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Republican Party (United States)

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This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. For the earlier Republican Party, see Democratic-Republican Party (United States).
Republican Party
ChairmanKen Mehlman
FoundedFebruary 28, 1854
Headquarters310 First Street SE
Washington, D.C.
20003
IdeologyConservatism
International affiliationInternational Democrat Union
ColoursRed, white and blue (Red was assigned by most of the U.S. media during the 2000 and 2004 elections, see Red state vs. blue state divide)
Website
http://www.rnc.org

The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party [1]), is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Democratic Party). In the modern political era, the GOP is usually considered the more socially conservative and economically neoliberal of the two major parties.

The current President of the United States, George W. Bush, is a member of the party and its de facto leader. The Republican Party currently has majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as in governorships and the majority of state legislatures.

Major policies that the party has supported recently include the 2003 Iraq War and issues such as across-the-board tax cuts, gun ownership rights, and a partial privatization of Social Security. The party tends to hold traditionally conservative stances on such social issues as abortion and same-sex marriage. As the party's membership is very large, many Republicans, while agreeing with the party's general philosophy of government, disagree with its stances on particular issues. For example, many Republicans support the party's positions on economic issues but not social issues, or vice versa. The same is true of the members of the opposition Democratic Party.

The official symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. Although the elephant had occasionally been associated with the party earlier, a political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol [2]. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Republican Party in Midwestern states such as Indiana and Ohio was the eagle, as opposed to the Democratic rooster. This symbol still appears on Indiana ballots.

Organization

For more information on how American political parties are organized, see Politics of the United States.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) of the United States is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as for coordinating fundraising and election strategy. There are similar committees in every U.S. state and most U.S. counties (though in some states, party organization lower than state-level is arranged by legislative districts). It is the counterpart of the Democratic National Committee. The chairman of the RNC, since January of 2005, is Ken Mehlman.

The Republican Party also has fundraising and strategy committees for House races (National Republican Congressional Committee), Senate races (National Republican Senatorial Committee), and gubernatorial races (Republican Governors Association).

Factions

Main article: Factions in the Republican Party (United States)
The Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin where the Republican Party was organized

Defining the views of any "faction" of any large political party is difficult at best, and any attempt to apply labels within a single political party is subject to some oversimplification. Nevertheless, there are several ideological groups recognized by some in the modern-day GOP, including the religious right, paleoconservatives, neoconservatives, moderates, fiscal conservatives, Log Cabin Republicans, and libertarians.

Birth

Organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on February 28, 1854, as a party opposed to the expansion of slavery into new territories, the Party is not to be confused with the Democratic-Republican party of Thomas Jefferson or the National Republican Party of Henry Clay. In fact, the ideology of the reborn Republican party is seen by some as the successor to the Federalist Party of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. However, during Jefferson's presidency, he was called a "Republican", but the reference was to the party now known as the Democratic-Republican Party. That party later split into the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. The latter was formed in the winter of 1833-1834 but was defunct by the time of the American Civil War.

The first convention of the U.S. Republican Party was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan. Many of its initial policies were inspired by the Whig Party, which by then was in decline. Many of the early members of the Republican Party came from the Whigs, the Free Soil Party, and American Party. Since its inception, its chief opposition has been the Democratic Party.

Abraham Lincoln, the 1st Republican to be elected President of the United States (1861–1865).

John C. Frémont ran as the first Republican nominee for President in 1856, using the political slogan: "Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men, Frémont." Although Frémont's bid was unsuccessful, the party grew especially rapidly in Midwestern states, where slavery had long been prohibited, and in the Northeast, culminating in a sweep of victories in the Northern states. The ensuing election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 ended the domination of the fragile coalition of pro-slavery southern Democrats and conciliatory northern Democrats which had existed since the days of Andrew Jackson. Instead, a new era of Republican dominance based in the industrial north ensued. Republicans still often refer to their party as the "party of Lincoln" in honor of the first Republican President.

