Editing Republican Party (United States) (section)

=== Second half of the 20th century ===
==== Post-Roosevelt era ====
{{Main|Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower}}
[[File:Dwight D. Eisenhower, official photo portrait, May 29, 1959 (cropped)(2).jpg|thumb|[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], the 34th president (1953–1961)]]

Eisenhower had defeated conservative leader senator [[Robert A. Taft]] for [[1952 Republican National Convention|the 1952 Republican presidential nomination]], but conservatives dominated the domestic policies of the [[Eisenhower administration]]. Voters liked Eisenhower much more than they liked the GOP and he proved unable to shift the party to a more moderate position.<ref name="Nicol C. Rae 1989">Nicol C. Rae, ''The Decline and Fall of the Liberal Republicans: From 1952 to the Present'' (1989)</ref>
{{Main|Presidency of Richard Nixon|Presidency of Gerald Ford}}

==== From Goldwater to Reagan ====
{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 230
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| image1            = Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg
| caption1          = [[Richard Nixon]], the 37th president (1969–1974)
| image2            = Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped 3).jpg
| caption2          = [[Gerald Ford]], the 38th president (1974–1977)
}}
Historians cite [[1964 United States presidential election|the 1964 presidential election]] and [[1964 Republican National Convention|its respective National Convention]] as a significant shift, which saw the conservative wing, helmed by [[Arizona]] senator [[Barry Goldwater]], battle liberal New York governor [[Nelson Rockefeller]] and his eponymous [[Rockefeller Republican]] faction for the nomination. With Goldwater poised to win, Rockefeller, urged to mobilize his liberal faction, retorted, "You're looking at it, buddy. I'm all that's left."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1964-republican-convention-revolution-from-the-right-915921/|title=How the 1964 Republican Convention Sparked a Revolution From the Right|first=Rick|last=Perlstein|work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]]|date=August 2008|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220142328/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1964-republican-convention-revolution-from-the-right-915921/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-recalling-rockefeller/2014/11/21/1a615a04-711a-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html|title=George F. Will: Recalling Rockefeller|first=George|last=F. Will|author-link=George Will|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 21, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=October 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027101235/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-recalling-rockefeller/2014/11/21/1a615a04-711a-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], the southern states became more reliably Republican in presidential politics, while northeastern states became more reliably Democratic.

The GOP went on to control the White House from 1969 to 1977 under 37th president [[Richard Nixon]], and when he resigned in 1974 due to the [[Watergate scandal]], [[Gerald Ford]] became the 38th president, serving until 1977.  [[Ronald Reagan]] defeated incumbent Democratic President [[Jimmy Carter]] in the [[1980 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-ronald-reagans-a-time-for-choosing-endures-after-all-this-time/2014/10/23/d833c49e-587a-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html|title=Why Ronald Reagan's 'A Time for Choosing' endures after all this time|first=Steven F.|last=Hayward|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=December 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220023515/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-ronald-reagans-a-time-for-choosing-endures-after-all-this-time/2014/10/23/d833c49e-587a-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Reagan era====
{{Main|Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Presidency of George H. W. Bush}}
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 259
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981.jpg
| caption1          = [[Ronald Reagan]], the 40th president (1981–1989)
| image2            = George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = [[George H. W. Bush]], the 41st president (1989–1993)
}}

