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Mitch McConnell

2021-02-14T22:56:49Z

JoeRW: Grammar fixes, especially in the first paragraph

{{Officeholder
|name=Mitch McConnell
|image=McConnell.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=[[Elaine Chao]]
|religion=[[Baptist]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=[[Senate Majority Leader]]
|terms=January 3, 2015 – present
|preceded=[[Harry Reid]]
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=[[Senate Minority Leader]]
|terms=January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2015
|preceded=[[Harry Reid]]
|succeeded=[[Harry Reid]]
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Senate Majority Whip
|terms=January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
|preceded=[[Harry Reid]]
|succeeded=[[Dick Durbin]]
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Kentucky
|terms=January 3, 1985 – present
|preceded=Walter Huddleston
|status=s
|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 current Senate [[Majority Leader]]. Although his voting record has been rated as [[conservative]] by some,<ref>[https://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Mitch_McConnell.htm Mitch McConnell on the Issues]</ref> McConnell is an establishment [[RINO Backer]] who has blocked [[pro-life]] legislation ([[Mitch McConnell#Blocking_Graham-Cassidy_bill|see below]]), pushed for [[pro-abortion]] nominees to the courts, and who sometimes rams through [[liberal]]-favored deals to increase the [[debt ceiling]].<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2017/08/21/mitch-mcconnell-zero-chance-vote-freeze-debt-limit/ Mitch McConnell Vows to Raise U.S. Debt Ceiling]</ref> McConnell is an enemy of [[free speech]] by [[Donald Trump]] and his more than 74 million supporters.

A [[globalist]] clueless about the views of ordinary [[American]]s, McConnell rushed to congratulate [[Joe Biden]] on his stolen election result in December 2020. He also attempted to silence all Republican senators from objecting to the purported Biden victory, despite a 36-page report of pervasive [[election fraud]] that was "more than sufficient" to steal it from [[Trump]].<ref>https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/peter-navarro-releases-36-page-report-alleging-election-fraud-more-than-sufficient-to-swing-victory-to-trump/ar-BB1c0YR8</ref> McConnell falsely accused President [[Trump]] of inciting protesters to do harm, refused to attend Trump's ceremonial departure on January 20th, and encouraged a baseless, unconstitutional [[impeachment and removal]] trial of Trump. Playing both sides, McConnell voted to acquit Trump but then ranted against him.

McConnell's second wife is [[Elaine Chao]], married since 1993. Chao is from a wealthy [[Taiwan]] family that profits from international trade, and her sister Angela is the second wife of billionaire Jim Breyer, who invests heavily in [[Communist]] [[China]] and has been photographed smiling with its Chairman [[Xi Jinping]].

In light of the impeachment coup against President Trump, McConnell called the House vote "unprecedented" and said that the Senate will "provide stability."<ref>[https://www.axios.com/trump-impeachment-mitch-mcconnell-senate-40bad0f8-9eeb-44ee-87bb-8b5e58814952.html McConnell on Trump impeachment: "The Senate exists for moments like this"]</ref> McConnell failed to call any witnesses at the impeachment trial, such as scandal-ridden [[Hunter Biden]] whose testimony could have ended [[Joe Biden]]'s presidential bid, and McConnell rushed through a vote of acquittal of Trump which proved to be merely a pyrrhic victory.

McConnell was arguably the least effective [[Majority Leader]] ever during the 115th U.S. Congress (2017-2019), accomplishing remarkably little in the two years of [[Republican]] control of both the [[White House]] and [[Congress]] under President [[Donald Trump]]. While credited with confirming some appellate judges, not all of whom are [[conservative]], McConnell has made less progress in confirming Trump's nominees to district court judgeships. He did, however, confirm [[Trump]]-appointed Justice [[Amy Coney Barrett]] in near-record time before the 2020 presidential election to fill the seat vacated by the death of [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]].

In 2018 and again in 2020, McConnell worked overtime to try to keep his critic [[Roy Moore]] from being elected to the [[U.S. Senate]] from [[Alabama]], preferring instead that the deeply [[Republican]] state elect a [[Democrat]] or a pro-[[Deep State]] Republican.

==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 [[RINO]] 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 re-elected six 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]], who is from a wealthy family profiting off foreign trade. 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>https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00189</ref>

====Oil drilling====
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>

===Obama era===
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 was widely regarded within the Republican Party as an adept Minority Leader. The filibuster strategy used by the Democrats was first pushed by McConnell.

====Gun control filibuster====
McConnell said he would join the [[gun control]] filibuster against Democrat anti-[[second amendment]] bills.<ref>https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/04/09/mitch-mcconnell-yeah-im-joining-this-gun-control-filibuster-n1562143</ref>

====2014 Senate election====
In 2014, McConnell faced [[Tea Party]] challenger [[Matt Bevin]] in his primary for re-election, and held on only by heavily outspending his [[conservative]] rival. McConnell then defeated Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in the heavily Republican Kentucky in the general election.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2014/kentucky-elections Kentucky Election Results]</ref>

McConnell became the [[Senate Majority Leader]] in 2015 after the GOP retook the Senate. Since being elected, McConnell and others in the Republican establishment have not sought to keep their promises.

===Trump era===
====Blocking Graham-Cassidy bill====
The Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, a measure to repeal [[ObamaCare]] that was [[pro-life]] enough to elicit [[liberal media]] opposition,<ref>Two references:
*[https://www.bustle.com/p/would-graham-cassidy-defund-planned-parenthood-it-decimates-womens-health-care-access-2419003 Would Graham-Cassidy Defund Planned Parenthood? It Decimates Women's Health Care Access]
*[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/19/16328928/obamacare-repeal-cassidy-graham-health-care-women The new Obamacare repeal bill is the worst yet for women’s health]</ref> was expected to be up for a Senate vote until McConnell announced on September 26, 2017 that there would be no vote.<ref>Two references:
*[https://www.businessinsider.com/mcconnell-graham-cassidy-healthcare-vote-obamacare-repeal-2017-9?op=1 IT'S OVER: Republicans will not vote on Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, will move on from Obamacare repeal for now]
*[https://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2017/09/26/grahamcassidy-is-dead-n2386858 The Graham-Cassidy Bill is Dead; Senate Will Not Vote]</ref>

====2018 Omnibus====
In 2018, McConnell has worked overtime in making sure to garner enough support within his party line to pass a fiscally reckless $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/22/rand-paul-senate-omnibus-480553 McConnell secures budget deal with ‘begging, pleading and cajoling’]</ref> While the legislation would raise wages for armed forces members and allocate money to help fight the [[opioid]] crisis, negotiation with [[open border]]-supporting [[Democrats]] on the bill only provided 641 million dollars for the [[border wall]] rather than $25 billion that [[Donald Trump]] had sought to fund border security.<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/03/21/paul-ryan-and-mitch-mcconnell-work-to-sell-omnibus-spending-to-donald-trump-at-the-white-house/ Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Work to Sell Omnibus Spending to Donald Trump at the White House]</ref>

====Amy Coney Barrett====
After successfully helping to confirm [[Amy Coney Barrett]] to the [[United States Supreme Court]] to fill the vacancy left upon the death of [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], McConnell joked: "It was a wonderful birthday present for Hillary Clinton to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court Monday night on her birthday. Oh, I’m sure she was so grateful."<ref>[https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/cocaine-mitch-wonderful-birthday-present-hillary-clinton-confirm-amy-coney-barrett-supreme-court-monday-video/ Cocaine Mitch: “It Was a Wonderful Birthday Present For Hillary Clinton to Confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday” (VIDEO)]</ref>

==Broken promises==
McConnell, like many Republicans, has promised that if a Senate majority could be reached, they would work toward passing an actual budget instead of stop-gap spending measures.<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/206309-gop-well-pass-budget-every-year- Senate GOP: We’ll pass a budget every year]</ref>

While McConnell had promised to make the Senate less dysfunctional, it had only gotten worse by 2018.<ref>Wallner, James (March 29, 2018). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/mitch-mcconnell-promised-to-fix-the-broken-senate-instead-its-only-gotten-worse Mitch McConnell promised to fix the broken Senate. Instead, it's only gotten worse.] ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved March 29, 2018.</ref>

==Controversies==
In 2013, it was reported that McConnell said that he wanted to "punch [[Tea Party]] bullies in the nose".<ref>[https://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>[https://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?] '''(Note: link is broken)</ref>

It was leaked in mid-April 2020 that McConnell secretly had a strong disdain for [[Donald Trump]] behind the his back despite a public appearance of cooperation and concurrence.<ref>Two references:
*[https://bipartisanreport.com/2020/04/13/mcconnells-private-bashing-of-nuts-trump-leaked-to-the-new-yorker/ McConnell’s Private Bashing Of ‘Nuts’ Trump Leaked To ‘The New Yorker’]
*[https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/mitch-mcconnell-calls-trump-nuts-and-cant-stand-that-hes-like-sexual-predator-roy-moore-report/ Mitch McConnell calls Trump ‘nuts’ — and ‘can’t stand’ that he’s like sexual predator Roy Moore: report]</ref>

==Personal life==
McConnell is married to [[Elaine Chao]], the current [[United States Secretary of Transportation]]. He is a [[Baptist]] but was married to Sherrill Redmon from 1968 to 1980 before divorcing.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/13/us/mitch-mcconnell-fast-facts/ Mitch McConnell Fast Facts]</ref>

==Liberal opposition==
:''See also: [[Moscow Mitch syndrome]] and [[Left-wing violence in the Trump era]]''
McConnell has been subject to multiple liberal smears and attacks after the 2016 election. In one case, he was confronted by an unhinged liberal while dining with his wife.<ref>[https://www.westernjournal.com/watch-mitch-mcconnell-attacked-dining-wife/ Watch: Mitch McConnell Attacked While Dining with His Wife]</ref> In another instance, protestors outside his home called for violence against the senator.<ref>[https://townhall.com/tipsheet/timothymeads/2019/08/06/protester-outside-mitch-mcconnells-home-says-stab-the-motherfcker-in-the-heart-n2551245 Protester Outside Mitch McConnell's Home Says 'Stab The Motherf*cker In The Heart']</ref> After blocking two partisan "election security" bills, he has been labeled as "Moscow Mitch" by communist-supporting [[Liberal hypocrisy|liberal hypocrites]].<ref>[https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/455570-kentucky-democrats-sell-moscow-mitch-gear-after-mcconnell Kentucky Democrats sell 'Moscow Mitch' gear after McConnell blocks election security bills]</ref>

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

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

{{Republican establishment}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Mitch}}
[[Category:United States Senators]]
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[[Category:110th United States Congress]]
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[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Establishment]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
[[Category:Kentucky]]
[[Category:RINO Backers]]
[[Category:RINOs]]

Supreme Court of the United States

2020-10-27T01:15:12Z

JoeRW: Replaced RBG with ACB

[[Image:Supreme Court.jpg|thumb|200px|US Supreme Court Building]]
{| class="infobox bordered" style="font-size:95%; width:25em;"
! style="font-size:120%; background:lightyellow; text-align:center; padding:5px 0;" | Importance of the Court for the future of the country
|-
| style="padding:15px;" |“If the ... president doesn't place morally sound Christians on the bench of our highest court of this land, we might as well look for a new country to raise our children in. The [[Reagan]] and [[George H. Bush]] administrations failed us when they nominated "moderates" to the bench and the [[Clinton]] administration further disappointed us with the nomination of Judge [[Justice Ginsburg|Ginsburg]]. The ... presidential administration will determine the path the [[United States]] will take. Will it be path of light, or further darkness?”
<div style="padding-left:40px;">— [[Anthony A. Falzarano]]<ref name="Falzarano2009">{{cite book |title=And Such Were Some Of You! One Man's Walk Out Of The Gay Lifestyle |author=Anthony Falzarano |publisher=Xulon Press |place=U.S.A. |year=2009 |chapter=18.What the ex-gay movement must accomplished to succeed |pages= 223 |isbn=978-1606473863 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Such-Were-Some-You/dp/1606473867 }}</ref></div>
|}
The '''Supreme Court of the United States''' (SCOTUS) is the highest court of the judiciary of the [[United States of America]].

[[Alexander Hamilton]] originally described the federal judiciary as the "least dangerous branch" due to the fact that it does not have the power to enforce its rulings, or control the country's [[finance]]s.<ref>http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa78.htm Federalist #78</ref> However, due to [[liberal]] tendencies the Supreme Court has grabbed so much power in the last half-century that it currently exceeds the authority of the other branches of government.

==History==
Starting in 1791, the Supreme Court met in the [[Old City Hall (Philadelphia)|Old City Hall]] building in Philadelphia. The size of the court was set at nine in the [[Judiciary Act of 1869]]. Between 1800 and 1935, it met primarily in the basement of the United States [[Capitol]] building, then in the Old Senate Chamber, until it moved into its present location at One First Street NE, [[Washington, D.C.]]

==Structure==
By custom, the Court is composed of eight [[Associate Justice]]s and one [[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]. To assist them there are many clerks, guards, and staff. Cases are heard ''[[en banc]]'' whenever the Court is in session. Historians generally divide Court history into eras named after the Chief Justice then presiding (e.g., the [[Rehnquist Court]] and the [[Warren Court]]).
[[Image:SCOTUS.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Supreme Court of the United States, 2010 Back Row (l-r):Sotomayor, Breyer, Alito, Kagan Front Row(l-r):Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg]]
Justices are appointed by the U.S. [[President]] with the advice and approval of the [[U.S. Senate]], which means that confirmation by a vote of a simple majority of the Senate is required before one can be sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court.

A list of pending cases to be heard on their merits by the Supreme Court, also known as petitions for which [[certiorari]] has been granted, is available on its website.<ref>[http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/07grantednotedlist.pdf Cases pending for the 2007 term]</ref>

==Opinions==
Prior to the [[Marshall Court]], the Court issued [[opinion]]s in ''seriatim''. This means that each Justice wrote his own opinion and delivered it from the bench. Currently, the Court issues one opinion, said to be "the opinion of the Court". Opinions tend to have the history of the case, followed by the Court's reasoning and action. Generally the opinion will be written by a member of the majority, chosen by either the Chief Justice or the most senior Justice in the majority.

When a majority of Justices agrees to the opinion, it is called the [[Majority Opinion|majority opinion]]. Occasionally, a majority of Justices agrees to the [[remedy]], yet a minority of Justices agrees with the main opinion. This is called a [[plurality opinion]].

Justices that disagree with the Court's action can and frequently do write [[dissenting opinion]]s, which state their objections to the ruling. When a Justice agrees with an action, but not the reasoning behind it, he may write a concurring opinion, which states the reasoning he would have used. Such opinions have no bearing on the case at bar, but are often used later in time as justification for legal rulings.

==Conservative and liberal votes==
[[File:Judges-over-time.jpg|thumb|200px|How judges became more conservative (moving up) or liberal (moving down) over time. Click to enlarge.]]

Four of the five most conservative justices to serve on the court since 1937, out of a total of 43 justices, are on the court right now: Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] and Justices [[Antonin Scalia]], [[Clarence Thomas]] and [[Samuel Alito]] The fifth was Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]], whom Chief Justice Roberts replaced in 2005.<ref>see Adam Liptak, "To Nudge, Shift or Shove the Supreme Court Left," [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/weekinreview/01liptak.html?_r=1&hp ''New York Times'' Jan. 31, 2009] Data from a 2008 study by William M. Landes, who teaches law and economics at the University of Chicago, and conservative Judge Richard A. Posner of the federal appeals court.</ref> Looking at votes in divided cases on ideologically charged issues like criminal procedure, civil rights and the First Amendment shows Justice Thomas, the most conservative justice. He voted for the conservative position in those cases 82% of the time. Justice Marshall, the only other African-American to serve on the court, was by this measure the most liberal, voting for the conservative side 21% of the time. Thankfully, Scalia maintained a hard conservative position, consistently opposing liberals and their fruitless court positions.

In ten of the last eleven appointments, the new justice was more conservative than the one replaced.

==Current members==
{|class="wikitable"
!Name!!Date of Accession!!Appointed by!!Title!!General ideology
|-
|[[Clarence Thomas]]||October 23, 1991|||[[George H. W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Stephen Breyer]]||August 3, 1994|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[John Roberts]]||September 29, 2005|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]|||[[moderate]]/swing
|-
|[[Samuel Alito]]||January 31, 2006|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Sonia Sotomayor]]||August 6, 2009|||[[Barack Obama]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Elena Kagan]]||August 7, 2010||[[Barack Obama]]||[[Associate Justice]]||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Neil Gorsuch]]||April 10, 2017||[[Donald Trump]]||[[Associate Justice]]||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Brett Kavanaugh]]||October 6, 2018||[[Donald Trump]]||[[Associate Justice]]||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Amy Coney Barrett]]||October 26, 2020||[[Donald Trump]]||[[Associate Justice]]||[[conservative]]
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Judicial activism]]
*[[State supreme court]], usually the corresponding court in a [[state court]] system
*[[Supreme Court]] for supreme courts generally
*[[Supreme Court 2011 Term]]
*[[28 U.S.C. § 1254(1)]]
*[[2007 key issues]]
*[[American Trucking Ass'ns v. Scheiner]]
*[[Anderson v. Liberty Lobby]]

==Further reading==
* Hall, Kermit L., ed. ''The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States'' (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Supreme-United-States/dp/0195176618/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525239&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search], complete text online at many academic libraries.
** Patrick, John J. ed. ''The Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States'' (1994)
* Hall, Kermit L., and James W Ely Jr., eds. ''The Oxford Guide to United State Supreme Court Decisions'' (2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Guide-United-Supreme-Decisions/dp/019537939X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525239&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search], complete text online at many academic libraries.
* Rehnquist, William H. ''The Supreme Court'' (2002), a popular introduction [https://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Court-William-H-Rehnquist/dp/0375708618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525459&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Savage, David G. ''Turning Right: The Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court'' (1993) [https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Right-Making-Rehnquist-Supreme/dp/0471595535/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525459&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]

{{Supreme Court|jay=y|ellsworth=y|marshall=y|taney=y|chase=y|waite=y|fuller=y|white=y|taft=y|hughes=y|stone=y|vinson=y|warren=y|burger=y|rehnquist=y|roberts=y}}

[[Category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court]]
[[Category:United States Law]]
[[Category:United States History]]

Herman Cain

2020-07-30T18:29:00Z

JoeRW: /* Political Positions */ Grammar

[[File:HCain4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Herman Cain]]
'''Herman Cain''' (December 13, 1945 - July 30, 2020) was an American journalist, businessman, politician, Tea Party activist, and broadcaster. He was a prominent [[African American]] conservative. He ran for the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States in the [[2012 Presidential election]], but suspended his campaign after several women made allegations that he had inappropriate relations with them including one allegation of an affiar.

Cain was born in [[Georgia]] and grew up there. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University. He married his wife, Gloria, in 1968. They had two children.

Cain worked for the [[United States Navy]] as a civilian ballistics analyst, then as a business analyst for the [[Coca-Cola Company]] and [[Pillsbury Company]] in 1977. While there, Cain moved to Pillsbury's [[Burger King]] division, eventually overseeing 400 Philadelphia franchises. He then moved to their Godfather's Pizza chain in 1986 and returned it to profitability. He then served on the National Restaurant Association board, becoming President and CEO in 1996.

Cain was a senior advisor to the 1996 [[Bob Dole|Dole]]/[[Jack Kemp|Kemp]] campaign for the Presidency. In 2004, he ran for the United States Senate in Georgia as a Republican, facing Congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the seat formerly held by [[Zell Miller]]. Collins got 20% of the vote, Cain got 26%, and Isakson avoided a runoff by getting 53%.<ref name="senate">[[Associated Press]] (July 21, 2004). [https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126389,00.html Ga. Dems Forced Into Senate Runoff.] ''[[Fox News]]''</ref>

''The Herman Cain Show'' radio program was based in Atlanta. Cain founded the leadership consulting company T*H*E New Voice, Inc. He authored four books on leadership and self-empowerment, including ''Leadership is Common Sense'' and ''CEO of Self''.

==Political Positions==
Cain was against same-sex "marriage" and was [[pro-life]].<ref>https://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2011/10/21/a-mea-culpa-on-herman-cain-and-abortion/</ref> He was opposed to political [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/07/17/herman-cain-islam-combines-church-and-state|title=Herman Cain: Islam Combines Church and State|date=July 17, 2011|newspaper=Fox Nation}}</ref> During the [[Libyan War]] he was opposed to Obama's intervention and said that [[al-Qaeda]] would rule the country.

==2012 Presidential Run==
Herman Cain officially announced his decision to enter the presidential race of 2012. He had a decent following courtesy of the [[Tea Party movement]], [[Op-Ed]] articles and a radio program through [[Conservative media]] outlets. If declared the winner, many people would have considered Cain to be this nation's first [[African-American]] president. Cain prefers the term "black American" to "African-American", stating, "My roots go back through slavery in this country. Yes, they came from Africa. But the roots of my heritage are in the United States of America. So I consider myself a black American."<ref>[https://www.theblaze.com/stories/herman-cain-i-prefer-black-american/ Herman Cain: I Prefer 'Black American'] Morgenstern, Madeleine, October 16, 2011, theblaze.com, retrieved October 20, 2011</ref>

Cain was widely believed to have won the [[South Carolina]] debates, though the potential field of candidates was limited.<ref name="debate">[[CBS News]] [https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20060614-10391715.html How Herman Cain won the GOP debate.]'</ref>

On December 3 Cain announced, that his campaign was "suspended". This was the result of a relentless campaign of smear tactics and outright fabrications created and amplified by the media in order to keep black voters, who are overwhelmingly God-fearing Christians opposed to sexual deviance, voting for the Democratic party, despite the growing realization among blacks that they have more in common with the GOP and its message of self-success than with the "gravy-train politics" of the outdated Democrats. It is interesting that media coverage of Bill Clinton's numerous instances of sexual harassment and adultery were reported in a much more favorable light than Cain's few minor indiscretions, which were vague accusations of "inappropriate conduct" from women who were fired from the NRA and chose to remain anonymous to avoid being questioned over their alleged experiences. It should be noted that commenting on the height of one of his coworkers is apparently the worst instance of sexual harassment that the media could dig up; he used his hand to compare the height of a female subordinate to his wife of similar height. It is also interesting that one of the more offensive nicknames that Bill Clinton has accepted from his "not-racist-at-all" liberal worshipers is "The First Black President," apparently because all black people play the saxophone and cheat on their wives. Cain would remain an important voice of conservatism and endorsed [[Newt Gingrich]].

==Controversial campaign ad ==
In October 2011, the Cain campaign released a [http://conservativebyte.com/2011/10/have-you-seen-herman-cain‘s-new-’smoking’-ad/ controversial political campaign advertisement], which featured filmed comments from his chief of staff, Mark Block, and a final shot of Block, in a close-up, inhaling on a cigarette. The comments made in the ad, in contrast with the highly scripted, edited and vetted content of even "grassroots" Obama campaign videos, are the real feelings of Cain's right-hand man, and reflect the general sentiment of the people who had worked with Cain on his campaign and in the National Restaurant Association. Contrary to the impression left by mainstream news coverage of the ad itself, smoking a cigarette on TV is not yet a crime. More time was taken criticizing Block's smoking than analyzing the very salient points made in this and other Cain ads.<ref>[http://calconservatives.com/archives/4284] Calconservatives website</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hermancain.com/ Herman Cain: Official website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADaC7AahRM Cain's Gospel recordings]
*[http://www.newvoicefoundation.org/ T*H*E New Voice Foundation]
*[http://www.northstarwriters.com/ North Star Writers Group]
*[http://www.newvotersalliance.org/ New Voters Alliance]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Herman}}
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Tea Party Movement]]
[[Category:Black Conservatives]][[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]

Herman Cain

2020-07-30T16:47:48Z

JoeRW: More grammar fixes

[[File:HCain4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Herman Cain]]
'''Herman Cain''' (December 13, 1945 - July 30, 2020) was an American journalist, businessman, politician, Tea Party activist, and broadcaster. He was a prominent [[African American]] conservative. He ran for the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States in the [[2012 Presidential election]], but suspended his campaign after several women made allegations that he had inappropriate relations with them including one allegation of an affiar.

Cain was born in [[Georgia]] and grew up there. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University. He married his wife, Gloria, in 1968. They had two children.

Cain worked for the [[United States Navy]] as a civilian ballistics analyst, then as a business analyst for the [[Coca-Cola Company]] and [[Pillsbury Company]] in 1977. While there, Cain moved to Pillsbury's [[Burger King]] division, eventually overseeing 400 Philadelphia franchises. He then moved to their Godfather's Pizza chain in 1986 and returned it to profitability. He then served on the National Restaurant Association board, becoming President and CEO in 1996.