Late nineteenth century

With the end of the Civil War came the upheavals of Reconstruction under Democratic President Andrew Johnson (who had bitter disputes with the Republicans in Congress, who eventually impeached him) and Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican. For a brief period, Republicans assumed control of Southern politics, forcing drastic reforms and frequently giving former slaves positions in government. This was due especially to the former slaves receiving the vote while it was denied to many whites who had participated in the Confederacy. The vast majority of African-Americans who were permitted to vote were registered as Republicans until the early 1900s. Reconstruction came to an end with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes through the Compromise of 1877.

Though states' rights was a cause supported by both Northern and Southern states before the War, control of the federal government led the Republican Party to support an active role for the federal government. The patriotic unity that developed in the North because of the war led to a string of military men as President, and an era of international expansion and domestic protectionism. As the rural Northern postbellum economy mushroomed with industry and immigration, support for commerce and industry became a hallmark of Republican policy. From the Reconstruction era up to the turn of the century, the Republicans benefited from the Democrats' association with the Confederacy and dominated national politics – albeit with strong competition from the Democrats, especially during the 1880s. With the two-term presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, the party became known for its strong advocacy of commerce, industry, and veterans' rights.

During the 1880s and 1890s, the Republicans struggled against the Democrats' efforts, winning several close elections and losing two to Grover Cleveland (in 1884 and 1892).

William McKinley's 1896 election began an era of Republican dominance that would continue with brief interruption until the onset of the Great Depression.

Early twentieth century

The election of William McKinley in 1896 is widely seen as a resurgence of Republican dominance and is sometimes cited as a realigning election. He relied heavily on industry for his support and cemented the Republicans as the party of business; his campaign manager, Ohio's Marcus Hanna, developed a detailed plan for getting contributions from the business world, and McKinley outspent his rival William Jennings Bryan by a large margin. This emphasis on business was in part mitigated by Theodore Roosevelt, McKinley's successor after assassination, who engaged in trust-busting.

Roosevelt did not seek another term in 1908, instead endorsing Secretary of War William Howard Taft as his successor, but the widening division between progressive and conservative forces in the party resulted in a third-party candidacy for Roosevelt on the Progressive, or "Bull Moose" ticket in the election of 1912. He finished ahead of Taft, but the split in the Republican vote resulted in a decisive victory for Democrat Woodrow Wilson, temporarily interrupting the Republican era.

The party controlled the presidency throughout the 1920s, running on a platform of isolationism and "laissez-faire" economics, although economic isolationism (tariffs, etc.) and laissez-faire economics are mutually exclusive. (Many believe that true laissez-faire economic policy ended with the 1896 Democratic Candidacy of William Jennings Bryan.) Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover were resoundingly elected in 1920, 1924, and 1928 respectively, but the Great Depression cost Hoover the presidency with the landslide election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition controlled American politics for the next three decades, excepting the two-term presidency of World War II General Dwight Eisenhower.

Second half of the twentieth century

File:Nixon.jpg
Despite his shortcomings, Richard Nixon's electoral victories are seen as forerunners to a GOP electoral realignment.

The post-war emergence of the United States as one of two superpowers and rapid social change caused the Republican Party to divide into a conservative faction (dominant in the West and Southeast) and a liberal faction (dominant in New England) – combined with a residual base of inherited progressive Midwestern Republicanism active throughout the century. A Republican like U.S. Sen Robert Taft of Ohio represented the Midwestern wing of the party that continued to oppose New Deal reforms and continued to champion isolationism. Thomas Dewey represented the Northeastern wing of the party that was closer to Democratic liberalism and internationalism. In the end, the isolationists were marginalized by those who supported a strong U.S. role in opposing the Soviet Union throughout the world, as embodied by President Eisenhower. However, this development did not represent the end of the story. The seeds of conservative dominance in the Republican party were planted in the nomination of conservative Barry Goldwater over liberal Nelson Rockefeller as the Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election.

