[Salon] This Is Not The Republican Party I Remember - Guest Post by Allan Brownfeld

This Is Not The Republican Party I Remember BY Allan C.Brownfeld ————————————————————————————————- For many years, I was active in the Republican Party. When I was in college,many years ago, I served as College Secretary of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia. Those were the years of segregation. The Democratic Party of Virginia, led by Sen.Harry F.Byrd, embraced segregation. After the Brown decision in 1954 when the Supreme Court declared segregation unconstitutional, Virginia Democrats closed the public schools rather than integrate them. Virginia Republicans vocally opposed this continuing embrace of segregation. Later, after I graduated from law school, I worked for a number of years in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In one position, I worked as assistant to the Research Director of the House Republican Conference. Our office was in the U.S. Capitol. Among the members of our steering committee were two future presidents of the United States, Reps. George H. W. Bush of Texas and Gerald Ford of Michigan. I never heard them speak Ill of the Democrats. Their goal was to form coalitions and convince the Democrats that the legislation we were putting together was best for the country. In those years, Republicans and Democrats did not view one another as “enemies,” as many do today. In those days,working together, members of both parties advanced civil rights and won the Cold War. Ronald Reagan, the Republican President, and Tip 0’Neill, the Democratic Speaker of the House, worked closely together—-and became friends. That kind of relationship would be unthinkable in today’s ultra-partisan Washington. When the U.S.Capitol was assaulted on Jan. 6, 2021, I took it personally, having had an office in that very building. It is hard to believe that in June, 2024, two former law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol from rioters were jeered by Republican lawmakers as they visited the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and former sergeant Aquillino Gonell were introduced on the floor as “heroes” by Speaker Joanna McClinton for having “bravely defended democracy in the United States Capitol against rioters and insurrection on January 6.” As the men, both of whom were injured by rioters, were introduced, the Pennsylvania House floor descended into chaos. Several Republican lawmakers hissed and booed and a number of Republicans walked out of the chamber. “I heard some hissing and I saw some of my Republican colleagues walking out angrily as they were announced as police officers from the U.S.Capitol on Jan. 6,” said state Rep.Arvind Venkat (D). “I was shocked and appalled.” Officer Dunn issued a statement declaring, “it was sad though unsurprising that Donald Trump’s allies in the Pennsylvania state House followed his lead in mocking the January 6 attack. The fact they’re scared to listen to those of us who were there and witnessed the political violence of January 6 first hand speaks volumes.” Officer Gonnell was battered in the Capitol riot , and both of his hands were injured as he blocked an attacker from swinging a PVC pipe at an officer who wasn’t wearing a helmet. After the walkout, the Iraq War veteran accused Pennsylvania House Republicans of having “abandoned the truth” and “sided with those who attacked us.” Many traditional Republicans are concerned with the direction in which today’s Republican Party is moving. In an important article in the Washington Post, three former Republican Senators,John Danforth of Missouri, Alan Simpson of Wyoming, and William Cohen of Maine, write: “We believe our nation’s well-being depends on having the positive, stabilizing influence of a healthy two-party system, which we currently do not have; and that one of those parties must reflect the traditional Republicanism that we embraced in our decades of public service. Recently it has become popular to assert that this traditional brand of Republicanism is dead, replaced by a new populist version. We disagree. In our view, traditional Republicanism, though currently in eclipse, is no more extinct than the sun was over portions of the country on April 8. And all of us who believe in it must do what we can to ensure it’s expeditious return.” The former senators announced the creation of a new organization,”Our Republican Legacy.” Among its principles, they declare is to support and defend the Constitution, including “acceptance of the vote of the people, obedience to the decisions of our courts and support for the peaceful transfer of power…we think Jan. 6, 2021 …was one of the darkest days in U.S. history, and the events leading to that assault were direct attacks on our constitutional order.” Beyond this, the former senators declare that, in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, Republicans must stand “against the divisive tactics of both right and left that divide ‘us against them’ by exploiting emotions of grievance and rage…In recent years,Republicans have joined Democrats in abandoning fiscal responsibility. The profligate explosion of our national debt is a legacy of weakness the future Americans must inherit. We support the private sector as the source of prosperity against big government interventions such as high protective tariffs and price controls.” When it comes to America’s role in the world, they call for “a strong United States that is steadfast in opposing the aggression of Russia and other hostile regimes and is unwavering in support of our allies.” These three former senators have issued a challenge to those who believe that the traditional Republicanism they represent is dead. Sadly, the Republican Party I and many others fondly remember seems to have been replaced by something quite different. Let us hope it can be restored. The nation desperately needs it.