Cain was a senior advisor to the 1996 [[Bob Dole|Dole]]/[[Jack Kemp|Kemp]] campaign for the Presidency. In 2004, he ran for the United States Senate in Georgia as a Republican, facing Congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the seat formerly held by [[Zell Miller]]. Collins got 20% of the vote, Cain got 26%, and Isakson avoided a runoff by getting 53%.<ref name="senate">[[Associated Press]] (July 21, 2004). [https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126389,00.html Ga. Dems Forced Into Senate Runoff.] ''[[Fox News]]''</ref>

''The Herman Cain Show'' radio program was based in Atlanta. Cain founded the leadership consulting company T*H*E New Voice, Inc. He authored four books on leadership and self-empowerment, including ''Leadership is Common Sense'' and ''CEO of Self''.

==Political Positions==
Cain was against same-sex "marriage" and is [[pro-life]].<ref>https://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2011/10/21/a-mea-culpa-on-herman-cain-and-abortion/</ref> He was opposed to political [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/07/17/herman-cain-islam-combines-church-and-state|title=Herman Cain: Islam Combines Church and State|date=July 17, 2011|newspaper=Fox Nation}}</ref> During the [[Libyan War]] he was opposed to Obama's intervention and said that [[al-Qaeda]] will rule the country.

==2012 Presidential Run==
Herman Cain officially announced his decision to enter the presidential race of 2012. He had a decent following courtesy of the [[Tea Party movement]], [[Op-Ed]] articles and a radio program through [[Conservative media]] outlets. If declared the winner, many people would have considered Cain to be this nation's first [[African-American]] president. Cain prefers the term "black American" to "African-American", stating, "My roots go back through slavery in this country. Yes, they came from Africa. But the roots of my heritage are in the United States of America. So I consider myself a black American."<ref>[https://www.theblaze.com/stories/herman-cain-i-prefer-black-american/ Herman Cain: I Prefer 'Black American'] Morgenstern, Madeleine, October 16, 2011, theblaze.com, retrieved October 20, 2011</ref>

Cain was widely believed to have won the [[South Carolina]] debates, though the potential field of candidates was limited.<ref name="debate">[[CBS News]] [https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20060614-10391715.html How Herman Cain won the GOP debate.]'</ref>

On December 3 Cain announced, that his campaign was "suspended". This was the result of a relentless campaign of smear tactics and outright fabrications created and amplified by the media in order to keep black voters, who are overwhelmingly God-fearing Christians opposed to sexual deviance, voting for the Democratic party, despite the growing realization among blacks that they have more in common with the GOP and its message of self-success than with the "gravy-train politics" of the outdated Democrats. It is interesting that media coverage of Bill Clinton's numerous instances of sexual harassment and adultery were reported in a much more favorable light than Cain's few minor indiscretions, which were vague accusations of "inappropriate conduct" from women who were fired from the NRA and chose to remain anonymous to avoid being questioned over their alleged experiences. It should be noted that commenting on the height of one of his coworkers is apparently the worst instance of sexual harassment that the media could dig up; he used his hand to compare the height of a female subordinate to his wife of similar height. It is also interesting that one of the more offensive nicknames that Bill Clinton has accepted from his "not-racist-at-all" liberal worshipers is "The First Black President," apparently because all black people play the saxophone and cheat on their wives. Cain would remain an important voice of conservatism and endorsed [[Newt Gingrich]].

==Controversial campaign ad ==
In October 2011, the Cain campaign released a [http://conservativebyte.com/2011/10/have-you-seen-herman-cain‘s-new-’smoking’-ad/ controversial political campaign advertisement], which featured filmed comments from his chief of staff, Mark Block, and a final shot of Block, in a close-up, inhaling on a cigarette. The comments made in the ad, in contrast with the highly scripted, edited and vetted content of even "grassroots" Obama campaign videos, are the real feelings of Cain's right-hand man, and reflect the general sentiment of the people who had worked with Cain on his campaign and in the National Restaurant Association. Contrary to the impression left by mainstream news coverage of the ad itself, smoking a cigarette on TV is not yet a crime. More time was taken criticizing Block's smoking than analyzing the very salient points made in this and other Cain ads.<ref>[http://calconservatives.com/archives/4284] Calconservatives website</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hermancain.com/ Herman Cain: Official website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADaC7AahRM Cain's Gospel recordings]
*[http://www.newvoicefoundation.org/ T*H*E New Voice Foundation]
*[http://www.northstarwriters.com/ North Star Writers Group]
*[http://www.newvotersalliance.org/ New Voters Alliance]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Herman}}
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Tea Party Movement]]
[[Category:Black Conservatives]][[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]

Herman Cain

2020-07-30T16:44:46Z

JoeRW: More grammar fixes

[[File:HCain4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Herman Cain]]
'''Herman Cain''' (December 13, 1945 - July 30, 2020) was an American journalist, businessman, politician, Tea Party activist, and broadcaster. He was a prominent [[African American]] conservative. He ran for the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States in the [[2012 Presidential election]], but suspended his campaign after several women made allegations that he had inappropriate relations with them including one allegation of an affiar.

Cain was born in [[Georgia]] and grew up there. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University. He married his wife, Gloria, in 1968. They have two children.

Cain worked for the [[United States Navy]] as a civilian ballistics analyst, then as a business analyst for the [[Coca-Cola Company]] and [[Pillsbury Company]] in 1977. While there, Cain moved to Pillsbury's [[Burger King]] division, eventually overseeing 400 Philadelphia franchises. He then moved to their Godfather's Pizza chain in 1986 and returned it to profitability. He then served on the National Restaurant Association board, becoming President and CEO in 1996.

Cain was a senior advisor to the 1996 [[Bob Dole|Dole]]/[[Jack Kemp|Kemp]] campaign for the Presidency. In 2004, he ran for the United States Senate in Georgia as a Republican, facing Congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the seat formerly held by [[Zell Miller]]. Collins got 20% of the vote, Cain got 26%, and Isakson avoided a runoff by getting 53%.<ref name="senate">[[Associated Press]] (July 21, 2004). [https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126389,00.html Ga. Dems Forced Into Senate Runoff.] ''[[Fox News]]''</ref>

''The Herman Cain Show'' radio program was based in Atlanta. Cain founded the leadership consulting company T*H*E New Voice, Inc. He authored four books on leadership and self-empowerment, including ''Leadership is Common Sense'' and ''CEO of Self''.

==Political Positions==
Cain was against same-sex "marriage" and is [[pro-life]].<ref>https://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2011/10/21/a-mea-culpa-on-herman-cain-and-abortion/</ref> He was opposed to political [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/07/17/herman-cain-islam-combines-church-and-state|title=Herman Cain: Islam Combines Church and State|date=July 17, 2011|newspaper=Fox Nation}}</ref> During the [[Libyan War]] he was opposed to Obama's intervention and said that [[al-Qaeda]] will rule the country.

==2012 Presidential Run==
Herman Cain officially announced his decision to enter the presidential race of 2012. He had a decent following courtesy of the [[Tea Party movement]], [[Op-Ed]] articles and a radio program through [[Conservative media]] outlets. If declared the winner, many people would have considered Cain to be this nation's first [[African-American]] president. Cain prefers the term "black American" to "African-American", stating, "My roots go back through slavery in this country. Yes, they came from Africa. But the roots of my heritage are in the United States of America. So I consider myself a black American."<ref>[https://www.theblaze.com/stories/herman-cain-i-prefer-black-american/ Herman Cain: I Prefer 'Black American'] Morgenstern, Madeleine, October 16, 2011, theblaze.com, retrieved October 20, 2011</ref>

Cain was widely believed to have won the [[South Carolina]] debates, though the potential field of candidates was limited.<ref name="debate">[[CBS News]] [https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20060614-10391715.html How Herman Cain won the GOP debate.]'</ref>

On December 3 Cain announced, that his campaign was "suspended". This was the result of a relentless campaign of smear tactics and outright fabrications created and amplified by the media in order to keep black voters, who are overwhelmingly God-fearing Christians opposed to sexual deviance, voting for the Democratic party, despite the growing realization among blacks that they have more in common with the GOP and its message of self-success than with the "gravy-train politics" of the outdated Democrats. It is interesting that media coverage of Bill Clinton's numerous instances of sexual harassment and adultery were reported in a much more favorable light than Cain's few minor indiscretions, which were vague accusations of "inappropriate conduct" from women who were fired from the NRA and chose to remain anonymous to avoid being questioned over their alleged experiences. It should be noted that commenting on the height of one of his coworkers is apparently the worst instance of sexual harassment that the media could dig up; he used his hand to compare the height of a female subordinate to his wife of similar height. It is also interesting that one of the more offensive nicknames that Bill Clinton has accepted from his "not-racist-at-all" liberal worshipers is "The First Black President," apparently because all black people play the saxophone and cheat on their wives. Cain will remain an important voice of conservatism. Cain endorsed [[Newt Gingrich]].

==Controversial campaign ad ==
In October 2011, the Cain campaign released a [http://conservativebyte.com/2011/10/have-you-seen-herman-cain‘s-new-’smoking’-ad/ controversial political campaign advertisement], which featured filmed comments from his chief of staff, Mark Block, and a final shot of Block, in a close-up, inhaling on a cigarette. The comments made in the ad, in contrast with the highly scripted, edited and vetted content of even "grassroots" Obama campaign videos, are the real feelings of Cain's right-hand man, and reflect the general sentiment of the people who had worked with Cain on his campaign and in the National Restaurant Association. Contrary to the impression left by mainstream news coverage of the ad itself, smoking a cigarette on TV is not yet a crime. More time was taken criticizing Block's smoking than analyzing the very salient points made in this and other Cain ads.<ref>[http://calconservatives.com/archives/4284] Calconservatives website</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hermancain.com/ Herman Cain: Official website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADaC7AahRM Cain's Gospel recordings]
*[http://www.newvoicefoundation.org/ T*H*E New Voice Foundation]
*[http://www.northstarwriters.com/ North Star Writers Group]
*[http://www.newvotersalliance.org/ New Voters Alliance]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Herman}}
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Tea Party Movement]]
[[Category:Black Conservatives]][[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]

Herman Cain

2020-07-30T16:43:42Z

JoeRW: Sadly learned that Cain died from coronavirus today - updated with date of death and fixed some grammar with past tense

[[File:HCain4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Herman Cain]]
'''Herman Cain''' (December 13, 1945 - July 30, 2020) was an American journalist, businessman, politician, Tea Party activist, and broadcaster. He was a prominent [[African American]] conservative. He ran for the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States in the [[2012 Presidential election]], but suspended his campaign after several women made allegations that he had inappropriate relations with them including one allegation of an affiar.

Cain was born in [[Georgia]] and grew up there. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University. He married his wife, Gloria, in 1968. They have two children.

Cain worked for the [[United States Navy]] as a civilian ballistics analyst, then as a business analyst for the [[Coca-Cola Company]] and [[Pillsbury Company]] in 1977. While there, Cain moved to Pillsbury's [[Burger King]] division, eventually overseeing 400 Philadelphia franchises. He then moved to their Godfather's Pizza chain in 1986 and returned it to profitability. He then served on the National Restaurant Association board, becoming President and CEO in 1996.

Cain was a senior advisor to the 1996 [[Bob Dole|Dole]]/[[Jack Kemp|Kemp]] campaign for the Presidency. In 2004, he ran for the United States Senate in Georgia as a Republican, facing Congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the seat formerly held by [[Zell Miller]]. Collins got 20% of the vote, Cain got 26%, and Isakson avoided a runoff by getting 53%.<ref name="senate">[[Associated Press]] (July 21, 2004). [https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126389,00.html Ga. Dems Forced Into Senate Runoff.] ''[[Fox News]]''</ref>

''The Herman Cain Show'' radio program is based in Atlanta. Cain founded the leadership consulting company T*H*E New Voice, Inc. He has authored four books on leadership and self-empowerment, including ''Leadership is Common Sense'' and ''CEO of Self''.

==Political Positions==
Cain was against same-sex "marriage" and is [[pro-life]].<ref>https://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2011/10/21/a-mea-culpa-on-herman-cain-and-abortion/</ref> He was opposed to political [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/07/17/herman-cain-islam-combines-church-and-state|title=Herman Cain: Islam Combines Church and State|date=July 17, 2011|newspaper=Fox Nation}}</ref> During the [[Libyan War]] he was opposed to Obama's intervention and said that [[al-Qaeda]] will rule the country.

==2012 Presidential Run==
Herman Cain officially announced his decision to enter the presidential race of 2012. He had a decent following courtesy of the [[Tea Party movement]], [[Op-Ed]] articles and a radio program through [[Conservative media]] outlets. If declared the winner, many people would have considered Cain to be this nation's first [[African-American]] president. Cain prefers the term "black American" to "African-American", stating, "My roots go back through slavery in this country. Yes, they came from Africa. But the roots of my heritage are in the United States of America. So I consider myself a black American."<ref>[https://www.theblaze.com/stories/herman-cain-i-prefer-black-american/ Herman Cain: I Prefer 'Black American'] Morgenstern, Madeleine, October 16, 2011, theblaze.com, retrieved October 20, 2011</ref>

Cain was widely believed to have won the [[South Carolina]] debates, though the potential field of candidates was limited.<ref name="debate">[[CBS News]] [https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20060614-10391715.html How Herman Cain won the GOP debate.]'</ref>

On December 3 Cain announced, that his campaign was "suspended". This was the result of a relentless campaign of smear tactics and outright fabrications created and amplified by the media in order to keep black voters, who are overwhelmingly God-fearing Christians opposed to sexual deviance, voting for the Democratic party, despite the growing realization among blacks that they have more in common with the GOP and its message of self-success than with the "gravy-train politics" of the outdated Democrats. It is interesting that media coverage of Bill Clinton's numerous instances of sexual harassment and adultery were reported in a much more favorable light than Cain's few minor indiscretions, which were vague accusations of "inappropriate conduct" from women who were fired from the NRA and chose to remain anonymous to avoid being questioned over their alleged experiences. It should be noted that commenting on the height of one of his coworkers is apparently the worst instance of sexual harassment that the media could dig up; he used his hand to compare the height of a female subordinate to his wife of similar height. It is also interesting that one of the more offensive nicknames that Bill Clinton has accepted from his "not-racist-at-all" liberal worshipers is "The First Black President," apparently because all black people play the saxophone and cheat on their wives. Cain will remain an important voice of conservatism. Cain endorsed [[Newt Gingrich]].

==Controversial campaign ad ==
In October 2011, the Cain campaign released a [http://conservativebyte.com/2011/10/have-you-seen-herman-cain‘s-new-’smoking’-ad/ controversial political campaign advertisement], which featured filmed comments from his chief of staff, Mark Block, and a final shot of Block, in a close-up, inhaling on a cigarette. The comments made in the ad, in contrast with the highly scripted, edited and vetted content of even "grassroots" Obama campaign videos, are the real feelings of Cain's right-hand man, and reflect the general sentiment of the people who had worked with Cain on his campaign and in the National Restaurant Association. Contrary to the impression left by mainstream news coverage of the ad itself, smoking a cigarette on TV is not yet a crime. More time was taken criticizing Block's smoking than analyzing the very salient points made in this and other Cain ads.<ref>[http://calconservatives.com/archives/4284] Calconservatives website</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hermancain.com/ Herman Cain: Official website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADaC7AahRM Cain's Gospel recordings]
*[http://www.newvoicefoundation.org/ T*H*E New Voice Foundation]
*[http://www.northstarwriters.com/ North Star Writers Group]
*[http://www.newvotersalliance.org/ New Voters Alliance]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Herman}}
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Tea Party Movement]]
[[Category:Black Conservatives]][[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]

Essay:Greatest Church Hymns

2019-12-07T00:53:13Z

JoeRW: Added another hymn

There are many great church hymns. Please add to this list, and tell your church to start playing these rather than [[liberal]] substitutes:

#"Abide with me"
#"Alleluia, Sing to Jesus"
#"All That We Have"
#"All the Ends of the Earth"
#"[[Amazing Grace]]"
#"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by [[Martin Luther]]
#"At That First Eucharist"
#"[[Battle Hymn of the Republic]]"
#"Be Not Afraid"
#"Be Thou my Vision"
#"Blest be the Lord"
#"Come Down, Oh Love Divine" (Down Ampney)
#"Come Thou Almighty King"
#"Crown Him With Many Crowns"
#"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"
#"For all the Saints, who from their Labours Rest"
#"For the Beauty of the Earth"
#"Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken"
#"God of our Fathers"
#"Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer"
#"Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above" (Salve Regina)
#"He who would valiant be" (Bunyan's hymn - tune: Monk's Gate, RVW)
#"[[Holy God We Praise Thy Name]]"
#"Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty"
#"How Great Thou Art"
#"I Have a Friend in Jesus"
#"I Know Whom I Have Believed"
#"Immaculate Mary"
#"Immortal, Invisible"
#"In The Garden"
#"Jerusalem"
#"Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" (or "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today")
#"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
#"Joy to the World"
#"Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"
#"Let them Praises Sing Jehovah"
#"Let us Love and Sing and Wonder"
#"Lift High the Cross"
#"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
#"My Faith looks up to Thee"
#"My Shepherd will Supply my Need"
#"O Come, O Come Emmanuel"
#"O for a Thousand Tongues to sing"
#"Old Hundredth"
#"On Eagle's Wings"
#"Onward Christian Soldiers"
#"Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens"
#"Rock of Ages"
#"Sing a New Song"
#"Sing of the Lord's Goodness"
#"The King of Love My Shepard is"
#"[[The Old Rugged Cross]]"
#"Though the Mountains May Fall"
#"To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King"
#"What Child Is This?"<ref>This has connotations of the [[Best of the Public]].</ref>
#"Whatsoever You Do"
#"When They Ring Those Golden Bells
#"Wondrous King all Glorious"

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Religion Essays]]
[[Category:Christianity]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Church Hymns}}

Republican Party

2019-11-24T17:19:45Z

JoeRW: Added Rudy Giuliani as another Republican

{{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 = [[Ronna Romney McDaniel]]
| housespeaker = [[Paul Ryan]]
| houseleader = [[Kevin McCarthy]]
| senateleader = [[Mitch McConnell]]
| foundation = March 20, 1854
| ideology = [[Conservative|Conservatism]] [[Classical Liberalism]] [[Neoconservatism]] [[Liberal conservatism]] [[Libertarianism]] [[Right-wing populism]]
| fiscalpolicy = [[Free Market]]
| socialpolicy = [[Conservative]]
| international = [[International Democrat Union]] [[Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe]] (regional partner)
| 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 and has always stood for equal rights and the dignity of the individual. 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 increasingly made up of veterans of the GAR or Grand Army of the Republic) 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.

Unable to suppress minority voting rights for another century, in the 1960s Democrats sought to make Blacks dependent for food and housing on the Democratic party again with the [[War on Poverty]], as Blacks had been in the pre-Civil War plantation system. Democrats were determined that the party that freed the slaves would not become beneficiaries of the Freedmen's vote so they extended a system of economic co-dependency between white liberal racists and African Americans that has existed for centuries.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/lyndon-johnson-civil-rights-racism/amp Lyndon Johnson was a civil rights hero. But also a racist], by Adam Serwer, MSNBC, 04/11/14</ref> Only now the system of co-dependency is purchased with federal money rather than the [[private sector]] plantation system of the pre-Civil War era.<ref>[http://www.blackandblondemedia.com/2010/03/19/the-dixiecrat-myth/ The Dixiecrat Myth]</ref>

20 of the 30 US Presidents since 1861 have been Republicans and since that same year, a Republican has won 24 of the last 38 presidential elections. The party's most recent candidate, [[New York]] businessman [[Donald Trump]], along with his running mate, [[Indiana]] Governor [[Mike Pence]], won the [[2016 presidential election]] against Democrat challenger [[Hillary Clinton]] and her running mate [[Tim Kaine]].

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 (rooster). 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 is unethical to force taxpayers 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>https://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). [https://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>''''' Between 1995 and 2018, the GOP become significantly more pro-life on the issue.<ref>Williams, Thomas D. (October 20, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/20/pew-republicans-trend-pro-life-dems-align-abortion-industry/ Pew: Republicans Trend Increasingly Pro-Life as Democrats Align with Abortion Industry]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved October 20, 2018.</ref>

Contrary to the claims of liberals and Democrats, the GOP better represent the poor in the U.S., while Democrats represent the wealthy.<ref>Starr, Penny (October 21, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/21/economic-profile-50-states-republicans-represent-poor-democrats-rich/ Economic Profile of 50 States Reveals Republicans Represent the Poor, Democrats the Rich]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved October 21, 2018.</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, Teddy 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 by veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, the '''GAR''') dominated national politics as the victors of the [[American Civil War]], 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 8 of 13 presidential elections (losing in 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008 and 2012). Its great rival is the party of segregation, slavery and Jim Crow, the [[Democratic Party#History|Democrat Party]].

===Third Party System: 1854–1896===
The Republican party began as a spontaneous grassroots 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 Blacks and 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====
[[File:Kkk-carpetbagger-cartoon.jpg|left|300px|thumb|A cartoon threatening that the KKK will lynch [[scalawag]]s (left) and [[carpetbagger]]s (right) on March 4, 1869, the day President Grant takes office. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Independent Monitor, September 1, 1868. A full-scale scholarly history analyzes the cartoonː Guy W. Hubbs, Searching for Freedom after the Civil War: Klansman, Carpetbagger, Scalawag, and Freedman (2015).<ref>Hubbs, Guy W. (May 15, 2015). [https://books.google.com/books?id=KIVoCQAAQBAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Searching for Freedom after the Civil War: Klansman, Carpetbagger, Scalawag, and Freedman"]. University Alabama Press.</ref>]]
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 system|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 [[free enterprise]] 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 reform with the [[Sherman Anti-Trust Act]] and the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]], in response to complaints of large enterprise [[monopoly]] control by small business owners 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 [[United States presidential election, 1884|1884]] and [[United States 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 decades, 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 segregationist [[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 [[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 [[liberty]]; 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.

====Progressive Republicans====
At the dawn of the 20th century, the Republican Party was regulating monopolies and promoting civil service reform, 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 re-elected 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 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 [[United States 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. [[United States 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 [[United States 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 [[United States presidential election, 1976|1976]], running as a Washington outsider.

====Civil Rights====
[[File:Nixon-and-Martin-Luther-King.png|right|300px|thumb|Dr. Martin Luther King's meeting with Vice President Nixon marked national recognition of King as leader of the civil rights movement.<ref>https://amgreatness.com/2018/07/29/the-switch-that-never-happened-how-the-south-really-went-gop/</ref>]]

Vice President [[Richard Nixon]] invited Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] to Washington, D.C., for a meeting on 13 June 1957. This meeting, described by [[Bayard Rustin]] as a “summit conference,” marked national recognition of King's role in the civil rights movement (Rustin, 13 June 1957). Seeking support for a voter registration initiative in the South, King appealed to Nixon to urge Republicans in Congress to pass the 1957 Civil Rights Act and to visit [[the South]] to express support for civil rights. Optimistic about Nixon's commitment to improving race relations in the United States, King told Nixon, “How deeply grateful all people of goodwill are to you for your assiduous labor and dauntless courage in seeking to make the civil rights bill a reality.”

Republican Attorney General Herbert Brownell originally proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The bill passed 285-126 in the House with Republicans providing the majority of votes 167–19 and Democrats 118–107.<ref>HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. PASSED. YEA SUPPORTS PRESIDENT'S POSITION. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42</ref> It then passed 72-18 in the Senate, with Republicans again supplying the majority of votes, 43–0 and Democrats voting 29–18. [[John Kennedy]] voted against it.<ref>HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. PASSED. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75</ref> It was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

====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 mainly during 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 entrepreneurship, 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 unusual 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>

The first southern states to trend Republican were on the periphery: North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. Democrat [[George Wallace]] lost these voters in his 1968 presidential bid. The voters who first migrated to the Republican party were [[suburban]], prosperous New South types. The more Republican the South has become, the less racist.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/06/democratic-party-racist-history-mona-charen/</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. Taking up [[media bias]], they too equated their conservative opponents in the party with the "lunatic fringe" and did not take them seriously until they found themselves deposed by a grassroots 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 [[riot]]s 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 and Ozark mountains (where slavery was never strong during the Civil War due to the lack of large plots of fertile soil), 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 liberal academics allege that the shift of the South to the Republican Party began in the 1960s, the evidence that it really began in the 1920s and the 1950s is undeniable.<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>
[[File:Partycivilrights.jpeg|right|200px|thumb|]]
The immediate cause of the political transition involved civil rights. The [[civil rights movement]] caused enormous controversy among southern Democrats with many attacking it as a violation of states' rights. When segregation was outlawed by a Republican appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice and by the [[bi-partisan]] 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 governors appealed to a less-educated, blue-collar electorate that on economic grounds was dependent on the Democrat Party, but opposed segregation. After the 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 enfranchized black voters were bought off with Johnson's [[War on Poverty]] and 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 with a Southern Strategy that 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 [https://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). [https://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). [https://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). [https://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 afterward, 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 ensuring 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 confronted the president, who still retained some popularity, but were able to chip away at support for his domestic policies, as the [[recession of 2008]] dragged 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 [https://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=https://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=https://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=https://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.