The [[Reagan presidency]], lasting from 1981 to 1989, constituted what is known as "[[Reagan era|the Reagan Revolution]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Troy |first=Gil |title=The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0195317107 |edition=1st}}</ref> It was seen as a fundamental shift from the [[stagflation]] of the 1970s, with the introduction of [[Reagan's economic policies]] intended to cut taxes, prioritize government [[deregulation]] and shift funding from the domestic sphere into the military to check the [[Soviet Union]] by utilizing [[deterrence theory]]. During a visit to then-[[West Berlin]] in June 1987, he addressed Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] during a speech at the [[Berlin Wall]], demanding that he "[[Tear down this wall!]]". The remark was later seen as influential in the [[fall of the wall]] in 1989, and was retroactively seen as a defining achievement.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fisher |first=Marc |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/12/tear-down-this-wall-how-reagans-forgotten-line-became-a-defining-presidential-moment/ |title='Tear down this wall': How Reagan's forgotten line became a defining moment |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 2017 |access-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108135940/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/12/tear-down-this-wall-how-reagans-forgotten-line-became-a-defining-presidential-moment/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Soviet Union was [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolved in 1991]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/12/24/ussr-breakup-gorbachev-history|title=Looking back at the breakup of the Soviet Union 30 years ago|website=www.wbur.org|date=December 24, 2021|access-date=November 4, 2023|archive-date=November 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104143442/https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/12/24/ussr-breakup-gorbachev-history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/soviet-union-collapse-timeline/31487661.html|title=The Undoing Of The U.S.S.R.: How It Happened|first=Kristyna|last=Foltynova|website=rferl.org|date=October 1, 2021|access-date=November 4, 2023|archive-date=April 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413175407/https://www.rferl.org/a/soviet-union-collapse-timeline/31487661.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/24/it-s-30-years-since-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union|title=It's 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union|website=euronews|date=December 24, 2021|access-date=November 4, 2023|archive-date=January 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109160439/https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/24/it-s-30-years-since-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union|url-status=live}}</ref> Following Reagan's presidency, Republican presidential candidates frequently claimed to share Reagan's views and aimed to portray themselves and their policies as heirs to his legacy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbU2mBCgfXkC&pg=PA133|title=American Culture Transformed: Dialing 9/11|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1137033499|year= 2012|access-date=June 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406235334/http://books.google.com/books?id=jbU2mBCgfXkC&pg=PA133|archive-date=April 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Reagan's vice president, [[George H. W. Bush]], won the presidency in a landslide in [[1988 United States presidential election|the 1988 election]]. However, his term was characterized by division within the Republican Party. Bush's vision of [[economic liberalization]] and international cooperation with foreign nations saw the negotiation and, during the presidency of Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1990s, the signing of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) and the conceptual beginnings of the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/12/02/how-george-hw-bush-pushed-united-states-embrace-free-trade/|title=How George H.W. Bush pushed the United States to embrace free trade|first=Amanda|last=Erickson|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 2, 2018|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516204027/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/12/02/how-george-hw-bush-pushed-united-states-embrace-free-trade/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bush [[1992 United States presidential election|lost his re-election bid in 1992]]. While there is debate about whether Perot's candidacy cost Bush re-election, [[Charlie Cook]] asserted that Perot's messaging carried weight with Republican and conservative voters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/did-perot-spoil-1992-election-for-bush-its-complicated-11562714375|title=Did Perot Spoil 1992 Election for Bush? It's Complicated.|first=Eliza|last=Collins|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=July 10, 2019|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=June 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609164408/https://www.wsj.com/articles/did-perot-spoil-1992-election-for-bush-its-complicated-11562714375|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Gingrich Revolution ====
{{See also|Republican Revolution}}
[[File:NewtGingrich.jpg|thumb|Official portrait of [[Newt Gingrich]], the 50th [[speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives]] (1995–1998)]]

