Full disclosure: Genetically, I am 50% Republican, the offspring of a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican. Environmentally, I should be about 60-70% Republican, because I grew up in a Republican stronghold, a Connecticut suburb of New York City.
What’s more , I am old enough (83 today!) to have strong memories of the “Grand Old Party (GOP), many of whose politicians often (but not always) put the public interest ahead of politics. These Republican men and women had brains, courage, insight, and a strong love of America. In the U.S. Senate alone, the list includes Margaret Chase Smith, Howard Baker, Jacob Javits, Edward Brooke, Charles Percy, Bob Dole, Barry Goldwater, Mark Hatfield, Charles ‘Mac’ Mathias, Bill Brock, John Danforth, John Heinz, Richard Lugar, Nancy Kasselbaum, Wayne Morse, Everett Dirksen, Elizabeth Dole, Alan Simpson, John Chafee, William Cohen, Warren Rudman, Arlen Spector, John McCain, Jim Jeffords, Lowell Weicker, and Olympia Snowe. (Spector later became a Democrat; Jeffords an Independent.)
Today, sadly, you can count the Republican politicians with those characteristics on the fingers of one hand. Today’s GOP is anti-public education, anti-public transportation, anti-public libraries, anti-public health, anti-public parks, anti-conservation, and generally opposed to anything and everything connected with the notion of a ‘common good.’
The conventional wisdom blames Donald Trump, but the rot in the Grand Old Party began well before he emerged. I think its roots are in the Reagan era, when ‘greed is good’ became a popular mantra. Before too long, GOP came to stand for “Greedy Old Politicians.”
Since Donald Trump took over the GOP, it has plummeted to unimaginable depths of greed, cynicism, and depravity. I submit that today “GOP” stands for “Greedy Opportunistic P*ussy Grabbers.”
Can anyone put ‘public’ back the Republican Party? Without ‘public,’ Republican is simply REANS, which I suppose stands for Regressive, Extremist, Antediluvian, Narcissistic Sycophants.” That’s a tragedy for the country, which needs a robust two-party system. That’s why the 50% of me that’s genetically Republican is hoping and praying that a Democratic rout thisNovember will bury the current GOP and lead to a rebirth of a strong, principled Republican party.
The Merrow Report 
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Bravo John !
I am very proud to be a fellow ’63 Classmate of such a learned and distinguished journalist
Thankyou for sharing your thoughts and for having the the courage to publically announce the transfer of your allegience to the Blue Team atleast for this election.
Larry Bailey
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Thanks, Larry. As a practicing journalist, I voted but did not register as either D or R, but, now that I am long retired, I am officially D (somewhere my Mom is smiling, and Pop is frowning!)
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I agree. You have said it just right. We need a robust 2 party system dedicated to the good of the country rather than to party. We need strength and wisdom on both sides to balance and contain the excesses of each. To paraphrase John Sloane Dickey, there is nothing wrong with our government that better people can’t fix. Let’s pray that the voters drive the “money changers out of the temple” and bring on the better people.
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Well said John and Ed.
lbb
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Hey John,
What an important post, and how true it is “Greedy Old Politicians” anti-everything that those of us with a conscience support, especially the anti-public education. As the incredible educator you are, I’m sure this is infuriating, but the Republicans and Fundamentalist Christians have been at this for a long time! Teachers should be celebrated and should make what lawyers make!
Yes, we are going to win because we MUST.
-Nancy
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When asked, I tell people that I remain an Eisenhower Republican (as indeed he was one of the heroes of my formative years) which now means I am a Democrat.
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