Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Rex Tillerson

2017-02-08T21:44:40Z

Libtrash: Added office

{{Officeholder
|name=Rex Tillerson
|image=
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Renda St. Clair
|religion=
|offices= {{Officeholder/secretary (cabinet)
|of=State
|state=United States
|number=69th
|governor=
|president=[[Donald Trump]]
|terms=February 1, 2017-Present
|preceded=[[John Kerry]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}

John Kerry

2017-02-08T21:42:12Z

Libtrash: Fixed term date

{{Officeholder
|name=John Kerry
|image=John-kerry.jpg‎
|party=[[Democrat]]
|spouse=Julia Thorne (divorced) Teresa Heinz
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
|offices= {{Officeholder/secretary (cabinet)
|of=State
|state=United States
|number=68th
|deputy=[[William Joseph Burns]]
|deputy=[[Tony Blinken]]
|governor=
|president=[[Barack Hussein Obama]]
|terms=February 1, 2013-January 20, 2017
|preceded=[[Hillary Clinton]]
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Rex Tillerson]]
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Massachusetts
|terms=January 2, 1985 - January 30, 2013
|preceded=[[Paul Tsongas]]
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Mo Cowan]] (placeholder)
}}
}}

'''John Forbes Kerry''', born December 11, 1943 (age {{age|1943|12|11}}), is the current [[United States Secretary of State]] and formerly served as a U.S. Senator from [[Massachusetts]] since 1984; he was considered one of the more [[liberal]] senators.<ref>http://nationaljournal.c om/voteratings/sen/lib.htm</ref><ref>http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/cons.htm</ref> In the [[United States presidential election, 2004|2004 Presidential election]], he ran an unsuccessful bid for the [[President of the United States of America|presidency]] as the [[Democratic Party]]'s nominee, losing to [[Republican Party|Republican]] incumbent president [[George W. Bush]]. Kerry was a former Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He became extremely wealthy through his second marriage, and was spotted cruising on his luxury boat near [[Nantucket]] during the [[Egypt]]ian crisis the summer of 2013, which the [[Obama Administration]] initially denied even after being shown a picture that proved it.

Kerry's military service in the [[Vietnam War]] has been tainted with his subsequent distortion of facts regarding his tour of duty which was exposed during the 2004 presidential election.

==Military career ==
Kerry enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in February, 1966, and began active service that August as Ensign aboard the USS Gridley, a Guided Missile Frigate deployed in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]]. During his tour of duty, Kerry requested his second tour be in Vietnam, listing his preferred position as commanding a Fast Patrol Craft (PCF) or "Swift Boat." His request was granted, and on November 17, 1968 he reported to Cam Ranh Bay for a month of training.

The Swift Boats had been considered to be a safe place to be during the war, but during that time their role was changed to become more dangerous and combat oriented. During his few months service, Kerry recommended himself for the [[Silver Star]], the [[Bronze Star]], and three [[Purple Heart]]s. After his third minor injury he was permitted to request reassignment as per Navy instruction 1300.39, and felt Vietnam on April 2, 1969, less than 5 months after arriving.

Upon returning stateside, he served as personal aide to Rear Admiral Walter Schlech until March 1970 when his active duty obligation had ended. Kerry continued serving in the Naval Reserves until February 1972.

===Vietnam record===
[[Image:437px-The New Soldier.jpg|right|thumb|Kerry's book, ''The New Soldier'' with [[VVAW]] activists flying the American flag upside down.]]
Marine Corps Maj. Michael E. McBride wrote in Townhall.com, Mr. Kerry "has always had the power to clear up any of the Swiftboater challenges; all he had to do is allow the Navy to distribute unaltered copies of his service record, medical records, and DD214. It is essential that these records come from [[Department of Defense]], so that they cannot be tampered with by Kerry or his supporters. The DOD copies are the true copies of record and the only viable evidence for these matters." Maj. McBride, citing Mr. Kerry's long reluctance to do, so goes on to write, "it is unlikely that any credible evidence exists to refute the base charges of the Swiftboaters."

He concludes, "If any of my ex-squadron mates dumped on me like the Swift boat vets are dumping on Kerry, my records would have been available the next day ... ." <ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080104/COMMENTARY/847826179&template=nextpage</ref>

Kerry also claimed on multiple occasions to have been in [[Cambodia]] during the Christmas of 1968. When his claim was shown to be very improbable, his subordinates agreed that he was incorrect, but stated he was still there at a later time—a claim that likewise is considered to be dubious.<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40056</ref>

An internal memorandum for Attorney General John Mitchell from a Nixon staffer released by the National Archives in July 2007 revealed the [[Nixon]] White House had considered recruiting John Kerry. The memorandum states in part,
{{Cquote|He was asked the direct question of how he voted in 1968. He said "if he had voted (which he did not), he would have voted for Nixon." <ref>[http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/virtuallibrary/documents/donated/042671_chotiner.pdf Memo from Chotiner to Mitchell], April 26, 1971.</ref> }}

===Allegations against fellow veterans===
[[File:Winter Soldier inquisition.jpg|thumb|275px|right|Sen. [[Edward M. Kennedy]] with John Kerry during the so-called [http://www.wintersoldier.com/index.php?topic=NewSoldier "Winter Soldier Investigation"].]]
Upon returning from Vietnam, Kerry joined [[Vietnam Veterans Against the War]] (VVAW), and became a chief spokesman for the anti-war movement.

Controversially referring to US servicemen in Vietnam as having been sent "''to die for the biggest mistake in history''," Kerry alleged that the military had "''created a monster''" in the form of violence-prone American soldiers, and recounted that soldiers had personally recollected stories of having "''personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads''," of Vietnamese citizens and rampaging across Vietnam "''[razing] villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan''".<ref>[http://www.richmond.edu/~ebolt/history398/JohnKerryTestimony.html John Kerry's Testimony before the Senate Foerein Relations Committee, April 22, 1971], Editorial Notes by Dr. Ernest Bolt, University of Richmond.</ref> That these acts were "''not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command''." <ref>Ibid.</ref>

On NBC's ''Meet The Press'' in 1971, Kerry was asked whether he had personally committed atrocities in Vietnam. He responded:
{{Cquote|''There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 caliber machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the [[Geneva Convention]]s and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are [[war criminal]]s.''"<ref>[http://hnn.us/articles/3552.html Vietnam 30 Years later: What John Kerry Said on Meet the Press], George Mason University, History News Network</ref>}}

==2004 Presidential election==
:''Main article:'' [[United States presidential election, 2004]]
During his 2004 campaign for President, several groups were formed, most notably the [[Swift Boat Veterans for Truth|Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]],<ref>[http://www.swiftvets.com/index.php Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]</ref> to counter the charges of "[[war crimes]]" Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans (see below) and to call Kerry's military record into question, accusing him of inflicting his own wounds,<ref>[http://www.learnedhand.com/kerryunfitepilogue.htm John Kerry - Unfit For Command]</ref> going to unusual lengths to obtain his Purple Hearts,<ref>[http://www.archive-news.net/Articles/FD040830.html ''Forging a Paper Hero: The Mystery of Kerry’s Medals]</ref> and attacking unarmed civilians. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had been criticized, firstly because no member of the group served on the actual boat that Kerry commanded and secondly for perceived contradiction. As an example, Kerry's commanding officer, George Elliott, signed an affidavit for the Swift Boat veterans claiming that with the information he had now, he would not have recommend Kerry for the military honor, but later repudiated his affidavit, stating that Kerry had deserved the honor.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/06/veteran_retracts_criticism_of_kerry/</ref>

===Violation of election laws===
In 2007 the [[Federal Election Commission]] fined the Kerry campign $1.3 million for spending more than federal rules allow during his 2004 Presidential bid. In order to receive public funds, Kerry, a former Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and his running mate, former North Carolina Sen. [[John Edwards]], agreed to spend $74.6 million or less on their general election campaign against President Bush.<ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4269.html</ref><ref>[http://www.fec.gov/agenda/2007/mtgdoc07-37.pdf Agenda Document No. 07-37], Federal Election Commission, Washignton, D.C., May 21, 2007.</ref> In 2009 the FEC fined a [[George Soros]]-backed group $775,000 for its unregulated spending during the 2004 election on behalf of [[Democrat]]s, including Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kerry.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-501563_162-3222390.html</ref>

==Iraq War==
:''Main article:'' [[Operation Iraqi Freedom|Iraqi war]]
Kerry voted to give President George W. Bush the authority to go to [[Iraq War|war with Iraq]] in 2002, although in his 2004 Presidential bid he campaigned as being opposed to the war, and later said regarding his vote to give the President that authority, "There's nothing - nothing - in my life in public service I regret more, nothing even close. We should all be willing to say: I was wrong, I should not have voted for the Iraq War Resolution." <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/mistakes-and-responsibili_b_31482.html</ref> Kerry's initial vote on the matter and subsequent revision on the topic caused many to label him a "flip-flopper" during his 2004 presidential bid.<ref>[http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040716-083945-7626r.htm Kerry’s skewed priorities], ''The Washington Times'', July 16, 2004.</ref>

===Comments on service in Iraq===
On October 30, 2006, eight days before the 2006 elections, Kerry was a headline speaker at a campaign rally being held for unsuccessful Democratic [[California]] gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Speaking to an audience composed mainly of college students, Kerry said, "
{{Cquote|You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.}}
After being criticized from President Bush and other leaders, in an effort to be funny Kerry stated "Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how. I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy."

After two days, Kerry wrote an apology on his [[blog]], claiming to be sorry if anyone 'misinterpreted his comments'.

==Secretary of State==
Since the first February 2013 Kerry is the Secretary of State of the United States of America. In his office he supported the opposition in the [[Syrian Civil War]] and wanted to attack [[Bashar al-Assad]], but [[Russia]] could persuade him.<ref>
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/joseph-klein/russia-and-iran-roll-over-john-kerry/</ref>

After the [[Egypt]]ian military has set down elected President [[Mohamed Morsi]], Kerry said that the army had "restored democracy".<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23543744</ref>

Kerry called [[Russia]] an "Authoritarian Country".<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/curtis-kalin/reset-kerry-calls-russia-authoritarian-country</ref>

On December 28, 2016, just a few weeks before the [[Trump Administration]] was to take office and a few days after the leftist Obama Administration allowed an anti-[[Israel]] resolution to pass the [[United Nations|UN]] and break decades of policy, Kerry gave a major 72-minute<ref>Hanchett, Ian (December 28, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/12/28/nbcs-neely-kerry-speech-firing-a-flare-across-israel-he-wanted-to-give-it-for-some-time-but-wh-blocked-it/ NBC’s Neely: Kerry Speech ‘Firing a Flare’ ‘Across Israel’ He Wanted To Give It ‘For Some Time’ But WH Blocked It]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref> speech viciously attacking Israel and paying worthless lip-service to American "support" for the nation.<ref>Pollak, Joel B. (December 28, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/12/28/kerry-on-israel-peace-un-resolution/ Kerry Attacks Israeli Government, Defends UN Resolution]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref> Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] responded harshly but appropriately to the Administration's blatant betrayal.<ref>Key, Pam (December 28, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/12/28/netanyahu-i-must-express-my-deep-disappointment-with-john-kerry-israelis-do-not-need-to-be-lectured/ Netanyahu: ‘I Must Express My Deep Disappointment’ With Kerry — ‘Israelis Do Not Need To Be Lectured’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref> Other world leaders, such as [[United Kingdom]] Prime Minister [[Theresa May]], also criticized Kerry.<ref>Pollak, Joel B. (December 29, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2016/12/29/theresa-may-even-britain-pro-israel-obama-kerry-now/ Theresa May Criticizes Kerry for Anti-Israel Speech]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref>

==Books by John Kerry==

* John Kerry, [http://www.freekerrybook.org/documents/THENEWSOLDIERPHOTOS_000.PDF ''The New Soldier''], edited by David Thorne, Macmillan Pub Co (October 1971). ISBN 002073610X

==See also==
[[Previous Breaking News/John Kerry|Articles about '''John Kerry''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
==External links==
*[http://frontpagemag.com/2013/steven-plaut/john-kerrys-sympathy-for-terrorism/ John Kerry’s Pro-Terror Swiftboating]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerry, John}}

[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:United States Appointed Officials]]
[[Category:Obama Cabinet]]
[[Category:110th United States Congress]]
[[Category:111th United States Congress]]
[[Category:112th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Irish-Americans]]
[[Category:Failed Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:United States Veterans]]
[[Category:Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]
[[Category:2004 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:United States Secretaries of State]]

[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Anti Second Amendment]]

Mitch McConnell

2017-02-08T21:39:32Z

Libtrash: Fixed previous edit

{{Officeholder
|name=Mitch McConnell
|image=McConnell.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=[[Elaine Chao]]
|religion=[[Baptist]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/senate majority leader
|terms=January 3, 2015 - Present
|preceded=[[Harry Reid]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Kentucky
|terms=January 3, 1985 - Present
|preceded=[[Walter Huddleston]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
}}

'''Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr.''', born February 20, 1942 (age {{age|1942|2|20}}), is the senior [[Republican]] United States Senator from [[Kentucky]] and the Senate [[Minority Leader]] in the 111th [[Congress]]. A [[RINO]] who pushed through a [[liberal]]-favored deal to increase the [[debt ceiling]], McConnell faced [[Tea Party]] challenger [[Matt Bevin]] in his primary in 2014 for reelection, and the generally conservative electorate in Kentucky decided that the RINO and progressive-lite McConnell should stay and face the Democrat in November.

==Early life==

McConnell was born in [[Tuscumbia]], [[Alabama]] to Julia Shockley and Addison Mitchell McConnell and raised in south [[Louisville]], Kentucky, he attended duPont Manual High School and graduated from the [[University of Louisville]] College of Arts and Sciences with honors in 1964, where he was student body president and member of Phi Kappa Tau. He graduated in 1967 from the [[University of Kentucky]] College of Law, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association. McConnell gained experience on Capitol Hill as an intern under Senator [[John Sherman Cooper]], later as an assistant to Senator [[Marlow Cook]], and was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President [[Gerald R. Ford]].

==U.S. Senate==

McConnell was elected to the Senate in 1984 when he defeated two-term [[Democratic]] Senator Dee Huddleston. Since then he has been reelected four times. After the 2006 elections, he was unanimously elected Senate Minority Leader, previously serving as Majority Whip. He is married to former Secretary of Labor [[Elaine Chao]]. McConnell has been very involved in Republican party politics. He was chairman of the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]] during the 1998 and 2000 election cycles. In both, Republicans maintained control of the [[Senate]]. McConnell is viewed as a [[conservative]] on nearly all issues, receiving an 89% lifetime rating from the [[American Conservative Union]].<ref>http://www.acuratings.org/2008all.htm#KY</ref> However, he was one of just three Senate Republicans who voted against a Constitutional ban on [[Flag Desecration Amendment|flag desecration]].<ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00189</ref>

McConnell offered offshore [[oil]] drilling resolutions on the Senate floor in July 2008. He was intent on setting a trigger to initiate drilling if the price exceeds a certain mark. First he offered to drill if gasoline prices hit $4.50 a gallon. This was rejected by Democrats. Then he offered a trigger at $5.50 a gallon, $7.50 a gallon and $10 per gallon, with Democrats rejecting each offer.<ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27826 Breaking: Dems like $10 per Gallon Gasoline] Human Events, July 31, 2008</ref>

Mitch McConnell managed to hold onto his senate seat in the 2008 elections, which saw a Democratic surge, just short of a supermajority. Mitch McConnell is widely regarded within the Republican Party as an adept Minority Leader. The filibuster strategy used by the Democrats was first pushed by McConnell.