In [[1994 United States elections|the 1994 elections]], the Republican Party, led by House minority whip [[Newt Gingrich]], who campaigned on the "[[Contract with America]]", [[Republican Revolution|won majorities in both chambers of Congress, gained 12 governorships, and regained control of 20 state legislatures]]. The Republican Party won control of the House of Representatives for the first time [[1952 United States House of Representatives elections|in 40 years]], and won a majority of U.S. House seats in the South for the first time since Reconstruction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/11/us/1994-elections-south-rising-gop-tide-overwhelms-democratic-levees-south.html|title=THE 1994 ELECTIONS: THE SOUTH; The Rising G.O.P. Tide Overwhelms the Democratic Levees in the South|first=Peter|last=Applebome|date=November 11, 1994|access-date=September 22, 2014|work=The New York Times|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006180003/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/11/us/1994-elections-south-rising-gop-tide-overwhelms-democratic-levees-south.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kennedy">{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/midterm-elections-1994-republican-revolution-gingrich-contract-with-america|title=The 1994 Midterms: When Newt Gingrich Helped Republicans Win Big|first=Lesley|last=Kennedy|work=[[History Channel|History]]|date=October 9, 2018|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428164417/https://www.history.com/news/midterm-elections-1994-republican-revolution-gingrich-contract-with-america|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, most voters had not heard of the Contract and the Republican victory was attributed to traditional mid-term anti-incumbent voting and Republicans becoming the majority party in the South for the first time since Reconstruction, winning many former [[Southern Democrats]].<ref name="NPR-gop-pledge" /> Gingrich was made speaker, and within the first 100 days of the Republican majority, every proposition featured in the Contract was passed, with the exception of term limits for members of Congress.<ref name="NPR-gop-pledge">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2010/09/23/130068500/watching-washington-gop-pledge|title=GOP's 'Pledge' Echoes 'Contract'; But Much Myth Surrounds '94 Plan|first=Ron|last=Elving|newspaper=[[NPR]]|date=September 23, 2010|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=June 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601204151/https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2010/09/23/130068500/watching-washington-gop-pledge|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2007/11/congress-runs-into-republican-revolution-nov-8-1994-006757|title=Congress runs into 'Republican Revolution' Nov. 8, 1994|first=Andrew|last=Glass|work=[[Politico]]|date=November 8, 2007|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309004632/https://www.politico.com/story/2007/11/congress-runs-into-republican-revolution-nov-8-1994-006757|url-status=live}}</ref> One key to Gingrich's success in 1994 was nationalizing the election,<ref name="Kennedy" /> which in turn led to his becoming a national figure during [[1996 United States House of Representatives elections|the 1996 House elections]], with many Democratic leaders proclaiming Gingrich was a zealous radical.<ref name="Baer">{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-11-07-1996312030-story.html|title=Revolutionary Gingrich suddenly is a centrist offering to help Clinton Election showed speaker to be 'slightly more popular than Unabomber'; ELECTION 1996|first=Susan|last=Baer|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=November 7, 1996|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=June 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601204128/https://www.baltimoresun.com/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hoover.org/research/1996-house-elections-reaffirming-conservative-trend|title=The 1996 House Elections: Reaffirming the Conservative Trend|first1=John F.|last1=Cogan|first2=David|last2=Brady|publisher=[[Hoover Institute]]|date=March 1, 1997|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019015554/https://www.hoover.org/research/1996-house-elections-reaffirming-conservative-trend|url-status=live}}</ref> Gingrich's strategy of "[[constitutional hardball]]" resulted in increasing [[Political polarization in the United States|political polarization]] driven primarily by Republicans.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=McCoy |first1=Jennifer L. |last2=Somer |first2=Murat |editor-last1=Sajó|editor-first1=András |editor-last2=Uitz |editor-first2=Renáta |editor-last3=Holmes|editor-first3=Stephen |encyclopedia=Routledge Handbook of Illiberalism |title=Political Parties, Elections, and Pernicious Polarization in the Rise of Illiberalism |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9780367260569/routledge-handbook-illiberalism |entry-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367260569-36/political-parties-elections-pernicious-polarization-rise-illiberalism-jennifer-mccoy-murat-somer|access-date=November 11, 2024 |language=en |edition=1 |date=November 29, 2021 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=9781000479454 |doi=10.4324/9780367260569 |pages=486–499 |quote=However, during the 1980s the rise of powerful and entrepreneurial politicians such as Newt Gingrich within the Republican Party, who promised to strengthen the party, were instrumental in the radicalization of this party’s strategies in the US. These strategies helped the party win control of the House in 1994 after being in the minority in 58 of the prior 62 years (Mettler and Lieberman 2020), but also contributed to the growing polarization of US politics. |quote-page=497}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lovett |first1=Adam |date=November 7, 2022 |title=The ethics of asymmetric politics |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1470594X221133445 |journal=Politics, Philosophy & Economics |volume=22 |issue=1 |access-date=November 11, 2024 |pages=3–30 |issn=1470-594X |doi=10.1177/1470594X221133445 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111020638/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1470594X221133445 |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |quote=In the 1990s, the Republican Party went off the deep end. At a first and very rough approximation, we can pin the blame on Newt Gingrich. Gingrich had been elected to the House of Representatives in 1978. The problem with the Republican Party at the time, he said, was 'that we don't encourage you to be nasty'.}}</ref><ref name="Fishkin 2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Fishkin |first1=Joseph |last2=Pozen |first2=David E. |date=April 2018 |title=Asymmetric Constitutional Hardball |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26397699 |journal=Columbia Law Review |volume=118 |issue=3 |access-date=November 10, 2024 |pages=915–982 |issn=0010-1958 |doi= |jstor=26397699 |quote=The Republican Party has moved significantly further to the right than the Democratic Party has moved to the left.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Rogowski |first2=Jon C. |last3=Jr |first3=James M. Snyder |date=2024 |title=Parsing Party Polarization in Congress |url=https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/QJPS-22039 |journal=Quarterly Journal of Political Science |language=English |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=357–385 |doi=10.1561/100.00022039 |issn=1554-0626}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=DeSilver |first=Drew |title=The polarization in today's Congress has roots that go back decades |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Pew Research Center |date=March 10, 2022 |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109025257/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Republicans maintained their majority for the first time [[1928 United States House of Representatives elections|since 1928]] despite [[Bob Dole]] losing handily to Clinton in [[1996 United States presidential election|the presidential election]]. However, Gingrich's national profile proved a detriment to the Republican Congress, which enjoyed majority approval among voters in spite of Gingrich's relative unpopularity.<ref name="Baer" />