Despite little action on the federal level, GOP-controlled governments at the state level did deliver to voters, such as through tax reductions.<ref>Persons, Sally (May 31, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/31/republican-governors-elected-in-2010-delivering-to/ Republican governors elected in 2010 delivering to their states what Congress hasn’t]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 31, 2017.</ref>

====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>[https://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). [https://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). [https://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>
[[File:Donald Trump official presidential photo.jpg|left|thumb|200px|President 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). [https://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). [https://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> After [[West Virginia]] Governor [[Jim Justice]] left the Democratic Party and joined the GOP, the GOP had 34 Republican governors, the most since 1922.<ref>Leahy, Michael Patrick (August 7, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/07/34-states-have-republican-governors-most-since-1922/ 34 States Have Republican Governors, Most Since 1922]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 7, 2017.</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>[https://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"/> At the beginning of 2017, Congressional Republicans were also more united during Trump's presidency than in any other time in recent U.S. political history.<ref>Stucky, Phillip (April 2, 2017). [https://dailycaller.com/2017/04/02/trump-smashes-records-with-party-unity/ Trump Smashes Records With Party Unity]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref> However, despite these opportunities, the 115th U.S. Congress saw many missed opportunities to advance conservative policies and priorities.<ref>Sherfinski, David; Dinan, Stephen (January 3, 2019). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/3/republicans-relinquish-congress-whimper-more-misse/ Republicans relinquish Congress with whimper: 'More missed opportunities than anything']. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved January 13, 2019. See also:
*Wolverton, Joe (January 13, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/31175-gop-controlled-house-adds-nearly-8-trillion-to-national-debt GOP-controlled House Added Nearly $8 Trillion to National Debt]. ''The New American''. Retrieved January 13, 2019.</ref>

In May 2017, the RNC raised a record $10.8 million,<ref>Kew, Ben (June 21, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/06/21/rnc-raises-more-dems/ Dems Fundraising Lowest Since May 2003; RNC Raises Record $10.8 Million]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved June 21, 2017.</ref> while the DNC raised $4.29 million, the lowest raised in the month since 2003.<ref>Persons, Sally (June 21, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/21/dnc-hits-another-fundraising-low/ DNC hits another fundraising low]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved June 21, 2017.</ref><ref>Bowden, John (June 21, 2017). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/338864-democrats-only-raised-43-million-in-may-worst-fundraising-since-2003 Democrats raised just $4.3M in May]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved June 22, 2017.</ref> The RNC broke another record in June 2017, raising $13.4 million,<ref>Kew, Ben (July 20, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/07/20/rnc-breaks-another-fundraising-record-raises-record-13-4-million-in-june/ RNC Breaks Another Fundraising Record, Raises Record $13.4 Million in June]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved July 20, 2017.</ref><ref>Siegel, Josh (July 20, 2017). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rnc-announces-it-raised-135-million-in-june-a-record-for-a-month-in-a-non-presidential-year/article/2629300 RNC announces it raised $13.5 million in June, a record for a month in a non-presidential year]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved July 20, 2017.</ref> as well as July.<ref>Kew, Ben (August 21, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/21/rnc-breaks-another-fundraising-record-as-democrats-struggle/ RNC Breaks Another Fundraising Record as Democrats Struggle]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 22, 2017.</ref> In 2017 overall, the RNC raised over $130 million, a large amount for an off-election year,<ref>Multiple references:
*Persons, Sally (December 27, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/27/rnc-set-raise-over-100-million-2017-after-leadersh/ RNC set to raise $130M in 2017 after leadership makes fundraising a top priority]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
*Moran, Sean (December 28, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/28/rnc-set-raise-record-130-million-2017/ RNC Set to Raise Record $130 Million in 2017]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
*Samuels, Brett (January 31, 2018). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/371650-rnc-announces-record-off-year-fundraising-haul-in-2017 RNC announces record off-year fundraising haul for 2017]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
*Moran, Sean (February 1, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/01/rnc-raises-record-off-year-132-5-million-2017/ RNC Raises Record Off-Year $132.5 Million in 2017]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved February 1, 2018.</ref> and the National Republican Congressional Committee also raised a record $85 million in 2017.<ref>Moran, Sean (January 15, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/01/15/nrcc-raised-record-85-million-ahead-contentious-2018-midterm-elections/ NRCC Raised a Record $85 Million Ahead of Contentious 2018 Midterm Elections]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved January 15, 2018.</ref>

A September 2018 Gallup poll found that the GOP's favorability rating reached the highest level since 2011.<ref>Multiple references:
*Norman, Jim (September 24, 2018). [https://news.gallup.com/poll/242906/republican-party-favorability-highest-seven-years.aspx Republican Party Favorability Highest in Seven Years]. ''Gallup''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Boyle, Matthew (September 24, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/09/24/gallup-with-donald-trump-at-helm-gop-rises-to-highest-approval-rating-in-nearly-a-decade/ Gallup: With Donald Trump at Helm, GOP Rises to Highest Approval Rating in Nearly a Decade]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Adelmann, Bob (September 25, 2018). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/30167-gop-s-favorability-rating-highest-in-seven-years GOP’s Favorability Rating Highest in Seven Years]. ''The New American''. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
*Keller, Megan (September 24, 2018). [https://thehill.com/homenews/house/408123-republican-partys-favorability-rating-comparable-with-democrats-gallup GOP's favorability hits highest mark in seven years: Gallup]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Lim, Naomi (September 24, 2018). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/gops-favorability-rating-hits-highest-point-since-2011 GOP's favorability rating hits highest point since 2011]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Fordham, Evie (September 24, 2018). [https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/24/republican-party-favorability-gallup/ Poll: Republican Party Enjoys Highest Favorability Rating in Seven Years]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.</ref>

In [[Kentucky]], voters overwhelmingly rejected the Democrats' racist agenda, electing the state's first black [[Attorney General]] and first Republican in 70 years, [[Daniel Cameron]]. Four years earlier, Kentucky voters elected conservative Republican Jenean Hampton as the state's first black statewide elected official, and the Republican governor they elected, [[Matt Bevin]], had adopted four children from Ethiopia.

== 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 (though the Hispanic community still votes predominantly Democrat due to its support for illegal immigration and sanctuary cities). Extremely wealthy businessmen (such as [[Bill Gates]] and [[Warren Buffett]]) have switched to the Democrat party, though small businessmen generally remain in the Republican party. 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 mainly to Democrats support for globalist ideals at the expense of manufacturing job losses.

==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:

*[[Frederick Douglass]] (1818–1895): Abolitionist and suffragist from [[Maryland]]
*[[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, [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner
*[[Tom Dewey]] (1902–1971): Governor of [[New York]]; presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948
*[[Everett Dirksen]] (1896–1969): Senate minority leader, instrumental in passing the [[Civil Rights Act]]
*[[John C. Frémont]] (1813–1890): First Republican candidate for president
*[[Rudy Giuliani]]: Mayor of [[New York City]] (1994-2001)
*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]]
*[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] (1929–1968): [[Civil rights]] leader
*[[Jackie Robinson]] (1919-1972): first [[African American]] major league baseball player
*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, considered representative of the liberal wing of the party
*[[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]]
*[[Barry Goldwater]] (1909–1998): Senator from [[Arizona]], presidential nominee in 1964
*[[Antonin Scalia]] (1936–2016): Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1986–2016)
*[[Clarence Thomas]]: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1991–present)
*[[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
*[[Mike Pence]]: Vice President (2017–present), Governor of [[Indiana]] (2013–2017)

==See also==
*[[List of political parties in the United States]]
*[[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) [https://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: [https://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 [https://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. [https://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 [https://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. [https://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). [https://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]]

B-Team

2019-05-17T03:43:12Z

JoeRW: Added another B

The '''B-Team''' is a name given to players or candidates who, although they may look competitive in practice, are likely to disappoint their side in the real competition, such as a game or election.

In 2019, the "B-Team" of [[Democrat Party|Democrat]] candidates for president ironically all have names that start with "B", perhaps illustrating that [[Mystery:Does God Have a Sense of Humor?|God does have a sense of humor]]. They include:

*[[Bernie Sanders]]
*[[Beto O'Rourke]]
*[[Joe Biden]]
*[[Pete Buttigieg]]
*[[Bill de Blasio]]

[[Category:Politics]]

Greatest Conservative Writers

2019-02-03T00:22:04Z

JoeRW: Added in Phyllis Schlafly and fixed some grammar

'''Greatest Conservative Writers''' is a Hall of Fame to recognize what students in school never learn: that the finest writing is often [[conservative]] rather than [[liberal]]. Here is a growing list, along with a section for debatable candidates:

== The Best ==

*[[George Orwell]] (d. 1950), who became a [[conservative]] in his middle ages and yet [[liberals]] continued to promote him
*[[Pat Buchanan]], a speechwriter for [[Richard Nixon]] and the author of numerous books
*George Gilder, author of ''Wealth and Poverty'' and many additional books on free enterprise.<ref>http://www.gilder.com/</ref>
*[[Ann Coulter]], columnist, book author, and speaker
*[[Winston Churchill]] (d. 1965), statesman and writer
*[[J.R.R. Tolkien]] (d. 1973), author, poet, and scholar<ref>http://www.tolkiensociety.org/</ref>
*[[C.S. Lewis]] (d. 1963), author of ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' and many other books with Christian allegories.
*[[Stephen Crane]] (d. 1900), author and poet.
*[[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (d. 1400), author of ''The Canterbury Tales''.
*[[Mary Shelley]] (d. 1851), best known for being the author of ''Frankenstein''.
*[[Bram Stoker]] (d. 1912), best known for being the author of ''Dracula''.
*[[Rudyard Kipling]] (d. 1936), author, journalist, and poet.
*[[Margaret Mitchell]] (d. 1949), author, journalist
*[[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]] (d. 1881), there aren't that many great conservative Russian authors like this guy.
*[[Phyllis Schlafly]] (d. 2016), author of ''A Choice Not an Echo'' and many other books against the [[Establishment]]

== Arguably Conservative ==

*[[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] (d. 1940), whose greatest novel ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' is arguably conservative.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Authors]]

Republican Party

2018-11-14T00:09:48Z

JoeRW: Added in right-wing populism as another ideological component of the Republican Party

{{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 = [[Ronna Romney McDaniel]]
| housespeaker = [[Paul Ryan]]
| houseleader = [[Kevin McCarthy]]
| senateleader = [[Mitch McConnell]]
| foundation = March 20, 1854
| ideology = [[Conservative|Conservatism]] [[Classical Liberalism]] [[Neoconservatism]] [[Liberal conservatism]] [[Libertarianism]] [[Right-wing populism]]
| fiscalpolicy = [[Free Market]]
| socialpolicy = [[Conservative]]
| international = [[International Democrat Union]] [[Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe]] (regional partner)
| 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.

19 of the 30 US Presidents since 1861 have been Republicans and since that same year, a Republican has won 24 of the last 38 presidential elections. The party's most recent candidate, [[New York]] businessman [[Donald Trump]], along with his running mate, [[Indiana]] Governor [[Mike Pence]], won the [[2016 presidential election]] against Democrat challenger [[Hillary Clinton]] and her running mate [[Tim Kaine]].

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 (rooster). 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 is unethical to force taxpayers 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>https://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). [https://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>''''' Between 1995 and 2018, the GOP become significantly more pro-life on the issue.<ref>Williams, Thomas D. (October 20, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/20/pew-republicans-trend-pro-life-dems-align-abortion-industry/ Pew: Republicans Trend Increasingly Pro-Life as Democrats Align with Abortion Industry]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved October 20, 2018.</ref>

Contrary to the claims of liberals and Democrats, the GOP better represent the poor in the U.S., while Democrats represent the wealthy.<ref>Starr, Penny (October 21, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/21/economic-profile-50-states-republicans-represent-poor-democrats-rich/ Economic Profile of 50 States Reveals Republicans Represent the Poor, Democrats the Rich]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved October 21, 2018.</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 grassroots 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]] (compared to 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 re-elected 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 entrepreneurship, 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 unusual 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 grassroots 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 and Ozark mountains (where slavery was never strong during the Civil War due to the lack of large plots of fertile soil), 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 the 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 enfranchized 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 [https://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). [https://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). [https://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 afterward, 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 ensuring 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 confronted the president, who still retained some popularity, but were able to chip away at support for his domestic policies, as the [[recession of 2008]] dragged 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 [https://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=https://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=https://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.

Despite little action on the federal level, GOP-controlled governments at the state level did deliver to voters, such as through tax reductions.<ref>Persons, Sally (May 31, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/31/republican-governors-elected-in-2010-delivering-to/ Republican governors elected in 2010 delivering to their states what Congress hasn’t]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 31, 2017.</ref>

====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). [https://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). [https://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>
[[File:Donald Trump official presidential photo.jpg|left|thumb|200px|President 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). [https://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> After [[West Virginia]] Governor [[Jim Justice]] left the Democratic Party and joined the GOP, the GOP had 34 Republican governors, the most since 1922.<ref>Leahy, Michael Patrick (August 7, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/07/34-states-have-republican-governors-most-since-1922/ 34 States Have Republican Governors, Most Since 1922]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 7, 2017.</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>[https://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"/>

Congressional Republicans were more united during Trump's presidency than in any other time in recent U.S. political history.<ref>Stucky, Phillip (April 2, 2017). [https://dailycaller.com/2017/04/02/trump-smashes-records-with-party-unity/ Trump Smashes Records With Party Unity]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref>

In May 2017, the RNC raised a record $10.8 million,<ref>Kew, Ben (June 21, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/06/21/rnc-raises-more-dems/ Dems Fundraising Lowest Since May 2003; RNC Raises Record $10.8 Million]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved June 21, 2017.</ref> while the DNC raised $4.29 million, the lowest raised in the month since 2003.<ref>Persons, Sally (June 21, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/21/dnc-hits-another-fundraising-low/ DNC hits another fundraising low]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved June 21, 2017.</ref><ref>Bowden, John (June 21, 2017). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/338864-democrats-only-raised-43-million-in-may-worst-fundraising-since-2003 Democrats raised just $4.3M in May]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved June 22, 2017.</ref> The RNC broke another record in June 2017, raising $13.4 million,<ref>Kew, Ben (July 20, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/07/20/rnc-breaks-another-fundraising-record-raises-record-13-4-million-in-june/ RNC Breaks Another Fundraising Record, Raises Record $13.4 Million in June]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved July 20, 2017.</ref><ref>Siegel, Josh (July 20, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rnc-announces-it-raised-135-million-in-june-a-record-for-a-month-in-a-non-presidential-year/article/2629300 RNC announces it raised $13.5 million in June, a record for a month in a non-presidential year]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved July 20, 2017.</ref> as well as July.<ref>Kew, Ben (August 21, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/21/rnc-breaks-another-fundraising-record-as-democrats-struggle/ RNC Breaks Another Fundraising Record as Democrats Struggle]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 22, 2017.</ref> In 2017 overall, the RNC raised over $130 million, a large amount for an off-election year,<ref>Multiple references:
*Persons, Sally (December 27, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/27/rnc-set-raise-over-100-million-2017-after-leadersh/ RNC set to raise $130M in 2017 after leadership makes fundraising a top priority]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
*Moran, Sean (December 28, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/28/rnc-set-raise-record-130-million-2017/ RNC Set to Raise Record $130 Million in 2017]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
*Samuels, Brett (January 31, 2018). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/371650-rnc-announces-record-off-year-fundraising-haul-in-2017 RNC announces record off-year fundraising haul for 2017]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
*Moran, Sean (February 1, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/01/rnc-raises-record-off-year-132-5-million-2017/ RNC Raises Record Off-Year $132.5 Million in 2017]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved February 1, 2018.</ref> and the National Republican Congressional Committee also raised a record $85 million in 2017.<ref>Moran, Sean (January 15, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/01/15/nrcc-raised-record-85-million-ahead-contentious-2018-midterm-elections/ NRCC Raised a Record $85 Million Ahead of Contentious 2018 Midterm Elections]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved January 15, 2018.</ref>

A September 2018 Gallup poll found that the GOP's favorability rating reached the highest level since 2011.<ref>Multiple references:
*Norman, Jim (September 24, 2018). [https://news.gallup.com/poll/242906/republican-party-favorability-highest-seven-years.aspx Republican Party Favorability Highest in Seven Years]. ''Gallup''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Boyle, Matthew (September 24, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/09/24/gallup-with-donald-trump-at-helm-gop-rises-to-highest-approval-rating-in-nearly-a-decade/ Gallup: With Donald Trump at Helm, GOP Rises to Highest Approval Rating in Nearly a Decade]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Adelmann, Bob (September 25, 2018). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/30167-gop-s-favorability-rating-highest-in-seven-years GOP’s Favorability Rating Highest in Seven Years]. ''The New American''. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
*Keller, Megan (September 24, 2018). [https://thehill.com/homenews/house/408123-republican-partys-favorability-rating-comparable-with-democrats-gallup GOP's favorability hits highest mark in seven years: Gallup]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Lim, Naomi (September 24, 2018). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/gops-favorability-rating-hits-highest-point-since-2011 GOP's favorability rating hits highest point since 2011]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
*Fordham, Evie (September 24, 2018). [https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/24/republican-party-favorability-gallup/ Poll: Republican Party Enjoys Highest Favorability Rating in Seven Years]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.</ref>

== 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 (though the Hispanic community still votes predominantly Democrat due to its support for illegal immigration and sanctuary cities). Extremely wealthy businessmen (such as [[Bill Gates]] and [[Warren Buffett]]) have switched to the Democrat party, though small businessmen generally remain in the Republican party. 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 mainly to Democrats support for globalist ideals at the expense of manufacturing job losses.

==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:

*[[Frederick Douglass]] (1818–1895): Abolitionist and suffragist from [[Maryland]]
*[[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, [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner
*[[Tom Dewey]] (1902–1971): Governor of [[New York]]; presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948
*[[Everett Dirksen]] (1896–1969): Senate minority leader, instrumental in passing the [[Civil Rights Act]]
*[[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]]
*[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] (1929–1968): [[Civil rights]] leader
*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, considered representative of the liberal wing of the party
*[[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]]
*[[Barry Goldwater]] (1909–1998): Senator from [[Arizona]], presidential nominee in 1964
*[[Antonin Scalia]] (1936–2016): Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1986–2016)
*[[Clarence Thomas]]: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1991–present)
*[[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
*[[Mike Pence]]: Vice President (2017–present), Governor of [[Indiana]] (2013–2017)

==See also==
*[[List of political parties in the United States]]
*[[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]]

Establishment

2018-10-15T20:09:24Z

JoeRW: Added hyperlink to Kevin McCarthy

{{See also|Uniparty}}
The '''Establishment''' are the "powers that be," the group of leaders in a society who hold power and use it primarily for their own benefit, opposing [[meritocracy]] and making it unjustifiably difficult for others. The establishment is entrenched in both U.S. political parties, and its adherents support the same goals regardless of the stances they voice to voters.<ref>McManus, John F. (July 30, 2016). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/23762-the-hidden-establishment The Hidden Establishment]. ''The New American''. Retrieved January 5, 2018.</ref> The 1964 [[conservative]] classic ''[[A Choice Not An Echo]]'' exposed and defeated the Establishment control over the [[Republican]] presidential nominating process, resulting in the upset victory of [[Barry Goldwater]] for the nomination.

In politics, the Establishment consists of [[globalist]]s and the insiders in the [[Republican Party|Republican]] and [[Democrat Party|Democrat]] Parties who do things behind the scenes to preserve their own position and thwart real competition. [[Nomination by endorsement]] is one way that the Establishment gets what it wants.

For nearly three decades, the Establishment of the Republican Party has been connected with the [[RINO]] [[George Bush|Bush]] and Rockefeller families. In the Democrat Party, the [[Hillary Clinton|Clinton]] family and the Kennedy family are part of the Establishment. [[John Boehner]] was the Establishment's choice as [[Speaker of the House]]. When he surprisingly resigned from that position, the Establishment turned unsuccessfully to [[Kevin McCarthy]] to take the reins of power, and then to [[Paul Ryan]], who had been the Establishment pick as the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2012.

'''''The GOP establishment has no interest in defending [[religious liberty]], protecting First and Second Amendment rights, stopping and reversing [[socialist]] policies, protecting U.S. [[sovereignty]] and advancing other [[America First]] policies.'''''

In the [[2016 presidential election]], the Establishment was all-out against the nomination of [[Donald Trump]] by the Republican Party.<ref>Jasper, William F. (August 23, 2016). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/23899-trump-vs-the-establishment Trump vs. the Establishment]. ''The New American''. Retrieved January 3, 2018.</ref> The Establishment was initially in support of [[Jeb Bush]] on the Republican side, and [[Hillary Clinton]] on the [[Democrat]] side. [[Marco Rubio]] was a backup candidate for the Establishment in case Jeb Bush faltered, but then Rubio rebelled and obtained independent financial backing, and stayed in the race long enough to prevent Jeb Bush from gaining any momentum. When [[Jeb Bush]] pulled out after spending more than $100 million, the Establishment swung their support behind Rubio. Rubio withdrew on March 15, 2016, leaving [[John Kasich]] and [[Ted Cruz]] as the remaining Establishment candidates.

However, now that Trump was elected president, the establishment is trying to publicly align itself with Trump while marginalizing those who truly support Trump's agenda. One can see this in the fact that President Trump appointed many liberals and globalists – such as [[Gary Cohn]], [[H.R. McMaster]], and [[Jared Kushner]] – to his administration while marginalizing [[America First]] conservatives such as [[Sebastian Gorka]]. The establishment did the same with Reagan after his election, having him appoint liberal establishmentarians such as [[George H. W. Bush]] who betrayed conservative principles while marginalizing actual conservatives. The establishment frequently slanders real conservatives by labeling them "far-right" or "ultra-right."<ref>Williams, Thomas D. (June 24, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/06/24/williams-establishment-anything-not-them-far-right/ Williams: For the Establishment, Anything Not Them Is ‘Far Right’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved June 24, 2018.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Opposition to Donald Trump]]
*[[War on Sovereignty]]
*[[Deep state]]
*[[Token conservative]]
*[[O’Sullivan’s First Law]]

==Further reading==
*Ingraham, Laura. ''[https://www.amazon.com/Billionaire-Barricades-Populist-Revolution-Reagan/dp/1250150647/ Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist Revolution from Reagan to Trump]''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2017. ISBN 978-1250150646.
**[https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/10/19/laura-ingraham-billionaire-at-the-barricades-gives-conservative-populists-playbook-for-advancing-america-first-agenda-crushing-globalists-saboteurs/ Book review]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:RINOs]]
[[Category:Rino Backers]]
[[Category:Globalists]]

John Brennan

2018-08-17T21:07:35Z

JoeRW: Grammar fix; lose not loose

{{Officeholder
|name=John O. Brennan
|image=JohnBrennan.jpg
|party=[[CPUSA]]<ref>https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/03/31/ In-voted-communist-in-1976-then-entered-cia-in-1980/</ref>
|spouse=
|religion=
|offices=
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Director of Central Intelligence
|terms=January 21, 2013 to January 20, 2017
|preceded=Mike Morell (acting) [[David Petraeus]]
|former=(y or n)
|succeeded=[[Mike Pompeo]]
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Homeland Security Advisor to the President
|terms=January 20, 2009 – March 8, 2013
|preceded=Ken Wainstein
|former=(y or n)
|succeeded=Lisa Monaco
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
Acting
|terms=August 27, 2004 – August 1, 2005
|preceded=Position established
|former=(y or n)
|succeeded=John Redd
}}
}}
'''John Brennan''' (born September 22, 1955), a [[Leftist]] who has publicly admitted that he once voted for a USSR-supported [[Communist Party]] candidate for president,<ref>https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/15/politics/john-brennan-cia-communist-vote/index.html</ref> served as [[Barack Obama]]'s [[CIA]] Director and was one of the masterminds behind the [[Trump-Russia scandal]]. John Brennan did more than anyone to promulgate and weaponize false intelligence information from the [[Steele dossier]] against [[Donald Trump]].
<ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/02/former_cia_director_brennan_under_investigation_for_perjury.html#ixzz57cAPDPOi] </ref> Brennan is both a [[statism|statist]] who recognizes no higher moral authority than government, and an opportunist who betrayed the [[War on Terror]] for personal career ambition.