McConnell said he would join the [[gun control]] filibuster.<ref>http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/04/09/mitch-mcconnell-yeah-im-joining-this-gun-control-filibuster-n1562143</ref>

==Controversies==

In 2013, it was reported that McConnell said that he wanted to "punch [[Tea Party]] bullies in the nose".<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2013/11/22/exclusive-mcconnell-tea-party-a-bunch-of-bullies-who-me-and-karl-rove-are-going-to-punch-in-the-nose/ Exclusive - McConnell: Tea Party 'Bullies' Who Need Punch in Nose], [[Breitbart.com]]</ref> A further examination by [[The Blaze]] indicated the plausibility that McConnell was probably talking about the [[Senate Conservatives Fund]], which is known for supporting more conservative candidates over Establishment-preferred candidates.<ref>[http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/22/rumor-check-did-mitch-mcconnell-say-he-wants-to-punch-tea-party-bullies-in-the-nose/ Rumor Check: Did Mitch McConnell Say He Wants to Punch Tea Party ‘Bullies’ in the Nose?]</ref>

==External links==

* [http://mcconnell.senate.gov Sen. McConnell's Official Web Site]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Mitch}}
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:110th United States Congress]]
[[Category:111th United States Congress]]
[[Category:112th United States Congress]]
[[Category:113th United States Congress]]
[[Category:114th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
[[Category:Kentucky]]
[[Category:Rino Backers]]
[[Category:RINOs]]

Mitch McConnell

2017-02-08T21:35:55Z

Libtrash: Added as Senate Majority Leader

Republican Party

2017-02-08T21:33:46Z

Libtrash: Ryan as Speaker; McCarthy as House Leader

{{AmericanPoliticalParty
| party_name = Republican Party
| party_articletitle = Republican Party (United States)
| party_logo = [[Image:Cjjfdjfty.png|200px|"Republican Party Elephant" logo]]
| website = [http://www.gop.com www.gop.com]
| headquarters = 310 K Street SE [[Washington, D.C.]] 20003
| chairman = [[Reince Priebus]]
| housespeaker = [[Paul Ryan]]
| houseleader = [[Kevin McCarthy]]
| senateleader = [[Mitch McConnell]]
| foundation = 1854
| ideology = [[Conservative|Conservatism]] [[Classical Liberalism]] [[Neoconservatism]] [[Liberal conservatism]] [[Libertarianism]]
| fiscalpolicy = [[Free Market]]
| socialpolicy = [[Conservative]]
| international = [[International Democrat Union]]
| colors = [[Red states and blue states|Red]] (unofficial)
| footnotes =
}}
The '''Republican Party''' ('''R''') or informally the '''GOP''' (short for Grand Old Party), is one of the two major political parties in the [[United States]].

The Republican Party is the only major U.S. political party that is [[pro-life]]. The Republican Party is also pro-[[free enterprise]], pro-religious liberty, pro-[[Second Amendment]], and pro-[[traditional marriage]]. At its first national convention, in 1856, the Republican Party platform stated, "It is the duty of Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery."<ref>http://www.ushistory.org/gop/convention_1856.htm</ref>

The Republican Party was created in 1854 by anti-slavery activists, although Democrats today, who are always determined to undermine Republicans by making them look "racist", claim the two parties have somehow "switched" since then.<ref>[http://www.blackandblondemedia.com/2010/03/19/the-dixiecrat-myth/ The Dixiecrat Myth]</ref> It soon swept to control of all the northern states, and in 1860 elected [[Abraham Lincoln]] president. The South seceded, and the Union side of the [[American Civil War]] was directed by Lincoln and the new party, with help from "War Democrats." The GOP (as it was also called from the 1880s) dominated the elections of the [[Third Party System]] (1854-1896) as well as the [[Fourth Party System]] or Progressive Era (1896-1932). However the Democrats built a liberal [[New Deal Coalition]] under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and dominated the [[Fifth Party System]] (1932-1968), with the GOP only electing [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] in that era. The [[Sixth Party System]], since 1968, has been dominated by the GOP.

18 of the 28 US Presidents since 1861 have been Republicans and since that same year a Republican has won 23 of the last 37 presidential elections. The party's most recent candidate former [[Massachusetts]] Governor [[Mitt Romney]], together with his running mate Wisconsin Congressman [[Paul Ryan]], lost the 2012 presidential election to Democrat incumbent [[Barack Obama]] and his Vice-President [[Joe Biden]].

It is important to vote for someone who's more conservative on the issues rather than for a Republican due to the fact some Republicans are less conservative than typical Republicans (see: [[RINO]]).
[[image:The_off_year_nast_1877.jpg|right|thumb|1877 Thomas Nast drawing of the Republican elephant.]]

== Symbol ==
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.<ref>http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=November&Date=7</ref> In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Republican party in some Midwestern states was the eagle, as opposed to the Democratic cock. The eagle still appears on Indiana ballots.

A political term referring to the party is "G.O.P.", which was originally an acronym of "Grand Old Party". The term was coined in 1875.

==Ideology==
Historically, the fundamental philosophy and political ideals of the Republican Party are founded on the idea that societal health is rooted in personal responsibility and actions. The Republican Party holds the belief that all material things are earned, not owed. This is seen most often in the party's push for lower taxes. This is fought for in an attempt to treat all citizens equally despite income, race, gender, or religion. They also see taxes as a drag on the economy, and believe private spending is usually more efficient than public spending.

Republicans also show concerns about having big government in charge of such vital issues as food, shelter, or health care, as they believe the private sector and/or the individual are better suited to control their own lives. President [[Ronald Reagan]] who became a Republican in the early 1960s after being a [[New Deal]]er at one time, has been quoted as saying "Government is not the solution, it is the problem."

The party tends to hold both [[conservative]] and [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] stances on social and economic issues respectively. Major policies that the party has recently supported include a conservative foreign policy, including [[War on Terror]], liberating of [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq]], and strong support for democracy, especially in the [[Middle East]]. Many party members and politicians have shown a distrust of the [[United Nations]] due to the organization's incompetent bureaucracy, anti-capitalist undertone, corruption on the [[Security Council]] and in UN humanitarian programs. Along with demanding radical reforms in the UN, many Republican politicians also opposes the Kyoto Protocol due the protocol's unfair application to certain countries (especially the United States) and the fact that it prevents economic growth and slows the reduction of poverty.

The Republican Party generally supports free trade, especially [[NAFTA]] and [[CAFTA]]. It is responsible for a series of across-the-board tax cuts since 2001 that have bolstered the economy and reduced the punitive aspect of the income tax. It has sought business deregulation, reduction of environmental regulations that restrict fair use of land and property, and other policies that are pro-capitalism. It supports gun ownership rights, and enterprise zones (low taxes for investing in poverty areas). On social issues the majority of its national and state candidates usually favor the death penalty, call for stronger state-level control on access to [[abortion]], support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage at the federal level and by the states, favor faith-based charitable initiatives, support school choice and homeschooling, social welfare benefit reform, and oppose reverse racism, such as racial quotas.

In recent years the party has called for much stronger accountability in the public schools, especially through the "No Child Left behind Act" of 2001 (which also increased [[federal funding]] for schools). The party is split on the issue of federally funding embryonic stem cell research that involves the cloning and killing of human embryos. Many in the party think it unethical to force tax payers who believe this type of research is morally wrong to finance it. Historically Republicans have had a strong belief in [[individualism]], limited government, and business entrepreneurship.

In recent years, the Republican party has downplayed its emphasis on small government. Under the administration of [[George W. Bush]], the federal government has been expanded to record levels, surpassing even the Great Depression era.<ref>http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm</ref> Additionally, the Bush administration has acted to nationalize the country's banking institutions in an effort to stymie the decline of the U.S. economy<ref>http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12078933</ref>

'''''In 2016, the Republican Party adopted the most pro-life party platform in its entire history, with strong language recognizing the right to life of unborn human beings and condemning Planned Parenthood.<ref>Ertelt, Steven; Bilger, Micaiah (July 18, 2016). [http://www.lifenews.com/2016/07/18/republicans-adopt-most-pro-life-platform-ever-condemning-abortion-and-planned-parenthood/ Republicans Adopt Most Pro-Life Platform Ever Condemning Abortion and Planned Parenthood]. ''LifeNews.com''. Retrieved December 26, 2016.</ref>'''''

== History ==
[[File:GOP-presidents.jpg|thumb|300px|GOP Presidents by Andy Thomas; clockwise from far right: Nixon, Ford, Lincoln, GHW Bush, Reagan, GW Bush, Eisenhower, Roosevelt]]
The party began in 1854, at the start of the [[Third Party System]]. The '''GOP''' (or "Grand Old Party" as it was nicknamed after 1880) dominated national politics, including most of the [[Fourth Party System]] until 1932. Then the [[Fifth Party System]] (or "New Deal Coalition") was dominant until the late 1960s. Since 1968 the GOP has won 7 of 11 presidential elections (losing in 1976, 1992, 1996 and 2008). Its great rival is the [[Democratic Party#History|Democrat Party]].

===Third Party System: 1854-1896===
The Republican party began as a spontaneous grass roots protest against the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] of 1854, which allowed slavery into western territories where it had been forbidden by earlier compromises. The creation of the new party, along with the death of the [[Whig Party]], realigned American politics. The central issues were new, as were the voter alignments, and the balance of power in Congress. The central issues became slavery, race, civil war and the reconstruction of the Union into a more powerful nation, with rules changed that gave the vote to former slaves.

====Issues: Slavery====
Republican activists denounced the Kansas-Nebraska act as proof of the power of the [[Slave Power]]—the powerful class of slaveholders who were conspiring to control the federal government and to spread slavery nationwide. The name "Republican" gained such favor in 1854 because "[[Republicanism, U.S.|republicanism]]" was the paramount political value the new party meant to uphold. The name also echoed the former Jeffersonian party of the [[First Party System]]. The party founders adopted the name "Republican" to indicate it was the carrier of "republican" beliefs about civic virtue, and opposition to aristocracy and corruption.<ref>Gould (2003) pp 14-15; republicanism is explored in depth by Foner (1970).</ref>
[[Image:Lincoln seated.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president]]
Two small cities of the Yankee diaspora, Ripon, Wisconsin, and Jackson, Michigan, claim the birthplace honors.<ref>There is also a myth that the town of Exeter, New Hampshire was first by six months, but nothing came of the secret meeting there and scholars dismiss the claim.</ref> Ripon held the first county convention on March 20, 1854. Jackson held the first statewide convention where delegates on July 6, 1854 declared their new party opposed to the expansion of slavery into new territories and selected a statewide slate of candidates. The Midwest took the lead in forming state party tickets, while the eastern states lagged a year or so. There were no efforts to organize the party in the South, apart from a few areas adjacent to free states. The new party was sectional, based in the northeast and northern Midwest—areas with a strong Yankee presence. It had only scattered support in slave states before the Civil War.<ref>There was some strength in border cities such as St. Louis, Louisville, Wheeling, and Baltimore.</ref>

The first presidential nomination in 1856 when to an obscure western explorer [[John C. Fremont]], as the party crusaded against the Slave Power with the slogan, "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free men, Fremont and victory!" Democrats warned darkly that disunion and Civil War would result. The remnants of the Know Nothing movement prevented the new party from sweeping the North, and the Democrats elected [[James Buchanan]]. By 1858 the Know Nothings were gone and the Republicans swept the North. The 1860 election seemed a certain victory, for the party had majorities in states with a majority of the electoral votes. In the event the opposition split three ways, and [[Abraham Lincoln]] coasted to an easy victory, carrying 18 states with 190 electoral votes, while the opposition carried 15 states (mostly in the South) with 123 electoral votes. Lincoln had 1.9 million popular votes.

====Modernization====
Besides opposition to slavery, the new party put forward a modernizing vision—emphasizing higher education, banking, railroads, industry and cities, while promising free homesteads to farmers. It vigorously argued that free-market labor was superior to slavery and the very foundation of civic virtue and true American values - this is the "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men" ideology explored by historian Eric Foner.<ref>Foner, Eric. ''Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men''. 1993.</ref> The Republicans absorbed the previous traditions of its members, most of whom had been [[Whig Party|Whigs]], and some of whom had been Democrats or members of third parties (especially the [[Free Soil Party]] and Know-Nothings (American Party). Many [[U.S. Democratic Party, history|Democrats]] who joined up were rewarded with governorships.<ref>They included [[Nathaniel P. Banks]] of Massachusetts, [[Kinsley Bingham]] of Michigan, [[William H. Bissell]] of Illinois, [[Salmon P. Chase]] of Ohio, [[Hannibal Hamlin]] of Maine, [[Samuel J. Kirkwood]] of Iowa, [[Ralph Metcalf]] of New Hampshire, [[Lot Morrill]] of Maine, and [[Alexander Randall]] of Wisconsin).</ref> or seats in the U.S. Senate.<ref>The senators included Bingham and Hamlin, as well as [[James R. Doolittle]] of Wisconsin, [[John P. Hale]] of New Hampshire, [[Preston King]] of New York, [[Lyman Trumbull]] of Illinois, and [[David Wilmot]] of Pennsylvania.</ref> Since its inception, its chief opposition has been the Democratic Party, but the amount of flow back and forth of prominent politicians between the two parties was quite high from 1854 to 1896.

====Ethnocultural voting====
Historians have explored the ethnocultural foundations of the party, along the line that ethnic and religious groups set the moral standards for their members, who then carried those standards into politics. The churches also provided social networks that politicians used to sign up voters. The pietistic churches, heavily influenced by the revivals of the [[Second Great Awakening]], emphasized the duty of the Christian to purge sin from society. Sin took many forms—alcoholism, polygamy and slavery became special targets for the Republicans. The Yankees, who dominated New England, much of upstate New York, and much of the upper Midwest were the strongest supporters of the new party. This was especially true for the pietistic Congregationalists and Presbyterians among them and (during the war), the Methodists, along with Scandinavian Lutherans. The Quakers were a small tight-knit group that was heavily Republican. The liturgical churches (Roman Catholic, Episcopal, German Lutheran), by contrast, largely rejected the moralism of the GOP; most of their adherents voted Democratic.<ref>Kleppner (1979) has extensive detail on the voting behavior of groups.</ref>

====Politics 1854-1860====
[[John C. Frémont]] ran as the first Republican nominee for [[President of the United States|President]] in 1856, using the [[political slogan]]: "[[United States Free Soil Party#Positions|Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men]], Frémont." Although Frémont's bid was unsuccessful, the party showed a strong base. It dominated in New England, New York and the northern Midwest, and had a strong presence in the rest of the North. It had almost no support in the South, where it was roundly denounced in 1856-60 as a divisive force that threatened civil war. The 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 and agricultural north ensued. Republicans still often refer to their party as the "party of Lincoln" in honor of the first Republican President.
{{See also|Third Party System}}

====Civil War: 1861-1865====
Lincoln proved brilliantly successful in uniting the factions of his party to fight for the Union.<ref>Goodwyn 2005</ref> However he usually fought the [[Radical Republicans]] who demanded harsher measures. Most Democrats at first were [[War Democrats]], and supportive until the fall of 1862. When Lincoln added the abolition of slavery as a war goal, many war Democrats became "peace Democrats." All the state Republican parties accepted the antislavery goal except Kentucky. In Congress, the party passed major legislation to promote rapid modernization, including a national banking system, high tariffs, an income tax, many excise taxes, paper money issued without backing ("greenbacks"), a huge national debt, homestead laws, and aid to education and agriculture. The Republicans denounced the peace-oriented Democrats as [[Copperheads]] and won enough [[War Democrats]] to maintain their majority in 1862; in 1864, they formed a coalition with many War Democrats as the "National Union Party" which reelected Lincoln easily, then folded back into the Republican party. During the war, upper middle-class men in major cities formed [[Union League]]s, to promote and help finance the war effort.

====Reconstruction: Blacks, Carpetbaggers and Scalawags====
In [[Reconstruction]], how to deal with the ex-Confederates and the freed slaves, or [[Freedmen]], were the major issues. By 1864, [[Radical Republicans]] controlled Congress and demanded more aggressive action against slavery, and more vengeance toward the Confederates. Lincoln held them off, but just barely. Republicans at first welcomed President [[Andrew Johnson]]; the Radicals thought he was one of them and would take a hard line in punishing the South. Johnson however broke with them and formed a loose alliance with moderate Republicans and Democrats. The showdown came in the Congressional elections of 1866, in which the Radicals won a sweeping victory and took full control of Reconstruction, passing key laws over the veto. Johnson was impeached by the House, but acquitted by the Senate. With the election of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] in 1868, the Radicals had control of Congress, the party and the Army, and attempted to build a solid Republican base in the South using the votes of [[Freedmen]], [[Scalawags]] and [[Carpetbaggers]], supported directly by U.S. Army detachments. Republicans all across the South formed local clubs called [[Union League]]s that effectively mobilized the voters, discussed issues, and when necessary fought off [[Ku Klux Klan]] attacks. Thousands died on both sides.