One element of the New Deal coalition was the "Solid South", a term describing the Southern states' reliable support for Democratic presidential candidates. Goldwater's electoral success in the South, and Nixon's successful Southern strategy four years later, represented a significant political change, as Southern white protestants began moving into the party, largely in reaction to Democratic Party leaders' support for Civil Rights legislation. Later, the Democratic Party's support for liberal social stances such as abortion, criminal law issues such as abolition of the death penalty, and same-sex marriage drove many former Democrats into a Republican party that was embracing the conservative views on these issues. Conversely, liberal Republicans in the northeast began to join the Democratic Party. In The Emerging Republican Majority, Kevin Phillips, then a Nixon strategist, argued (based on the 1968 election results) that support from Southern whites and growth in the Sun Belt, among other factors, was driving an enduring Republican electoral realignment. Today, the South is still solid, but the reliable support is for Republican presidential candidates, and no Democratic presidential candidate who wasn't from the South has won a presidential election since 1960.

Ronald Reagan launched the "Reagan Revolution" with his election to the Presidency in 1980, providing conservative influence that continues to the present day.

Any enduring Republican majority, however, was put on hold when the Watergate Scandal forced Nixon to resign under threat of impeachment. Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon under the 25th Amendment and struggled to forge a political identity separate from his predecessor. The taint of Watergate and the nation's economic difficulties contributed to the election of Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976, a Washington outsider.

The trends Phillips described, however, could be seen in the 1980 and 1984 elections of Ronald Reagan - the latter being a landslide in which Reagan won nearly 59% of the popular vote and carried 49 of the 50 states - as well as the Newt Gingrich-led "Republican Revolution" of 1994 and its Contract With America. The latter was the first time in 40 years that the Republicans secured control of both houses of U.S. Congress, which, with the exception of the Senate during 2001-2002, has been retained through the present time. Some have suggested that the Republicans were the indirect beneficiary of redistricting through race-conscious interpretations of the Voting Rights Act that created majority-minority congressional districts that, while electing more minority representatives, tended to concentrate Democratic voters.

In 1994, the GOP campaigned on a platform of major reforms of government with measures, such as a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and welfare reform. These measures and others formed the famous Contract with America, which were subsequently considered by the Congress, although not all items passed. Democratic President Bill Clinton opposed many of the social agenda initiatives, though co-opted the proposals for welfare reform and a balanced federal budget. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives also failed to muster the two-thirds majority required to pass one of the most popular proposals—a Constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress. In 1995, a budget battle with Clinton led to the brief shutdown of the federal government, an event which contributed to Clinton's victory in the 1996 election.

Present day

President George W. Bush, is the current de facto leader of the Republican party.

With the victory of George W. Bush in the closely contested 2000 election, the Republican party gained control of the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1952. When Vermont Senator James Jeffords left the Republican party to become an independent in 2001, Republicans temporarily lost control of the Senate until 2002. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, however, Bush's popularity rose as he pursued a "War on Terrorism" that included the invasion of Afghanistan and the USA PATRIOT Act.

The Republican Party fared well in the 2002 midterm elections, solidifying its hold on the House and regaining control of the Senate, in the run-up to the war in Iraq. This marked just the third time since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election (others were 1902 and 1934). On November 2, 2004, Bush was re-elected to a second term, receiving 51% of the popular vote, becoming the first presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote since 1988. Republicans gained additional seats in both houses of Congress, leaving Democrats again in the minority.

The Republican 2004 political platform was titled "A Safer World and a More Hopeful America".[3] It expressed commitment to:

  • Winning the War on Terror
  • Ushering in an Ownership Era
  • Building an Innovative Economy to Compete in the World
  • Strengthening Our Communities
  • Protecting Our Families

Future

Thus, by 2006, Republicans will have controlled the White House for 26 of the previous 38 years, and the Congress since 1994 (with the brief interruption in the Senate). Conservative commentators speculate, and Republicans hope, that this may constitute a permanent realignment. Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political advisor, has been reported to be a keen student of the presidential election of 1896, in which Mark Hanna helped William McKinley construct a Republican majority that lasted for the next 36 years.