While serving two presidents in the immediate 16 years after the [[9/11]], Brennan helped breed more [[jihad]]is and countless victims of terror than when he started his career ambition to become [[CIA]] Director. Brennan managed the "kill list" for President Barack Obama.

As widespread criticism mounted over the [[Obama administration]]'s arming of the [[Islamic State]], Brennan was among the prime ''[[coup]]'' plotters to sabotage the presidency of [[Donald Trump]], who vowed to altar the [[foreign policy]] direction that Obama, Brennan, and [[globalist]]s set for America. Brennan enlisted a network of foreign intelligence operatives to interfere in the [[2016 presidential election]].

==Education==
John Brennan graduated from [[Fordham University]] in 1977 after a year of intensive [[Arabic]] and Middle Eastern studies in [[Cairo]]. He earned his J.D. from the [[University of Texas]] at [[Austin]] before joining the [[CIA|Central Intelligence Agency]] as an intelligence director in 1980. He is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker.<ref name=GB/> When joining, he had also taken a polygraph test, and also admitted to have voted for the American Communist Party candidate [[Gus Hall]] for president at the height of communist [[Cambodian genocide]].<ref>http://freebeacon.com/politics/cia-director-once-voted-for-communist-presidential-candidate/</ref> The CPUSA and the [[Khmer Rouge]] who carried out the [[genocide]] of 3,000,000 innocent people where both established by the [[Moscow]]-directed [[Communist International]].

In his 1980 graduate thesis at the University of Texas at Austin, John Brennan denied the existence of “absolute [[human rights]]” and argued in favor of [[censorship]] on the part of the [[Egyptian]] [[dictator]]ship.

:“Since the press can play such an influential role in determining the perceptions of the masses, I am in favor of some degree of government censorship,” Brennan wrote. “Inflamatory [sic] articles can provoke mass opposition and possible violence, especially in developing political systems.”<ref>http://gotnews.com/breaking-barackobamas-cia-director-john-brennan-allies-targeting-trump-supporters-surveillance/</ref>

==Saudi Arabia==
It has been reported that Brennan took part in the Hajj to Mecca between 1996 and 1999, an act only permissable to Muslims.<ref>http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/02/12/265874.html, retrieved Feb 15, 2013</ref><ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277524/Obamas-choice-CIA-chief-converted-Islam-says-FBI-agent.html#axzz2KjGHhdpQ, retrieved Feb 15, 2013</ref> Brennan has said,
{{Quotebox|"And during a 25-year career in government, I was privileged to serve in positions across the [[Middle East]] — as a political officer with the [[State Department]] and as a CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, I saw how our Saudi partners fulfilled their duty as custodians of the two holy mosques of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]. I marveled at the majesty of the [[Hajj]] and the devotion of those who fulfilled their duty as [[Muslim]]s by making that privilege — that pilgrimage."}}

==Post-9/11==
John Brennan was the CIA deputy executive director from 2001 to 2003. Brennan is known to be a staunch supporter of the [[FISA|Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program]], and has defended the use of [[extraordinary rendition]], saying it is "an absolutely vital tool."<ref name=GB/> He was previously director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center from 2004 through 2005. Brennan also worked at Analysis Corp, from 2005 to 2008.

On November 2, 2007, Brennan defended the Bush/Cheney [[torture]] program:
{{Cquote|the C.I.A. has acknowledged that it has detained about 100 terrorists since 9/11, and about a third of them have been subjected to what the C.I.A. refers to as enhanced interrogation tactics, and only a small proportion of those have in fact been subjected to the most serious types of enhanced procedures ... There have been a lot of information that has come out from these interrogation procedures that the agency has in fact used against the real hard-core terrorists. It has saved lives. And let's not forget, these are hardened terrorists who have been responsible for 9/11, who have shown no remorse at all for the deaths of 3,000 innocents.<ref>''The Early Show'' on [[CBS]], John Brennan interview with Harry Smith. [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/07/us/politics/07brennan-issues.html]</ref>}}

Brennan told [[ABC]], "Our review indicates that interrogations of detainees on whom EITs [enhanced interrogation techniques] were used did produce intelligence that helped thwart attack plans, capture terrorists, and save lives."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cia-pushes-back-assertion-overstated-intelligence-detention-program/story?id=27486128|title=CIA Pushes Back on Assertion That It Overstated Intelligence From Detention Program|author=ABC News|work=ABC News}}</ref>

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the Bush administration in its 2002 National Security Strategy promulgated a new [[preventive war doctrine]], and initiated a program of targeted killings using weaponized Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones, and other means. President Obama greatly expanded the employment of drones to kill people. Brennan was put in charge of selecting targets.

==Obama administration==
During the transition Obama nominated Brennan as CIA Director.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2008/11/16/brennan/ John Brennan and Bush’s interrogation/detention policies,] Examining the actual record of Obama's top adviser for intelligence policy, By Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, Nov 16, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/11/hbc-90003909 John Brennan for CIA? Think Again], Scott Horton, ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', November 24, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/ad_20081206_1783.php What's Behind Brennan's Withdrawal? Some former spies say left-leaning bloggers and columnists drove John Brennan out of consideration for CIA director], Shane Harris, ''National Journal Magazine'', Dec. 6, 2008.</ref> The nomination was withdrawn however as Brennan's torture program became public. Brennan went to work inside the [[White House]] on Obama's personal staff.

Under both the Bush and Obama administrations, Brennan allowed rumors of illegal domestic surveillance to circulate as a ploy to disguise the real source of his information - the CIA Torture Program, which he managed.

[[Daniel Pipes]] has described John Brennan as "[[sycophant]]ic" in his zeal to please his master.<ref>http://www.proconservative.net/PCVol11Is175PipesObamaCounterterrorism.shtml</ref>

===Hacking the State Department===
While cooling his heals outside of government for a brief time because of the controversy over the Torture program, Brennan hitched his wagon to his ideological kinsman,<ref>Both are rumored to be communists and Muslims.</ref> Barack Hussein Obama, as candidate for President in 2008 over [[John McCain]], whom many viewed as a patriot. Brennan started his own consulting firm, began contributing money to Obama and became an advisor.

Factually Barack Hussein Obama never obtained a U.S. passport until after he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.<ref>http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2012/03/obama-passportgate-history.html?m=1</ref> As questions arose over how Obama travelled to Pakistan in 1981,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080411230203/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/obamas-college.html]</ref> under what name and Social Security number, and whether Obama committed crimes in using or failure to report using aliases to secure a passport and later an Illinois State Bar law license, Brennan's consulting firm hacked in to the U.S. State Department to access Obama's passport file.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/22/passport.files/index.html </ref> A whistleblower who worked for Brennan and was talking to the FBI was found shot dead on the streets of Washington two weeks later.<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/19/key-witness-in-passport-fraud-case-fatally-shot/ </ref><ref>https://truepundit.com/intel-operative-who-altered-obamas-passport-records-turned-fbi-informant-on-boss-john-brennan-then-turned-up-murdered-in-d-c/</ref>

===Obama White House===
[[File:P050310PS-0374POD.jpg|250px|thumb|John Brennan with President Obama. Brennan was in charge of the U.S. Government's torture program.]]
Brennan served as the "Terrorism Czar," sometimes called "Homeland Security Czar," but with the formal title as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.<ref name=GB>[http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/29391/ List of Obama's Czars], GlennBeck.com, August 21, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://glennbeck.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/09/rise-of-the-czars/ Rise of the Czars], FOXNews.com, June 9th, 2009.</ref> Appointed in January 2009, Brennan reported to National Security Adviser James L. Jones. Under [[Barack Hussein Obama|President Obama's]] plan, the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties.<ref name=GB/> The public was told Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism. As Homeland Security Advisor, he was set about killing terrorists abroad while keeping the lid on [[Obama administration]] activities at home.

On September 21, 2010 an internal email entitled “Obama Leak Investigations” at the “global intelligence” company Stratfor claimed Obama’s White House adviser John Brennan was targeting [[journalist]]s.
{{Quotebox|"Brennan is behind the [[witch hunt]]s of investigative journalists learning information from inside the beltway sources,” writes one Stratfor official to another. The email continues: “Note —There is specific tasker from the [White House] to go after anyone printing materials negative to the Obama agenda (oh my.) Even the FBI is shocked. The Wonder Boys must be in meltdown mode…”}}
:“The Wonder Boys” reportedly refers to the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA).<ref>Credit:Sharyl Attkisson. https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/12/1210665_obama-leak-investigations-internal-use-only-pls-do-not.html</ref>

===Illegal wiretaps===
In April 2010 Obama Attn. Gen. [[Eric Holder]] renewed a subpoena of ''[[New York Times]]'' reporter James Risen in a leak investigation. Risen and a colleague reported on warrantless wiretaps. The coverage won Risen and colleague a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for “carefully sourced stories on secret domestic eavesdropping that stirred a national debate.” The Justice Dept. opened an investigation into the wiretap stories. John Brennan played a key role in the illegal wiretap program, overseeing the production of what personnel in the program called the “scary memos” intended to justify the domestic spying exposed by Risen. Brennan later admitted that he relied on information from CIA’s torture program rather than domestic spying, which was used as a cover. In a frontpage May 13, 2004 story the torture program was exposed with Risen as the lead reporter. The subpeaona of Risen is viewed as retribution and an intimidation tactic against whistleblowers.<ref>https://www.thenation.com/article/government-war-against-reporter-james-risen/</ref>

===Torture program run out of White House===
The controvercy over warrantless wiretaps was always only cover for the the real source where information was gained - Brennan's torture program. At the same time it served public notice Americans had to surrender some freedoms and civil liberties to a group of insiders who knew what was best for them. Legalities didn't matter anymore.

During "a profanity-laced screaming match at the [[White House]]" in August 2009<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8398902 Obama White House v. CIA; Panetta Threatened to Quit Tensions Lead to CIA Director's "Screaming Match" at the White House], Matthew Cole, Richard Espisito, and Brian Ross, ''[[ABC News]]'', August 24, 2009.</ref> [[CIA]] Director [[Leon Panetta]] protested Obama's decision to create a team of interrogators overseen by the White House.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112169988 ''White House To Oversee New Interrogation Team''], Dina Temple-Raston, npr.org August 24, 2009.</ref> Responsibility for interrogations of suspects was shifted away from the CIA, and the White House National Security Council staff given direct control.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/23/AR2009082302598.html ''New Unit to Question Key Terror Suspects - Move Shifts Interrogation Oversight From the CIA to the White House]'', Anne E. Kornblut, ''[[Washington Post]]'', August 24, 2009.</ref> Brennan was placed in charge of the program.

Unlike executive departments and agencies such as the [[Department of Justice]], [[FBI]], and CIA, the National Security Council staff are not subject to Congressional oversight, and operate outside the spotlight of public view.<ref>[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/j-e-dyer/78202 National Security Council Reloaded], J. E. Dyer, ''Commentary blog'', 08.25.2009.</ref><ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 13.</ref> The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] made this point during the [[United States Presidential Election, 2008|elections of 2008]] when the George W. Bush NSC staff was involved only in decisions and authorizations and before the Obama NSC staff took on an operational role.<ref>[http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35595prs20080610.html?s_src=RSS ACLU Urges Congress to Examine White House National Security Council as Central Decision-Maker on Torture], ACLU Press Release, (6/10/2008).</ref>

After some successful operations such as the [[Abbottabad raid]], Obama re-nominated Brennan to take over CIA in 2013.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/07/the-right-or-wrong-experience-for-the-job/by-nominating-john-brennan-obama-is-ignoring-war-crimes By Nominating John Brennan, Obama is Ignoring War Crimes], Glenn Greenwald, ''NY Times'', January 8, 2013.</ref>

===Re-election gimmick: killing bin Laden===
[[File:Jihad recruiting poster.jpg|right|300px|thumb|In 2001, estimates of Muslim males, ages 12 to 28, susceptible to recruiting for jihad were 12,000 globally; as Brennan left office in 2017 the Obama administration was boasting of having killed 50,000 ISIS jihadis out of force estimated no larger than 15,000 two and half years earlier. And the US was still fighting jihadis.]]
Killing bin Laden was never an objective or priority of the Bush administration. Knowing full well Islam is a doctrine of vengence - not love or forgiveness - the [[War on Terror]] was stipulated from the beginning to be about prevention, not retribution. Killing bin Laden was a [[Hydra]]'s head, the death of one would only spawn the rise of many to take bin Laden's place in [[Allah]]'s relentless struggle against his enemies. US intelligence agencies certainly knew this. Shortly after bin Laden's execution, the Islamic State was declared, and the call went out from the [[Caliph]] to Muslim warriors globally to enter the jihad. Thousands of foreign fighters arose from every continent. When Obama and Brennan departed from office [[Europe]] had been invaded and the West was losing the global jihad.<ref>http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/06/10/we-are-losing-the-war-on-terror/</ref>

The Bush administration was content to leave bin Laden under house arrest, a coward in hiding, incapable of leading or directing further attacks, while others died fighting '[[Western]] [[materialism]]'.

But Obama was always motivated by domestic politics, and Democrats' hatred of Bush could be mollified with a single issue - standing the War on Terror on its head and turning it into something it was never intended to be—payback. Payback and retribution would repudiate America'a Christian ethic and make America no different than the enemies we fought. In keeping Brennan on as a Bush holdover, Obama wanted Brennan to enhance Obama's 2016 re-election prospects. Public approval gained from killing bin Laden was calculated to offset criticism of the kill list, and obscure the legal and moral objections from international and humanitarian organizations. Both would be rewarded in the end. This time Brennan wasn't denied appointment as CIA Director when Obama was reelected.

===The kill list===
[[File:John-brennan.jpg|right|450px|thumb|John Brennan, the mastermind behind the CIA [[torture]] program, the execution of [[bin Laden]] to aid [[Barack Hussein Obama]]'s re-election chances, the hacking into the Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee's computers to thwart investigators, the man who decides who lives and who dies on Obama's kill list, instrumental in puting the plot in motion to destroy [[President Trump]]'s presidency over a percieved insult and Trump's questioning why [[NATO]] has strayed from it's stated mission of collective defense by engaging in aggressive war in Libya, and Trump's refusal to go along with the globalist agenda for a new Cold War with Russia.<ref>http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/03/20/conspiracy-president-trump/</ref>]]
As Counterterrorism adviser, Brennan was the driving force behind the creation of the Disposition Matrix database to codify the targeted killing policies developed by Barack Obama. According to the ''[[New York Times]]'', Brennan has been the "principal coordinator" of U.S. kill lists. Former Obama administration counterterrorism official Daniel Benjamin stated that Brennan "probably had more power and influence than anyone in a comparable position in the last 20 years."<ref name=nyt20130205a>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 February 2013|accessdate=|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/world/middleeast/with-brennan-pick-a-light-on-drone-strikes-hazards.html|title=Drone Strikes’ Dangers to Get Rare Moment in Public Eye|first1=Robert|last1=Worth|first2=Mark|last2=Mazzetti|first3=Scott|last3=Shane}}</ref> The criteria and decisions determining who may be targeted for killing were developed in large part by John Brennan, who "wields enormous power in shaping decisions on 'kill' lists and the allocation of armed drones".<ref>Washington Post</ref> Barack Obama, a [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner, joked about his approvals of names submitted off Brennan's list: "I'm really good at killing people."<ref>https://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n05/thomas-nagel/really-good-at-killing</ref>

U.S. citizens may be listed as targets for killing in the database.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0</ref> Suspects are not formally charged of any crime or offered a trial in their own defense.<ref name=ws1026>{{cite news|title=Institutionalized state assassinations and the November 6 election |first=Bill |last=Van Auken |authorlink= |url=http://wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o26.shtml |newspaper=World Socialist Web Site |date=26 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Bp3lKT98?url=http://wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o26.shtml |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref>

The World Socialist Web Site wrote that "the Obama administration has arrogated to itself the most extreme power that can be asserted by any [[dictator]]ship—that of ordering citizens put to death without presenting charges against them, much less proving them in a court of law". They later criticized the relative silence in the media and the political establishment following the revelation.<ref>{{cite news|title=American democracy and the "disposition matrix" |first=Joseph |last=Kishore |url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o31.shtml |newspaper=World Socialist Web Site |date=31 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BzfXBntR?url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o31.shtml |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref>

Obama's kill list has been criticized internationally as "targeted executions" and "extrajudicial murders."<ref name=rt1024>{{cite news|title=Kill-list 2.0: Obama’s ‘disposition matrix’ maps out extrajudicial murders for years to come |url=http://rt.com/usa/news/disposition-matrix-kill-obama-146/ |newspaper=Russia Today |date=24 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BhOhc89I?url=http://rt.com/usa/news/disposition-matrix-kill-obama-146/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> "[I]n essence, this means that based on intelligence evidence, the administration assumes the right to judge and execute anyone without bothering about such minor things as proper court hearings, or the right of the accused person for proper legal defense...the fact that such operations clearly violate the principles propagated by the U.S. itself, like the right of everyone for legal defense, does not seem to bother the administration."<ref name=vor1026>{{cite news|title=Barack Obama widens the practice of extrajudicial killings |first=Boris |last=Volkhonsky |url=http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_26/Barack-Obama-widens-the-practice-of-extrajudicial-killings/ |publisher=Voice of Russia |date=26 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Bp3m7GtF?url=http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_26/Barack-Obama-widens-the-practice-of-extrajudicial-killings/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> Speaking at [[Harvard Law School]] on 25 October 2012, United Nations Special Rapporteur on [[human rights]] and counter terrorism, Ben Emmerson, stated that he would launch an investigation unit within the United Nations Human Rights Council.<ref name=rt1026>{{cite news|title=United Nations to begin investigating US drone strike targeted kills |url=http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drone-emmerson-un-256/ |newspaper=Russia Today |date=26 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BhOjRYIp?url=http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drone-emmerson-un-256/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> Emmerson and Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, have described some Obama admimistraion targeted killings as [[war crime]]s.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/21/drone-strikes-international-law-un Drone strikes threaten 50 years of international law, says UN rapporteur], Owen Bowcott, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 21 June 2012</ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20131030231702/http://rt.com/usa/us-drone-emmerson-un-256/</ref>

[[Glenn Greenwald]] has written that "the central role played by the NCTC in determining who should be killed [is] rather odious... the NCTC operates a gigantic data-mining operation, in which all sorts of information about innocent Americans is systematically monitored, stored, and analyzed".<ref name=gw1024>{{cite news|title=Obama moves to make the War on Terror permanent |first=Glenn |last=Greenwald |authorlink=Glenn Greenwald |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BhOg4QS6?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list |deadurl=no |location=London |df=dmy }}</ref> Greenwald concludes that the Kill list has established "simultaneously a surveillance state and a secretive, unaccountable judicial body that analyzes who you are and then decrees what should be done with you, how you should be "disposed" of, beyond the reach of any minimal accountability or transparency".<ref name=gw1024 /> Former [[counterterrorism]] specialist and [[military intelligence]] officer Philip Giraldi has criticized the disposition matrix's "everyday" killing of targets with what he calls "little or no evidence", leaving the White House "completely unaccountable".<ref>{{cite news|title=Kill Lists Will Continue |first=Philip |last=Giraldi |authorlink=|url=http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/11/07/kill-lists-will-continue/ |work=[[Antiwar.com]] |date=8 November 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6C2YMHo57?url=http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/11/07/kill-lists-will-continue/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>[http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/12/05/the-protocols-for-death/ The Protocols for Death], by Philip Giraldi, [[Antiwar.com]], 06 December 2012</ref>

===CIA Director===
Brennan speaks [[Arabic]] and has a prayer rug in his office. Some in the [[Intelligence Community]] have rumoured that he converted to [[Islam]] while stationed in [[Saudi Arabia]] in the 1990s. More likely Brennan is the quintessential [[Statism|statist]], having been sworn in as CIA director on a copy of the [[U.S. Constitution]] rather than a [[Bible]] or [[Koran]]. Brennan recognizes no higher [[moral]] authority than [[government]].

Brennan planted stories with the ''New York Times'' [[Cairo]] bureau chief David Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick wrote a controversial article whitewashing the [[Benghazi attack]] and repeatedly pushed a pro-[[Muslim Brotherhood]] agenda, according to his wife.

===Hacking Senate Oversight Committee===
Sixty documents disappear from the computers of the Senate Intelligence Oversight Torture Review investigation. Chairwoman Feinstein said that CIA personnel at first denied that the documents were missing, then blamed the IT contractors, then informed her it was at the behest of the [[White House]].<ref>https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/torture-report</ref>

===Trump-Russia scam ===
:''Main article:'' [[Deep state coup]]
John Brennan invented a fake narrative that he had received information from foreign intelligence sharing programs that associates of Donald Trump were meeting and taking money from Russian operatives. Brennan passed the fake narrative to [[James Comey]] who began counterintelligence surveillance on [[Paul Manafort]] and others in the Trump orbit.

The underpinnings of Brennans [[fake news]] narrative read something like this: {{quotebox|"CIA Dir. John Brennan received information from British GCHQ intelligence as part of an allegedly "routine" intelligence sharing agreement about Trump associates' business dealings in Russia.<ref>https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/interview-richard-dearlove-europe-intelligence-mi6</ref> The information is said to have originated with Estonian intelligence. [[Estonia]] is requesting a missile defence system at this time,<ref>https://www.ft.com/content/b9453544-228c-11e6-9d4d-c11776a5124d</ref><ref>http://linkis.com/atlanticcouncil.org/fAWKh</ref> while Trump adviser [[Newt Gingrich]] refers to the country of 1.3 million inhabitants as a 'suburb of St. Petersberg', which has 5.3 million inhabitants. Gingrich, rumoured to be on the short list for Secretary of State, says he doubts American leaders would risk [[nuclear war]] over [[Putin]]'s actions in the region. Allegedly, the information that triggered Brennan to act was a tape recorded conversation that mentioned money from the Kremlin to the Trump Campaign."}} In actuality, John Brennan received nothing from UK intelligence.<ref>https://www.themarketswork.com/2018/04/22/nunes-interview-no-official-intelligence-used-problems-for-brennan/ </ref> Brennan's fake narrative became the basis of the [[Trump-Russia hoax]], taken as gospel by [[leftist]]s and the [[mainstream media]].

Brennan shared his invented narrative with Clapper and Comey to form a Joint Counter-Intelligence Task Force.<ref>''NYT'', 1/19/17</ref>

The fake narrative is nothing new for Brennan; a decade earlier Brennan was responsible for fake narratives about US domestic spying under the Patriot Act to cover information that was gleaned from the Torture Program which Brennan oversaw.<ref>Brennan played a key role in the illegal wiretap program, overseeing the production of what personnel in the program called the “scary memos” intended to justify the domestic spying exposed by [''NYT'' reporter James] Risen. Brennan has since admitted that he relied on intelligence from the CIA’s interrogation programs to develop such memos, and his tenure in that role spanned the period when the CIA used its most extreme torture. https://www.thenation.com/article/government-war-against-reporter-james-risen/ </ref>

The fact that the early [[leak]]s appeared in the British press suggested that the source might have been British intelligence. Under Executive Orders dating back to 1938, the US can ask UK intelligence to monitor an American citizen to circumvent the [[Fourth Amendment]], and vice versa. The National Security Agency may share data with the UK's GCHQ to evade U.S. legal restrictions regarding the handling of such data.<ref>"[http://www.dailywire.com/news/14394/bombshell-fox-news-sources-say-obama-used-brits-john-nolte BOMBSHELL: Fox News Sources Say Obama Used Brits To Spy On Donald Trump].", ''DailyWire,'' March 14, 2017.</ref> The Obama administration's wiretaps against the Trump campaign were first reported by the British news site ''Heat Street'' on November 7, 2016.<ref>"[https://heatst.com/world/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia/ EXCLUSIVE: FBI ‘Granted FISA Warrant’ Covering Trump Camp’s Ties To Russia]," ''Heat Street'', Nov. 7, 2016.</ref>

In January 2017 the [[BBC]] suggested that the investigation of the Trump campaign was orchestrated by CIA Director John Brennan.<ref>"[https://spectator.org/all-roads-lead-back-to-brennan/ All Roads Lead Back to Brennan]," ''American Spectator'', March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>"Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day," according to the BBC. "[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38589427 Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here?]", BBC, Jan. 12, 2017.</ref>

On January 4, 2017 the Office of National Intelligence issued a report written by Brennan entitled, ''Joint Analysis Report: Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.”''<ref>The declassified version is "[https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution]"</ref> Two pages of the DNC and Clinton campaign's ''[[Steele dossier]]'' were included in the report. The following day in an [[Oval Office]] meeting with Brennan, [[Clapper]], Comey, [[Susan Rice]], and [[Biden]], President Obama approved the attempt to [[blackmail]] President-elect [[Donald Trump]] with "salacious and unverified" sexual innuendo from the report.