Grant supported radical reconstruction programs in the South, the 14th Amendment, and equal civil and voting rights for the freedmen. Most of all he was the hero of the war veterans, who marched to his tune. The party had become so large that factionalism was inevitable; it was hastened by Grant's tolerance of high levels of corruption typified by the [[Whiskey Ring]]. The "[[Liberal Republican]]s" split off in 1872 on the grounds that it was time to declare the war finished and bring the troops home. Many of the founders of the GOP joined the movement, as did many powerful newspaper editors. They nominated [[Horace Greeley]], who gained unofficial Democratic support, but was defeated in a landslide. The depression of 1873 energized the Democrats. They won control of the House and formed "[[Redeemers|Redeemer]]" coalitions which recaptured control of each southern state, in some cases using threats and violence.

Reconstruction came to an end when the contested election of 1876 was awarded by a special [[Electoral Commission (United States)|electoral commission]] to Republican [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] who promised, through the unofficial [[Compromise of 1877]], to withdraw federal troops from control of the last three southern states. The region then became the [[Solid South]], giving overwhelming majorities of its electoral votes and Congressional seats to the Democrats until 1964.

In terms of racial issues, "White Republicans as well as Democrats solicited black votes but reluctantly rewarded blacks with nominations for office only when necessary, even then reserving the more choice positions for whites. The results were predictable: these half-a-loaf gestures satisfied neither black nor white Republicans. The fatal weakness of the Republican party in Alabama, as elsewhere in the South, was its inability to create a biracial political party. And while in power even briefly, they failed to protect their members from Democratic terror. Alabama Republicans were forever on the defensive, verbally and physically." [Woolfolk p 134]

Social pressure eventually forced most [[Scalawags]] to join the conservative/Democratic Redeemer coalition. A minority persisted and formed the "tan" half of the "Black and Tan" Republican party, a minority in every southern state after 1877. (DeSantis 1998)

====Gilded Age: 1877-1894====
The "GOP" (as it was now nicknamed) split into factions in the late 1870s. The Stalwarts, followers of Senator Conkling, defended the spoils system. The Half-Breeds, who followed Senator [[James G. Blaine]] of Maine, pushed for [[Civil service reform]]. Independents who opposed the spoils system altogether were called "[[Mugwumps]]". In 1884 they rejected [[James G. Blaine]] as corrupt and helped elect Democrat [[Grover Cleveland]]; most returned to the party by 1888.

As the Northern post-bellum economy boomed with heavy and light industry, railroads, mines, and fast-growing cities, as well as prosperous agriculture, the Republicans took credit and promoted policies to keep the fast growth going. They supported big business generally, hard money (i.e. the [[gold standard]]), high [[tariff]]s, and high pensions for Union veterans. By 1890, however, the Republicans had agreed to the [[Sherman Anti-Trust Act]] and the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] in response to complaints from owners of small businesses and farmers. The high [[McKinley Tariff]] of 1890 hurt the party and the Democrats swept to a landslide in the off-year elections, even defeating McKinley himself.

====Ethnocultural Voters: pietistic Republicans versus liturgical Democrats====
From 1860 to 1912, the Republicans took advantage of the association of the Democrats with "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion". Rum stood for the liquor interests and the tavern keepers, in contrast to the GOP, which had a strong dry element. "Romanism" meant Catholics, especially Irish Americans, who ran the Democrat Party in every big city, and whom the Republicans denounced for political corruption. "Rebellion" stood for the Confederates who tried to break the Union in 1861, and the [[Copperheads]] in the North who sympathized with them.

Demographic trends aided the Democrats, as the German and Irish Catholic immigrants were Democrats, and outnumbered the English and Scandinavian Republicans. During the 1880s and 1890s, the Republicans struggled against the Democrats' efforts, winning several close elections and losing two to Grover Cleveland (in [[U.S. presidential election, 1884|1884]] and [[U.S. presidential election, 1892|1892]]). Religious lines were sharply drawn [Kleppner 1979]. Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Scandinavian Lutherans and other pietists in the North were tightly linked to the GOP. In sharp contrast, liturgical groups, especially the Catholics, Episcopalians, and German Lutherans, looked to the Democratic party for protection from pietistic moralism, especially prohibition. Both parties cut across the class structure, with the Democrats more bottom-heavy.

Cultural issues, especially prohibition and foreign language schools became important because of the sharp religious divisions in the electorate. In the North, about 50% of the voters were pietistic Protestants (Methodists, Scandinavian Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Disciples of Christ) who believed the government should be used to reduce social sins, such as drinking. Liturgical churches (Roman Catholics, German Lutherans, Episcopalians) comprised over a quarter of the vote and wanted the government to stay out of the morality business. Prohibition debates and referenda heated up politics in most states over a period of decade, as national prohibition was finally passed in 1918 (and repealed in 1932), serving as a major issue between the wet Democrats and the dry GOP.<ref>See Kleppner (1979)</ref>

===Fourth Party System: 1896-1932: The Progressive Era ===
The election of [[William McKinley]] in 1896 was a [[realigning election]] that changed the balance of power, and introduced new rules, new issues and new leaders. It did not, however, see the emergence of a new major party. The Republican sweep of the 1894 Congressional elections presaged the McKinley landslide of 1896, which was repeated in 1900, thus locking the GOP in full control of the national government and most northern state governments. The GOP made major gains as well in the border states. The [[Fourth Party System]] was dominated by Republican presidents, with the exception of the two terms of Democrat [[Woodrow Wilson]], 1912-1920.

====McKinley and realignment====
McKinley promised that high tariffs would end the severe hardship caused by the [[Panic of 1893]], and that the GOP would guarantee a sort of pluralism in which all groups would benefit. He denounced [[William Jennings Bryan]], the Democratic nominee, as a dangerous radical whose plans for "Free Silver" at 16-1 (or [[Bimetallism]]) would bankrupt the economy.

McKinley relied heavily on industry and the middle classes for his support and cemented the Republicans as the party of business; his [[campaign manager]], Ohio's [[Mark Hanna]], developed a detailed plan for getting contributions from the business world, and McKinley outspent his rival [[William Jennings Bryan]] by a large margin. McKinley was the first president to promote [[pluralism]], arguing that prosperity would be shared by all ethnic and religious groups.

====Teddy Roosevelt and Progressivism====
At the dawn of the 20th century, the Republican Party was more representative of [[Big Government]](than the democrats), with progressivism finding a home within the GOP.

[[Theodore Roosevelt]], who became president in 1901, had the most dynamic personality in the nation. Roosevelt had to contend with men like Senator [[Mark Hanna]], whom he outmaneuvered to gain control of the convention in 1904 that renominated him. More difficult to handle was conservative House Speaker [[Joseph Gurney Cannon]].

Roosevelt achieved modest legislative gains in terms of railroad legislation and pure food laws. He was more successful in Court, bringing antitrust suits that broke up the [[Northern Securities]] trust and [[Standard Oil]]. Roosevelt moved left in his last two years in office but was unable to pass major Square Deal proposals.

Roosevelt did succeed in naming his successor Secretary of War [[William Howard Taft]] who easily defeated Bryan again in 1908.

====Progressive insurgents vs. Conservatives====
The GOP was divided between insurgents and stand-patters (liberals and conservatives, to use 21st century terms). [[Theodore Roosevelt]] was an enormously popular president (1901-1909), and he transferred the office to [[William Howard Taft]]. Taft, however, did not have TR's enormous popularity nor his ability to bring rival factions together. When Taft sided with the standpatters under Speaker [[Joe Cannon]] and Senate leader [[Nelson Aldrich]], the insurgents revolted. Led by [[George Norris]] the insurgents took control of the House away from Cannon and imposed a new system whereby committee chairmanships depended on seniority (years of membership on the committee), rather than party loyalty.

The tariff issue was pulling the GOP apart. Roosevelt tried to postpone the issue but Taft had to meet it head on in 1909 with the [[Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act]]. Eastern conservatives led by [[Nelson A. Aldrich]] wanted high tariffs on manufactured goods (especially woolens), while Midwesterners called for low tariffs. Aldrich tricked them by lowering the tariff on farm products, which outraged the farmers. In a stunning comeback the Democrats won control of the House in 1910, as the GOP rift between insurgents and conservatives widened.

Roosevelt sided with the insurgents and, after long indecision, decided to run against Taft for the 1912 nomination. Roosevelt had to steamroll over insurgent Senator [[Robert LaFollette]] of Wisconsin, turning an ally into an enemy. Taft outmaneuvered Roosevelt and controlled the convention. Roosevelt walked out and formed a third party, the "Progressive" or "Bull Moose" party. Very few officeholders supported him, and the new party collapsed by 1914. With the GOP vote divided in half, Democrat [[Woodrow Wilson]] easily won the 1912 election, and was narrowly reelected in 1916.

With the defeat of Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Bull Moose party, along with the election of Woodrow Wilson, the parties switched progressive leadership, and the Democrat Party has been the party of big government ever since.

====State and local politics====
The Republicans welcomed the [[Progressive Era]] at the state and local level. The first important reform mayor was [[Hazen S. Pingree]] of Detroit (1890–97) who was elected governor of Michigan in 1896. In New York City the Republicans joined nonpartisan reformers to battle [[Tammany Hall]], and elected Seth Low (1902–03). Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones was first elected mayor of Toledo as a Republican in 1897, but was reelected as an independent when his party refused to renominate him. In Iowa Senator Albert Cummins came up with the "Iowa Idea" that blamed the trust or monopoly problem on the high tariff, angering the eastern industrialists and factory workers. Many Republican civic leaders, following the example of Mark Hanna, were active in the [[National Civic Federation]], which promoted urban reforms and sought to avoid wasteful strikes.

====Harding-Coolidge-Hoover, 1920-1932====
The party controlled the presidency throughout the 1920s, running on a limited government platform, opposition to the League of Nations, high tariffs, and promotion of business interests. [[Warren G. Harding]], [[Calvin Coolidge]] and [[Herbert Hoover]] were resoundingly elected in the elections of 1920, 1924 and 1928 as the Democrats were deeply split on prohibition and religion. Running on a campaign of ''returning to normalcy'', Harding and Coolidge led a repudiation election of both the war as well as the big government progressivism of Woodrow Wilson.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8iSeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover: Meet the Presidents]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LziMzAR4eD0C&pg=PA162 The Great American History Fact-finder: The Who, What, Where, When, and why of American History]</ref>
[[Image:Coolidge close.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Calvin Coolidge]]
The breakaway efforts of Senator [[Robert LaFollette]] in 1924 failed to stop a landslide for Coolidge, and his movement fell apart. The [[Teapot Dome Scandal]] threatened to hurt the party but Harding died and Coolidge blamed everything on him, as the opposition splintered in 1924. The pro-business policies of the decade seemed to produce an unprecedented prosperity—until the Wall Street Crash of 1929 heralded the [[Great Depression]]. Although the party did very well in large cities and among ethnic Catholics in presidential elections of 1920-24, it was unable to hold those gains in 1928. By 1932 the cities—for the first time ever—had become Democratic strongholds.

The African American vote held for Hoover in 1932, but started moving toward Roosevelt. By 1940 the majority of northern blacks were voting Democrat. Southern blacks who could vote (in border states) were split; disenfranchised blacks in the South probably preferred the Republicans.

The [[Great Depression]] cost Hoover the presidency with the [[U.S. presidential election, 1932|1932 landslide election]] of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Roosevelt's [[New Deal coalition]] controlled American politics for most of the next three decades, excepting the two-term presidency of Republican [[Dwight Eisenhower]].

===Fifth Party System: 1932-1980===
Minority parties tend to factionalize and after 1936 the GOP split into a conservative faction (dominant in the West and Southeast) and a liberal faction (dominant in the Northeast) – combined with a residual base of inherited progressive Republicanism active throughout the century. [[U.S. presidential election, 1936|In 1936]] Kansas governor [[Alf Landon]] and his young followers defeated the [[Herbert Hoover]] faction. Landon generally supported most New Deal programs, but carried only two states in the Roosevelt landslide.

Senator [[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]], governor of New York, represented the Northeastern wing of the party. Dewey did not reject the New Deal programs, but demanded more efficiency, more support for economic growth, and less corruption. He was more willing than Taft to support Britain in 1939-40. After the war the isolationists wing strenuously opposed the [[United Nations]], and was half-hearted in opposition to world Communism. Senator [[William F. Knowland]] of California, sobriquet ''Senator from Formosa'' (Taiwan).

[[Dwight Eisenhower]], an internationalist allied with the Dewey wing, challenged Taft in 1952 on foreign policy issues. The two men were not far apart on domestic issues. Eisenhower's victory broke a 20-year Democrat lock on the White House. Eisenhower did not try to roll back the New Deal, but he did expand the Social Security system and built the Interstate Highway system.

The conservatives in 1964 made a comeback under the leadership of [[Barry Goldwater]] who defeated [[Nelson Rockefeller]] as the Republican candidate in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964 presidential convention]]. Goldwater was strongly opposed to the New Deal and the United Nations, but he rejected isolationism and containment, calling for an aggressive anti-Communist foreign policy.

Any long-term movement toward the GOP was interrupted by the [[Watergate Scandal]], which forced Nixon to resign in 1974 under threat of impeachment. [[Gerald Ford]] succeeded Nixon and gave him a full pardon—thereby giving the Democrats a powerful issue they used to sweep the 1974 off-year elections. Ford never fully recovered, and in 1976 he barely defeated [[Ronald Reagan]] for the nomination. The taint of Watergate and the nation's economic difficulties contributed to the election of Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] in [[U.S. presidential election, 1976|1976]], running as a Washington outsider.

====Strength of Parties 1977====
How the Two Parties Stood after the 1976 Election:

{| class=wikitable
! Party
! Republican
! Democrat
! Independent
|-
! Party ID (Gallup)
| 22%
| 47%
| 31%
|-
! House
| 143
| 292
|
|-
! Senate
| 38
| 62
|
|-
! % House popular vote nationally
| 42%
| 56%
| 2%
|-
| align=right | in the East
| 41%
| 57%
| 2%
|-
| align=right | in the South
| 37%
| 62%
| 2%
|-
| align=right | in the Midwest
| 47%
| 52%
| 1%
|-
| align=right | in the West
| 43%
| 55%
| 2%
|-
! Governors
| 12
| 37
| 1
|-
! rowspan=2 | State Legislators
| 2,370
| 5,128
| 55
|-
| 31%
| 68%
| 1%
|-
! State legislature control
| 18
| 80
| 1 *
|-
| align=right | in the East
| 5
| 13
| 0
|-
| align=right | in the South
| 0
| 32
| 0
|-
| align=right | in the Midwest
| 5
| 17
| 1 *
|-
| align=right | in the West
| 8
| 18
| 0
|-
! States' one party control of legislature and governorship
| 1
| 29
| 0
|-
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>The unicameral Nebraska legislature, in fact controlled by the Republicans, is technically nonpartisan.

Source: Everett Carll Ladd Jr. ''Where Have All the Voters Gone? The Fracturing of America's Political Parties'' (1978) p. 6

====Moderate Republicans of 1940-80====
[[Image:Nelson Rockefeller.jpg|thumb|100px|right|Nelson Rockefeller]]
The term ''Rockefeller Republican'' was used 1960-80 to designate a faction of the party holding "moderate" views similar to those of the late [[Nelson Rockefeller]], [[governor of New York]] from 1959 to 1974 and vice president under President [[Gerald Ford]] in 1974-77. Before Rockefeller, [[Tom Dewey]], governor of New York 1942-54 and GOP presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948 was the leader. Dwight Eisenhower reflected many of their views. An important leader in the 1950s was Connecticut Republican Senator [[Prescott Bush]], father and grandfather of presidents of [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[George W. Bush]]. After Rockefeller left the national stage in 1976, this faction of the party was more often called "moderate Republicans," in contrast to the conservatives who rallied to [[Ronald Reagan]].

