Dad took me to see General Eisenhower the day he came to Kankakee. Being the General who won "The War" I expected a giant; He and Dad were eye to eye in height. General Eisenhower counseled: "In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people's money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative."
Illinois is "Bipolar." About half of all Illinoisans live in the Democrat Party controlled Greater Chicago Area. The other half live in Republican Party controlled "down-state" Illinois where I was raised.
Down-state Illinoisans equate Chicago with gangsters and never go there. We believed Chicago politicians would control the entire state if we didn't keep them at bay by voting Republican. Governors from both the Republican and Democrat parties have been sent to prison for corruption. Party affiliation is less important than personal character.
Since 1865, when Abraham Lincoln used The United States Army to keep the states of America united, the Republican Party was the northern state home of protestants, professionals, businessmen, prosperous farmers, college professors, teachers and former slaves where ever they lived. Republicans led economic development and modernization of the United States of America until reconstruction ended in 1877 then off and on until today.
Economic development was good. Railroad, iron and oil tycoons created a "Golden Age" with a very few super wealthy "haves" lording it over a myriad of poor "have nots". Despite his generally pro-business Republican outlook President Theodore Roosevelt so disliked the corruption and arrogance of the super-rich he promoted income equality by breaking up monopolies. Competition was good for everyone, industrialization soared and the nation prospered.
Addiction to gambling led to disaster. First investors, then anyone with a little cash to invest, bet on get-rich schemes instead of investing in solid economic development. gambling for easy money led to the catastrophic Great Depression. Misguided Republican leadership then made things worse. Franklin D. Roosevelt saved the nation when he won the 1932 election by a landslide. His "New Deal" provided relief for all Americans instead of only for people with excess money to invest.
The New Deal defined Democrats. Promotion of government intervention in ways that made it possible for working men to earn enough to feed and house themselves and their families is what President Roosevelt promoted. The Democrat Party became the home of labor unions, blue-collar workers, racial and religious minorities (especially Jews, Catholics, and African Americans), rural white Southerners, and intellectuals.
Republicans lost elections and control. Democrats united. White Southerners, still angry over having lost the Civil War and their slaves, remained a "Solid South" block that consistently voted for Democrat Party candidates. Northern Democrats voted Democrat because Franklin Roosevelt saved the nation by sponsoring government programs that favored middle-class Americans. New Deal policies remain the foundation of the Democrat Party.
President Eisenhower was progressive. Republicans won in 1952 when the revered Dwight David Eisenhower won and Republicans took the House and Senate. Since Republicans also won narrow majorities in both houses of Congress it was possible for President Eisenhower to end the Korean War but not much else. As a result Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate in 1954.
President Eisenhower's personal popularity was demonstrated by reelecting him President in 1956. He launched development of the Interstate Highway System that united fifty states into the interconnected gasoline powered colossus that exists today. It was a time when Republicans and Democrats moved to Washington to work together for the good of all Americans.
Dramatic events lead to change. Anyone alive in November 1963 remembers exactly where they were when they learned President Kennedy had been assassinated. Televised real violence awakened Americans to the fact that it could happen here then images of violence became everyday news. The Vietnam War was televised as were assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and now local violence leads most nightly news.
Televised news casts of Jim Crow laws being violently enforced, against peaceful Black Protestors and children in the South as they tried to regain basic human rights, alerted people to what was happening there. Murders of idealistic young white college students and Christian pastors, who traveled south to support Blacks, alerted more Americans to the menace. The effect was cumulative.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was finally able to secure passage of the Civil Rights Act. He appreciated the political significance of what he had done. In his words…
The "Solid South" flipped. Black voters switched from Republican to Democrat as white voters switched from Democrat to Republican. Since whites control southern state government the "Solid South" is now firmly Republican.
Democrat Party leadership flipped. Blue-collar workers, farmers, Jews, Catholics, and African Americans who comprised Democrat Party membership sent their children to college, their children graduated, are middle-aged and in charge. College changes people. When reproductive age women and men intertwine in a free environment, where everyone is an equal, relationships develop. Many college students learn that an intelligent and attractive young man or woman is enjoyable to be with regardless of race, gender or culture, that everyone is seeking the same things. The Democrat Party is now controlled by college educated women and men who remember where they came from. It now represents the interests of citizens who want to use the power of government to forge a better now and future for all Americans.
