has become a big problem when they need to deal with realities that don't match up with the rhetoric. Then you have some of the 'true believers' actually running for office, or at the very least less competent people getting in by using the rhetoric. For example when Ted Cruz helped orchestrate a government shut down, and the other Republicans found out that he had no plans on what to do next. (decide for yourself if it was incompetence or believer in 'government=bad' for that one)

 

[Patooka]

I am not sure if this thread is more suitable to Politics or History, but my inquiry is how has the right wing in the US changed over the past 20 or 30 years?

Those of you old enough to remember politics 30 years ago, how different did the Republicans behave then compared to now? Did they have different goals and priorities? Different policies? Have they shifted to the left or to the right?

My own impression is that they have become more tribal and vitriolic, especially during and since Obama era, and especially especially now with Trump. Tribalism for the sake of Tribalism feels on the rise to me.

But also many of their social policies have become more liberal I think. Their Fundy Christian aspect appears to have faded and they seem to be much more accepting of homosexuality now.

Thoughts?

How has the American Right changed over the last 30 years? Are you fucking serious?

Rush Limbaugh was on the radio three decades ago. No difference.

Newt Gingirch declared a Fatwah against the Clintons. No difference.

Grover Norquist initiated a jihad against any tax that benefited the rich. No difference.

A Supreme Court nominee was had allegations of sexual harassment and the Republicans at the time decided that their goto opinion should be "Protect our guy, that bitch is lying". No difference.

The only difference about the US far right between now and then is you seeing it. With the advances in telecommunications (specifically the internet), the vitriol and tribalism is now open for the world on display. Hate to break it to you, but same as it ever was.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

The only difference about the US far right between now and then is you seeing it. With the advances in telecommunications (specifically the internet), the vitriol and tribalism is now open for the world on display. Hate to break it to you, but same as it ever was.

So the left has changed, but not the right? Is that why the right is now winning?

 

[Opoponax]

Hate to break it to you, but same as it ever was.

I don't know. I've seen people I know and respected go from normal, compassionate individuals to being spiteful, hateful, vindictive non-intellects over the course of a few short years. Maybe I didn't always agree with them politically, but they weren't so ... so fucking out there.

It's not that those bad qualities don't exist in all of us to some degree, but it's only been relatively recently that those qualities have been cultivated and ripened into what we see today. Other posters have mentioned Limbaugh and Fox, and that's certainly where this stuff was gestated. But it took an unapologetic, lying, anti-intellectual to finally allow them to embrace the worst in themselves and then proudly proclaim it. Maybe it's like temperament. We all know we shouldn't explode in anger and then say and do things we'll regret. Similarly, human nature can be tribalistic and it takes effort to control our less better selves. But Trump, with the support of the Republican party and its propaganda outlets, has given Americans permission to stop thinking and allowed their worst nature to be given expression. The scary part is that it's not over. We haven't seen the worst they're willing to do.

In the past, all that shit was tempered. Yeah, it existed--it was always there, but the better part managed to stay in control, or at least attempted to appear that way. That changed in the 2004 POTUS election with the Swiftboat ads. A lie, spun from unreality portrayed John Kerry as a military coward and George W. Bush as a military hero. It was the exact opposite of reality. And conservative voters believed it. That was when the GOP fully understood that they could say anything and enough people would believe it.

And then eventually Trump showed up. No politician known to U.S. history has ever so obviously lied so often. It takes minimal effort to fact check him. His background drips with sleaze, he associates with known criminals, is almost certainly guilty of multiple criminal acts, and he's a poorly spoken pig who clearly doesn't give a fuck about anything except himself.

And he's their champion.

That doesn't happen in 1988 or 1992 or 96, 2000, or even 2004.

But it does now.

So to say there hasn't been a change is highly inaccurate.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The only difference about the US far right between now and then is you seeing it. With the advances in telecommunications (specifically the internet), the vitriol and tribalism is now open for the world on display. Hate to break it to you, but same as it ever was.

So the left has changed, but not the right? Is that why the right is now winning?

The Left has shifted to the right and despite all of the "identity politics" bullshit from right-wingers, unless you consider supporting marriage rights for gay couples "identity politics", the Left has moved center to try and get approval from moderates via tax policy, environmental policy (cap and trade), and even health care reform (market based ACA).

 

[prideandfall]

The only difference about the US far right between now and then is you seeing it. With the advances in telecommunications (specifically the internet), the vitriol and tribalism is now open for the world on display. Hate to break it to you, but same as it ever was.