To justify the illegal surveillance, Trump associates were labeled "agents of a foreign power" in order to hoax the FISA court into approving warrant applications. Obama additionally signed Executive Orders to circulate the slurs and innuendo more widely within the government.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/nsa-gets-more-latitude-to-share-intercepted-communications.html?_r=0 N.S.A. Gets More Latitude to Share Intercepted Communications]", ''New York Times, Jan. 12, 2017.</ref><ref>According to Executive Order 12333 issued by President [[Ronald Reagan]] in December 1981, "Elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to collect, retain, or disseminate information concerning United States persons...obtained in the course of a lawful foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, international drug or international terrorism investigation." Thus the U.S. intelligence community can perform surveillance without a warrant as long as the target of the investigation is, at least nominally, something other than a "U.S. person". [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/meet-executive-order-12333-the-reagan-rule-that-lets-the-nsa-spy-on-americans/2014/07/18/93d2ac22-0b93-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html Meet Executive Order 12333: The Reagan rule that lets the NSA spy on Americans]", ''Washington Post'', July 18, 2014.</ref><ref>Saagar Enjeti, "[http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/how-are-all-these-intel-leaks-happening-look-at-one-of-the-last-things-obama-did-before-leaving-office/ How Are All These Intel Leaks Happening? Look At One Of The Last Things Obama Did Before Leaving Office]," ''Daily Caller,'' 03/09/2017.</ref> These developments were followed by a series of leaks that disregarded privacy rights.

On January 17, 2017 ''McClatchy News'' reported that an informal, interagency group had been working for months on the issue of Russian attempts to influence the the election. The group included representatives of the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the office of the director of national intelligence.<ref>"[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article127231799.html#storylink=cpy FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump]", ''McClatchy,'' January 18, 2017.</ref> The day before inauguration ''The New York Times'' reported that the White House was directly involved in the investigation: “… wiretapped communications had been provided to the (Obama) White House.”<ref>"[https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NY-Times-FP-012017.jpg Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides; Examining Russian Ties; Business dealings of Campaign Advisers are investigated]." ''New York Times'', January 20, 2017. On the NYT website, the headline is given as “[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates].”</ref><ref>"[http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/03/05/new-york-times-trashes-its-own-reporting-on-obama-admin-wiretapping/ New York Times Trashes Its Own Reporting on Obama Admin Wiretapping], ''Breitbart'', 5 Mar 2017.</ref>

On March 1, the ''Times'' reported that the FBI was in the midst of a "wide-ranging investigation" of "links between Mr. Trump’s associates and the Russian government."<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking]," ''New York Times'', March 1, 2017.</ref> Although Trump had been president for six weeks at this point, the FBI was still being run by Director [[James Comey]], who had been appointed by Obama.

On March 2, 2017, talk radio host Mark Levin denounced the wiretaps and accused Obama of attempting a "silent coup" against Trump. Levin was chief of staff of the Justice Department during the Reagan administration. Earlier liberal reporting on the issue emphasized Trump's alleged links to Russia and used the wiretapping to support the idea that the intelligence community took these accusations seriously. Levin shifted the focus to malfeasance by the intelligence community.<ref>"[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/03/mark-levin-obama-used-police-state-tactics-undermine-trump/ Mark Levin to Congress: Investigate Obama’s ‘Silent Coup’ vs. Trump]", ''Breitbart'', 3 Mar 2017.</ref>

On August 15, 2018, Trump revoked Brennan's security clearance while the latter was working as an analyst for the left-wing news networks [[NBC News]] and [[MSNBC]].<ref>"[https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/15/trump-revokes-john-brennans-security-clearance/]", "Breitbart", 15 Aug 2017.</ref>

==Post traumatic stress disorder==
In later life Brennan showed symptoms of [[Post traumatic stress disorder]]. Killing made John Brennan [[insane]].<ref>https://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/john-brennans-kill-list/amp</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180720154857/https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-20/very-unhinged-john-brennan</ref> The cover ups Brennan masterminded seem to indicate Brennan may have understood the moral and ethical consequences of his actions. Unlike a [[sociopath]], Brennan appears to have a [[conscience]] and a sense guilt. However he has repeatedly resorted to lying and deception and illegal acts to cover up and justify bizarre behavior. It is not uncommon for people in intelligence work to go berserk after living a life full of lies and deception. James Jesus Angleton is one of the the CIA's most notable cases.

To cover his crimes,<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/07/07/obamas-new-executive-order-on-drones-means-the-u-s-may-still-violate-international-law/</ref> and continue his abuse of power,<ref>https://www.richardcyoung.com/politics/election-2016/how-john-brennan-used-his-position-to-assist-hillary-clinton/ </ref> Brennan masterminded the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.<ref>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2017/08/11/it_was_a_039brennan_operation039_418115.html</ref> Brennan previously hacked the U.S. State Department,<ref>https://truepundit.com/while-on-obamas-payroll-brennans-private-intel-side-business-hacked-mccains-hillarys-classified-passport-records/</ref> the Senate Intelligence oversight committee,<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/world/senate-intelligence-commitee-cia-interrogation-report.html</ref> was in charge of the CIA torture program,<ref>https://www.buzzfeed.com/gregorydjohnsen/how-cia-director-john-brennan-became-americas-spy-and-obamas?utm_term=.sdJPjVvDQ#.brn0gx7GW</ref> was in charge of an Obama enemies list program targeting journalists and critics,<ref>https://truthfeednews.com/bombshell-investigative-reporter-attkisson-drops-a-damning-email-on-crooked-brennan/ </ref> was a major player in Obama's disastrous [[Arab Spring]] policy that brought about the [[European migrant crisis]],<ref> https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/06/23/the-arab-springs-looming-refugee-crisis/amp/</ref> and took credit for orchestrating the Trump-Russia investigation through his network of outside the contiguous United States "lures" (SpyGate).<ref>https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/20/john-brennans-police-state-usa/</ref>

After the Democrat administration was voted out of office, Brennan used his national security clearance for personal gain as an [[NBC News]] consultant,<ref>https://www.investors.com/politics/columnists/brennan-clapper-security-clearance/</ref> and threatened the President of the United States<ref>[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/07/25/tucker_carlson_creeping_authoritarianism_is_already_here_and_john_brennan_is_the_face_of_it.html]</ref> and Congress<ref>https://wrko.iheart.com/content/2018-05-21-john-brennan-threatens-mcconnell-and-ryan/</ref> on several occasions.<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/03/18/nolte-threats-against-trump-made-by-john-brennan-and-samantha-power-must-be-investigated/amp/]</ref>

A man who tried to rig an election, remove a democratically elected president, killed some 4,700 people in drone strikes<ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/473541/</ref> - 600 of which were innocents - hacked into the U.S. State Department and his Senate overseers, and as the [[Snowden]] revelations reveal, is capable of wiretapping and [[blackmail]]ing the President, Supreme Court Justices, Members of Congress and journalists,<ref>[[Daniel Ellsberg]], in responding to a question about why should people care, said: "Do they really believe that real [[democracy]] is viable, when one branch of government, the Executive, knows or can know every detail of every private communication (or credit card transaction, or movement) of: every journalist; every source to every journalist; every member of Congress and their staffs; every judge, at every level up to the Supreme Court? Do they think that every one of these people "has nothing to hide," nothing that could be used to blackmail them or manipulate them, or neutralize their dissent to Executive policies, or influence voting behavior? Is investigative journalism, or aggressive Congressional investigation of the Executive, or court restraints on Executive practices, really possible with that amount of transparency to the Executive of their private and professional lives and associations? And without any of those checks, the kind of democracy you have is that of the German Democratic Republic in [[East Germany]], with its [[Stasi]] (which had a minuscule fraction of the surveillance capability the NSA has now, but enough to turn a fraction of the population of East Germany into secret Stasi informants)."
https://freedom.press/news-advocacy/highlights-from-daniel-ellsbergas-reddit-ama-on-edward-snowden-and-nsa-surveillance/</ref> is capable of anything.<ref>https://consortiumnews.com/2018/03/19/former-cia-chief-brennan-running-scared/</ref>

Brennan's visceral hatred of President Trump is likely rooted in his [[Marxist]] belief in [[class warfare|class envy and hate]], and a core conviction that [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] [[technocracy|technocrats]] have a righteous duty to hide their crimes, overthrow elections, and depose democratically elected leaders, be it in the [[Ukraine]] or in the [[United States]]. Brennan's erratic behavior and anti-democratic ideology caused him to lose his security clearance in 2018.

==See also==
*[[Obamagate timeline 2009-2015]]
*[[Obamagate timeline|Obamagate timeline 2016 election year]]
*[[Russiagate timeline 2017]]
*[[Russiagate timeline|Russiagate timeline 2018]]
*[[Barack Hussein Obama's unlawful acts]]
*[[Obama's second term agenda]]
*[[Barack Obama Controversies]]
*[[Extraordinary rendition]]
*[[Waterboarding]]
*[[Abu Ghraib prison]]
*[[Project Cassandra]]
*[[Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp]]
*[[Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb]]
*[[Crisis in Ukraine]]
*[[Obamunism]]
*[[Samantha Power]]
*[[Stefan Halper]]
*[[Susan Rice]]
*[[Aldrich Ames]]
*[[Heinrich Himmler]]
*[[Felix Dzerzhinsky]]
*[[Lavrenty Beria]]
*[[Stasi]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
:'''Warning: These photographs are quite graphic!'''
*[http://www.salon.com/news/abu_ghraib/2006/03/14/introduction/] Salon.com Abu Ghraib Photo Archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, John}}
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Police State]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Police State]]
[[Category:Anti-Trump]]
[[Category:Communists]]
[[Category:Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax]]
[[Category:United States Political Scandals]]

John Brennan

2018-08-15T20:25:51Z

JoeRW: Added in info about Brennan's security clearance

{{Officeholder
|name=John O. Brennan
|image=JohnBrennan.jpg
|party=[[CPUSA]]<ref>https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/03/31/john-brennan-voted-communist-in-1976-then-entered-cia-in-1980/</ref>
|spouse=
|religion=
|offices=
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Director of Central Intelligence
|terms=January 21, 2013 to January 20, 2017
|preceded=Mike Morell (acting) [[David Petraeus]]
|former=(y or n)
|succeeded=[[Mike Pompeo]]
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Homeland Security Advisor to the President
|terms=January 20, 2009 – March 8, 2013
|preceded=Ken Wainstein
|former=(y or n)
|succeeded=Lisa Monaco
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
Acting
|terms=August 27, 2004 – August 1, 2005
|preceded=Position established
|former=(y or n)
|succeeded=John Redd
}}
}}
'''John Brennan''' (born September 22, 1955), a [[Leftist]] who has publicly admitted that he once voted for a USSR-supported [[Communist Party]] candidate for president,<ref>https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/15/politics/john-brennan-cia-communist-vote/index.html</ref> served as [[Barack Obama]]'s [[CIA]] Director and was one of the masterminds behind the [[Trump-Russia scandal]]. John Brennan did more than anyone to promulgate and weaponized false intelligence information from the [[Steele dossier]] against [[Donald Trump]].
<ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/02/former_cia_director_brennan_under_investigation_for_perjury.html#ixzz57cAPDPOi] </ref> Brennan is both a [[statism|statist]] who recognizes no higher moral authority than government, and an opportunist who betrayed the [[War on Terror]] for personal career ambition.

While serving two presidents in the immediate 16 years after the [[9/11]], Brennan helped breed more [[jihad]]is and countless victims of terror than when he started to fulfill his personal career ambition to become [[CIA]] Director. Brennan managed the "kill list" for President Barack Obama.

As widespread criticism mounted over the [[Obama administration]]'s arming of the [[Islamic State]], Brennan was among the prime ''[[coup]]'' plotters to sabotage the presidency of [[Donald Trump]] vowed to altar the [[foreign policy]] direction that Obama, Brennan, and [[globalist]]s set for America.

==Education==
John Brennan graduated from [[Fordham University]] in 1977 after a year of intensive [[Arabic]] and Middle Eastern studies in [[Cairo]]. He earned his J.D. from the [[University of Texas]] at [[Austin]] before joining the [[CIA|Central Intelligence Agency]] as an intelligence director in 1980. He is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker.<ref name=GB/> When joining, he had also taken a polygraph test, and also admitted to have voted for the American Communist Party candidate [[Gus Hall]] for president at the height of communist [[Cambodian genocide]].<ref>http://freebeacon.com/politics/cia-director-once-voted-for-communist-presidential-candidate/</ref> The CPUSA and the [[Khmer Rouge]] who carried out the [[genocide]] of 3,000,000 innocent people where both established by the [[Moscow]]-directed [[Communist International]].

In his 1980 graduate thesis at the University of Texas at Austin, John Brennan denied the existence of “absolute [[human rights]]” and argued in favor of [[censorship]] on the part of the [[Egyptian]] [[dictator]]ship.

:“Since the press can play such an influential role in determining the perceptions of the masses, I am in favor of some degree of government censorship,” Brennan wrote. “Inflamatory [sic] articles can provoke mass opposition and possible violence, especially in developing political systems.”<ref>http://gotnews.com/breaking-barackobamas-cia-director-john-brennan-allies-targeting-trump-supporters-surveillance/</ref>

==Saudi Arabia==
It has been reported that Brennan took part in the Hajj to Mecca between 1996 and 1999, an act only permissable to Muslims.<ref>http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/02/12/265874.html, retrieved Feb 15, 2013</ref><ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277524/Obamas-choice-CIA-chief-converted-Islam-says-FBI-agent.html#axzz2KjGHhdpQ, retrieved Feb 15, 2013</ref> Brennan has said,
{{Quotebox|"And during a 25-year career in government, I was privileged to serve in positions across the [[Middle East]] — as a political officer with the [[State Department]] and as a CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, I saw how our Saudi partners fulfilled their duty as custodians of the two holy mosques of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]. I marveled at the majesty of the [[Hajj]] and the devotion of those who fulfilled their duty as [[Muslim]]s by making that privilege — that pilgrimage."}}

==Post-9/11==
John Brennan was the CIA deputy executive director from 2001 to 2003. Brennan is known to be a staunch supporter of the [[FISA|Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program]], and has defended the use of [[extraordinary rendition]], saying it is "an absolutely vital tool."<ref name=GB/> He was previously director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center from 2004 through 2005. Brennan also worked at Analysis Corp, from 2005 to 2008.

On November 2, 2007, Brennan defended the Bush/Cheney [[torture]] program:
{{Cquote|the C.I.A. has acknowledged that it has detained about 100 terrorists since 9/11, and about a third of them have been subjected to what the C.I.A. refers to as enhanced interrogation tactics, and only a small proportion of those have in fact been subjected to the most serious types of enhanced procedures ... There have been a lot of information that has come out from these interrogation procedures that the agency has in fact used against the real hard-core terrorists. It has saved lives. And let's not forget, these are hardened terrorists who have been responsible for 9/11, who have shown no remorse at all for the deaths of 3,000 innocents.<ref>''The Early Show'' on [[CBS]], John Brennan interview with Harry Smith. [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/07/us/politics/07brennan-issues.html]</ref>}}

Brennan told [[ABC]], "Our review indicates that interrogations of detainees on whom EITs [enhanced interrogation techniques] were used did produce intelligence that helped thwart attack plans, capture terrorists, and save lives."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cia-pushes-back-assertion-overstated-intelligence-detention-program/story?id=27486128|title=CIA Pushes Back on Assertion That It Overstated Intelligence From Detention Program|author=ABC News|work=ABC News}}</ref>

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the Bush administration in its 2002 National Security Strategy promulgated a new [[preventive war doctrine]], and initiated a program of targeted killings using weaponized Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones, and other means. President Obama greatly expanded the employment of drones to kill people. Brennan was put in charge of selecting targets.

==Obama administration==
During the transition Obama nominated Brennan as CIA Director.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2008/11/16/brennan/ John Brennan and Bush’s interrogation/detention policies,] Examining the actual record of Obama's top adviser for intelligence policy, By Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, Nov 16, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/11/hbc-90003909 John Brennan for CIA? Think Again], Scott Horton, ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', November 24, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/ad_20081206_1783.php What's Behind Brennan's Withdrawal? Some former spies say left-leaning bloggers and columnists drove John Brennan out of consideration for CIA director], Shane Harris, ''National Journal Magazine'', Dec. 6, 2008.</ref> The nomination was withdrawn however as Brennan's torture program became public. Brennan went to work inside the [[White House]] on Obama's personal staff.

Under both the Bush and Obama administrations, Brennan allowed rumors of illegal domestic surveillance to circulate as a ploy to disguise the real source of his information - the CIA Torture Program, which he managed.

[[Daniel Pipes]] has described John Brennan as "[[sycophant]]ic" in his zeal to please his master.<ref>http://www.proconservative.net/PCVol11Is175PipesObamaCounterterrorism.shtml</ref>

===Hacking the State Department===
While cooling his heals outside of government for a brief time because of the controversy over the Torture program, Brennan hitched his wagon to his ideological kinsman,<ref>Both are rumored to be communists and Muslims.</ref> Barack Hussein Obama, as candidate for President in 2008 over [[John McCain]], whom many viewed as a patriot. Brennan started his own consulting firm, began contributing money to Obama and became an advisor.

Factually Barack Hussein Obama never obtained a U.S. passport until after he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.<ref>http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2012/03/obama-passportgate-history.html?m=1</ref> As questions arose over how Obama travelled to Pakistan in 1981,<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20080411230203/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/obamas-college.html</ref> under what name and Social Security number, and whether Obama committed crimes in using or failure to report using aliases to secure a passport and later an Illinois State Bar law license, Brennan's consulting firm hacked in to the U.S. State Department to access Obama's passport file.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/22/passport.files/index.html </ref> A whistleblower who worked for Brennan and was talking to the FBI was found shot dead on the streets of Washington two weeks later.<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/19/key-witness-in-passport-fraud-case-fatally-shot/ </ref><ref>https://truepundit.com/intel-operative-who-altered-obamas-passport-records-turned-fbi-informant-on-boss-john-brennan-then-turned-up-murdered-in-d-c/</ref>

===Obama White House===
[[File:P050310PS-0374POD.jpg|250px|thumb|John Brennan with President Obama. Brennan was in charge of the U.S. Government's torture program.]]
Brennan served as the "Terrorism Czar," sometimes called "Homeland Security Czar," but with the formal title as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.<ref name=GB>[http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/29391/ List of Obama's Czars], GlennBeck.com, August 21, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://glennbeck.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/09/rise-of-the-czars/ Rise of the Czars], FOXNews.com, June 9th, 2009.</ref> Appointed in January 2009, Brennan reported to National Security Adviser James L. Jones. Under [[Barack Hussein Obama|President Obama's]] plan, the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties.<ref name=GB/> The public was told Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism. As Homeland Security Advisor, he was set about killing terrorists abroad while keeping the lid on [[Obama administration]] activities at home.

On September 21, 2010 an internal email entitled “Obama Leak Investigations” at the “global intelligence” company Stratfor claimed Obama’s White House adviser John Brennan was targeting [[journalist]]s.
{{Quotebox|"Brennan is behind the [[witch hunt]]s of investigative journalists learning information from inside the beltway sources,” writes one Stratfor official to another. The email continues: “Note —There is specific tasker from the [White House] to go after anyone printing materials negative to the Obama agenda (oh my.) Even the FBI is shocked. The Wonder Boys must be in meltdown mode…”}}
:“The Wonder Boys” reportedly refers to the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA).<ref>Credit:Sharyl Attkisson. https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/12/1210665_obama-leak-investigations-internal-use-only-pls-do-not.html</ref>

===Illegal wiretaps===
In April 2010 Obama Attn. Gen. [[Eric Holder]] renewed a subpoena of ''[[New York Times]]'' reporter James Risen in a leak investigation. Risen and a colleague reported on warrantless wiretaps. The coverage won Risen and colleague a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for “carefully sourced stories on secret domestic eavesdropping that stirred a national debate.” The Justice Dept. opened an investigation into the wiretap stories. John Brennan played a key role in the illegal wiretap program, overseeing the production of what personnel in the program called the “scary memos” intended to justify the domestic spying exposed by Risen. Brennan later admitted that he relied on information from CIA’s torture program rather than domestic spying, which was used as a cover. In a frontpage May 13, 2004 story the torture program was exposed with Risen as the lead reporter. The subpeaona of Risen is viewed as retribution and an intimidation tactic against whistleblowers.<ref>https://www.thenation.com/article/government-war-against-reporter-james-risen/</ref>

===Torture program run out of White House===
The controvercy over warrantless wiretaps was always only cover for the the real source where information was gained - Brennan's torture program. At the same time it served public notice Americans had to surrender some freedoms and civil liberties to a group of insiders who knew what was best for them. Legalities didn't matter anymore.

During "a profanity-laced screaming match at the [[White House]]" in August 2009<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8398902 Obama White House v. CIA; Panetta Threatened to Quit Tensions Lead to CIA Director's "Screaming Match" at the White House], Matthew Cole, Richard Espisito, and Brian Ross, ''[[ABC News]]'', August 24, 2009.</ref> [[CIA]] Director [[Leon Panetta]] protested Obama's decision to create a team of interrogators overseen by the White House.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112169988 ''White House To Oversee New Interrogation Team''], Dina Temple-Raston, npr.org August 24, 2009.</ref> Responsibility for interrogations of suspects was shifted away from the CIA, and the White House National Security Council staff given direct control.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/23/AR2009082302598.html ''New Unit to Question Key Terror Suspects - Move Shifts Interrogation Oversight From the CIA to the White House]'', Anne E. Kornblut, ''[[Washington Post]]'', August 24, 2009.</ref> Brennan was placed in charge of the program.

Unlike executive departments and agencies such as the [[Department of Justice]], [[FBI]], and CIA, the National Security Council staff are not subject to Congressional oversight, and operate outside the spotlight of public view.<ref>[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/j-e-dyer/78202 National Security Council Reloaded], J. E. Dyer, ''Commentary blog'', 08.25.2009.</ref><ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 13.</ref> The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] made this point during the [[United States Presidential Election, 2008|elections of 2008]] when the George W. Bush NSC staff was involved only in decisions and authorizations and before the Obama NSC staff took on an operational role.<ref>[http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35595prs20080610.html?s_src=RSS ACLU Urges Congress to Examine White House National Security Council as Central Decision-Maker on Torture], ACLU Press Release, (6/10/2008).</ref>

After some successful operations such as the [[Abbottabad raid]], Obama re-nominated Brennan to take over CIA in 2013.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/07/the-right-or-wrong-experience-for-the-job/by-nominating-john-brennan-obama-is-ignoring-war-crimes By Nominating John Brennan, Obama is Ignoring War Crimes], Glenn Greenwald, ''NY Times'', January 8, 2013.</ref>

===Re-election gimmick: killing bin Laden===
[[File:Jihad recruiting poster.jpg|right|300px|thumb|In 2001, estimates of Muslim males, ages 12 to 28, susceptible to recruiting for jihad were 12,000 globally; as Brennan left office in 2017 the Obama administration was boasting of having killed 50,000 ISIS jihadis out of force estimated no larger than 15,000 two and half years earlier. And the US was still fighting jihadis.]]
Killing bin Laden was never an objective or priority of the Bush administration. Knowing full well Islam is a doctrine of vengence - not love or forgiveness - the [[War on Terror]] was stipulated from the beginning to be about prevention, not retribution. Killing bin Laden was a [[Hydra]]'s head, the death of one would only spawn the rise of many to take bin Laden's place in [[Allah]]'s relentless struggle against his enemies. US intelligence agencies certainly knew this. Shortly after bin Laden's execution, the Islamic State was declared, and the call went out from the [[Caliph]] to Muslim warriors globally to enter the jihad. Thousands of foreign fighters arose from every continent. When Obama and Brennan departed from office [[Europe]] had been invaded and the West was losing the global jihad.<ref>http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/06/10/we-are-losing-the-war-on-terror/</ref>

The Bush administration was content to leave bin Laden under house arrest, a coward in hiding, incapable of leading or directing further attacks, while others died fighting '[[Western]] [[materialism]]'.

