What has happened to the Republican Party?

[njb444]

The GOP used to be the party of fiscal responsibility and personal liberty. In the last 10, 20, or even 30 years, this once noble party has become extremely right-wing, it has politicized social issues that are not important or relevant to our goals as a country. Today, the remaining political figures in the party refuse to work constructively when offered a chance to do so and further distance themselves from mainstream America. As a result, moderates have become Independents, further concentrating the ideologues that were once a dilute fringe of the party. What has happened to the GOP?

[deacon666smirk]

They just keep getting more and more insane. Bush II was the final straw. Supposedly a conservative, he was a wild spender who lowered taxes and looked the other way as the budget grew ever more imbalanced. What ever happened to the Eisenhower Republicans?

[Robert]

Somehow they became a religious party focused a few wedge issues.

[brown9500v3]

It wore out.

[BekindtoAnimals22]

I'm sure they will be back. Obama and the Democratic leadership have already made the Republicans look like spend thrifts.

[AngelaTC]

The Southern Democrats had a tantrum when they had to integrate their schools, so they left their party and joined the GOP in retaliation. Now they dominate it.

THere isn't a conservative party. THere is only a liberal party and a progressive party.

BOth of them are taking my rights and freedoms straight to hell.

[Yaya]

Karma.

[kscottmccormick]

It's still the party of (relative) fiscal responsibility and personal liberty.

It is forced to get involved in social issues because increasingly government intrudes into the social life of the nation.

[piegowdealer]

Caught in a time warp?

People finally got to live in those republican ideals and decided it sucks.

[Platypus]

Eisenhower was the last real fiscally responsible Republican. Even Reagan increased spending and increased the deficit. Republicans are now too intertwined with big business, oil companies, and the Christian extremists (aka: the Religious Right). I predict a growing rift in the Republican Party between the two factions:

1. Libertarian-style Republicans (who want a free market, a small government, a balanced budget, and maximum individual/civil rights)

2. The Religious Right (who want Christian supremacy domestically and to forcibly democratize the world)

If this happened, I would quit the democrats and join the Libertarian-style Republicans (the current Libertarian party is kind of a sell out of the true Libertarian philosophy).