Historically, Rockefeller Republicans were moderate or liberal on domestic and social policies. They favored New Deal programs, including regulation and welfare. They were very strong supporters of civil rights. They were strongly supported by big business on Wall Street (New York City). In fiscal policy they favored balanced budgets and relatively high tax levels to keep the budget balanced. They sought long-term economic growth through entrepreneurships, not tax cuts. In state politics, they were strong supporters of state colleges and universities, low tuition, and large research budgets. They favored infrastructure improvements, such as highway projects. In foreign policy they were internationalists, and anti-Communists. They felt the best way to counter Communism was sponsoring economic growth (through foreign aid), maintaining a strong military, and keeping close ties to [[NATO]]. Geographically their base was the Northeast, from Pennsylvania to Maine.

====Suburbia====
The suburban electorate passed the city electorate in the 1950s, as Eisenhower showed unusually strength there. The history of suburban politics is encapsulated in Nassau County (New York), just east of New York City, where a moderate Republican party machine operated. Despite predictions that the New Deal spelled the demise of the political machine, Nassau provided fertile ground for a party organization that rivaled its big city Democrat counterparts. The traditionally GOP county underwent a booming expansion during 1945-60, with an influx of new residents, many with previous Democrat Party affiliations. In established villages and new housing developments such as [[Levittown]], under the canny leadership of J. Russel Sprague, the party used patronage and community organizing techniques to build its base among ethnic voters, young people, and new homeowners. The party expanded beyond its white Protestant base, with Italian Americans becoming particularly prominent in party leadership. Sprague was both party leader and county executive. That post was created in 1936 under a new charter engineered by Sprague to update a municipal apparatus unable to meet the infrastructure and development needs of a county that by 1960 had 1.3 million residents. Democrats and reformers had promoted charter revision for decades, and some consolidation of government services did take place. As county "boss," Sprague ruled with an iron hand. Nassau's pluralities for such candidates as Governor Thomas E. Dewey and President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sprague's fundraising prowess made him a force in national party politics. He advocated a moderate, middle-of-the-road position that recognized expectations created by the New Deal while criticizing what were claimed to be Democrat excesses. After leaving elective office and party leadership, Sprague became a major campaign issue when the Democrats, in a 1961 historic upset, won the county executive post by both lambasting Sprague, tainted by a racetrack-stock scandal, and criticizing the developer-friendly "Spragueland" regime that had governed Nassau for decades. Soon after Sprague died in 1969, the Nassau GOP regained its control of the county government and reestablished virtual one-party rule until the 1990s.<ref>Marjorie Freeman Harrison, "Machine Politics Suburban Style: J. Russel Sprague and the Nassau County (New York) Republican Party at Midcentury." PhD dissertation Columbia U. 2005. 388 pp.
DAI 2005 66(5): 1925-A. DA3174807</ref>

An even longer reign of power characterized GOP machine control of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a rural and suburban area south of Philadelphia. William McClure controlled the GOP from 1875 until his death in 1907; his son John J. McClure, was in control from 1907 until his death in 1965. McLarnon (1998) has four main findings. First, political machines were not confined to big cities; the demographic and political peculiarities of suburban counties lent themselves to continued domination by political machines long after the heyday of the city machine had passed. Secondly, neither the New Deal, immigration restriction, nor the rise of organized labor destroyed all the old Republican machines. Delaware was one of several similar counties in southeastern Pennsylvania where the GOP continued to hold sway throughout the 20th century. Thirdly, not all blacks switched their electoral loyalties to the Democrat Party in 1936. The black population of Chester, Delaware County's industrial city, generally voted Republican for offices below the presidential level. Finally, the citizens of Delaware County supported and continues to support the Republican machine because the machine delivered and continues to deliver those things that the citizens want most. At the beginning of the century, the machine provided food, work, and police protection to Chester's European and black immigrants. During Prohibition, it supplied the county with liquor. Through the Depression, patronage and close alliances with local industrialists kept a significant portion of machine loyalists employed. In the 1950s and 1960s the machine kept taxes low, initiated a war on organized vice, successfully defeated all threats to home rule, and discouraged blacks from settling in historically white communities. The trash was collected, the snow plowed, the streets repaired. The buses ran on time, the playgrounds and parks were clean, and the schools acceptably average. These were the most important concerns of a majority of county's citizens. While the citizens and their concerns changed over time, two things seem to have remained constant: the McClures', and their successors' ability to read and react to the needs of the electorate; and the fact that rarely, if ever, has a desire for honest, democratic government been high on Delaware County voters' list of priorities.<ref>John Morrison McLarnon, "Ruling Suburbia: A Biography of the McClure Machine of Delaware County, Pennsylvania." PhD dissertation U. of Delaware 1998. 616 pp. DAI 1998 58(12): 4780-A. DA9819160</ref>

====Rise of the right====
[[Image:BarryGoldwater.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Barry Goldwater]]
[[Barry Goldwater]] crusaded against the Rockefeller Republicans, beating Rockefeller narrowly in the California primary of 1964. That set the stage for a conservative resurgence, based in the South and West, in opposition to the Northeast. Brennan (1995) stresses that conservatives in the late 1950s and early 1960s had many internal problems to overcome before they could mount an effective challenge to the hegemony of the distrusted Eastern Establishment, typified by [[Nelson A. Rockefeller]]. The conservative movement had some newspapers and magazines (especially [[William F. Buckley]]'s ''National Review'') and one charismatic national leader, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. The movement gained momentum once they had established a unity out of diverse elements on the Right with a common commitment to a militant anti-Communism, and once they had succeeded in mobilizing a grassroots base inside a number of state and local organizations in the Sun Belt on behalf of a draft Goldwater campaign in 1960. Although Nixon was acceptable to the conservatives, they worried that he compromised with Rockefeller in 1960. His defeat in 1960 removed a major obstacle and also gave ammunition to those who wanted "a choice, not an echo" (to echo a Goldwater slogan). After 1960 liberals and moderates in the Republican party failed to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge they faced on the grass-roots level. They too readily equated their conservative opponents in the party with the "lunatic fringe" and did not take them seriously until they found themselves deposed by a grass roots insurgency of the sort unknown in the party since 1912.<ref>Brennan (1995) p, 59</ref> Goldwater's landslide defeat opened the way to a liberal Democrat resurgence, but did little to help the liberal wing of the GOP. The failures of the Great Society, especially a wave of major urban riots and a surge in violent crime, led to major gains in 1966, and to Nixon's election in the chaotic 1968 election. The Democrats became deeply divided on the Vietnam war (which did not divide the GOP), and on issues of race, when Alabamian [[George C. Wallace]] set up a third party that carried much of the deep South.

As Goldwater faded to a lesser role after 1964, a new conservative hero emerged: in the largest and most trendy state film star [[Ronald Reagan]] was elected governor of California in 1966 and reelected in 1970.

With the rise of conservatism the national Republican Party became more ideologically homogeneous. This change occurred as conservative politicians and voters joined the party and their liberal counterparts abandoned the GOP. Events in New York State during the 1960s and 1970s facilitated this transformation. Here, ideological conservatives formed a third party for the express purpose of changing a state GOP that both symbolized and contributed to the national GOP's liberal viewpoint. The [[Conservative Party, New York|Conservative Party]] relied on the state's unique election law to crash the New York GOP, either by forcing its way in or by imposing a lethal electoral price. The GOP-Conservative Party relationship began in 1962 at sword's point but achieved a high degree of harmony in 1980. Initially, New York Republicans, led by Governor [[Nelson Rockefeller]], successfully marginalized the new party. As the conservative movement matured, however, the balance of power began to shift. When Nixon was elected president in 1968, the Conservative Party gained an external ally who proved invaluable. The third party achieved partial acceptance in 1970 with the election of [[James Buckley]] to the Senate. For much of the ensuing decade, however, Conservatives struggled with success suffering a series of damaging setbacks. Only in the late 1970s, did the party recover when it embraced a more modest agenda. Finally, the 1980 election settled the overall contours of the relationship between the two parties. Conservatives formed their party to force the state GOP to the right, to drive liberal Republicans from office, and allow ideologically conservative national Republicans to succeed in the state. By 1980, it had achieved these goals changing the nature of politics in the state. This resolution affected politics beyond the state by diminishing the importance of ideological liberals in the national GOP, thus freeing a more ideologically consistent national Republican Party to promote the rise of conservatism.<ref>Timothy J. Sullivan, "Crashing the Party: The New York State Conservative and Republican Parties, 1962-1980." PhD dissertation U. of Maryland, College Park 2003. 458 pp. DAI 2004 64(11): 4181-A. DA3112508</ref>

===Sixth Party System===
====Realignment: Republican inroads in the Solid South====
:''See also: [[The South#Politics]]
In the century after Reconstruction ended in 1877, the white South identified with the [[Democrat Party]]. The Democrats' lock on power was so strong, the region was called the "Solid South." The Republicans controlled certain parts of the Appalachian mountains, but they sometimes did compete for statewide office in the border states. Before 1964, the southern Democrats saw their party as the defender of the southern way of life, which included a respect for states' rights and an appreciation for traditional southern values. They repeatedly warned against the aggressive designs of Northern liberals and Republicans, as well as the civil rights activists they denounced as "outside agitators." Thus there was a serious barrier to becoming a Republican.

However, since 1964, the Democrat lock on the South has been broken. The long-term cause was that the region was becoming more like the rest of the nation and could not long stand apart in terms of racial segregation. Modernization that brought factories, businesses, and cities, and millions of migrants from the North; far more people graduated from high school and college. Meanwhile, the cotton and tobacco basis of the traditional South faded away, as former farmers moved to town or commuted to factory jobs. While the majority of political scientists believe that the shift of the South to the Republican Party began in the 1960's, there is evidence that it really began in the 1920s and the 1950s.<ref>Trande, Sean (April 30, 2013). [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/04/30/southern_whites_shift_to_the_gop_predates_the_60s_118172.html Southern Whites' Shift to the GOP Predates the '60s]. ''Real Clear Politics''. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref>

The immediate cause of the political transition involved civil rights. The [[civil rights movement]] caused enormous controversy in the white South with many attacking it as a violation of states' rights. When segregation was outlawed by court order and by the Civil Rights acts of 1964 and 1965, a die-hard element resisted integration, led by Democrat governors [[Orval Faubus]] of Arkansas, [[Lester Maddox]] of Georgia, and, especially [[George Wallace]] of Alabama. These populist governors appealed to a less-educated, blue-collar electorate that on economic grounds favored the Democrat Party, but opposed segregation. After passage of the Civil Rights Act most Southerners accepted the integration of most institutions (except public schools). With the old barrier to becoming a Republican removed, traditional Southerners joined the new middle class and the Northern transplants in moving toward the Republican party. Integration thus liberated Southern politics, just as [[Martin Luther King]] had promised. Meanwhile, the newly enfranchised black voters supported Democrat candidates at the 85-90% level.

The South's transition to a Republican stronghold took decades. First the states started voting Republican in presidential elections—the Democrats countered that by nominating Southerners who could carry some states in the region, such as [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976 and 1980, and [[Bill Clinton]] in 1992 and 1996; the strategy did not work with [[Al Gore]] in 2000, or [[John Edwards]] in 2004. Barack Obama held Florida, North Carolina and Virginia and a sweep of House and Senate seats.

Since the 1970s some states elected Republican senators. Republicans made some inroads into legislatures and governorships and gerrymandering protected the African American and Hispanic vote (as required by the Civil Rights laws), but split up the remaining white Democrats so that Republicans mostly would win. In 2006 the Supreme Court endorsed nearly all of the redistricting engineered by [[Tom DeLay]] that swung the Texas Congressional delegation to the GOP in 2004.

In addition to its white middle class base, Republicans attracted strong majorities from the evangelical Christian vote, which had been nonpolitical before 1980. The national Democrat Party's support for liberal social stances such as [[abortion]] 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 Democrat Party. In 1969 in ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', [[Kevin Phillips]], argued that support from Southern whites and growth in the [[Sun Belt]], among other factors, was driving an enduring Republican electoral [[realigning election|realignment]]. Today, the South is again solid, but the reliable support is for Republican presidential candidates. Exit polls in 2004 showed that Bush led Kerry by 70-30% among whites, who comprised 71% of the Southern voters. Kerry had a 90-9% lead among the 18% of the voters who were black. One third of the Southerners said they were white evangelicals; they voted for Bush by 80-20%.<ref>See [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.3.html exit polls]</ref>

Despite the shift towards the Republican Party on the presidential level, the South remained solidly Democratic on the state level through the 1980s, 1990s, and even into the 2000s in several states.<ref>Trande, Sean (September 9, 2010). [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/09/09/misunderstanding_the_southern_realignment_107084.html Misunderstanding the Southern Realignment]. ''Real Clear Politics''. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref> The Republican Party only became dominant in the state-level in the 2010 elections, when it captured several state legislatures, among many other victories.<ref name="Hamby">Hamby, Peter (December 9, 2014). [http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/03/politics/southern-democrats/ The plight of the Southern Democrat]. ''CNN''. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref> After the 2014 elections, the GOP controlled every state legislature in the South with the sole exception of the Kentucky State House, in which the Democrats maintained a slim majority.<ref name="Hamby"/> Additionally by 2015, the GOP was dominant in every level of government across the South.<ref name="Hamby"/><ref>Cohn, Nate (December 4, 2014). [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/upshot/demise-of-the-southern-democrat-is-now-nearly-compete.html?_r=0 Demise of the Southern Democrat Is Now Nearly Complete]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref> In 2016, the GOP took the Kentucky State House in a landslide, making every legislature in the South GOP-controlled.<ref>Loftus, Tom (November 9, 2016). [http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/kentucky/2016/11/08/control-kentucky-house-up-grabs/93344114/ GOP takes Ky House in historic shift]. ''Courier-Journal''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref><ref>Brammer, Jack & Blackford, Linda (November 8, 2016). [http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article113464563.html Republicans take the Kentucky House after 95 years of Democratic control]. ''Lexington Herald-Leader''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref>

====Reagan Era====
:''Main article: [[Reagan Era]]''
In 1980, [[Ronald Reagan]] won the Republican nomination and easily beat Carter and a breakaway Republican with his strong communication skills and message of economic freedom and strength against the [[Soviet Union]]. Reagan produced a major realignment with his 1980 and 1984 landslides. In 1980 the Reagan coalition was possible because of Democrat losses in most social-economic groups. In 1984 Reagan won nearly 60% of the popular vote and carried every state except his Democrat opponent Walter Mondale's home state of [[Minnesota]] and the District of Columbia, creating a record 525 electoral vote total (of 538 possible). Even in Minnesota, Mondale won by a mere 3,761 votes,<ref>http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1984&fips=27&f=1&off=0&elect=0</ref> meaning Reagan came within less than 3,800 votes of winning in all fifty states.
[[Image:Reagan and Buckley.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Reagan opened his presidency proclaiming "Government is the problem".]]
Running on a "Peace Through Strength" platform to combat the Communist threat and massive tax cuts to revitalize the economy, Reagan's strong but genial persona proved too much for the ineffective and sour Carter in 1980. Reagan's election also gave Republicans control of the Senate for the first time in decades. Dubbed the "Reagan Revolution" he fundamentally altered several long standing debates in Washington, namely dealing with the Soviet threat and reviving the economy. His election saw the conservative wing of the party gain control. While reviled by liberal opponents in his day, his proponents contend his programs provided unprecedented economic growth, and spurred the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Currently regarded as one of the most popular and successful presidents in the modern era (1960–present), he inspired Conservatives to greater electoral victories by being re-elected in a landslide against Walter Mondale in 1984 but oversaw the loss of the Senate in 1986.

