John LeBoutillier at The Messenger:
Much of today’s Republican Party was birthed in another radical element 30 years ago, this time on the Far Right. Waco, Ruby Ridge and Oklahoma City culminated in the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Donald Trump embraced this far-right militia movement personified by the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, making it a central element of his political coalition. Even in appearance, Trump’s Jan. 6 insurrectionist acolytes bear a strong resemblance to the New Left demonstrators of 1968 — dressing in surplus military gear, sporting beards, chanting expletives, as they fought with uniformed D.C. and Capitol police officers. In another twist, it is the Democrat — President Biden — who wants to increase defense spending during a time of international threats in Europe and China. It is Speaker McCarthy and the GOP’s Trump wing who oppose increased defense spending and funding for Ukraine to fight against Russia.
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Sad as it is to say, today’s GOP has morphed into a reincarnation of the 1970s’ New Left. And the political result of that? Just as that New Left inadvertently made Richard Nixon into a “unifier” in many minds, today’s radicalized GOP element has made Joe Biden into “Mr. Bipartisanship.” Biden has seized the opportunity to pass popular bipartisan legislation, which will be the cornerstone of the Democratic campaign in 2024. Trump and DeSantis’s radicalism will reelect Biden, despite problems with his age, his son’s legal baggage, and his controversial vice president. And today’s Republican Party will remain as out-of-the-mainstream as the New Left was 50 years ago, and suffer politically because of it.