The predictions of some left-wing commentators, such as Ruy Teixeira and John Judis (in The Emerging Democratic Majority, 2002), see such prospects as unlikely, given that Republican voters are overwhelmingly white and often rural, two groups shrinking in relative demographic terms, while Democrats tend to win healthy majorities among Hispanics, African Americans, and city dwellers. Observers also note the inconsistent views held within the Republican Party, with dramatic differences between anti-government libertarians and social conservatives. Many liberals also argue that the victory was much closer than it would have been in the past because John Kerry was a Massachusetts liberal, was attempting to unseat an incumbent in war time, and ran a campaign considered by some to be largely inept. In the past, this combination would have likely given the opponent a landslide victory, but even with all these factors, Bush's re-election margin was the second closest in history.

Their conservative counterparts, however, note Bush's relative success among Hispanic voters, winning 35% of their vote in 2000 and 44% in 2004. However, the latter figure has been questioned by some analysts, most notably the anti-immigration Steve Sailer, whose analysis of several exit polls placed Hispanic support for Bush in 2004 at a maximum of 39%. Among African American voters, Bush — like all recent Republican presidential candidates — lost overwhelmingly both times, though he did manage to increase his support from 9% in 2000 to 11% in 2004. They also point to Republican strength in quickly growing exurbs and in the booming metropolitan areas of the South; indeed, in 2004, Bush won ninety-seven of the hundred fastest growing counties in the country.

Some commentators instead point to the contested nature of the last few elections and question whether demographics or opinion polls are currently meaningful predictors of election results.

Presidential tickets

Refer also to: List of Presidents of the United States
[1] Assassinated.
[2] Lincoln was succeeded by Democrat Andrew Johnson who ran on a Union ticket with him in 1864.
[3] Died while in office and was not replaced.
[4] Died of natural causes.
[5] Resigned.
Election year Result Nominees and office-holders President
President Vice President # Term
1856 Lost John Charles Frémont William Lewis Dayton
1860 Won Abraham Lincoln[1] Hannibal Hamlin 16th 1861–1865
1864 Won Andrew Johnson[2]
1868 Won Ulysses Simpson Grant Schuyler Colfax 18th 1869–1877
1872 Won Henry Wilson[3]
1876 Won Rutherford Birchard Hayes William Almon Wheeler 19th 1877–1881
1880 Won James Abram Garfield[1] Chester Alan Arthur 20th 1881
Chester Alan Arthur none 21st 1881–1885
1884 Lost James Gillespie Blaine John Alexander Logan
1888 Won Benjamin Harrison Levi Parsons Morton 23rd 1889–1893
1892 Lost Whitelaw Reid
1896 Won William McKinley[1] Garret Augustus Hobart[3] 25th 1897–1901
1900 Won Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt none 26th 1901–1909
1904 Won Charles Warren Fairbanks
1908 Won William Howard Taft James Schoolcraft Sherman[3] 27th 1909–1913
1912 Lost Nicholas Murray Butler
1916 Lost Charles Evans Hughes Charles Warren Fairbanks
1920 Won Warren Gamaliel Harding[4] John Calvin Coolidge 29th 1921–1923
John Calvin Coolidge none 30th 1923–1929
1924 Won Charles Gates Dawes
1928 Won Herbert Clark Hoover Charles Curtis 31st 1929–1933
1932 Lost
1936 Lost Alfred Mossman Landon William Franklin Knox
1940 Lost Wendell Lewis Willkie Charles Linza McNary
1944 Lost Thomas Edmund Dewey John William Bricker
1948 Lost Earl Warren
1952 Won Dwight David Eisenhower Richard Milhous Nixon 34th 1953–1961
1956 Won
1960 Lost Richard Milhous Nixon Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
1964 Lost Barry Morris Goldwater William Edward Miller
1968 Won Richard Milhous Nixon[5] Spiro Theodore Agnew[5] 37th 1969–1974
1972 Won
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. Nelson A. Rockefeller 38th 1974–1977
1976 Lost Robert Joseph Dole
1980 Won Ronald Wilson Reagan George Herbert Walker Bush 40th 1981–1989
1984 Won
1988 Won George Herbert Walker Bush James Danforth Quayle III 41st 1989–1993
1992 Lost
1996 Lost Robert Joseph Dole Jack French Kemp
2000 Won George Walker Bush Richard Bruce Cheney 43rd 2001–present
2004 Won
2008 Potential nominees

Other noted Republicans

Present-day

Historical

Lists

See also

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