The so-called "Reagan Democrats" were Democrats before the Reagan years, and afterwards, but who voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 (and for George H.W. Bush in 1988), producing their landslide victories. They were primarily Southern Democrats and ethnic Catholics in the Northeast and were frustrated by their seeing abandonment on cultural issues by the Democrat Party's national leaders.

Reagan's Vice-President, [[George H.W. Bush]], a [[World War II]] war hero, was elected in 1988 but was defeated in 1992 as domestic issues took prominence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and end of the [[Cold War]]. Democrat challenger [[Bill Clinton]] strategically repositioned the Democrats to the right. [[Ross Perot]]'s candidacy was instrumental in Clinton's victory as he took Republican votes with his criticism of deficits and the free trade movement. Perot won 19% of the popular vote, and Clinton, still a largely unknown quantity in American politics with 41% of! the popular vote took office. Despite his loss, Bush left office in 1993 with a 56 percent job approval rating.

====The Gingrich revolution====
:''Main articles: [[Republican Revolution (1994)]] and [[Contract with America]]''
House Republican Minority Whip [[Newt Gingrich]]-led the [[Republican Revolution (1994)|"Republican Revolution" of 1994]] and its famous ''[[Contract with America]]''. It was the first time since the 1952 elections that the Republicans secured control of both houses of Congress, which, with the brief exception of the Senate during 2001-2002, lasted until the 2006 mid-term elections. Democrats had controlled both houses of Congress for the forty years preceding 1994, with the exception of the 1981-1987 Congresses (in which Republicans controlled the Senate).

In the 1994 mid-term election, Republican congressional candidates ran on a platform of promising floor votes to force members of Congress to go on record on a series of popular reforms—something the Democrats had stifled for decades. These measures and others formed the Contract with America, which represented the first effort to have a party platform in a mid-term election. Seven of the ten Contract items actually became Law. The budget reforms, coupled with reduced defense spending after the Cold War, and the earlier Reagan Tax Cuts for Business Research and Development in the 1980s, led to a high tech consumer boom, rising incomes for all groups, and unprecedented, sustained economic growth in the late 1990s. Democratic President Bill Clinton opposed some of the social agenda initiatives but he co-opted the proposals for welfare reform and a balanced federal budget. The result was a major change in the welfare system, which conservatives hailed and liberals bemoaned. One Contract item, which required Democrats in a two-thirds majority to pass a Constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress, failed.

In 1995, a budget battle with [[President Clinton]] led to the brief shutdown of the federal government, an event which contributed to Clinton's victory in the 1996 election. That year the Republicans nominated [[Bob Dole]], who was unable to transfer his success in Senate leadership to a viable presidential campaign. [[Ross Perot]] ran again (this time on [[Reform Party]] ticket), once again draining away a large percentage of Dole's support and insuring Clinton another term after the majority of Americans voters voted against him.

====War on Terror====
:Main article: [[War on Terror]]''
With the election of George W. Bush (son of former president George H. W. Bush) in an extremely close 2000 election, the Republican party controlled both the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1952. However, after [[Vermont]] senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent aligned with the Democrats in June 2001, Republicans lost control of the Senate by a single seat.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 Islamic terrorist attacks on the United States, however, Bush pursued a "War on Terrorism" that included the liberation of Afghanistan from the radical Islamic Taliban regime and the [[Patriot act|USA PATRIOT act]]. By early 2002, the Taliban was removed from power in Afghanistan. On March 20, 2003, U.S. and allied nations initiated "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to liberate the Iraqi people from the brutal regime of [[Saddam Hussein]]. By May 1, 2003, the regime of Saddam was declared officially over. Once US and allied military forces entered Iraq, they discovered that various international terrorists had been given sanctuary and ran their terrorist operations from Iraq. Notable terrorists found included Muhammad Zaidan aka Abu Abbas and Sabri Khalil al-Banna aka Abu Nidal.

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 liberation of 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).

Bush was renominated without opposition for the [[United States presidential election, 2004]] and titled his political platform "A Safer World and a More Hopeful America". It expressed Bush's commitment to winning the War on Terror, ushering in an Ownership Era, and building an innovative economy to compete in the world.

On November 2, 2004, Bush was re-elected, while Republicans gained seats in both houses of Congress, leaving Democrats in disarray. Bush carried 31 of 50 states for 286 Electoral College votes. In that election, he also received more popular votes than any previous presidential candidate, 62.0 million votes. Democrat challenger, Senator [[John Kerry]], won 251 Electoral votes and 48% of the popular vote to Bush's 51%. It was the first time anyone won a popular majority since 1988. 2004 marked the seventh consecutive election in which the Democrat nominee failed to reach that threshold.

====The wilderness years 2009-2010====
After smashing defeats in 2006 and 2008, the GOP lost control of Congress, the White House, and many states. They confront president who still retains some popularity, but have been able to chip away at support for his domestic policies, as the [[recession of 2008]] continues to drag on. In June 2009 public opinion was favorable toward Obama personally, but increasingly dubious about his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay. But with a positive job approval rating of 51% , Obama has the backing of most Democrats, even as Republicans turn negative, with only 23% supporting him. Support for Obama's foreign policies and terrorism policies remains high at 57-59%. Meanwhile, the GOP weaknesses were glaring: the June poll found that the Republican Party is viewed favorably by only 28% of Americans, the lowest rating ever in a New York Times/CBS News poll. In contrast, 57% said that they had a favorable view of the Democrat Party.<ref>Jeff Zeleny and Dalia Sussman, "Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/us/politics/18poll.html?th&emc=th ''New York Times'' June 17, 2009]</ref> However, it should be noted that this poll was conducted by the [[mainstream media]] and thus is a clear example of [[liberal bias]].

====Rise of the Tea Party movement====
[[Image:TeaPartyByFreedomFan.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Tea Party movement March on DC, 2009.]]
:{{main|Tea Party Movement}}
The Tea Party movement, which began around 2009 and supports small government, fiscal conservatism, American independence, and border security, made huge gains in the 2010 election, defeating establishment Republicans and RINOs. They continued to make gains in later elections, including the 2014 elections in [[Texas]] and the 2015 [[Kentucky]] elections, and some commentators, including liberals<ref>{{cite web | last1=Chait | first1=Jonathan | title=Donald Trump Hasn’t Killed the Tea Party. He Is the Tea Party | url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/05/donald-trump-is-the-tea-party.html | date=May 19, 2016 | publisher=''New York'' | accessdate=December 7, 2016}}</ref> and conservatives,<ref>{{cite web | last1=Martin | first1=Jenny Beth | title=How the Tea Party Helped Trump Win the Election | url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/11/12/how-tea-party-helped-trump-win-election.html | date=November 12, 2016 | publisher=[[Fox News]] | accessdate=December 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Martin | first1=Jenny Beth | title=The Tea Party Movement Is Alive and Well—And We Saw Trump Coming | url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/the-tea-party-movement-is-alive-and-well-and-we-saw-trump-coming-214469 | date=November 19, 2016 | publisher=[[Politico|Politico Magazine]] | accessdate=December 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Hayward | first1=John | title=Sarah Palin: Trump Movement Began with the GOP Establishment’s ‘Shocking Betrayals’ of Tea Party Voters | url=http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/11/25/sarah-palin-trump-movement-began-with-the-gop-establishments-shocking-betrayals-of-tea-party-voters/ | date=November 25, 2016 | publisher=[[Breitbart News]] | accessdate=December 7, 2016}}</ref> even believe it was responsible for Donald Trump's 2016 victory.

====Trump Era====
:''For further information, see [[2016 U.S. presidential election#General election results]]''
Republican businessman [[Donald Trump]] won the [[United States presidential election, 2016|2016 presidential election]] in a major and historic upset that took the [[establishment]], pollsters and analysts completely by surprise, even winning states such as [[Wisconsin]], [[Michigan]], and [[Pennsylvania]], which Republicans had not won for years.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/08/first-polls-close-in-2016-race-trump-projected-to-win-ind-ky-clinton-wins-vt.html Trump wins presidency, defeats Clinton in historic election upset]. ''Fox News''. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref><ref>Blake, Aaron (November 9, 2016). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/08/donald-trumps-path-to-victory-is-suddenly-looking-much-much-wider/ Donald Trump just blew up the electoral map]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref> The Republican Party kept control of the House and Senate, outperforming expectations.<ref>Bresnahan, John (November 9, 2016). [http://www.politico.eu/article/republicans-on-cusp-of-keeping-the-senate/ Republicans hold the Senate in a stunner]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref><ref>Hughes, Siobhan (November 9, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-are-confident-about-retaining-control-of-the-house-1478634160 Democrats Gain Seats in House, But GOP Retains Majority]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref>
[[Image:Donald John Trump.jpg|left|thumb|120px|Donald Trump]]
In addition, the Republican Party performed well—much better than expected—in state races, winning trifectas in [[Kentucky]], [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], and [[New Hampshire]], and Democrats only had six trifectas and total control in five states, a record low.<ref>Greenblatt, Alan (November 9, 2016). [http://www.governing.com/topics/elections/gov-republicans-add-dominance-state-legislatures.html Republicans Add to Their Dominance of State Legislatures]. ''Governing''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref><ref>Siegel, Josh (November 9, 2016). [http://dailysignal.com/2016/11/09/republicans-maintain-strong-control-of-state-capitols-what-that-means/ Republicans Maintain Strong Control of State Capitols. Here’s What That Means.] ''The Daily Signal''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref> The GOP won 25 trifectas, the largest since 1952.<ref name="ReshapeLaws">Lieb, David A. (December 29, 2016). [https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-tribune/20161229/281822873464433 GOP-Controlled States Aim to Reshape Laws]. ''Chicago Tribune'' (from the Associated Press). Retrieved December 30, 2016.</ref> After the election, the GOP controlled the highest amount of governorships since 1922,<ref>Lieb, David A. (November 9, 2016). [http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-11-09/republicans-expand-control-of-governorships-legislatures Republicans governorships rise to highest mark since 1922]. ''U.S. News & World Report''. Retrieved November 9, 2016.</ref> and it controlled the most state legislative chambers in history.<ref>Bosman, Julie & Davey, Monica (November 11, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/republicans-expand-control-in-a-deeply-divided-nation.html Republicans Expand Control in a Deeply Divided Nation]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 14, 2016.</ref>

While the GOP increased its vote share across the entire nation, Trump made the largest gains in the rural [[Midwest]] and [[Rust Belt]], traditionally a Democrat blue collar stronghold..<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/08/us/elections/how-trump-pushed-the-election-map-to-the-right.html How Trump Reshaped the Election Map]. ''The New York Times''. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref>

Because of the large gains, the GOP had a massive opportunity to pass [[Conservative|common sense conservative]] legislation and repeal leftist social and economic quagmires.<ref name="ReshapeLaws"/>

== Contemporary Party ==
The contemporary Republican Party represents a wide array of interests such as the conservative evangelicals, economic libertarians, and anti-globalists. The party has had some internal conflict over attitudes about how governments should run and how large they should be, what the party stands for, and what the party's attitude towards [[neo-conservatism]] should be especially in regard to foreign policy. The party is also divided over immigration issues with some members (such as George W. Bush) favoring workers visas and permits and some other members favoring strict control of immigration and strong action against illegal immigration. Unlike the Democrat Party, the Republican Party routinely allows dissenting factions such as the [[Log Cabin Republicans]] to speak at National Conventions.

In the past, the Republican voter coalitions have generally comprised businessmen, military veterans and evangelical Protestants. Some groups have realigned: blacks went from the GOP to the Democrats beginning in the 1930s, while some white Southerners became Republicans in the 1980s. Catholics switched from 80% Democratic in 1960 to 50-50 in recent years, primarily due to the embrace of [[abortion]] by the Democrats. In recent years youth (influenced by [[Hollywood values]]) and better educated professionals (influenced by [[professor values]]) have moved to the Democrats, while blue collar workers have become more Republican, due to the abortion, economic self-interest, and the Democrat support for the [[nanny state]].

==Republican Presidents==
# [[Abraham Lincoln]] (1861-1865)
# [[Ulysses S. Grant]] (1869-1877)
# [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] (1877-1881)
# [[James Garfield]] (1881)
# [[Chester A. Arthur]] (1881-1885)
# [[Benjamin Harrison]] (1889-1893)
# [[William McKinley]] (1897-1901)
# [[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1901-1909)
# [[William Howard Taft]] (1909-1913)
# [[Warren G. Harding]] (1921-1923)
# [[Calvin Coolidge]] (1923-1929)
# [[Herbert Hoover]] (1929-1933)
# [[Dwight Eisenhower]] (1953-1961)
# [[Richard Nixon]] (1969-1974)
# [[Gerald Ford]] (1974-1977)
# [[Ronald Reagan]] (1981-1989)
# [[George H. W. Bush]] (1989-1993)
# [[George W. Bush]] (2001-2009)
# [[Donald Trump]] (2017-)

==Notable Republicans (Non-presidential)==
An incomplete list of notable Republican leaders and politicians who were not elected president:

*[[James G. Blaine]] (1830-1893): Senator from [[Maine]], presidential nominee
*[[Joseph Gurney Cannon]] (1836-1926): [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]]
*[[Charles Curtis]] (1860-1936): United States [[Vice President]], a Native American
*[[Charles G. Dawes]] (1865-1951): United States Vice President
*[[Tom Dewey]] (1902-1971): Governor of [[New York]]; presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948
*[[John C. Frémont]] (1813-1890): First Republican candidate for president
*Mark Hanna (1837-1904): Senator from [[Ohio]], manager of 1896 campaign
*[[Jesse Helms]] (1921-2008): Senator from [[North Carolina]]
*[[George Frisbie Hoar]] (1826-1904): Senator from [[Massachusetts]]
*[[Charles Evans Hughes]]: Governor of New York; presidential nominee in 1916, United States Secretary of State, [[Chief Justice of the United States]]
*[[William Fife Knowland]] (1908-1974), Senator from [[California]], Senate Majority Leader from 1953-1955, Senate Minority Leader from 1955-1959
*[[Henry Cabot Lodge]] (1850-1924): Senator from [[Massachusetts]], foreign policy spokesman
*[[Joseph McCarthy]] (1908-1957): Senator from [[Wisconsin]] and noted anti-communist
*[[Thomas Brackett Reed]] (1839-1902): Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
*[[Nelson Rockefeller]] (1908-1979): Vice President, Governor of New York, leader of liberal Republicans
*[[Thaddeus Stevens]] (1792-1868): Senator from [[Pennsylvania]], leader of Radicals in Civil War and Reconstruction
*[[Charles Sumner]] (1811-1874): Senator from Massachusetts, leader of Radicals in Civil War and Reconstruction
*[[Henry Stimson]]: Secretary of War for Taft and FDR, Secretary of State for Hoover
*[[Robert Taft]] (1889-1953): Senator from Ohio and presidential hopeful, leader of conservatives
*[[Strom Thurmond]] (1902-2003): the oldest serving senator in history (from [[South Carolina]])
*[[Arthur H. Vandenberg]] (1884-1951): Senator from Michigan, leader of internationalism in 1940s
*[[Scott Walker]]: Governor of [[Wisconsin]], presidential candidate in 2016
*[[Earl Warren]] (1891-1974): Vice presidential nominee, [[Governor of California]], and [[Chief Justice of the United States]]
*[[John McCain]]: Senator from [[Arizona]], presidential nominee in 2008
*[[Sarah Palin]]: Governor of [[Alaska]], vice-presidential nominee in 2008
*[[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]: Governor of [[California]]
*[[Mitt Romney]]: Governor of [[Massachusetts]], presidential nominee in 2012

==See also==
*[[RINO]] - '''R'''epublicans '''i'''n '''N'''ame '''O'''nly
*[[Previous Breaking News/Republicans|Articles about '''Republicans''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

