The Republican Party was not a "great party" in terms of relative position of power prior to the onset of the Religious Right. It was dying on the vine.Beardown wrote:I agree. Once a great party.Wedgebuster wrote:Tea baggers and evangelists, the extra chromosome, the invasive tumor, and the bastard step-child of what was once the Republican Party.
Looks like the only hope for the party is massive doses of chemo and radiation, potentially fatal doses.
I look at the start of the association between the Religious Right and the Republican Party as the point at which Jerry Falwell started the Moral Majority in June, 1979.
As of the end of the current Congress in 2015, it will have been 34 years since then. 34 years of Religious Right involvement in politics on the side of the Republican Party. Let's look at the relative position of the Republican Party during the 34 years before that point to the 34 years since. Reference as before and after "RR" for Religious Right.
Republican control of the House: 34 years before RR - 4; 34 years since RR - 16
Republican control of the Senate: 34 years before RR - 4; 34 years since RR - 20
Democratic Control of BOTH HOUSES: 34 years before RR - 30, 34 years since RR - 10
Republican as President: 34 years before RR - 16, 34 years since RR - 20
Average Democratic Edge in House during 34 years before RR: 72
Average Democratic Edge in the House during 34 years since RR: 16
Average Democratic Edge in Senate during 34 years before RR: 16
Average Democratic Edge in Senate during 34 years after RR: 1
Now, Obama will remain President for 2 years after 2015. But Democrats held the Presidency for well before of the 34 "pre RR" years as well because Truman was President at the start of that 34 years and FDR was the President before that. You know that story.
When the Religious Right began its engagement in 1979 the Democrats held a 58-41 edge in the Senate, a 277 - 158 edge in the House, and the Presidency. By the time the outcome of the next election was settled the Republicans had a 53-46 edge in the Senate, had narrowed the gap to 192 - 242 in the House, and held the Presidency.
Before the Religious Right's engagement, Democrats has held both Houses of Congress for 26 straight years. Since the Religious Right's engagement, Democrats have held both Houses of Congress for a total of 10 years and never for more than 8 years consecutively.
If you think the Republican Party was doing swell prior to the engagement of the Religious Right and that the Religious Right has screwed the Republican Party up, you just haven't been paying attention to history. When the Religious Right started its engagement, the Democratic Party had been dominant for a long time; since at least the start of FDRs first term. It was way more dominant than it is now. The Republican Party has always been, in modern times, more the "opposition party" than the party in power.