So the left has changed, but not the right? Is that why the right is now winning?

the right is winning for two major reasons:
1. after clinton they made it an end-goal as a matter of political course to systematically alter the "rules" within this country to make it physically impossible for democrats to be able to win elections - gerry-mandering, voter disenfranchisement, etc.
2. because too much of the main body of the democratic party is old people, radical modern day progressive ideals are incapable of being part of their core identity - and in fact, they have mostly shifted to the right in nearly all ways and aren't so much progressive anymore so much "less conservative than the GOP" which has caused steady but consistent enthusiasm loss with the progressive liberal base of the US population since about the early 80s.

the right hasn't changed and the left has primarily changed to shift to the right, even while the ideological demographics of the country largely skewed to the left because progressivism and liberalism are the natural and inevitable facets of the ongoing advancement of human civilization.

the reason that politics is so "divisive" right now isn't because of some cultural tribalism or great political struggle, it's because the majority party and the bulk of political power in this country was attained by cheating, and there's a schism in the fact that a majority political party represents a minority of the population's governing interests.

 

[prideandfall]

I don't know. I've seen people I know and respected go from normal, compassionate individuals to being spiteful, hateful, vindictive non-intellects over the course of a few short years. Maybe I didn't always agree with them politically, but they weren't so ... so fucking out there.

no, they were - they just used to think they had to hide it, what with being racist sexist assholes being out of vogue for a little while in the 90s and mid 00s.

i don't think there really has been a change in who these people are, though certainly there's been a change in how much of who they are is being let out in the open and allowed to dictate national policy.

 

[Opoponax]

I don't know. I've seen people I know and respected go from normal, compassionate individuals to being spiteful, hateful, vindictive non-intellects over the course of a few short years. Maybe I didn't always agree with them politically, but they weren't so ... so fucking out there.

no, they were - they just used to think they had to hide it, what with being racist sexist assholes being out of vogue for a little while in the 90s and mid 00s.

i don't think there really has been a change in who these people are, though certainly there's been a change in how much of who they are is being let out in the open and allowed to dictate national policy.

That very well could be true, but I think of it as the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. The angel has been garroted, disemboweled, thrown in the garbage disposal and obliterated. Now the devil has full reign.

 

[bilby]

Thirty years ago, right-wing Republicanism was characterized by people like P J O'Rourke - intelligent, humorous, and articulate, even though IMO he was wrong about absolutely everything.

None of these traits remain; And O'Rourke himself - the archetypal Republican Party Reptile - according to his Wikipedia entry:

...endorsed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. O'Rourke stated that his endorsement included her "lies and empty promises," and said, "She's wrong about absolutely everything, but she's wrong within normal parameters."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke

 

[untermensche]

The Republicans completely changed when Reagan was elected.

They became the crazy party and departed from anything real.

Their economics is fantasy economics. It has no relation to the real world.

They have won elections using issues like being against gay marriage, being against gay people in the military, being for the right of the government to punish women who do not continue their pregnancies.

They have given us the drug war. Prior to Reagan who proclaimed that marijuana was the most dangerous drug in the world marijuana laws were relaxing, as they are again. Sanity about marijuana is slowly returning after decades of Republican insanity.

The Republicans have always been against taxation but they transformed into the insane party that raises spending and lowers taxes at the same time. They are not only insane but incredibly irresponsible.

I don't have time to go on but other people who lived during that time can talk about the insanity that took place after Reagan. It is the beginning of making the Republicans the party of born-again Christians and the beginning of making gullible born-again Christians hyper pro-capitalism free marketeers.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I disagree. The change came earlier.

In the early 60's my father was active in politics, to the point of making a hopeless run for Congress as a Republican to keep the incumbent from being unopposed. (This kept his opponent at home rather than aiding fellow Democrats in other districts.)

20 years later he was voting straight Democrat despite his politics not changing.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

No, the crazy goes further back than that. For example, the craziness of the GOP during the Truman years. The craziness of the GOP when Goldwater ran for president with his promises to roll back the new deal and his attacks on Medicare and Social Security. The crazy has always been there. It is just that now it is going back to the crazy in a big way. The GOP fought FDR tooth and nail and got steam rolled for their trouble. Mitch McConnell is simply resurrecting the same old extremism from a rather old GOP playbook. The GOP craziness is always there. Sometimes it just simmers away, and sometimes it boils over. It is boiling over now. The big difference now is that the GOP has it's own press outlets now. Faux News, Breitbart, and others. AM radio spewing Extremist right winged agitprop 24/7. Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, Levin and others of that ilk.

 

[untermensche]

I disagree. The change came earlier.

In the early 60's my father was active in politics, to the point of making a hopeless run for Congress as a Republican to keep the incumbent from being unopposed. (This kept his opponent at home rather than aiding fellow Democrats in other districts.)

20 years later he was voting straight Democrat despite his politics not changing.

Yes the seeds for Republican insanity came earlier but as far as Christians the Republicans saw how they gravitated to Carter because he talked about his religion.

So Reagan talked about religion too and Republicans have been born again supporters of fundamentalist total insanity ever since.