==Bibliography==
===Historical===
*''American National Biography'' (20 volumes, 1999) covers all politicians no longer alive; online at many academic libraries.
* Abramson, Paul R. et al. ''Change and Continuity in the 2004 and 2006 Elections'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Change-Continuity-2004-2006-Elections/dp/0872894150/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221785751&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]
* Batchelor, John Calvin. ''"Ain't You Glad You Joined the Republicans?" A Short History of the GOP.'' 1996. 399 pp. well-written popular history, well illustrated
* Chace, James. ''1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft, and Debs - The Election That Changed the Country.'' (2004). 323 pp.
* ''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections'' (4th ed 2003) 1600pp, vast compilation of data, esp., since 1945
* Foner, Eric. ''Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War (1970), influential history of ideas and ideology; [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=90104191 online edition]
*Gienapp, William E. ''The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856'' (1987), quantitative voting studies, by state
* Goldberg, Robert Alan. ''Barry Goldwater'' (1995),
*Gould, Lewis. ''Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans'' (2003), the best scholarly overview.
* Hodgson, Godfrey. ''The World Turned Right Side Up: A History of the Conservative Ascendancy in America'' (1996). by British journalist
*Jensen, Richard. ''Grass Roots Politics: Parties, Issues, and Voters, 1854-1983'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15326916 online edition]
*Jensen, Richard. ''The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896'' (1971)
*Kleppner, Paul, et al. ''The Evolution of American Electoral Systems'' (1983), applies party systems model
*Kleppner, Paul. ''The Third Electoral System 1853-1892: Parties, Voters, and Political Cultures'' (1979), analysis of voting behavior, with emphasis on region, ethnicity, religion and class. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24451028 online edition]
*Marcus, Robert. ''Grand Old Party: Political Structure in the Gilded Age, 1880-1896'' 1971.
*Morgan, H. Wayne. ''From Hayes to McKinley; National Party Politics, 1877-1896'' (1969) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=94446383 online edition], good survey of era
*Mayer, George H. ''The Republican Party, 1854-1966.'' 2nd ed. (1967), narrative.
*Parmet, Herbert S. ''Eisenhower and the American Crusades'' (1972) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14967951 online edition]
* Patterson, James T. ''Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft'' (1972)
*Perlstein, Rick. ''Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus'' (2002) well written, broad account of 1964
*Perlstein, Rick. ''Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America'' (2008), 896pp; covers 1965 to 1972
* Reinhard, David W. ''The Republican Right since 1945'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=91954887 online edition]
*Rutland, Robert Allen. ''The Republicans: From Lincoln to Bush'' (1996) popular narrative
*Shafer, Byron E. and Anthony J. Badger, eds. ''Contesting Democracy: Substance and Structure in American Political History, 1775-2000'' (2001), long essays by specialists on each time period: [http://www.amazon.com/Contesting-Democracy-Substance-Structure-Political/dp/0700611398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221785707&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
**includes: "'To One or Another of These Parties Every Man Belongs;": 1820–1865 by Joel H. Silbey; "Change and Continuity in the Party Period: 1835–1885" by Michael F. Holt; "The Transformation of American Politics: 1865–1910" by Peter H. Argersinger; "Democracy, Republicanism, and Efficiency: 1885–1930" by Richard Jensen; "The Limits of Federal Power and Social Policy: 1910–1955" by Anthony J. Badger; "The Rise of Rights and Rights Consciousness: 1930–1980" by James T. Patterson; and "Economic Growth, Issue Evolution, and Divided Government: 1955–2000" by Byron E. Shafer
*Schlesinger, Arthur Meier, Jr. ed. ''History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-2000'' (various multivolume editions, latest is 2001). For each election includes good scholarly history and selection of primary document. Essays on the most important election are reprinted in Schlesinger, ''The Coming to Power: Critical presidential elections in American history'' (1972)
* Smith, Richard Norton. An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover, (1987) full-length scholarly biography.
*Summers, Mark Wahlgren. ''Rum, Romanism & Rebellion: The Making of a President, 1884'' (2000) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=104865169 online edition]
* Sundquist, James L. ''Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=29223022 online edition]
* Thelen, David. ''Robert M. La Follette and the Insurgent Spirit'' 1976. short interpretive biography
===Since 1980===
*Barone, Michael, and Grant Ujifusa, ''The Almanac of American Politics 2008: The Senators, the Representatives and the Governors: Their Records and Election Results, Their States and Districts'' (2007) covers all incumbent Congressmen and governors with amazing detail. New edition published every two years since 1975.
* Aistrup, Joseph A. ''The Southern Strategy Revisited: Republican Top-Down Advancement in the South'' (1996)
* Black, Earl and Black, Merle. ''The Rise of Southern Republicans.'' (2002). 442 pp.
* Cannon, Lou. ''President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime'' (2000), [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=88989671 online edition]
* Critchlow, Donald T. ''The Conservative Ascendancy: How the GOP Right Made Political History'' (2007), by a leading conservative historian
* Edwards, Lee. ''The Conservative Revolution: The Movement That Remade America.'' (1999). 391 pp. by a conservative
*Ehrman, John, ''The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan'' (2005) by a conservative historian
* Frank, Thomas. ''What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America'' (2005), a liberal attack [http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Matter-Kansas-Conservatives-America/dp/B000FTWB3K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198072365&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Green, John Robert. ''The Presidency of George Bush.'' (2000). 1989-1993
* Lamis, Alexander P. ed. ''Southern Politics in the 1990s'' (1999)
* Layman, Geoffrey. ''The Great Divide: Religious and Cultural Conflict in American Party Politics.'' (2001). 435pp.
* Levy, Peter B. ''Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years'' Greenwood Press, 1996 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77341841 online edition]
* Lublin, David. ''The Republican South: Democratization and Partisan Change.'' Princeton U. Press, 2004. 272 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Republican-South-Democratization-Partisan-Change/dp/0691130477/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198072384&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Patterson, James T. ''Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore.'' (2005), standard scholarly synthesis.
* Pemberton, William E. ''Exit with Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan'' (1998) favorable biography by historian; [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=49534236 online edition]
* Reeves, Richard. ''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination'' (2005) detailed analysis by conservative historian
* Rymph, Catherine. ''Republican Women: Feminism and Conservatism from Suffrage through the Rise of the New Right.'' U. of North Carolina Press, 2006. 338 pp.
* Sabato, Larry J. ed. ''The Sixth Year Itch: The Rise and Fall of the George W. Bush Presidency'' (2007), in-depth essays by scholars
*Sabato, Larry J. ''Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election'' (2005).
* Sabato, Larry J. and Bruce Larson. ''The Party's Just Begun: Shaping Political Parties for America's Future'' (2001).
* Schaller, Michael and Rising, George. ''The Republican Ascendancy: American Politics, 1968-2001.'' Harlan Davidson, 2002. 210 pp. Short survey by liberal scholars
* Steely, Mel. ''The Gentleman from Georgia: The Biography of Newt Gingrich.'' Mercer U. Press, 2000. 431 pp.
* Taylor, Andrew J. ''Elephant's Edge: The Republicans as a Ruling Party.'' 2005. 336 pp. academic study of how GOP turned small advantages into power [http://www.amazon.com/Elephants-Edge-Republicans-Ruling-Party/dp/0275985369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198072452&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Wilentz, Sean. ''The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008'' (2008) by a liberal historian. [http://www.amazon.com/Age-Reagan-History-1974-2008/dp/0060744804/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221786281&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
*Wooldridge, Adrian and John Micklethwait. ''The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America'' sophisticated study by two British journalists (2004). [http://www.amazon.com/Right-Nation-Conservative-Power-America/dp/B000F71124/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198072420&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]

====Notes====
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.gop.com/ Official GOP Site]
*[http://platform.gop.com/2008Platform.pdf 2008 Republican Platform (pdf download)]
*[http://nyyrcrecord.blogspot.com/ New York Young Republican Record]
*[http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/doc/rsc_action_plan.pdf The RSC’s Action Plan for House Republicans], Republican Study Committee, May 20, 2008
*[http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/doc/rsc_action_plan_(broad).pdf A Detailed Action Plan For House Republicans: Bold, Simple, and Different than the Democrats], Republican Study Committee, May 20, 2008
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/republicans/ What Liberals Say - Category: Republicans], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Republican Party|!]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:United States Political Parties]]
[[Category:United States Political Organizations]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:Modernization]]
[[Category:Conservatism]]
[[Category:Member of the International Democrat Union]]
[[Category:Liberal Conservatism]]

Mitch Daniels

2017-02-08T21:29:29Z

Libtrash: Added end of term

{{Officeholder
|name=Mitch Daniels
|image=Mitchell_E._Daniels,_Jr..jpg‎
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Cheri Lynn Herman Daniels
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
|offices=

{{Officeholder/governor
|state=Indiana
|terms=January 10, 2005 – January 14, 2013
|preceded=Joseph Kernan
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
}}

'''Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr.''' (born April 7, 1949) is the [[Republican]] [[Governor]] of [[Indiana]]. He began his four-year term as Indiana's 49th Governor on January 10, 2005 and was elected to his second term on November 4, 2008. Previously he served as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under the [[Bush administration]].

==Political career==
Daniels was raised in Indianapolis and graduated from Princeton University, Indiana University School of Law, and Georgetown University. He began his political career when becoming an intern for Indianapolis Mayor [[Richard Lugar]] and went on to become Lugar’s chief of staff during his first term in the [[Senate]] (1977-1983). Additionally, he served as Executive Director of the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]], playing a major role in the successful effort to keep Republican control of the U.S. Senate.<ref>http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/people/d/daniels_mitch/daniels.html</ref> In 1985 Daniels became deputy assistant for intergovernmental affairs during the [[Reagan administration]].

Daniels went on to serve top leadership positions in the private sector, becoming President of Eli Lilly and Company's North American Pharmaceutical Operations and CEO of the Hudson Institute. After liquidating $27 million in stock holdings,<ref>The Almanac of American Politics 2010</ref> he retired in 2001 to become Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

In 2003 Daniels launched a campaign for Governor of Indiana. He traveled across all 92 counties with green-and-white slogans entitled "my man Mitch." President [[George W. Bush]], Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], and First Lady [[Laura Bush]] all made appearances for him. Pundits speculated that [[Lieutenant Governor]] Joseph Kernan would seek the Democratic nomination, however he announced that he would not run in December 2002. The landscape of the race changed in September 2003, when two-term Democratic Governor Frank O'Bannon suffered a fatal stroke. Kernan was sworn in as the acting-Governor, and announced he would seek a full term.

The state was facing job loses in the manufacturing sector, with the public blaming local Democrats. Daniels defeated Kernan by a 53%-45% margin. Additionally, Republicans took control of the State House and increased their majority in the State Senate.

==Record as Governor==
Daniels inherited a $645 million budget shortfall. In his first two years in office Daniels had taken successful (but some controversial) steps to improve the [[economy]]. He created the private Indiana Economic Development Corporation to replace a government-run agency, and created the state's first Office of Management and Budget. Within a year Indiana had it's first balanced budget in eight years and the state had an annual surplus of $370 million. In 2005, Daniels endorsed switching Indiana's central time zone to an eastern time zone, saying that businesses outside of the state couldn't keep track of what time it was in Indiana.<ref>http://www2.indystar.com/articles/5/207646-7265-253.html</ref>

Daniels established the 10-year "major moves" transportation plan that privatized the Indiana Toll Road, the largest privatization of public infrastructure in United States history. Some of Daniels policies were rejected by the general assembly, such as a plan to privatize the Hoosier Lottery and a 1% increase in the sales tax in return for a cap on property taxes. Governor Daniels was easily reelected in 2008 by a 58%-40% margin, despite Democrat [[Barack Obama]] winning Indiana's 11 electoral votes in the presidential election. Some Republican leaders have urged Daniels to run for the Presidency in 2012, although he has remained reluctant. He has been a vocal critic of the [[Obama administration]].<ref>http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/11/18/is-this-the-pseudo-start-of-a-presidential-bid-for-mitch-daniels/</ref><ref>http://race42008.com/2009/11/21/gov-daniels-exposing-harry-reids-healthcare-bill/</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.in.gov/gov/2635.htm Official Website]

==References==
{{reflist|}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels,Mitch}}
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Indiana Governors]]
[[Category:Republican Governors]]
[[Category:RINOs]]

Mike Pence

2017-02-08T21:28:18Z

Libtrash: Added Pence as being Chair of the House Republican Conference

{{Officeholder
|name=Mike Pence
|image=Mike Pence.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Karen Pence
|religion=[[Evangelical Christian]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/vice president
|country=the United States
|number=48th
|terms=January 20, 2017–present
|president=[[Donald Trump]]
|preceded=[[Joe Biden]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/governor
|state=Indiana
|terms=January 14, 2013–January 9, 2017
|preceded=[[Mitch Daniels]]
|succeeded=[[Eric Holcomb]]
}}
{{Officeholder/chair of the house republican conference
|terms=January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
|preceded=Adam Putnam
|succeeded=Jeb Hensarling
}}
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=Indiana
|district=6th
|terms=January 3, 2003–January 3, 2013
|preceded=Dan Burton
|succeeded=Luke Messer
}}
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=Indiana
|district=2nd
|terms=January 3, 2001–January 3, 2003
|preceded=David McIntosh
|succeeded=Chris Chocola
}}
}}
'''Michael Richard "Mike" Pence''' (born June 7, 1959)<ref name="Bio">[http://www.biography.com/people/mike-pence-071416 Mike Pence]. ''Biography.com''. Retrieved October 4, 2016.</ref> is the [[conservative]], [[pro-life]], [[evangelical]] [[Republican]] [[Vice President]]-elect of the United States and the governor of Indiana.

Prior to being governor, Pence was one of the most conservative members of [[Congress]], serving in the U.S. Representative from [[Indiana]]'s 6th congressional district. In the 111th Congress, he served as Chairman of the House Republican Conference. Pence has also been a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Pence also has been a [[conservative talk radio]] host and an attorney.

==Early life==
Pence was born in [[Columbus, Indiana]] on June 7, 1959 to an Irish-Catholic family.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/> He was one of six children, and his father was a [[U.S. Army]] veteran and gas station-chain owner.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/>

Early in his life, Pence was strongly aligned with the [[Democratic Party (USA)|Democratic Party]] and was a Roman Catholic.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/> He volunteered for the party while in high school, and he voted for [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1980.<ref name="Bio"/> When Pence was in college he became a born-again Christian through his future wife, Karen.<ref name="Eason10things"/> After his conversion, his views shifted towards the right, and after the election of [[Ronald Reagan]] as president, Pence became a Republican as he was inspired by the Reagan's policies.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/><ref>Graham, Jordan (September 8, 2016). [http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nominee-728408-tells-pence.html Mike Pence explains how Ronald Reagan made him a Republican]. ''The Orange County Register''. Retrieved September 18, 2016.</ref>

Pence graduated from Hanover College in 1981 with a B.A. in history, and he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1986.<ref name="Bio"/>

==Early career==
After graduation, Pence became a practicing attorney and started to get involved in politics, first "becoming a precinct committeeman for the Marion County Republican Party."<ref name="Bio"/> He unsuccessfully ran for [[United States Congress|Congress]] in 1988 and 1990, but "learned a valuable lesson in defeat" and "vowed to preach a positive message" after becoming disgusted by his negative attack ads.<ref name="Bio"/>

Pence served as the president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation from 1991 to 1993.<ref name="Bio"/> In 1994, he launched his own [[conservative talk radio]] show, and the next year he became a morning show host on television.<ref name="Bio"/> Pence discontinued both programs in 1999,<ref name="Bio"/> presumably in preparation for another run for Congress.

In October 2009 Pence defended conservative talk radio, saying:

<blockquote>
''"To suggest that men and women that are taking a stand for fiscal discipline and traditional values in the national debate today only speak for ‘grassroots activists’ is absurd. As evidenced by the hundreds of thousands that filled town hall meetings this summer and the nearly a million Americans who gathered here in Washington in September. Millions of Americans, Republicans, Democrats and Independents are worried about liberal social policies and runaway federal spending, deficit and debt.''