After Gingrich and the Republicans struck a deal with Clinton on the [[Balanced Budget Act of 1997]], which included tax cuts, the Republican House majority had difficulty convening on a new agenda ahead of [[1998 United States House of Representatives elections|the 1998 elections]].<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/07/us/the-speaker-steps-down-the-career-the-fall-of-gingrich-an-irony-in-an-odd-year.html|title = The Speaker Steps Down: The Career; the Fall of Gingrich, an Irony in an Odd Year|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|date = November 7, 1998|last1 = Mitchell|first1 = Alison|access-date = October 13, 2019|archive-date = December 19, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201219165407/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/07/us/the-speaker-steps-down-the-career-the-fall-of-gingrich-an-irony-in-an-odd-year.html|url-status = live}}</ref> During the ongoing [[impeachment of Bill Clinton]] in 1998, Gingrich decided to make Clinton's misconduct the party message heading into the elections, believing it would add to their majority. The strategy proved mistaken and the Republicans lost five seats, though whether it was due to poor messaging or Clinton's popularity providing a [[coattail effect]] is debated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/did-talk-of-impeaching-clinton-damage-republicans-in-1998.html|title=Did Impeachment Plans Damage Republicans in 1998?|first=Ed|last=Kilgore|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=June 6, 2019|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=March 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316043902/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/did-talk-of-impeaching-clinton-damage-republicans-in-1998.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Gingrich was ousted from party power due to the performance, ultimately deciding to resign from Congress altogether. For a short time afterward, it appeared [[Louisiana]] representative [[Bob Livingston]] would become his successor; Livingston, however, stepped down from consideration and resigned from Congress after damaging reports of affairs threatened the Republican House's legislative agenda if he were to serve as speaker.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/clinton-impeachment/573940/|title=The Clinton Impeachment, As Told By The People Who Lived It|first1=David A.|last1=Graham|first2=Cullen|last2=Murphy|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=December 2018|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429042411/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/clinton-impeachment/573940/|url-status=live}}</ref> Illinois representative [[Dennis Hastert]] was promoted to speaker in Livingston's place, serving in that position until 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3900854/dennis-hastert-livingston-scandal/|title=How a Scandal Made Dennis Hastert the Speaker of the House|first=Lily|last=Rothman|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=May 28, 2015|access-date=May 29, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025203915/https://time.com/3900854/dennis-hastert-livingston-scandal/|url-status=live}}</ref>