But Obama was always motivated by domestic politics, and Democrats' hatred of Bush could be mollified with a single issue - standing the War on Terror on its head and turning it into something it was never intended to be—payback. Payback and retribution would repudiate America'a Christian ethic and make America no different than the enemies we fought. In keeping Brennan on as a Bush holdover, Obama wanted Brennan to enhance Obama's 2016 re-election prospects. Public approval gained from killing bin Laden was calculated to offset criticism of the kill list, and obscure the legal and moral objections from international and humanitarian organizations. Both would be rewarded in the end. This time Brennan wasn't denied appointment as CIA Director when Obama was reelected.

===The kill list===
[[File:John-brennan.jpg|right|450px|thumb|John Brennan, the mastermind behind the CIA [[torture]] program, the execution of [[bin Laden]] to aid [[Barack Hussein Obama]]'s re-election chances, the hacking into the Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee's computers to thwart investigators, the man who decides who lives and who dies on Obama's kill list, instrumental in puting the plot in motion to destroy [[President Trump]]'s presidency over a percieved insult and Trump's questioning why [[NATO]] has strayed from it's stated mission of collective defense by engaging in aggressive war in Libya, and Trump's refusal to go along with the globalist agenda for a new Cold War with Russia.<ref>http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/03/20/conspiracy-president-trump/</ref>]]
As Counterterrorism adviser, Brennan was the driving force behind the creation of the Disposition Matrix database to codify the targeted killing policies developed by Barack Obama. According to the ''[[New York Times]]'', Brennan has been the "principal coordinator" of U.S. kill lists. Former Obama administration counterterrorism official Daniel Benjamin stated that Brennan "probably had more power and influence than anyone in a comparable position in the last 20 years."<ref name=nyt20130205a>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 February 2013|accessdate=|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/world/middleeast/with-brennan-pick-a-light-on-drone-strikes-hazards.html|title=Drone Strikes’ Dangers to Get Rare Moment in Public Eye|first1=Robert|last1=Worth|first2=Mark|last2=Mazzetti|first3=Scott|last3=Shane}}</ref> The criteria and decisions determining who may be targeted for killing were developed in large part by John Brennan, who "wields enormous power in shaping decisions on 'kill' lists and the allocation of armed drones".<ref>Washington Post</ref> Barack Obama, a [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner, joked about his approvals of names submitted off Brennan's list: "I'm really good at killing people."<ref>https://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n05/thomas-nagel/really-good-at-killing</ref>

U.S. citizens may be listed as targets for killing in the database.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0</ref> Suspects are not formally charged of any crime or offered a trial in their own defense.<ref name=ws1026>{{cite news|title=Institutionalized state assassinations and the November 6 election |first=Bill |last=Van Auken |authorlink= |url=http://wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o26.shtml |newspaper=World Socialist Web Site |date=26 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Bp3lKT98?url=http://wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o26.shtml |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref>

The World Socialist Web Site wrote that "the Obama administration has arrogated to itself the most extreme power that can be asserted by any [[dictator]]ship—that of ordering citizens put to death without presenting charges against them, much less proving them in a court of law". They later criticized the relative silence in the media and the political establishment following the revelation.<ref>{{cite news|title=American democracy and the "disposition matrix" |first=Joseph |last=Kishore |url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o31.shtml |newspaper=World Socialist Web Site |date=31 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BzfXBntR?url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/pers-o31.shtml |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref>

Obama's kill list has been criticized internationally as "targeted executions" and "extrajudicial murders."<ref name=rt1024>{{cite news|title=Kill-list 2.0: Obama’s ‘disposition matrix’ maps out extrajudicial murders for years to come |url=http://rt.com/usa/news/disposition-matrix-kill-obama-146/ |newspaper=Russia Today |date=24 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BhOhc89I?url=http://rt.com/usa/news/disposition-matrix-kill-obama-146/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> "[I]n essence, this means that based on intelligence evidence, the administration assumes the right to judge and execute anyone without bothering about such minor things as proper court hearings, or the right of the accused person for proper legal defense...the fact that such operations clearly violate the principles propagated by the U.S. itself, like the right of everyone for legal defense, does not seem to bother the administration."<ref name=vor1026>{{cite news|title=Barack Obama widens the practice of extrajudicial killings |first=Boris |last=Volkhonsky |url=http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_26/Barack-Obama-widens-the-practice-of-extrajudicial-killings/ |publisher=Voice of Russia |date=26 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Bp3m7GtF?url=http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_26/Barack-Obama-widens-the-practice-of-extrajudicial-killings/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> Speaking at [[Harvard Law School]] on 25 October 2012, United Nations Special Rapporteur on [[human rights]] and counter terrorism, Ben Emmerson, stated that he would launch an investigation unit within the United Nations Human Rights Council.<ref name=rt1026>{{cite news|title=United Nations to begin investigating US drone strike targeted kills |url=http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drone-emmerson-un-256/ |newspaper=Russia Today |date=26 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BhOjRYIp?url=http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drone-emmerson-un-256/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> Emmerson and Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, have described some Obama admimistraion targeted killings as [[war crime]]s.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/21/drone-strikes-international-law-un Drone strikes threaten 50 years of international law, says UN rapporteur], Owen Bowcott, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 21 June 2012</ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20131030231702/http://rt.com/usa/us-drone-emmerson-un-256/</ref>

[[Glenn Greenwald]] has written that "the central role played by the NCTC in determining who should be killed [is] rather odious... the NCTC operates a gigantic data-mining operation, in which all sorts of information about innocent Americans is systematically monitored, stored, and analyzed".<ref name=gw1024>{{cite news|title=Obama moves to make the War on Terror permanent |first=Glenn |last=Greenwald |authorlink=Glenn Greenwald |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BhOg4QS6?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list |deadurl=no |location=London |df=dmy }}</ref> Greenwald concludes that the Kill list has established "simultaneously a surveillance state and a secretive, unaccountable judicial body that analyzes who you are and then decrees what should be done with you, how you should be "disposed" of, beyond the reach of any minimal accountability or transparency".<ref name=gw1024 /> Former [[counterterrorism]] specialist and [[military intelligence]] officer Philip Giraldi has criticized the disposition matrix's "everyday" killing of targets with what he calls "little or no evidence", leaving the White House "completely unaccountable".<ref>{{cite news|title=Kill Lists Will Continue |first=Philip |last=Giraldi |authorlink=|url=http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/11/07/kill-lists-will-continue/ |work=[[Antiwar.com]] |date=8 November 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6C2YMHo57?url=http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/11/07/kill-lists-will-continue/ |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>[http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/12/05/the-protocols-for-death/ The Protocols for Death], by Philip Giraldi, [[Antiwar.com]], 06 December 2012</ref>

===CIA Director===
Brennan speaks [[Arabic]] and has a prayer rug in his office. Some in the [[Intelligence Community]] have rumoured that he converted to [[Islam]] while stationed in [[Saudi Arabia]] in the 1990s. More likely Brennan is the quintessential [[Statism|statist]], having been sworn in as CIA director on a copy of the [[U.S. Constitution]] rather than a [[Bible]] or [[Koran]]. Brennan recognizes no higher [[moral]] authority than [[government]].

Brennan planted stories with the ''New York Times'' [[Cairo]] bureau chief David Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick wrote a controversial article whitewashing the [[Benghazi attack]] and repeatedly pushed a pro-[[Muslim Brotherhood]] agenda, according to his wife.

===Hacking Senate Oversight Committee===
Sixty documents disappear from the computers of the Senate Intelligence Oversight Torture Review investigation. Chairwoman Feinstein said that CIA personnel at first denied that the documents were missing, then blamed the IT contractors, then informed her it was at the behest of the [[White House]].<ref>https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/torture-report</ref>

===Trump-Russia scam ===
:''Main article:'' [[Deep state coup]]
John Brennan invented a fake narrative that he had received information from foreign intelligence sharing programs that associates of Donald Trump were meeting and taking money from Russian operatives. Brennan passed the fake narrative to [[James Comey]] who began counterintelligence surveillance on [[Paul Manafort]] and others in the Trump orbit.

The underpinnings of Brennans [[fake news]] narrative read something like this: {{quotebox|"CIA Dir. John Brennan received information from British GCHQ intelligence as part of an allegedly "routine" intelligence sharing agreement about Trump associates' business dealings in Russia.<ref>https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/interview-richard-dearlove-europe-intelligence-mi6</ref> The information is said to have originated with Estonian intelligence. [[Estonia]] is requesting a missile defence system at this time,<ref>https://www.ft.com/content/b9453544-228c-11e6-9d4d-c11776a5124d</ref><ref>http://linkis.com/atlanticcouncil.org/fAWKh</ref> while Trump adviser [[Newt Gingrich]] refers to the country of 1.3 million inhabitants as a 'suburb of St. Petersberg', which has 5.3 million inhabitants. Gingrich, rumoured to be on the short list for Secretary of State, says he doubts American leaders would risk [[nuclear war]] over [[Putin]]'s actions in the region. Allegedly, the information that triggered Brennan to act was a tape recorded conversation that mentioned money from the Kremlin to the Trump Campaign."}} In actuality, John Brennan received nothing from UK intelligence.<ref>https://www.themarketswork.com/2018/04/22/nunes-interview-no-official-intelligence-used-problems-for-brennan/ </ref> Brennan's fake narrative became the basis of the [[Trump-Russia hoax]], taken as gospel by [[leftist]]s and the [[mainstream media]].

Brennan shared his invented narrative with Clapper and Comey to form a Joint Counter-Intelligence Task Force.<ref>''NYT'', 1/19/17</ref>

The fake narrative is nothing new for Brennan; a decade earlier Brennan was responsible for fake narratives about US domestic spying under the Patriot Act to cover information that was gleaned from the Torture Program which Brennan oversaw.<ref>Brennan played a key role in the illegal wiretap program, overseeing the production of what personnel in the program called the “scary memos” intended to justify the domestic spying exposed by [''NYT'' reporter James] Risen. Brennan has since admitted that he relied on intelligence from the CIA’s interrogation programs to develop such memos, and his tenure in that role spanned the period when the CIA used its most extreme torture. https://www.thenation.com/article/government-war-against-reporter-james-risen/ </ref>

The fact that the early [[leak]]s appeared in the British press suggested that the source might have been British intelligence. Under Executive Orders dating back to 1938, the US can ask UK intelligence to monitor an American citizen to circumvent the [[Fourth Amendment]], and vice versa. The National Security Agency may share data with the UK's GCHQ to evade U.S. legal restrictions regarding the handling of such data.<ref>"[http://www.dailywire.com/news/14394/bombshell-fox-news-sources-say-obama-used-brits-john-nolte BOMBSHELL: Fox News Sources Say Obama Used Brits To Spy On Donald Trump].", ''DailyWire,'' March 14, 2017.</ref> The Obama administration's wiretaps against the Trump campaign were first reported by the British news site ''Heat Street'' on November 7, 2016.<ref>"[https://heatst.com/world/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia/ EXCLUSIVE: FBI ‘Granted FISA Warrant’ Covering Trump Camp’s Ties To Russia]," ''Heat Street'', Nov. 7, 2016.</ref>

In January 2017 the [[BBC]] suggested that the investigation of the Trump campaign was orchestrated by CIA Director John Brennan.<ref>"[https://spectator.org/all-roads-lead-back-to-brennan/ All Roads Lead Back to Brennan]," ''American Spectator'', March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>"Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day," according to the BBC. "[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38589427 Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here?]", BBC, Jan. 12, 2017.</ref>

On January 4, 2017 the Office of National Intelligence issued a report written by Brennan entitled, ''Joint Analysis Report: Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.”''<ref>The declassified version is "[https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution]"</ref> Two pages of the DNC and Clinton campaign's ''[[Steele dossier]]'' were included in the report. The following day in an [[Oval Office]] meeting with Brennan, [[Clapper]], Comey, [[Susan Rice]], and [[Biden]], President Obama approved the attempt to [[blackmail]] President-elect [[Donald Trump]] with "salacious and unverified" sexual innuendo from the report.

To justify the illegal surveillance, Trump associates were labeled "agents of a foreign power" in order to hoax the FISA court into approving warrant applications. Obama additionally signed Executive Orders to circulate the slurs and innuendo more widely within the government.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/nsa-gets-more-latitude-to-share-intercepted-communications.html?_r=0 N.S.A. Gets More Latitude to Share Intercepted Communications]", ''New York Times, Jan. 12, 2017.</ref><ref>According to Executive Order 12333 issued by President [[Ronald Reagan]] in December 1981, "Elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to collect, retain, or disseminate information concerning United States persons...obtained in the course of a lawful foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, international drug or international terrorism investigation." Thus the U.S. intelligence community can perform surveillance without a warrant as long as the target of the investigation is, at least nominally, something other than a "U.S. person". [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/meet-executive-order-12333-the-reagan-rule-that-lets-the-nsa-spy-on-americans/2014/07/18/93d2ac22-0b93-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html Meet Executive Order 12333: The Reagan rule that lets the NSA spy on Americans]", ''Washington Post'', July 18, 2014.</ref><ref>Saagar Enjeti, "[http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/how-are-all-these-intel-leaks-happening-look-at-one-of-the-last-things-obama-did-before-leaving-office/ How Are All These Intel Leaks Happening? Look At One Of The Last Things Obama Did Before Leaving Office]," ''Daily Caller,'' 03/09/2017.</ref> These developments were followed by a series of leaks that disregarded privacy rights.

On January 17, 2017 ''McClatchy News'' reported that an informal, interagency group had been working for months on the issue of Russian attempts to influence the the election. The group included representatives of the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the office of the director of national intelligence.<ref>"[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article127231799.html#storylink=cpy FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump]", ''McClatchy,'' January 18, 2017.</ref> The day before inauguration ''The New York Times'' reported that the White House was directly involved in the investigation: “… wiretapped communications had been provided to the (Obama) White House.”<ref>"[https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NY-Times-FP-012017.jpg Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides; Examining Russian Ties; Business dealings of Campaign Advisers are investigated]." ''New York Times'', January 20, 2017. On the NYT website, the headline is given as “[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates].”</ref><ref>"[http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/03/05/new-york-times-trashes-its-own-reporting-on-obama-admin-wiretapping/ New York Times Trashes Its Own Reporting on Obama Admin Wiretapping], ''Breitbart'', 5 Mar 2017.</ref>

On March 1, the ''Times'' reported that the FBI was in the midst of a "wide-ranging investigation" of "links between Mr. Trump’s associates and the Russian government."<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking]," ''New York Times'', March 1, 2017.</ref> Although Trump had been president for six weeks at this point, the FBI was still being run by Director [[James Comey]], who had been appointed by Obama.

On March 2, 2017, talk radio host Mark Levin denounced the wiretaps and accused Obama of attempting a "silent coup" against Trump. Levin was chief of staff of the Justice Department during the Reagan administration. Earlier liberal reporting on the issue emphasized Trump's alleged links to Russia and used the wiretapping to support the idea that the intelligence community took these accusations seriously. Levin shifted the focus to malfeasance by the intelligence community.<ref>"[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/03/mark-levin-obama-used-police-state-tactics-undermine-trump/ Mark Levin to Congress: Investigate Obama’s ‘Silent Coup’ vs. Trump]", ''Breitbart'', 3 Mar 2017.</ref>

On August 15, 2018, Trump revoked Brennan's security clearance while the latter was working as an analyst for the left-wing news networks [[NBC News]] and [[MSNBC]].<ref>"[https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/15/trump-revokes-john-brennans-security-clearance/]", "Breitbart", 15 Aug 2017.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Obamagate timeline 2009-2015]]
*[[Obamagate timeline|Obamagate timeline 2016 election year]]
*[[Russiagate timeline 2017]]
*[[Russiagate timeline|Russiagate timeline 2018]]
*[[Barack Hussein Obama's unlawful acts]]
*[[Obama's second term agenda]]
*[[Barack Obama Controversies]]
*[[Extraordinary rendition]]
*[[Waterboarding]]
*[[Abu Ghraib prison]]
*[[Project Cassandra]]
*[[Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp]]
*[[Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb]]
*[[Crisis in Ukraine]]
*[[Obamunism]]
*[[Samantha Power]]
*[[Stefan Halper]]
*[[Susan Rice]]
*[[Aldrich Ames]]
*[[Heinrich Himmler]]
*[[Felix Dzerzhinsky]]
*[[Lavrenty Beria]]
*[[Stasi]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
:'''Warning: These photographs are quite graphic!'''
*[http://www.salon.com/news/abu_ghraib/2006/03/14/introduction/] Salon.com Abu Ghraib Photo Archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, John}}
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Police State]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Police State]]
[[Category:Anti-Trump]]
[[Category:Communists]]
[[Category:Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax]]
[[Category:United States Political Scandals]]

Donald Trump

2018-08-06T21:54:54Z

JoeRW: Added in closing reference note

{{Officeholder
|name=Donald John Trump
|image=Donald Trump official presidential photo.jpg
|party=[[Republican]] (1987–1999, 2009–2011, 2012–present) formerly [[Democrat]] (until 1987, 2001–2009), [[Reform Party|Reform]] (1999–2001), and [[Independent voter|Independent]] (2011–2012)
|spouse=Ivana Trump Marla Maples [[Melania Trump]]
|religion=[[Presbyterian Church (USA)|Presbyterian]]
|offices={{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=45th
|terms=January 20, 2017 – present
|vp=[[Mike Pence]]
|preceded=[[Barack Obama]]
|former=n
}}
}}
:''For his achievements as U.S. President, see [[Donald Trump achievements]].''
:''Donald Trump was [[Conservative of the Year 2017]].''
'''Donald John Trump''' (b. [[Queens]], [[New York]], on June 14, 1946), nicknamed "'''The Donald'''", is the 45th [[President of the United States of America]], as a result of winning the [[2016 presidential election]] as the [[Republican Party]] nominee. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and [[television]] personality.

==Financial worth & education==
Trump has engaged in many financial pursuits and estimated that his net worth was $10 billion, as of July 2015.<ref>LoGiurato, Brett (July 25, 2015). [http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-net-worth-2015-7 "We finally know a lot more about Donald Trump's 'massive' net worth"]. Business Insider website.</ref> ''Forbes'', however, estimates his net worth is $3.7 billion as of March 2017.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/ "The world's most powerful people: #2 Donald Trump"]. (March 6, 2017). Forbes.com website.</ref> He graduated from the New York Military Academy in 1964 and first attended college at [[Fordham University]] for two years before transferring to the more competitive [[University of Pennsylvania]] and completing his undergraduate studies at its Wharton School of Finance and Commerce.

Early media profiles of Trump claim he graduated "first in his class" from Wharton.<ref>Whitman, Alden (January 28, 1973). [http://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/28/archives/a-builder-looks-backand-moves-forward-builder-looks-back-but-moves.html "A builder looks back—and moves forward".] ''New York Times''. Retrieved from ''New York Times'' website.</ref> The evidence suggests otherwise and yet Trump has never sought to correct or clarify this potentially significant error.<ref>Geist, William E. (April 8, 1984). [http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/08/magazine/the-expanding-empire-of-donald-trump.html "The expanding empire of Donald Trump".] ''New York Times Magazine''. Retrieved from ''New York Times'' website.</ref>

==Candidacy==
On June 16, 2015, he declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the [[2016 presidential election]].<ref>Multiple references:
*[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/16/trump-announces-white-house-bid-joins-crowded-gop-field/ "Trump announces White House bid, joins crowded GOP field"] (June 16, 2015). Fox News website/Politics. The front-runner in a record-breaking field of 17 [[Republican]] candidates, Trump announced that he did not anticipate "throwing punches" against his rivals in the first GOP debate.
*Chiacu, Donna and Torbati, Yeganeh (August 2, 2015). [http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/02/us-usa-election-debate-idUSKCN0Q70NI20150802 "Trump says won't be 'throwing punches' in U.S. Republican debate"]. Reuters/Politics. But at the debate the [[Fox News Channel]]—particularly its [[feminist]] non-journalist [[Megyn Kelly]]—ambushed Trump with out-of-context quotations designed to smear him as somehow being anti-women. This ignited a national controversy that lasted for days, and Trump called upon Kelly to apologize, which she refused to do.</ref> Unlike most other U.S presidential candidates, Trump sharply criticizes the media and talks about issues that no elected official dares touch. For example, Trump stands up against [[feminists]], unlike most politicians. In another example, in 2011 Trump persistently doubted whether [[Barack Obama]] had been born in the [[United States]], which caused Obama's approval ratings to drop below 40% until Obama finally caved in to Trump and produced what Obama claimed was his birth certificate. Trump then scoffed at Obama's conduct.

'''''In February 2011, Trump announced that he is [[pro-life]], and at the final presidential debate on Oct. 19, 2016, Trump gave the strongest endorsement of the pro-life position of any presidential nominee in history'''''.

Trump's central campaign theme has been to oppose [[illegal immigration]] and [[free trade]], and nominated Senator [[Jeff Sessions]] as [[Attorney General]] to enforce standing legislation on the issue. As reported by [[Breitbart News Network|Breitbart]], "Sen. Sessions, Chairman of the Senate’s Immigration Subcommittee, is widely regarded as the gold standard on immigration. Sessions has also become the intellectual thought leader in the Republican Party on appealing to the blue collar voters who have been abandoned by their political leaders." <ref>Hahn, Julia (August 14, 2015). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/14/game-change-trump-consults-with-sen-jeff-sessions-on-immigration-strategy/ "Game change: Trump consults with Sen Jeff Sessions on immigration strategy"]. Breitbart website/Big government.</ref> In the later campaign Trump focused more on [[ISIS]] and terrorism.

At the final presidential debate between [[Hillary Clinton]] and Trump on October 19, 2016, Clinton chastised Trump for running a newspaper advertisement in 1987 critical of the [[Reagan Administration]]. But Trump persuasively explained that he has always disagreed with Reagan's support of free trade, as many other [[conservatives]] disagree with Reagan on this issue.

==Religious beliefs==
{{Main|Donald Trump's religious views}}
Donald Trump attended the First [[Presbyterian]] Church in Jamaica, [[Queens]]. He told the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] that he still considers himself a [[Presbyterian]] and attends services for all major holidays and Sundays, and that "The [[Bible]] is certainly THE book." He receives Bibles from fans in the mail, and he either stores them or gives them away to others.<ref>Haberman, Maggie (April 11, 2011). [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52942.html "Donald Trump talks about religion"]. Politico website.</ref>

In July 2015, Trump stated in an interview that "Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?"<ref>Nothstine, Ray (July 23, 2015). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-why-do-i-have-to-repent-or-ask-for-forgiveness-if-i-am-not-making-mistakes-video-141856/ Trump: 'Why Do I Have to Repent or Ask for Forgiveness If I Am Not Making Mistakes?' (Video)]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref> He also stated that "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't."<ref>Scott, Eugene (July 18, 2015). [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/trump-has-never-sought-forgiveness/ Trump believes in God, but hasn't sought forgiveness]. ''CNN''. Retrieved December 4, 2016.</ref> January 2016, Trump stated that "I have a great relationship with God," but that "I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness."<ref>Key, Pam (January 17, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/01/17/trump-i-dont-like-to-have-to-ask-for-forgiveness-from-god/ Trump: ‘I Don’t Like to Have to Ask for Forgiveness’ from God]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref> When confronted by [[Cal Thomas]] in an interview in mid 2016 about his not asking God for forgiveness, Trump stated that he would ask God for forgiveness.<ref>Chumley, Cheryl (August 6, 2016). [http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/trump-answers-question-who-do-you-say-jesus-is/ Trump answers question: 'Who do you say Jesus is?] ''WorldNetDaily''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref> In October 2016, [[Ben Carson]] stated that Trump did ask forgiveness from God with [[James Robison]].<ref>Showalter, Brandon (October 10, 2016). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/ben-carson-donald-trump-asked-god-for-forgiveness-prayed-with-james-robison-170650/ Ben Carson: Donald Trump Asked God for Forgiveness, Prayed With James Robison]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref>

According to exit polling in the 2016 election, Trump won 81 percent of evangelical Christians compared to 16 percent for Clinton, a record high and even more than [[George W. Bush]] won in 2004, showing strong support for Trump from evangelical Christians.<ref name="townhall.com">O'Brien, Cortney (November 12, 2016). [http://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2016/11/12/white-evangelical-voters-showed-up-this-time-n2243931 Evangelical Voters Showed Up Big Time For Trump]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved December 8, 2016.</ref><ref name="wsj.com">Lovett, Ian (November 9, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/evangelicals-back-donald-trump-in-record-numbers-despite-earlier-doubts-1478689372 Evangelicals Back Donald Trump in Record Numbers, Despite Earlier Doubts]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved December 8, 2016.</ref> He was the first sitting American president to address the annual Values Voters Conference in Washington.<ref>http://www.npr.org/2017/10/13/557459193/trump-set-to-address-values-voter-summit-for-first-time-as-president</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Trump business.jpg|right]]
Donald Trump began his career at [[Trump Organization]]. In his college years, he helped revitalize one of his father's failing real estate ventures. Trump began opening hotels and casinos, which provided him with the cash flow to engage in other ventures. He owns the world-famous [[Trump Tower]] and is the founder of the publicly traded Trump Hotel Casinos & Resorts. Trump also owns the Trump brand, which sells a variety of items, such as bottled water, steak, and even mortgages. Trump has authored a number of books and weathered changing business fortunes, but despite the challenges that he has encountered, he has continued to be a successful businessman and entrepreneur.