''So to my friends in the so-called ‘mainstream media’ I say, ‘conservative talk show hosts may not speak for everybody but they speak for more Americans than you do.’"''<ref>[http://www.politico.com/story/2009/10/pence-rush-beck-speak-for-many-028608# Pence: Rush, Beck speak for many]. ''Politico''. October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref>
</blockquote>

==U.S. Congress==
[[File:MikePence.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Congressman]]
In 2000, Pence was elected to [[Congress]] and reelected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010.<ref name="Bio"/> In 2005, he became chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group representing the most conservative members of the House.<ref name="Bio"/> The next year, Pence unsuccessfully ran for House minority leader, losing to [[John Boehner]].<ref name="Bio"/> Pence served as the House Republican Conference Chair during the 111th Congress, which lasted from 2009-2011.<ref name="Bio"/><ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=p000587 PENCE, Mike, (1959 - )]. ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Retrieved October 5, 2016.</ref>

In Congress, Pence built a very conservative record, even opposing liberal Republican bills that would increase spending or the size of government, such as [[No Child Left Behind]] in 2001, and the Medicare expansion of 2002.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/>

==Governor of Indiana==
Pence successfully ran for Indiana governor in 2012.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/>

Pence's successor, the conservative [[Mitch Daniels]], had been effective in boosting the state's economy, and Pence continued his policies. The Indiana economy continued to improve, and Pence cut taxes by $1.1 billion in 2013, which was the largest tax cut in state history.<ref name="Bio"/> In addition, Indiana has the seventh lowest tax burden or any state in 2013, and in 2014 Pence signed a law that will decrease the state corporate tax by 1.6 percent by 2021.<ref name="Eason10things"/> While liberals expect tax cuts to increase budget deficits, by 2016 Indiana actually had a $2 billion surplus,<ref name="Bio"/> and unemployment dropped by 3.4 percent since his term began.<ref name="Eason10things"/>

Pence became nationally famous in 2015 for initially defending a new religious freedom law for Indiana businesses that would have enabled them to decline supporting the [[homosexual agenda]], such as in being forced to bake a cake for [[Same-sex "marriage"|homosexual couples]].<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/> Ultimately Pence compromised based on intense pressure from the [[liberal media]], by adding protection for [[sexual orientation]] into Indiana law.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Eason10things"/> While many conservatives considered Pence's move a betrayal, subsequent events showed that Pence did stand up more against the [[homosexual agenda]] than virtually any other governor, including other Republicans such as [[Greg Abbott]] and [[Chris Christie]].

In addition, Pence is [[pro-life]], and in 2016 he signed a bill into law that stops abortions when the [[Human being|unborn human being]] has a disability.<ref name="Bio"/>

==2016 GOP Vice-Presidential nominee==
{{see also|2016 U.S. presidential election}}
[[File:Donald Trump and Mike Pence RNC July 2016.jpg|thumb|Pence with Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention.]]
Pence first endorsed [[Texas]] Senator [[Ted Cruz]] for the Republican presidential nomination, but after businessman [[Donald Trump]] became the presumptive GOP nominee, Pence was chosen to be the VP nominee.<ref name="Bio"/>

Pence debated Democrat VP nominee [[Tim Kaine]] on October 4, 2016, and he gave a much better performance than Kaine.<ref>Boyle, Matthew (October 5, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/10/05/pence-dominates-kaine-vice-presidential-debate/ ‘Flawless’ Victory: Mike Pence Dominates Tim Kaine in Vice Presidential Debate]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref><ref>Agiesta, Jennifer (October 5, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/politics/mike-pence-tim-kaine-vp-debate-poll/ Pence edges Kaine in VP debate instant poll]. ''CNN''. Retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref> This was despite the fact that Kaine interrupted Pence 70 times in the debate.<ref>Struyk, Ryan (October 5, 2016). [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tim-kaine-interrupted-mike-pence-70-times-vice/story?id=42583803 Tim Kaine Interrupted Mike Pence 70 Times in Vice Presidential Debate]. ''ABC News''. Retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref> Pence masterfully used his debating skills that he acquired from being a talk radio host while Kaine was hyper and sometimes hard to follow.<ref name="Bradner">Bradner, Eric (October 5, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/politics/vp-debate-takeaways/index.html 5 takeaways from the vice presidential debate]. ''CNN''. Retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref> Even the liberal [[mainstream media]], which holds [[double standards]] and loves to bash conservatives, believed that Pence won.<ref name="Bradner"/><ref>Zurcher, Anthony (October 5, 2016). [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37558787 Pence v Kaine: Who won the vice-presidential debate?]. ''BBC News''. Retrieved October 5, 2016.</ref>

Donald Trump won the election in a massive, historical upset.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/08/first-polls-close-in-2016-race-trump-projected-to-win-ind-ky-clinton-wins-vt.html Trump wins presidency, defeats Clinton in historic election upset]. ''Fox News''. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

==Vice-president==
Soon after the election, the conservative Pence replaced the moderate [[Chris Christie]], who is facing serious allegations in a scandal, as the head of Trump's transition team.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/11/pence-reportedly-taking-over-transition-effort-from-christie.html Pence replaces Christie in Trump transition team shuffle]. ''Fox News''. November 11, 2016.</ref> One of his first descisions as head was to remove every lobbyist, who had been appointed by Christie, from the team, in order to "drain the swamp" in [[Washington D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/16/pence-removing-lobbyists-from-trump-transition-team.html Pence removing lobbyists from Trump transition team]. ''Fox News''. November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.</ref><ref>Jaffe, Alexandra (Novemer 16, 2016). [http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/pence-removes-lobbyists-trump-transition-team-controversial-names-remain-n684836 Mike Pence Orders Lobbyists Be Removed From Transition Team]. ''NBC News''. Retrieved November 17, 2016.</ref> On the same day, the team announced that all [[Trump Administration]] officials would be placed under a five-year lobbying ban after leaving, which is much stricter than the ban by the transition team of the previous president, [[Barack Obama]].<ref>Arnsdorf, Isaac & Vogel, Kenneth P. (November 16, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-lobbying-ban-231534 Trump team announces tough lobbying ban]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 17, 2016.</ref> The transition team under Pence's leadership reportedly completed its work on time and 20 percent under budget.<ref>Miller, S.A. (January 19, 2017). [http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/19/pence-trump-transition-finishing-time-under-budget/ Mike Pence: Trump transition finishing on time, under budget]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved February 8, 2017.</ref>

Vice President Pence became the first vice president in United States history to speak at the annual [[March for Life]] march in Washington D.C. in 2017.<ref>Sells, Heather (January 27, 2017). [http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2017/january/trump-administration-rallies-behind-march-for-life VP Mike Pence Making History at the March for Life]. ''CBN News''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Hickey, Jennifer (January 27, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/01/27/massive-attendance-at-march-for-life-could-extend-crowd-size-chatter.html 'Life is winning': Pence fired up March for Life crowd]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref>

On February 7, 2017, Pence became the first vice president in United States history to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate for confirming a cabinet nominee.<ref name="DeVosTie">[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/07/devos-confirmed-as-education-secretary-pence-casts-historic-tie-breaking-vote.html DeVos confirmed as education secretary, Pence casts historic tie-breaking vote]. ''Fox News''. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.</ref> He also became the first since 2008 to cast a tie-breaking vote at all.<ref name="DeVosTie"/>

==Political philosophy==
Pence describes himself as "a [[Christian]], a conservative and a Republican, in that order."<ref name="Eason10things">Eason, Brian (July 15, 2016). [http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/07/trumps-vp-10-things-know-indiana-gov-mike-pence/86746980/ Trump's VP? 10 things to know about Indiana Gov. Mike Pence]. ''IndyStar''. Retrieved October 4, 2016.</ref><ref name="Phillips">Phillips, Amber (October 4, 2016). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/14/10-things-you-should-know-about-mike-pence-who-may-join-donald-trump-on-the-gop-ticket/ Who is Mike Pence?]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved October 4, 2016.</ref> His political views are strongly influenced by his faith and by [[Russell Kirk]].<ref name="Eason10things"/> Pence was an early supporter of the [[Tea Party Movement|Tea Party movement]].<ref name="Phillips"/>

==Personal life==
Pence married his wife Karen in 1985, and together they have three children.<ref name="Bio"/> Despite the fact that Pence is a Christian, he has used shameful, filthy language in public.<ref>McHugh, Katie (October 4, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/10/04/mike-pence-mocks-media-coverage-of-trump-this-sht-really-is-fun-to-watch/ Mike Pence Mocks Media Coverage of Trump: ‘This Sh*t Really Is Fun to Watch’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=p000587 Profile] on the ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''
*[https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Pence Profile] on Ballotpedia
*[http://www.ontheissues.org/in/Mike_Pence.htm Mike Pence On the Issues]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pence, Mike}}
[[Category:United States Representatives]]
[[Category:111th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Fiscal Conservatives]]
[[Category:Conservative Commentators]]
[[Category:Tea Party Movement]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
[[Category:Indiana Governors]]

Joe Biden

2017-02-08T21:19:51Z

Libtrash: Added Pence as VP

{{Officeholder
|name=Joseph Biden
|image=JoeBiden.jpg
|party=[[Democrat]]
|spouse=[[Jill Biden]]
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/vice president
|country=the United States
|number=47th
|terms=January 20, 2009-January 20, 2017
|president=[[Barack Obama]]
|preceded=[[Dick Cheney]]
|former=Hopefully
|succeeded=[[Mike Pence]]
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Delaware
|terms=January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009
|preceded=[[Cale Boggs]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Ted Kaufman]]
}}
}}
'''Joe Biden''' (born Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. on 20 November 1942) was the [[Vice President of the United States]]. [[Liberal]] Biden, notorious for his long-winded speeches and his foot-in-mouth moments, as illustrated by his declaration that "we have to go spend money to keep from going [[bankrupt]]."<ref name=bankrupt>[http://cnsnews.com/news/article/joe-biden-we-have-go-spend-money-keep-going-bankrupt Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’], [[Cybercast News Service]]</ref> A favorite of the [[liberal media]], Biden avoids the mockery that greeted a less gaffe-prone predecessor, [[Dan Quayle]]. On October 21, 2015, Biden announced that he would not run for president.

Biden got a pass from fellow [[liberal]]s in the media despite acting like a rude clown during his vice presidential debate with [[Paul Ryan]] in October 2012. Biden repeatedly interrupted Ryan and engaged in other offensive behavior, and even complained about not getting more time despite talking more than Ryan did. At one point Biden even nonsensically interjected, "so now you're Jack Kennedy?" in interrupting a valid point being made by Ryan.

Biden is the first [[Roman Catholic]] Vice President. He won few votes when running for [[2008 Presidential election|president in 2008]]; he dropped out after placing fifth in Iowa in January, 2008. Biden became [[Barack Obama]]'s vice-presidential running mate. His campaign stressed his Irish Catholic roots in appeals to working class [[Democrat]]s, who had deserted Obama in the primaries but returned in the fall.

Biden, as a senator from [[Delaware]] from 1973-2009, chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and subsequently the Committee on Foreign Relations. Biden in 2007 was ranked as the third most liberal Senator by the non-partisan ''National Journal''.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/conventions/co_20080823_9669.php Biden's Senate Vote Record], [[National Journal]]</ref> Biden is a serial plagiarizer. He was accused of, and ultimately admitted to plagiarism while a student at Syracuse Law School.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/17/us/biden-was-accused-of-plagiarism-in-law-school.html Biden Was Accused of Plagiarism in Law School], [[The New York Times]]</ref> He ran for President in 1988 but dropped out of the race after admitting he had [[plagiarism#Joe Biden|plagiarized]] a speech by the leader of the British [[Labour Party]].<ref>[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2008/08/the_write_stuff.html Why Biden's plagiarism shouldn't be forgotten.] - [[Slate Magazine]] - Aug. 25, 2008</ref>

==Early Life and Education==
Biden was born at Scranton State General Hospital in Scranton, [[Pennsylvania]]<ref name="timeline">[http://biden.senate.gov/senator/timeline/ Joe Biden Timeline]</ref> and grew up in New Castle County, Delaware,<ref name="bio">[http://biden.senate.gov/senator/ Joe Biden Biography]</ref> in a middle-class family. His father was a white collar businessmen who did well, but had fallen on hard times when Biden was a youth.<ref name="bluecollar">[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/joe_bidens_mythical_bluecollar.html Joe Biden's Mythical Blue-Collar Roots], [[Real Clear Politics]]</ref> Biden attended Archmere Academy, a private Catholic college-preparatory high school in the Wilmington, Delaware area, graduating in 1961.<ref name="bio" /> Biden took a summer job to help his family pay for his schooling.<ref name="bluecollar" /><ref>Archmere Academy [http://www.archmereacademy.com/Default.aspx?tabid=74] Tuition for 2008-2009 is $18,450.</ref> He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965, and from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1968 near the bottom of his class.<ref name="bio" /> While attending Syracuse Law School, he submitted a paper in which he plagiarized from a law review article. After receiving a grade of F, he was permitted to retake the course.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DB143FF93BA2575AC0A961948260 Biden Admits Plagiarism in School But Says It Was Not 'Malevolent'], By E. J. DIONNE JR., SPECIAL TO [[The New York Times|THE NEW YORK TIMES]], Published: September 18, 1987</ref>

In 1966, while still in law school, Biden married Neilia Hunter.<ref name="timeline" /> They had three children together: Joseph R. "Beau" Dien, III, Robert Hunter, and Naomi. Shortly after his election to the Senate in 1972, his wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident, and his two sons were seriously injured.<ref name="timeline" /> He eventually remarried to Dr. Jill Biden (née Jacobs), an educator in Delaware's schools.<ref name="bio" /> She currently is an instructor<ref>[http://www.dtcc.edu/catalog/pdf/personnel.pdf Delaware Technical Community College - College Catalog]</ref> teaching at Delaware Technical Community College. Together, the couple added a daughter, Ashley Biden, to the family.<ref name="bio" />

Since 1991, Biden has been an [[adjunct professor]] at the Widener University School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on constitutional law.<ref name="bio" />

==United States Senate==
[[Image:Biden_on_Meet_the_Press.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Biden on Meet The Press, 09/09/07]] In 1972, Biden unseated the liberal Republican Senator [[Cale Boggs]]. In 1973, he hence became the fifth youngest U.S. Senator in U.S. history. He was later reelected six times. On the [[abortion issue]], Biden calls himself [[pro-choice]] and opposed President [[George W. Bush]]'s two nominees to the U.S. [[Supreme court]]. On [[Roe v. Wade]] he said, "I strongly support Roe v. Wade....That’s why I led the fight to defeat [Robert] Bork. Thank [[God]] he is not in the Court or Roe v. Wade would be gone by now." <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130312002759/http://nrlc.org/Election2008/comparison0909084c.pdf Where Do the Candidates Stand on Abortion?], [[National Right to Life Committee]]</ref> He received a 100% rating from [[NARAL Pro-Choice America]] in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=53279</ref> However, not in other years because of his opposition to [[partial-birth abortion]] and public funding for abortions.<ref>http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Joe_Biden_Abortion.htm</ref> On government spending Biden requested 116 congressional earmarks in 2008 alone, resulting in $342 million in taxpayer money.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/biden.earmarks/?iref=hpmostpop Biden, Obama helped keep 'Bridge to Nowhere' alive], [[CNN]]</ref> He is a strong opponent of 2nd-amendment rights, earning an F by the [[National Rifle Association]]. Biden has also voted to give [[Social Security]] benefits and citizenship to [[illegal aliens]]. On energy, he opposes more domestic oil production, saying proponents of offshore drilling want to "rape" the Outer Continental Shelf.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=400058</ref>

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden was a major player in making foreign policy. He voted against the Persian [[Gulf War]] in 1991, but voted for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, although he criticized the [[Bush administration]]'s management of the war. He voted against setting a timetable for troop withdrawal and is against cutting off funding for the troops on the ground. In a 2005 interview with Meet the Press, Biden said, "I’ve been calling for more troops [in Iraq] for over two years, along with [[John McCain]] and others subsequent to my saying that." On July 23, 2007 Biden said, "there's not a single [[military]] man in this [[audience]], who will tell this Senator he can get those troops out in six months if the order goes today, lets start telling the truth." <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wylferBh3IA</ref> He has also proposed dividing the Iraqi Population by giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis their own regions.