Republican Party leadership flipped. Traditional Republicans, who often held the same elected offices for decades, are no longer in charge. It takes votes to win office and they are a minority. To obtain enough votes to win they recruited newcomers. The newcomers are very different from the professionals, businessmen, prosperous farmers, college professors, teachers and government employees and officials who until recently were in charge of the Republican Party. Most are less educated and less serious about big-picture conservative governance. Many are angry about societal change and primarily interested in winning and staying in office to gain power and personal treasure. Instead of focusing on development of governing policy they focus on divisive social issues like abortion, gay rights, and immigration and disrupt normal order, attract attention and wreak havoc.
The 2017 Charlottesville riot was a surprise. Election of Donald Trump President freed white Christian supremacists to unleash pent-up anger in ways that mirrored the emergence of Hitler. What happened in Charlottesville should have been a wakeup call but wasn't. Most people are too busy caring for their family, home and career to pay attention to politics. Americans take good government for granted and only pay attention when something impacts them or someone they care about.
The January 6th insurrection was worse. The attempt to violently overthrow our democratic republic was instigated and led by former President Donald Trump. A man who faces two felony indictments involving alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a third involving obstruction of justice and hiding classified documents, and a fourth involving hush money payments. He is also embroiled in civil cases that are likely to bankrupt everyone associated with him or his businesses. What is disturbing is that many newcomer Republicans, and even some traditional Republicans, want him to be the next President of the United States of America and that they would welcome the end of our democratic republic government as long as he is their leader.
Our Founding Fathers were aware of the danger of populism. They created a government of three equal independent branches as a way to control very human, less than honorable, human behavior. Recovery of normal democratic republic government is complicated by loss of confidence in the third branch of government; The Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court legitimacy is based on the belief decisions will be decided on a rational apolitical interpretation of The Constitution of the United States of America. Distrust is a logical outcome as long as the court is staffed by identifiably Republican and Democrat judges and there is an even more divisive issue.
The Supreme Court of the United States is currently dominated by six Federalist Society vetted judges. It is a widely held belief that the Federalist Society is closely associated with Opus Dei, a very small secretive organization that promotes religious authoritarianism. When Federalist Society vetted Judge Alito struck down the national right to abortion he said "Doing so was consistent with The Constitution of the United States." What seven of ten Americans heard "Religiously zealot Republican judges are determined to impose their personal religious beliefs on a citizenry that believes in separation of church and state".
George Washington warned us. In his Farewell Address George Washington warned that political parties are dangerous. In late September 2023 five radically extremist Republicans are making it impossible for The United States of America to pay its bills. Millions of Federal employees, to include deployed active duty soldiers, will not be paid until after these miscreants tantrum has run its course. In the words of George Washington…
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government,"
Populist tribalism is happening as I write in 2023. A Republican Senator, who never served in the military and was elected because he was famous for coaching the child's game of football, is weakening the United States of America's military by not allowing promoted military officers to take assigned posts. Another Republican Senator has prevented the installation of Ambassadors to score points with his tribe as Israelis and Ukrainians are struggling to survive genocidal invasions. Extremely partisan newcomer Republicans have made it impossible for the House to govern. Opportunists have usurped for themselves the reins of government.
People are starting to pay attention. Independents, who do not align with either party, are as of September 2023 the largest single group of voters in Arizona. In a rational world this would be a wake-up call for Democrats and Republicans if they want to win elections in Arizona.
Political Party run primary elections are a problem. When only party members are allowed to vote, the candidate who most strongly promotes that party's extreme positions, is most likely to win. As a result moderate voters may find it impossible vote for a candidate who represents them. Open primaries, wherein voters do not have to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote, are one solution. In a Top-Two Open Primary election all candidates running in voter-nominated contests appear on a single combined ballot, with the two candidates who receive the most votes running in the Final election regardless of party affiliation. Bottom-line, ability of the electorate to place representatives they trust in office is basic to survival of this nation as a democratic republic.
Politics is not a boring reality show. Living in a nation with democratic republic governance that includes checks and balances, has served us well. Citizens of The United States of America are the most free to enjoy the fruits of their worthy endeavors and frugality of any peoples on earth.
Zealots are the greatest danger to our liberal democratic republic. Our survival depends upon keeping them being elected. I am nostalgic for the recent past when traditional Republicans and Democrats moved to Washington and worked in bipartisan ways for the welfare of our nation.