Trump [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2000|ran unsuccessfully]] for the nomination of the [[Reform Party]] in 2000. Trump considered [[presidential election 2012|running for President in 2012]] as a [[Republican]]. He, among others, questioned the citizenship of [[Barack Obama]], citing his failure to produce his birth certificate. After Obama produced his birth certificate, Trump and the other [[birther]]s continue to doubt its authenticity. Obama's approval ratings were around 40% during the peak of the controversy. Trump later exited the race, and gave the customary endorsement to [[Mitt Romney]] as the other [[Republican]] contenders did.

==Major properties==

*Trump World Tower: 845 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY.

*Trump Tower: 725 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10022 Personal Residence

*Bank of America Center (San Francisco)

*The Trump Building at 40 Wall Street

*Trump Park Avenue

*AXA Financial Center, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY

*Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago

*Trump International Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

*Mar-A-Lago Palm Beach

*Four golf courses in the U.S.

==Media==
[[File:Donald Trump star.JPG|thumbnail|left|Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
In 2003 Trump began as the host and executive producer of the reality [[television]] show ''The Apprentice'' and ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', where contestants compete for a position in Trump's organization. On this show, Trump popularized his catchphrase "You're fired!"

Trump used to own the un-Christian Miss Universe Pageant, which objectified the female body and promoted lust and infidelity. Controversy arose when one of the winners, Tara Conner, was caught breaking pageant rules by drinking and other activities. Trump gave her a second chance after personally speaking with her and allowed her to retain her crown as she attended rehabilitation. For several weeks after this, [[Rosie O'Donnell]] berated Trump for his decision on ''The View''. A bitter media war ensued with the two exchanging insults.

Trump has made many guest appearances, usually as himself, on many TV shows and in several movies.

Childish [[liberals]] are vandalizing Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame three times a day. A person asked about the vandalism said Trump has it coming.<ref>Press Association (April 8, 2016). [http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20160408/4211707/Donald-Trump-Hollywood-Walk-of-Fame-Star.htm "Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star vandalised three times a day"]. One News Page website article and video [0:37]. 0:15 advertising wall required to view.</ref>

==Political positions==

====Social Issues====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Religious liberty, gender issues, and other social policies|Donald Trump achievements: Abortion}}
[[File:Donald-Trump-Rosa-Parks.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Donald Trump received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations in 1986 for improving the lives of African-American urban youths. From left to right: [[Anita Bryant]], [[Mohammad Ali]], [[Rosa Parks]], and Donald Trump.]]
At the 2011 [[CPAC]] conference, Trump announced he is [[pro-life]].<ref>Rahn, Will (February 10, 2011). [http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/10/trump-at-cpac-points-to-white-house-run/ "Trump at CPAC points to White House run"]. The Daily Caller website.</ref> Trump would not fund Planned Parenthood and the government should not give funds to any organizations that perform abortions<ref>Carroll, Lauren (May 1, 2016) [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/may/01/ted-cruz/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-planned-parenthood/ "Do Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton agree on Planned Parenthood funding?"] Politifact website.</ref> However, he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother or child.<ref>Ertelt, Steven (February 1, 2016). [http://www.lifenews.com/2016/02/01/mike-huckabee-defends-donald-trumps-abortion-conversion-he-is-pro-life-now/ "Mike Huckabee defends Donald Trump’s abortion conversion: 'He is pro-life now'"] LifeNews.com.</ref>

Trump says that the legalization of [[same-sex "marriage"]] doesn't matter because it's "settled law" now,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120831060550/http://www.gop.com/2012-republican-platform_We/#Item3 "Republican platform: We believe in America"] (bef. August 31, 2012). GOP.com website. Archived at Internet Archive on August 31, 2012.</ref> even though five liberal members of the Supreme Court illegally made ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]'' into "law" via [[judicial activism]] based on their personal feelings about the issue. Trump believes that homosexual couples have the same adoption rights as straight couples,<ref>Guo, Jeff (August 10, 2016). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/10/how-donald-trump-is-slowly-teaching-republicans-to-embrace-gay-rights/ "Donald Trump is teaching the GOP a different way to embrace gay rights".] ''Washington Post'' website.</ref> Despite what the Left claims, Donald Trump has voiced open support for the LGBTQ community, and was the first Republican President to do so.{{cn}} He has stated that he will do everything he can do to protect the LGBTQ community, from Islamic extremists.

Trump says that a business should be able to deny service to a customer if the request conflicts with the owner’s religious beliefs?<ref name="christiantoday.com">Hicap, Jonah (June 2, 2015). [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/donald.trump.vows.to.be.the.greatest.representative.of.christians.if.he.wins.white.house/55023.htm "Donald Trump: 'I will be the greatest representative of Christians if I win the White House'"]. Christian Today website.</ref> Trump would not require health insurance providers to offer free birth control.<ref>Associated Press (February 11, 2012). [http://web.archive.org/web/20151128095810/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-02-11/obama-birth-control-cpac/53046728/1 "GOP conservatives unite against birth control coverage"]. ''USA Today'' website/News/Washington. Retrieved from November 28, 2015 archive at Internet Archive.</ref>

Trump doesn't think that universities should provide “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces” for students.<ref>Hashmi, Siraj (November 10, 2016). [http://redalertpolitics.com/2016/11/10/safe-spaces-handed-election-donald-trump/ "Safe Spaces handed the election to Donald Trump"]. Red Alert Politics website.</ref>

Trump believes that marital rape be classified and punished as severely as non-marital rape?<ref>Diamond, Jeremy (July 28, 2015). [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/28/politics/donald-trump-adviser-michael-cohen-rape/ "Trump distances himself from top aide's rape comment"]. CNN website/Politics.</ref>

Trump would not add "Gender Identity" to anti-discrimination laws.<ref>http://www.advocate.com/politics/2016/5/24/donald-trump-claims-accommodating-transgender-people-too-expensive</ref>

Trump wouldn't support a [[separation of church and state]] by removing references to God on money, federal buildings, and national monuments.<ref name="christiantoday.com"/>

Trump says that after a psychological examination to show they fully understand this choice, terminally ill patients be allowed to end their lives via [[assisted suicide]].<ref>http://wingspanonline.net/?p=2398</ref>

Trump supports the [[death penalty]].<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/01/nyregion/angered-by-attack-trump-urges-return-of-the-death-penalty.html</ref>

Trump thinks that the military should allow women to serve as long as they can pass the same physical tests as men.<ref>http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/donald-trump-women-combat-tricky/2015/12/06/id/704736/</ref> (Compare [[gender norming]].)

Trump says that board members of a business should be the most qualified regardless of gender.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3269718/Trump-gives-young-feminist-brush-equal-pay-abortion-going-make-good-job-happen-pro-life.html</ref>

Trump does not believe that the government can show a confederate flag on public property.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-tees-off-on-the-confederate-flag/</ref>

Trump believes that women should be allowed to wear a Niqāb, or face veil, to civic ceremonies.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFVCZhFsNR8</ref>

====Healthcare Issues====
Trump does not support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and would open the markets so insurers can compete across state lines and reduce costs.<ref name="donaldjtrump.com">https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform</ref><ref name=Educ>Breitbart.tv (February 9, 2011). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2011/02/09/pro-life-donald-trump-would-eliminate-dept-of-education-impose-25-tax-on-china-imports-if-president/ "Pro-life Donald Trump would eliminate Dept of Education, impose 25% tax on China imports if president"]. Breitbart.com.</ref> However, he has also said, "I like the mandate."<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/19/trump-on-obamacare-i-like-the-mandate-video/ "Trump On Obamacare: ‘I Like The Mandate’"]</ref>

Trump thinks that the government should regulate the prices of life-saving drugs.<ref>http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/trump-backs-
medicare-negotiating-drug-prices-218215</ref>

Trump supports the legalization of marijuana for medical use.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/06/18/exclusive-donald-trump-on-what-made-him-run-for-president-on-hannity/</ref>

''Donald Trump has not yet answered if he supports the privatization of veteran's healthcare.''

Trump believes that the federal government increase funding of health care for low income individuals (Medicaid).<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-15/trump-calls-for-expanded-medicaid-birth-control-without-doctor</ref>

====Controversy with Barack Obama====
[[File:Donald Trump Speaking in Fountain Hills.jpg|thumb|Trump speaking in Fountain Hills, Arizona in March 2016.]]
Trump has also questioned Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to be President, in light of the ongoing questions surrounding his birth certificate.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=280533 "Trump: Obama spending millions to hide his past"] (March 28, 2011). WorldNetDaily website.</ref> Trump questioned whether the Obama Administration was successful in negotiating with foreign countries. Trump declared during the 2016 election that he no longer would question Obama's eligibility.

====Economic Issues====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Economic policy and labor}}
Trump’s economic plan is designed to make the country more competitive by implementing policies that apply to all companies: cutting taxes, including the corporate tax rate, repealing and rolling back stifling regulations, including the biggest of them all, Obamacare and those clobbering the energy sector, renegotiating trade deals such as NAFTA, and killing off the nascent Trans-Pacific Partnership.<ref>Crowley, Monica (December 7, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/7/donald-trump-and-the-art-of-getting-it-done/ Donald Trump and the art of getting it done]. ''The Washingon Times''. Retrieved December 10, 2016.</ref>

Trump would not require employers be required to pay men and women the same salary for the same job as there are too many other variables such as education, experience, and tenure that determine a fair salary.

''Trump has not answered whether welfare recipients be tested for drugs.''

Trump said he would require businesses be required to provide paid leave for full-time employees during the birth of a child or sick family member.

Trump would raise the federal minimum wage.

Trump believes there should be more restrictions on current welfare benefits.

Trump would instate a 35% tariff on all imports from China even though he used Chinese steel to build all of his Trump Towers.<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/how-donald-trump-ditched-us-steel-workers-china-505717</ref>

Trump would also lower the corporate tax rate.<ref>https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-economic-plan-winning-the-global-competition</ref>

Trump says that the U.S. shouldn't continue to participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).<ref>http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/16/news/economy/donald-trump-nafta-mexico-china-tariff/</ref>

Trump would cut public spending in order to reduce the public debt.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/donald-trump-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/</ref>

Trump believes that the government is currently over-regulating private businesses and that it shouldn't require businesses to pay salaried employees, making up to $46k/year, time-and-a-half for overtime hours.<ref>http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift/2016/08/trump-v-overtime-rule-215883</ref>

Trump thinks that the government should prevent “mega mergers” of corporations that could potentially control a large percentage of market share within its industry.<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-10-22/trump-would-block-proposed-at-t-time-warner-merger-if-elected</ref>

Trump said that labor unions, in theory help the economy but have recently become corrupt and should have their powers limited.<ref>http://projects.newsday.com/opinion/newsday-editorial-board-interviews-donald-trump/#nypd</ref>

Trump would increase the tax on profits from the sale of stocks, bonds, and real estate.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4I5QUGRf-Q&feature=youtu.be</ref>

Trump believes economic stimulus will aid the country during times of recession.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/politics/trump-clinton-infrastructure.html?_r=0</ref>

Trump thinks the Federal Reserve Bank should be audited by Congress.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-trump-fed-idUSL1N12Y1ZG20151103</ref>

Trump doesn't support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as this will incentivize companies to move U.S. jobs overseas.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/us/politics/transcript-of-the-republican-presidential-debate-in-new-hampshire.html</ref>

Trump would eliminate the estate tax.<ref>http://thehill.com/policy/finance/290825-clinton-to-criticize-trumps-plan-to-repeal-the-estate-tax</ref>

Trump would end all government subsidies and let the free market run its course.<ref>http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/17cfa1a0-0b9e-11e5-a06e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3e0UlsdmX</ref>

''Trump has not answered if pension payments be increased for retired government workers.''

Trump favors an increased sales tax in order to reduce property taxes even though sales tax would not provide a steady stream of income.<ref>http://www.taxjusticeblog.org/archive/2015/06/donald_trumps_regressive_and_r.php#.VYr8_hNViko</ref>

Trump supports pension plans for federal, state, and local government workers be transitioned into privately managed accounts.<ref name="donaldjtrump.com"/>

Trump said that the U.S. government should not bailout Puerto Rico.<ref>http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=c89b639c-07de-4a0f-a634-dda08e3de95a</ref>

Trump believes citizens should not be allowed to save or invest their money in offshore bank accounts as too many wealthy citizens are abusing loopholes in offshore banking laws to evade taxes.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-puts-his-money-in-companies-that-stash-cash-abroad/</ref>

Trump would not apply an in-state sales tax apply to online purchases of in-state buyers from out-of-state sellers.<ref>http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ce65fe3f0bbd43c19cf17c5c8da8d958/trump-amazons-bezos-uses-washington-post-avoid-taxes</ref>

Trump thinks that the government classify Bitcoin as a legal currency.<ref>https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/trump-presidency-boost-bitcoin-price/</ref>

====Department of Education====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Education}}
At the 2011 [[CPAC]] conference, he stated that he wants to eliminate the Department of Education.<ref name=Educ/>

====Foreign policy====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Foreign policy}}
Donald Trump is a [[nationalism|nationalist]] who promised to "put America first"<ref>[http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/06/07/trump-touts-new-infrastructure-plan-cincinnati-states-america-first-message 'It's Time Finally to Put America First': Trump Touts New Infrastructure Plan]</ref> (See: [[Donald Trump and nationalism]]). At the same time, in April 2017, he stated that "I’m a nationalist and a globalist."<ref>Starr, Penny (April 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/28/trump-im-a-nationalist-and-a-globalist/ Trump: ‘I’m a Nationalist and a Globalist’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</ref>

In July 2015 Trump explained he wants to improve relationships with [[Russia]]n president [[Vladimir Putin]].<ref>Johnson, Simon (July 31, 2015). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11775145/Donald-Trump-Id-get-on-very-well-with-Putin-if-I-were-president.html "Donald Trump: I'd get on 'very well' with Putin if I were president"]. The Telegraph [U.K.] website.</ref> In an interview with [[ABC]] he said that Putin won't make a military move into [[Ukraine]]. Furthermore, Trump argued in a tweet that the conflict over [[Crimea]] was the fault of the Obama administration.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/31/politics/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-crimea-putin/ Trump says Putin is 'not going to go into Ukraine,' despite Crimea]</ref> Trump later accused Russia of taking [[Crimea]] by force and asked whether Obama was too soft on Russia.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russia-latest-tweet-accuse-crimea-obama-too-soft-distance-campaign-team-white-house-a7581511.html Donald Trump accuses Russia of taking Crimea by force in attempt to distance himself from campaign allegations]</ref>

Trump says the [[Iran nuclear deal]] is bad, but as president, he would enforce it anyway.

After his election as U.S. president, [[Israel]]i prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] called Trump "a true friend of the State of Israel."<ref>[http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/netanyahu-trump-israel-true-friend-231094?lo=ap_c4 Netanyahu calls Trump 'a true friend' of Israel]. ''Politico''. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref> On February 2, 2017, Trump stated that building new settlements in the [[West Bank]] "may not be helpful" to achieving peace in the [[Middle East]], and he appeared to shift his formerly strong stance on moving the U.S. embassy to [[Jerusalem]] as he had previously stated.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/trump-to-israel-settlements-may-not-help-achieve-peace-in-middle-east.html Trump to Israel: Settlements ‘may not help’ achieve peace in the Middle East]. ''Fox News''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.</ref> But on December 6, 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that the U.S. would begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy from [[Tel Aviv]] to Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/12/06/president-donald-j-trumps-proclamation-jerusalem-capital-state-israel|title=President Donald J. Trump's Proclamation on Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel |publisher=White House|accessdate=6 December 2017|date=6 December 2017}}</ref>

Trump had stated that [[NATO]] was obsolete, but in April 2017, he changed his position, stating that it was "no longer obsolete."<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/news/the-latest-trump-says-nato-no-longer-obsolete/ The Latest: Trump says NATO ‘no longer obsolete’]. ''Breitbart News'' (from the ''Associated Press''). Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref><ref>Hagen, Lisa (April 21, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/328558-trump-nato-is-no-longer-obsolete Trump: NATO is ‘no longer obsolete’]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>

====Global warming====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Energy and environmental policy}}
Trump does not believe in the [[Climate Change]] hysteria, once stating the "Nobel committee should take the [[Nobel Prize]] back from [[Al Gore]]."

====Second Amendment rights====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Gun rights}}
Trump is strongly pro-[[Second Amendment]] and against [[leftist]] [[gun control]] and gun free zones. As president, Trump has promised to re-arm military personnel on all American military bases as well as [[ROTC]] recruitment centers, which were disarmed by the [[Clinton Administration]] policy.<ref name=Educ/> Trump was strongly endorsed by the [[National Rifle Association]] in one of its earliest endorsements in an election campaign.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/20/nra-to-endorse-trump.html# Trump wins NRA endorsement, blasts Clinton on gun stance at forum]. ''Fox News''. May 20, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.</ref>

====Homosexual agenda====
For all practical purposes, Trump seems to be on the side of the [[homosexual agenda]]. He supports the creation of new law by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], as in a new right to [[homosexual marriage]], and declares it the "law of the land" even though Congress passed no such law.

Trump has attended multiple [[same-sex marriage]] ceremonies, but has also said in the past that he opposes same-sex marriage. Trump's views are not yet known on other aspects of the [[homosexual agenda]], such as whether Trump would ban [[conversion therapy]] for minors as [[Chris Christie]] did. The [[Fox News Channel]] debate in August avoided these issues, but future debates will probably require Trump to declare his position.

====Immigration====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Immigration, illegal immigration, and border security}}
See the discussion in the introduction above. This is Trump's main campaign issue.

A central part of his immigration plan is to build a giant wall on the border with Mexico. Trump estimates it will cost $8 billion, approximately 35 to 40 feet high and stretch 2000 miles.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/09/donald-trump-the-wall-is-probably-8-billion Trump Border Wall]</ref> During the campaign, Trump promised that Mexico will pay for the wall, but after taking office, he clarified that payment could be in the form of a tax on Mexican imports or other revenues measures after the Mexican government showed opposition towards Trump's plan.

Trump has also proposed to temporarily ban [[Muslims]] from entering the United States, until "our leaders figure out what the hell is going on," in order to protect Americans from the threats posed by [[Islamic]] [[refugee]]s (and those pretending to be<ref>[http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/isis-fighters-infiltrating-syrian-refugees-uk-is-warned/article/2572051 ISIS fighters infiltrating Syrian refugees, UK is warned]</ref>) entering the country.<ref>[http://www.donaldjtrump.com/media/donald-trump-insists-muslim-ban-is-about-safety-not-religion Donald Trump Insists Muslim Ban Is About Safety, Not Religion]</ref>

Efforts have been made by hostile journalists to paint Trump as advocating a [[Muslim registry]], but what he actually proposed was a [[database for Syrian refugees]].

====Political contributions====
He has been criticized for his substantial contributions to [[Democrat]] lawmakers; the majority of those lawmakers are located in the states he resides in: New York and Florida. The amount he has donated since 2008 is $25,000, which is insignificant considering his wealth.<ref>Allin, Olivia (April 30, 2011). [http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Donald-Trump-calls-nations-leaders-stupid-people-and-blood-sucking-politicians/8104644 "OTRC: Donald Trump calls nation's leaders 'stupid people' and 'blood-sucking politicians'"]. OnTheRedCarpet [news]. Retrieved from ABC7 [KABC Television, Los Angeles] website.</ref>

Trump is not known to be beholden to any big-money donors.

====Tariffs====
[[File:Donald Trump RNC July 2016.jpg|thumb|Trump accepting the GOP nomination in Cleveland on June 21, 2016.]]
At the 2011 [[CPAC]] conference, he stated that he supports a 25% tariff on Chinese goods.<ref name=Educ/> The number floated around in 2016 is a 45% tariff. Trump was speaking in regards to China and the [[World Trade Organization]],<ref>[http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-finance-ministerlou-jiwei-takes-aim-at-donald-trumps-trade-policies-1460892988 Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei Takes Aim at Donald Trump’s Trade Policies, WallStreetJournal, April 17, 2016]</ref>

{{cquote|In a statement from his campaign, Mr. Trump charged that [[China]] was “in total violation of WTO regulations” and that the U.S. “has incompetently allowed them to get away with this” and has failed to impose “equal or greater taxes and tariffs” on China. If he is elected president, Mr. Trump said, China “will learn to deal fairly and justly or we will not deal at all” with Beijing.}}

====Vaccines====
Trump believes that [[vaccines]] cause [[autism]]<ref>Ferris, Sarah (September 16, 2015). [http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/253980-trump-links-vaccines-to-autism-epidemic "Trump links vaccines to autism 'epidemic'"]. The Hill website/Policy/Healthcare.</ref> and has argued against requiring that so many vaccines be given to infants.

==== Eminent domain====
Trump believes that the government has the right to take private property upon paying just compensation for both infrastructure and to promote economic development.

==== Supreme Court====
Trump opposed filling the Supreme Court seat held by [[Antonin Scalia]] before the next President takes office. When asked who he might select to the Supreme Court, he said that his sister, a sitting federal court judge, would make a great Supreme Court justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/423196/trump-praises-his-sister-pro-abortion-extremist-judge-ramesh-ponnuru|title=Trump Praises His Sister, a Pro-Abortion Extremist Judge|date=Aug 27, 2015|accessdate=February 21, 2016}}</ref>

===Hillary Clinton===
Trump had pledged, if elected president, to appoint a special prosecutor to further investigate [[Hillary Clinton]]'s use of a private email server whilst Secretary of State, but Hillary took her crushing defeat so hard that Trump charitably softened his stance after winning.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-investigation.html Donald Trump Drops Threat of New Hillary Clinton Investigation] New York Times - Nov. 22, 2016</ref> A few of Trump supporters, such as [[Ann Coulter]] and [[Breitbart]], expressed disappointment but Trump rose in overall public approval.<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/ann-coulter-slams-trump-clinton/2016/11/22/id/760220/ Ann Coulter Slams Trump's Decision on Clinton] Newsmax.com - Nov. 22, 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/11/23/peter-schweizer-letting-hillary-off-hook-definition-rigged-system/ Peter Schweizer: Letting Hillary off the Hook Is ‘Definition of a Rigged System’] Breitbart.com - Nov. 23, 2016</ref>

==2016 presidential election==
[[File:Donald Trump (29273256122) Phoenix.jpg|thumb|250px|Donald Trump on August 31, 2016.]]
{{Main|2016 U.S. presidential election}}
===Path to the Nomination===
In the 2015 [[Value Voters Debate|Value Voters]] poll, Trump performed poorly, coming in fifth, indicating many [[Christian]] [[conservatives]] had not yet warmed up to him.<ref>Flores, Reena (September 26, 2015). [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-conservative-poll-donald-trump-could-not-win/ "The conservative poll Donald Trump could not win"]. CBSNews website.</ref> Trump is a big supporter of [[gambling]], which most Christians, other religious groups, and [[conservatives]] oppose. But by 2016 Trump was winning more support from [[evangelical]]s than any other Republican candidate.