Biden was a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 and served as ranking minority member from 1981 until 1987 and again from 1995 until 1997. He almost never supported a supreme court nominee who was not in his party and presided over two of the more contentious [[U.S. Supreme Court]] confirmation hearings ever, [[Robert Bork]] in 1987 and the [[racism|racially motivated]] hearings for [[Clarence Thomas]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egTyaIAaqz8 Clarence Thomas High-Tech Lynching]</ref> in 1991.

Joe Biden has close ties with lobbyists, receiving $5,133,072 in contributions from [[lawyer]]s and [[lobbyist]]s since 2003.<ref>[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12735.html Statesman known for slips of his tongue], [[Politico]]</ref> One of Biden’s sons, Hunter Biden, has been a registered [[Washington]] lobbyist since 2001.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-24-Biden-son_N.htm Biden's son a registered lobbyist since 2001], [[USA Today]]</ref>

==Embarrassing or silly remarks==

*When Representative [[Gabrielle Giffords]] returned to Congress after a long hiatus (which was the result of her being shot in the head), Biden (who had a brain surgery in the past) remarked to her that "Now we're both members of the Cracked Head Club".<ref>[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/08/gabrielle-giffords-joe-biden-cracked-head-club-/1 Biden jokes Giffords is in 'Cracked Head Club' ], [[USA Today]]</ref>

*When he met Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, Biden said "God rest her soul" in reference to Cowen's mother. However, it was Cowen's father that died, not his mother.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7469323/Joe-Biden-loses-the-gift-of-the-gab-on-St-Patricks-Day.html Joe Biden loses the gift of the gab on St Patrick's Day - The Daily Telegraph], [[The Daily Telegraph]]</ref>

==Hostile comments==

*At one 2005 political event he said, ''"The next [[Republican]] that tells me I'm not religious, I'm going to shove my rosary down their throat."'' <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1840965,00.html#ixzz0xxjisdkg Does Biden Have a Catholic Problem?], [[Time Magazine]]</ref>

*In March 2007, Biden was criticizing President [[George W. Bush]] for vetoing a bill that would set a time line for troops to be removed from Iraq, saying that [[Congress]] should "shove it down his throat."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080903080136/http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/1/144042.shtml?s=us Biden on Iraq Bill: 'Shove It Down His Throat'], [[Newsmax]]</ref>

==Remarks about race or ethnicity==

*In July 2006, while speaking to a group of Indian-Americans in Delaware, Biden stated, "You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." His comment was caught on C-SPAN.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13757367/ Biden explains Indian-American remarks], [[MSNBC]]</ref>

*In August 2006, Biden was on [[Fox News]] Sunday and bragged about his state being a former [[slave]] state. "You don't know my state. My state was a slave state. My state is a border state. My state is the eighth largest black population in the country. My state is anything from a northeast liberal state." <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFduMuP7v-k</ref>

*Talking about his fellow Democratic presidential candidate [[Barack Obama]] he said in January 2007, "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, ... I mean, that's a storybook, man." <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/31/biden.obama/ Biden's description of Obama draws scrutiny], [[CNN]]</ref>

==Quotations about Guns==

* During a February 2013 interview, Biden said that if there was a “problem” that his wife should “walk out on the balcony here, walk out, put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house.” <ref>[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/biden-shotgun-advice-draws-quizzical-response/ Biden Shotgun Advice Draws Quizzical Response], [[The New York Times]]</ref> Doing so is of course, illegal, and would leave his wife holding an empty shotgun while dealing with the “problem”.

* In another February 2013 interview, Biden said "[if] you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door." Coincidently, a man from Virginia Beach had done just that a few days before, and was arrested.<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/28/biden-advises-shooting-shotgun-through-door Biden Advises Shooting Shotgun Through Door], [[U.S. News & World Report]]</ref>

==Erroneous comments==

*Joe Biden once told voters that his [[helicopter]] was "forced down" on "the superhighway of terror" by Afghan extremists. When actually, snow forced the helicopter pilot to land and wait out a [[storm]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,431604,00.html Fact Check: Biden's Chopper Was 'Forced Down' by Snowflakes], [[Fox News]]</ref>

*In the Oct. 2008 VP debate, Biden made numerous misstatements, on topics ranging from the Constitution to the Mideast.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,433314,00.html Did Biden Get It Wrong? You Betcha], [[Fox News]]</ref>

*He said he was second in line to be President when he was first and Nancy Pelosi was second at the time.<ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2010/09/20/bozo-the-vp-botches-line-of-succession/ Bozo the VP botches line of succession], [[Michelle Malkin]]</ref>

*During the 2008 presidential campaign, Biden said that "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'look, here's what happened.'"<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/22/eveningnews/main4470063.shtml Behind The Scenes With Joe Biden], [[CBSNews]]</ref> In actuality television wasn't in use for another twenty years and the president during the 1929 stock market crash was [[Herbert Hoover]], not [[Franklin Roosevelt]].

*In another erroneous remark made during the presidential campaign, Biden referred to [[Sarah Palin]] as lieutenant Governor of Alaska, when in fact she the state's Governor at the time.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1643290_1643292_1841625,00.html Biden's Palin Demotion], [[Time Magazine]]</ref>

==Other quotations==

*During the 2008 presidential elections Joe Biden gave a speech in Springfield, Illinois in which he introduced the Democratic nominee for president as "Barack America".<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2008/0823/barack-america-and-president-biden-ooops Barack America and President Biden? Ooops...], [[Christian Science Monitor]]</ref>

*Biden remarked about the 2010 Midterm “I was amazed at the amount of money, this $200 billion of money that is — where there’s no accountability.” Clearly he meant $200 million says the New York Times.<ref>[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/200-billion-in-ads-mr-biden-thats-real-money/?ref=politics $200 Billion in Ads, Mr. Biden? That’s Real Money], [[The New York Times]], October 22, 2010</ref> Though just a moment later. “So it really — I’ve never seen this before, so the only caveat I’d put in terms of the House is how much impact this $200 billion are going to mean.”

*During the 2005 confirmation hearings for Justice [[John Roberts]], Biden asked Roberts, "Can a microscopic tag be planted in someones body to track his every move, you will rule on that." <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbPvWm9ZkYw</ref>

*In 2008 Biden told a wheelchair bound State Senator from [[Missouri]] to "stand up".<ref name=standupchuck>[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2008/09/10/joe_biden_to_man_in_wheechair_stand_up_chuck_let_em_see_ya Joe Biden to Man in Wheechair: "Stand Up, Chuck. Let 'Em See Ya!"], [[Rush Limbaugh]]</ref>

*He said "Its easy being Vice President." Then a lawmaker said "It's like being the grandpa and not the parent," to which he responded "Yeah, that's it!"<ref>[http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/26/biden-its-easy-being-vice-president/ Biden - "It's Easy Being Vice President"], [[Fox News]]</ref>

*After [[ObamaCare]] was signed into law, Biden was caught swearing on camera while expressing his joy.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/7508111/US-health-care-Joe-Biden-swears-after-Barack-Obama-signs-historic-reforms.html US health care: Joe Biden swears after Barack Obama signs historic reforms ], [[Daily Telegraph]]</ref>

*Biden was caught swearing again while speaking to a former Senate colleague.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/06/politics/biden-swearing-in/ Joe Biden swearing in senators makes great TV], [[Fox News]]</ref>

Read more: [http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/26/biden-its-easy-being-vice-president/#ixzz1X7ju3pUC Biden - "It's Easy Being Vice President"], [[Fox News]]

==1988 Presidential Campaign==
Joe Biden announced his candidacy for President in 1987. He ran on his experience, saying in an campaign advertisement "The [[White House]] isn't the place to learn how to deal with international crisis, the balance of power, war and peace, and the economic future of the next generation." <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121919956426355701.html Biden's Foreign Policy Background Carries Growing Cachet], [[Wall Street Journal]]</ref> His campaign was short-lived due to controversies. While campaigning in [[New Hampshire]] in 1987, a civilian asked about his grades in college, to which Biden yelled, "I think I have a much higher I.Q. than you do." He went on to say that he "went to law school on a full academic scholarship - the only one in my class to have a full academic scholarship" adding that he "ended up in the top half" of his class (Biden graduated 76th in a class of 85) and "graduated with three degrees from college."

Biden explained his comments "I did not graduate in the top half of my class at law school and my recollection of this was inacurate...I graduated from the University of Delaware with a double major in history and political science. My reference to degrees at the Claremont event was intended to refer to these majors - I said 'three' and should have said 'two'." <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/22/us/biden-admits-errors-and-criticizes-latest-report.html Biden Admits Errors and Criticizes Latest Report], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

Later in the campaign he was found to have plagiarized a speech from British [[Labour Party]] leader [[Neil Kinnock]]. The plagiarism was considered all the more serious, because it included details of Kinnock's life which were not true in Biden's case. Biden dropped out of the race in December 1987, and did not participate in the 1988 Democratic caucuses and primaries.

== 2004 Presidential Election ==
Joe Biden considered running as a Presidential candidate for the 2004 elections, but then decided against it, saying that it would be "now too much of a long shot.".<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/candidates/whos.in.out.html Who is in, who is out 2004], [[CNN]]</ref> He was later mentioned as a possible running mate for Democratic Senator [[John Kerry]], but he instead urged Kerry to chose Senator John McCain.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4961694/ McCain urged to join Kerry ticket], [[MSNBC]]</ref>

== 2008 Presidential Campaign ==

Biden declared his candidacy for [[President]] on January 31, 2007 after months of prior discussions, but later withdrew after the [[Iowa Caucus]] when his candidacy failed to catch on with the voters.<ref>[http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/2008/01/04/chris-dodd-abandons-presidential-campaign-after-poor-showing-in-iowa/ Biden, Dodd Bow Out of Presidential Race After Poor Showings in Iowa], [[Fox News]]</ref>

He ran on his foreign policy experience and credentials in the Senate. On November 15, 2007, during the CNN presidential debate, he said

"This is not about experience. It's not about change. It's about action. Who among us is going to be able to, on Day 1, step in and end the war?".

In the 2007 ABC debate with the Democratic presidential candidates, Biden was asked about the statement he made earlier regarding [[Barack Obama]]. He said:

<blockquote>"I think he can be ready but right now, I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." Biden replied "I think that I stand by the statement." <ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/23/mccain-launches-tv-ad-using-bidens-words-against-obama/ McCain Launches TV Ad Using Biden’s Words Against Obama], [[Fox News]], August 23, 2008</ref></blockquote>

Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race on January 3, after coming 5th in the Iowa caucus, receiving only 1% of the vote.

==Vice Presidential Nomination==
[[Image:0.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Biden campaigning for Barack Obama, 09/24/08]] Biden had been mentioned as a Vice Presidential candidate for Senator [[Barack Obama]], in that he would add foreign policy experience to the ticket. When asked in June over the speculation, Biden stated, "I'd make a great president. I'd make a great [[Secretary of State]]. I'd make a great vice president." <ref>The Hill's Blog Briefing Room: [http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/06/17/biden-id-make-a-great-president-secretary-of-state-vice-president/ Biden: I'd Make a Great President, Secretary of State, Vice President]</ref> On August 19, Biden was asked by reporters of his VP status, to which he replied "Hey guys, I'm not the guy. See ya." <ref>[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/biden-on-obamas.html?cid=127045696 Biden on Obama's VP Pick: 'I'm Not The Guy'] [[ABC News]], August 19, 2008</ref>

In August 2005 Biden paradoxically and nonsensically said, "[[John McCain]] is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off."<ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NGRhNzJlMWY5NjdiNzhjMTRkYjMzNjYwOGJmYzNjMTY= 'Just Words' That Joe Biden Would Like To Forget], [[National Review Online]]</ref>

However, on August 23 it was announced that Biden would be Obama's 2008 running mate. They appeared together in [[Springfield]], [[Illinois]]. Obama proudly introduced Senator Biden,
''

''"Let me introduce to you, the next president — the next vice president of the United States of America, Joe Biden."''

Biden took the stage and endorsed Obama, saying,
''

''"In this election year the choice is clear, one man stands ready to deliver change we desperately need, a man I'm proud to call my friend, a man who will be the next President of the [[United States]], Barack America."''
''

Obama hoped Biden would help the ticket in multiple ways:

* Biden has extensive foreign policy experience in the United States Senate and as such could have helped to bolster Obama's comparative lack of experience in this area.
* Biden is [[Catholic]], and Obama was weak with that key voting bloc; however, the [[Catholic Church]] may have taken offense at Biden's pro-[[abortion]] positions (see below).
* Biden was born in [[Pennsylvania]], a must-win state for Obama where he was thought to be weak;<ref>[[Hillary Clinton]] defeated Obama by a wide margin in the [[Pennsylvania]] primary; in August polls show Obama leading McCain by an average of only 5.8% in [[Pennsylvania]] [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/pa/pennsylvania_mccain_vs_obama-244.html RealClearPolitics Pennsylvania Tracking]</ref>
* Biden's son is going to [[Iraq]], which may have helped to rehabilitate Obama's image as anti-military; however, Biden himself never served.

Almost immediately after his selection, the conflict between his pro-[[abortion]] position and that of his church surfaced:<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS29316+23-Aug-2008+PRN20080823 Choice of Biden Re-Opens Catholic Wound], [[Reuters]]</ref>

:Biden has said: "I am a long-standing supporter of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' and a woman's right to choose." But Biden's own bishop, Bishop Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., has ... denounced the notion that politicians can 'personally oppose' abortion, but refuse to pass laws protecting the unborn. He made clear that pro-abortion Catholic politicians should refrain from receiving the Eucharist:

:"The promotion of abortion by any Catholic is a grave and serious matter. Objectively, according to the constant teaching of the Scriptures and the Church, it would be more spiritually beneficial for such a person to refrain from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. I ask Catholics in this position to have the integrity to respect the Eucharist, Catholic teaching and the Catholic faithful."

In September of the campaign Biden asked [[Missouri]] State Senator Chuck Graham, who has [[paralysis]], to "Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see you. Oh, God love you. What am I talking about? I tell you what, you're making everybody else stand up, though, pal. I tell you what, stand up for Chuck." <ref name=standupchuck />

Biden's [[Republican]] opponent for the Vice Presidency was [[Alaska]] [[Governor]] [[Sarah Palin]]. They participated in their first and only Vice Presidential debate on October 2 in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]. Biden was elected the 47th Vice President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

==Vice Presidency==
[[File:Biden-flu.jpg|thumb|300px]] Biden's responsibilities as vice president are not yet clear. He has no specific portfolio of responsibilities. He alarmed the nation on April 30, 2009, by going on network television to warn Americans to stay out of confined spaces such as subways and airplanes, lest they catch [[Swine Flu]]. People health officials rejected his scare tactics and the White House immediately repudiated them.

Under President Obama the budget [[deficit]] reached over $1 trillion for the first time in history. When asked over the fate of the United States' going into bankruptcy, Biden stated at an [[AARP]] meeting, "Now, people when I say that look at me and say, "What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’" Biden said. "The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you."<ref name=bankrupt />

Biden was placed in charge of promoting the Administration's [[Recovery Summer]] in 2010, an attempt to highlight the Democratic Congress's [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]], or "[[economic stimulus]] program. During Recovery Summer, the workforce shrank, [[unemployment]] swelled, and [[economic growth]] slowed to less than 2%. As more Americans became the victims of joblessness, by the [[2010 Midterm elections]] more than 27,000,000 people were unemployed or underemployed.
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==See also==
*[[Obama Administration]]
*[[2008 Presidential Election]]
*[[John McCain]]
*[[Democratic Party]]

==External links==
*[http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Joe_Biden.htm Biden On the Issues]
*[http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000444/ Voting Record], [[Washington Post]]
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000444, Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
*[http://www.joebiden.com/ Presidential Race Site]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biden, Joseph}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:2008 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Irish-Americans]]
[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]
[[Category:Homosexual Agenda]]
[[Category:Anti Second Amendment]]
{{liberalism}}