Trump won the Republican primary, receiving more votes than any other Republican primary candidate in history.<ref>Hoft, Joe (June 7, 2016). [http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/trump-trumps-wins-historic-race-record-fashion/ HISTORY! Trump Shatters Republican Primary Vote Record by 1.4 Million Votes]. ''The Gateway Pundit''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

===General election===
Trump faced former liberal Democrat Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] in the general election. Trump's campaign was vastly outspent, outraised, and out-staffed by Clinton's.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/10/more-with-less-trumps-lean-machine-beats-clintons-big-bank-account.html More With Less: Trump's lean machine beats Clinton's big bank account]. ''Fox News''. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref> The [[mainstream media]] was extremely biased against and unfair towards Trump.<ref>Kurtz, Howard (November 11, 2016). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/11/media-remain-hostile-to-donald-trump-even-as-some-pundits-admit-blew-it.html Media remain hostile to Donald Trump even as some pundits admit they blew it]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.billoreilly.com/b/Media-Bias-to-the-Extreme/39285014073786148.html Media Bias to the Extreme]. ''BillOReilly.com''. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref> According to a study, 91% of the media coverage concerning Trump was negative and 96% of campaign contributions from the media went to Clinton.<ref>Bedard, Paul (March 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/anti-trump-media-91-coverage-negative-96-of-donations-to-hillary/article/2617828 http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/anti-trump-media-91-coverage-negative-96-of-donations-to-hillary/article/2617828]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref>

It was widely expected that Clinton would easily win the election, and the elite pollsters and "political insiders" all predicted a massive Clinton victory.<ref>Vogel, Kenneth P. & Isenstadt, Alex (November 9, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/how-did-everyone-get-2016-wrong-presidential-election-231036 How did everyone get it so wrong?]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref><ref>Catanese, David (October 24, 2016). [http://www.usnews.com/news/the-run-2016/articles/2016-10-24/republicans-last-hope-the-polls-are-wrong Republicans’ Last Hope: The Polls Are Wrong]. ''U.S. News & World Report''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> At least once, when a poll was released that actually showed Trump leading, Clinton's campaign dismissed it as "bad polling".<ref>Nelson, Louis (November 1, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/clinton-campaign-bad-poll-abc-washington-post-230591 Clinton camp on new survey showing Trump ahead: It’s ‘bad polling’]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> Instead, Trump won the election in a massive, historical upset, winning even states such as [[Pennsylvania]], [[Michigan]], and [[Wisconsin]], which a Republican had not won for 20–30 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 10, 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 10, 2016.</ref> The predictions were off the mark dramatically. The actual polls themselves were broadly correct showing Clinton leading over Trump by about 2%.<ref>[http://www.redstate.com/jaycaruso/2017/07/16/latest-job-approval-poll-president-trump-awful]</ref> However Trump 'flipped' key districts and states smashing Clinton's so-called 'Blue firewall'.<ref>Flint, Joe & Alpert, Lukas I. (November 9, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/bad-polling-in-hand-media-misses-mark-badly-with-election-predictions-1478710860 How the Media’s Election Predictions Badly Missed the Mark]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> Trump's election victory was described by ''[[Politico]]'' as "the most stunning upset in American history."<ref>Goldmacher, Shane & Schreckinger, Ben (November 9, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/election-results-2016-clinton-trump-231070?lo=ap_c1 Trump pulls off biggest upset in U.S. history]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 9, 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]].<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> Although Clinton won the popular vote 65,515,369 (48.05%) to 62,853,327 (46.09%), according to unofficial results, the large vote totals came from states which have resisted voter identification reforms.<ref>[http://www.inquisitr.com/3719036/3-million-illegal-immigrants-voted-gregg-phillips-votestand-donald-trump-final-popular-vote-count-2016-predictions/ 3 Million Illegal Immigrants Voted, Claims Gregg Phillips Of VoteStand: Donald Trump’s Final Popular Vote Count Alleged To Be Better Than 2016 Predictions], Patrick Frye, ''The Inquisitr'', November 15, 2016</ref> Trump won the [[electoral college]] vote, 306 to 232, with the incomplete vote count reported.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/election/results|title=Election Results|accessdate=Nov. 12, 2016}}</ref> Trump won more votes in the general election than any Republican candidate in U.S. history, and he won the largest number of electoral votes since [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>Hoft, Jim (November 22, 2016). [http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/11/trump-breaks-record-votes-republican-candidate-history/ Trump Breaks Record for Most Votes by Republican Candidate in History]. ''The Gateway Pundit''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> In addition, Trump won 2,623 counties—the largest number for both a Republican or Democrat since [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1984—while the Democrats won only 489, something even the liberal [[PolitiFact]] admitted to be true.<ref>Jacobson, Louis (December 4, 2016). [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/dec/04/mike-pence/mike-pence-says-donald-trump-won-most-counties-rep/ Mike Pence says Donald Trump won most counties by a Republican since Ronald Reagan]. ''PolitiFact''. Retrieved December 4, 2016.</ref> Geographically speaking, Trump accordingly won 85 percent of the nation<ref>Wallace, Tim (November 16, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/16/us/politics/the-two-americas-of-2016.html?_r=0 The Two Americas of 2016]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref> and 61 percent of the states (including Maine's 2nd district). With the historic flip of Elliott County, Kentucky, every rural, white-majority Southern county voted for the Republican nominee for the first time in history.<ref>Simon, Jeff (December 9, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/09/politics/elliott-county-kentucky-democratic-streak-broken-by-donald-trump/index.html How Trump ended Democrats' 144-year winning streak in one county]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 15, 2017.</ref>

According to exit polling, Trump won 81 percent of evangelical Christians compared to 16 percent for Clinton, a record high and even more than [[George W. Bush]] won in 2004,<ref name="townhall.com"/><ref name="wsj.com"/> even though some have disputed the accuracy of such exit polling methods.<ref>Showalter, Brandon (November 16, 2016). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/81-percent-evangelicals-vote-trump-eric-teetsel-joe-carter-171542/ Did 81 Percent of Evangelicals Really Vote for Trump? Not So Fast, Some Say]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved December 8, 2016.</ref> This is largely due to Trump's conservative policies that align well with the Bible, including opposition to abortion.

While liberal, establishmentarian world leaders made generally nuanced statements in response to Trump's election upset, conservative, right-wing leaders, including the leaders of insurgent parties in European nations, reacted positively to Trump's election.<ref>Ashkenas, Jeremy; Aisch, Gregor (December 5, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/05/world/europe/populism-in-age-of-trump.html?_r=0 European Populism in the Age of Donald Trump]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref>

In addition to Trump's defeat of Clinton, 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> 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>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> The GOP now 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>

Despite expectations that Trump's election victory would cause the markets to plunge, the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] actually performed very strongly, closing at the highest level it had ever reached in history after the second day.<ref name="MarketRally">La Monica, Paul R. (November 10, 2016). [http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/10/investing/markets-stocks-donald-trump-rally/index.html The 'yuge' Donald Trump market rally continues]. ''CNN Money''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> It is rare for the stock market to rise immediately after a U.S. presidential election regardless of the winner.<ref name="MarketRally"/> The stock market had its best week in five years due to optimism of a Trump presidency.<ref>Craig, Victoria (November 11, 2016). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/11/trump-optimism-propels-dow-to-best-week-in-five-years.html Trump Optimism Propels Dow to Best Week in Five Years]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref>

After the election, childish [[leftists]] and [[anarchists]], who could not accept the results of the election, strongly protested Trump's victory and committed outrageous and extreme acts of vandalism and violence,<ref name="Protests">Chiaramonte, Perry (November 10, 2016). [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/10/trump-protests-intensify-as-doubts-swirl-about-spontaneity.html Trump protests intensify, as doubts swirl about spontaneity]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref> even brutally attacking and beating at least one alleged Trump supporter.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/10/video-emerges-group-beating-chicago-man-while-yelling-dont-vote-trump.html Video emerges of mob beating Chicago man while yelling 'don't vote Trump']. ''Fox News''. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref> Many of these protests were likely organized and coordinated, as many protestors were bused in by Coach buses.<ref name="Protests"/> This occurred on the heels of Hillary Clinton, the Clinton campaign, and major mainstream media condemning in the harshest terms Trump and his supporters' complaints of a "rigged election," and failure to accept the results would damage democracy. Clinton, President Obama, and the media highlighted the protests and failed to condemn the leftist violence and protests as detrimental to democracy.

==President of the United States==
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements}}
===Transition===
{{See also|Trump transition}}
The day after being elected president, Trump released a solidly conservative agenda for his first 100 days in office, even though ending the [[abortion|legalized murder of the unborn]] was not on the agenda.<ref>Kelly, Amita & Sprunt, Barbara (November 9, 2016). [http://www.npr.org/2016/11/09/501451368/here-is-what-donald-trump-wants-to-do-in-his-first-100-days Here Is What Donald Trump Wants To Do In His First 100 Days]. ''NPR''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

On November 30, 2016, before Trump had finalized all his cabinet appointments, it was still described by Politico as "a conservative dream team that has Republicans cheering and liberals in despair" due to the many strong conservatives Trump had appointed, in contrast to moderates like [[George W. Bush]].<ref>Restuccia, Andrew; Cook, Nancy; Woellert, Lorraine (November 30, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/trump-conservative-dream-team-231972 Trump's conservative dream team]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 30, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/30/politico-donald-trump-cabinet-conservative-dream-team/ Politico: Donald Trump’s Cabinet a ‘Conservative Dream Team’]. ''Breitbart News''. November 30, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.</ref> Accordingly, ''[[Newsweek]]'' called Trump's incomplete cabinet the most conservative cabinet in U.S. history.<ref>Cooper, Matthew (December 9, 2016). [http://www.newsweek.com/trump-cabinet-picks-nominees-conservative-530477 Donald Trump Is Building the Most Conservative Presidential Cabinet In U.S. History]. ''Newsweek''. Retrieved December 10, 2016.</ref> ''[[The Washington Times]]'' noted how Trump was defying Washington establishment norms in his cabinet picks.<ref>Hurt, Charles (December 6, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/6/donald-trumps-cabinet-picks-define-business-as-not/ Trump defines business as not-usual for D.C.] ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved December 10, 2016.</ref>

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' stated that "it’s nearly impossible to identify a clear ideological bent" in Trump's appointments.<ref>Seib, Gerald (December 5, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-shuffles-the-ideological-deck-1480955194 Donald Trump Shuffles the Ideological Deck]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref> However, this can be easily explained by the fact that Trump has used some of his cabinet nominations to unite the GOP by appealing to most of its factions, even though Trump's appointments are still very conservative.

During the transition period, the Obama Administration engaged in surveillance and information-gathering of Trump, in order to investigate any [[Trump-Russia scandal|alleged ties to Russia]]. This was confirmed by GOP U.S. Representative [[Devin Nunes]] on March 22, 2017,<ref>Derespina, Cody (March 23, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/23/trump-basks-in-nunes-surveillance-news-so-that-means-im-right.html Trump basks in Nunes surveillance news: 'So that means I'm right']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 23, 2017.</ref> and by [[Evelyn Farkas]], the deputy assistant secretary of defense under Obama, on March 29, 2017.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/29/former-obama-official-discloses-rush-to-get-intelligence-on-trump-team.html Former Obama official discloses rush to get intelligence on Trump team]. ''Fox News''. March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.</ref><ref>Poor, Jeff (March 29, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/03/29/fmr-obama-official-reveals-pre-inauguration-effort-to-gather-intel-on-incoming-trump-team/ Fmr Obama Official Reveals Pre-Inauguration Effort to Gather Intel on Incoming Trump Team]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.</ref>

===Inauguration===
[[File:Donald Trumpswearing in.jpg|thumb|200px|Trump being sworn in, January 20, 2017.]]
Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017, giving one of the strongest inauguration addresses in American history.<ref>Boyle, Matthew (January 20, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/20/america-first-president-donald-trump-brings-the-rain-in-inauguration-address/ ‘America First’: President Donald Trump Brings the Rain in Inauguration Address]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref>McCaskill, Nolan D. (January 20, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/key-points-of-trumps-inaugural-speech-233900 Key moments from Trump's inauguration speech]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref>Scott, Patrick; Midgley, Robert (January 20, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/donald-trump-just-delivered-american-inauguration-speech-ever/ Donald Trump just delivered the most 'American' inauguration speech ever]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> His first bill signed as president was to allow retired general and Defense Secretary nominee [[James Mattis]] to be confirmed.<ref>Kopan, Tal (January 20, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/donald-trump-first-law-actions/ President Donald Trump signs first bill into law]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> That same day, Trump instituted a national day of patriotism,<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-measures-idUSKBN1542IH Trump takes first actions on Cabinet, declares day of patriotism: spokesman]. ''Reuters''. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> and a few days later Trump officially designated his inauguration day the '''''National Day of Patriotic Devotion'''''.<ref>[https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/24/2017-01798/national-day-of-patriotic-devotion National Day of Patriotic Devotion -- Proclamation 9570 of January 20, 2017]. ''Federal Register''. January 24, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref><ref>Shelbourne, Mallory (January 23, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315735-trump-declares-inauguration-day-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315735-trump-declares-inauguration-day-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref>

Despite the fact that leftists knew for two months that Trump would be inaugurated president, hateful, anti-American, and immature leftists engaged in violent protests and did major acts of vandalism and even injuring the police who were sent in.<ref>Vargas, Theresa; Hartz, Taylor; Hermann, Peter (January 20, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/protesters-bring-shouts-skirmishes-and-shutdowns-to-inauguration-celebration/2017/01/20/00ea4c72-df11-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html?utm_term=.c4443fa64f5a Inauguration protesters vandalize, set fires, try to disrupt Trump’s oath, as police arrest 200]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref name="LimoFire">Lawler, David (January 20, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/anti-donald-trump-activists-try-block-access-inauguration/ Donald Trump protests: Limo 'set on fire' and 217 arrested as police use tear gas on black-clad activists]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> At least 217 protesters were arrested.<ref name="LimoFire"/><ref>Weber, Joseph (January 20, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/20/trump-supporters-protesters-rally-before-sunrise-on-inauguration-day.html Hundreds of protesters arrested in Inauguration Day clashes]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Noble, Andrea; McDermott, Ryan M. (January 20, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/20/donald-trump-inauguration-protests-begin-turn-viol/ D.C. police report 217 arrested during Inauguration Day riots]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref>

Despite having no power to block Trump's cabinet nominees and having no reason to delay the process,<ref>Pergram, Chad (January 20, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/20/senate-battle-erupts-over-dem-delay-confirming-trump-nominees.html Senate battle erupts over Dem 'delay' confirming Trump nominees]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> liberal Senate Democrats delayed confirmation of Trump's nominees, so that only two were confirmed on Trump's first day in office.<ref>Dinan, Stephen (January 22, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/22/trumps-cabinet-picks-delayed-by-democrats-only-two/? Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks delayed by Democrats, only two confirmed]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> This was a large difference from other recent presidents,<ref>Phillips, Amber (January 21, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/20/donald-trump-will-start-his-presidency-with-the-smallest-confirmed-cabinet-in-decades/?utm_term=.9d7692169687 Donald Trump is starting his presidency with the smallest confirmed Cabinet in decades]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved Janaury 23, 2017.</ref> who, with the exception of [[George H. W. Bush]], had much larger numbers confirmed in the first week.<ref>Bluey, Robert (January 22, 2017). [http://dailysignal.com/2017/01/22/trumps-nominees-face-unprecedented-democrat-obstructionism/ Trump’s Nominees Face ‘Unprecedented’ Democrat Obstructionism]. ''The Daily Signal''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref>

===Tenure===
Due to his promotion and support of conservative, America First policies, President Trump faced large opposition from the Left, including from within the government bureaucracy.<ref>Singman, Brooke (January 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/trump-faces-bureaucratic-battle-in-implementing-agenda.html Trump faces bureaucratic battle in implementing agenda]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Kurtz, Howard (February 3, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/empire-strikes-back-why-trumps-private-talks-with-foreign-leaders-were-leaked.html The empire strikes back: Why Trump's private talks with foreign leaders were leaked]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref> (The fact that members of the Deep State have grown visibly scared of reports stating such confirms this view;<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/03/22/politico-obama-admin-bureaucrats-panicked-by-breitbart-spotlight-dont-question-our-loyalty/ POLITICO: Obama Admin Bureaucrats ‘Panicked’ by Breitbart Spotlight: Don’t Question Our Loyalty!] ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 22, 2017.</ref> in May 2017, it was reported that 60% of [[National Security Council]] employees were Obama-Administration holdovers<ref>Wong, Kristina (May 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/17/trump-under-siege-more-than-60-percent-of-nsc-employees-placed-by-obama/ Trump Under Siege: More than 60 Percent of NSC Employees Placed by Obama]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 18, 2017.</ref>) Additionally, Senate Democrats continued to unduly delay Trump's cabinet nominees at historic and unprecedented proportions—by February 8, 2017, only [[George Washington]] had fewer cabinet nominees confirmed by this length of time into his presidency.<ref>Singman, Brooke (February 8, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/08/trump-facing-historic-delays-in-confirmation-push.html Trump facing historic delays in confirmation push]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 8, 2017.</ref>

On January 23, 2017, Trump signed an order which withdrew the United States from the globalist [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]].<ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (January 23, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/23/trump-signs-executive-order-withdrawing-us-from-tpp-trade-deal.html Trump signs executive order withdrawing US from TPP trade deal]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> That same day, Trump signed an order reinstating the [[Mexico City Policy]], which defunded International Planned Parenthood and other organizations that promote foreign abortions.<ref>LaBarbera, Peter (January 23, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-trump-signs-order-defunding-international-planned-parenthood-forei BREAKING: Trump signs order defunding International Planned Parenthood, foreign abortions]. ''LifeSite News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref><ref>Hellman, Jessie (January 23, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/abortion/315652-trump-signs-executive-order-reinstating-global-gag-rule-on Trump reinstates ban on US funds promoting abortion overseas]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref>

Trump was very busy and productive in his first week and showed he was serious about his campaign promises, undoing Obama's illegitimate legacy and instituting conservative executive orders.<ref>Davenport, David (January 27, 2017). [http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddavenport/2017/01/27/how-trump-managed-to-undo-obamas-legacy-in-one-week/#3ae6bcba5bbf How Trump Managed To Undo Obama's Legacy In One Week]. ''Forbes''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Said-Moorhouse, Lauren (January 26, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/executive-orders-presidents-actions-presidential-memoranda/ What's Trump done so far? His productive first week and how it stacks up to previous presidents]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/28/president-trumps-first-week-action President Trump's First Week of Action]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.</ref> This caused the [[stock market]] to increase, and the [[Dow Jones]] passed 20,000 points for the first time in history.<ref>Imbert, Fred (January 25, 2017). [http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/us-markets.html Dow closes above 20,000 for first time as Trump orders send stocks flying]. ''CNBC''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref><ref>Craig, Victoria (January 25, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/25/dow-races-past-20k-in-reinvigorated-trump-rally.html Dow Races Past 20K in Reinvigorated Trump Rally]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref> On March 1, 2017, the day after Trump made his first address to a joint-session of Congress, the stock market rose dramatically again, with the Dow Jones passing the 21,000 mark for the first time in history.<ref>Witkowski, Wallace; Mahmudova, Anora (March 1, 2017). [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-set-to-resume-rally-on-fed-rate-hike-hopes-trump-relief-2017-03-01 Dow closes above 21,000 as stocks soar after Trump speech]. ''MarketWatch''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Holcomb, John (March 1, 2017). [https://townhall.com/tipsheet/justinholcomb/2017/03/01/stock-market-booms-past-21000-for-the-first-time-in-history-n2292388 The Trump Bump: Stock Market Hits 21,000 for the First Time in History]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref><ref>DeSoto, Randy (March 1, 2017). [http://www.westernjournalism.com/stock-market-hits-new-high-follow-trumps-speech-to-congress/ Stock Market Hits New High Following Trump’s Speech To Congress]. ''Western Journalism''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref>

As evidence of this intense [[mainstream media]] opposition to President Trump, a study published close to the 100th-day mark of Trump's presidency showed that 89% of media coverage regarding Trump was negative.<ref>
* Harper, Jennifer (April 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/19/donald-trump-media-coverage-is-89-percent-negative/ As first 100 days in office approaches, media coverage of Trump is 89% negative: Study]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
* Noyes, Rich; Ciandella, Mike (April 19, 2017). [http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2017/04/18/honeymoon-hell-liberal-media-vs-president-trump Honeymoon from Hell: The Liberal Media vs. President Trump]. ''NewsBusters -- Media Research Center''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref> Additionally, Trump was on track to become the most mocked president on late-night comedy TV in at least 25 years.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2017/05/04/study-trump-track-mocked-president-late-night-25-years/ Study: Trump On Track to Be Most Mocked President on Late-Night TV in 25 Years]. ''Breitbart News''. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref>

On April 26, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security, acting under an executive order established by President Trump, established the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE), created to help support victims of illegal immigrant crime, and it established the DHS-Victim Information and Notification Exchange, which was created to help those victims track the custody status of the illegal criminals.<ref>
* Singman, Brooke (April 26, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/26/dhs-announces-office-for-victims-illegal-immigrant-crime.html DHS announces office for victims of illegal immigrant crime]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
* McHugh, Katie (April 26, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/26/dhs-kelly-voice-victims-illegal-alien-criminals/ DHS Kelly Creates VOICE For Many Victims of Illegal Alien Criminals]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
* McHugh, Katie (April 25, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/25/dhs-unveil-voice-office-victims-illegal-alien-crime/ DHS to Unveil VOICE Office for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> However, leftists took to pranking the phone line created, showing disrespect to the victims of illegal immigration.<ref>Singman, Brooke (April 27, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/27/ice-rips-pranksters-jamming-hotline-to-report-space-aliens.html ICE rips pranksters jamming hotline to report space aliens]. '' Fox News''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref>

Canadian Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] described President Trump as being very authentic – the way he acts in public is like how he does in private.<ref>Yilek, Caitlin (August 31, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-trump-is-surprisingly-authentic/article/2633107 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: Trump is surprisingly 'authentic']. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved August 31, 2017.</ref>

====Temporary immigration and refugee suspensions====
Trump received criticism from liberals and [[establishment]] Republicans<ref>McHugh, Katie (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/establishment-republicans-bash-trumps-executive-order-on-immigration-refugee-resettlement/ Establishment Republicans Bash Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration, Refugee Resettlement]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> when he signed an executive order temporarily banning immigration from certain high-risk Islamic countries as well as refugee entry. Despite this criticism, 49 percent of the American public supported the decision compared to 41 percent opposed, according to the "mainstream" Reuters,<ref>Kahn, Chris (January 31, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-poll-exclusive-idUSKBN15F2MG Exclusive: Only a third of Americans think Trump's travel ban will make them more safe]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> and 57% percent of likely American voters supported the ban according to Rasmussen.<ref>[http://m.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/january_2017/most_support_temporary_ban_on_newcomers_from_terrorist_havens Most Support Temporary Ban on Newcomers from Terrorist Havens].'' January 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref> Additionally, while the leftist [[establishment]] European leaders opposed the ban, a strong majority—55% average—of Europeans support the ban, according to a poll in 10 [[European Union]] nations.<ref>Shaw, Adam (February 9, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/09/majority-europeans-in-favor-trump-style-muslim-ban-poll-shows.html Majority of Europeans in favor of a Trump-style Muslim ban, poll shows]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref><ref>Jamieson, Alastair (February 8, 2017). [http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/europes-border-crisis/majority-leading-eu-nations-support-trump-style-travel-ban-poll-n718271 Majority in Leading EU Nations Support Trump-Style Travel Ban: Poll]. ''NBC News''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref> On March 6, 2017, Trump signed a second executive order concerning the temporary suspension of refugees and others from certain high-risk countries after the first one was blocked by the courts. The second order made some clarifications and minor improvements over the first, such as exempting green card holders from the ban and excluding [[Iraq]] from it as it had developed an acceptable vetting process.<ref>Munro, Neil (March 6, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/06/trump-new-refugees-executive-pushes-back-judges/ Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Travel from Six Terror-Tied Countries]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (March 6, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/06/trump-signs-new-immigration-order-narrows-scope-travel-ban.html Trump signs new immigration order, narrows scope of travel ban]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 6, 2017.</ref>

Trump showed he would not tolerate incompetent leftist administration officials when he fired acting [[United States Department of Justice|Attorney General]] [[Sally Yates]] (a left-wing Obama holdover) when she refused to defend his refugee and immigration ban executive order.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/30/acting-ag-tells-justice-department-staff-not-to-defend-trumps-refugee-order.html Trump fires acting AG after Justice Department staff told not to defend refugee order]. ''Fox News''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/30/statement-appointment-dana-boente-acting-attorney-general Statement on the Appointment of Dana Boente as Acting Attorney General]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> Trump emulated [[Ronald Reagan]]'s firing of the striking PATCO workers in 1981 by doing so,<ref>Boyle, Matthew (January 30, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/30/trumps-patco-moment-emanating-reagan-president-takes-control-federal-government-protect-country-citizens/ Trump’s PATCO Moment: Emanating Reagan, the President Takes Control of Federal Government to ‘Protect the Country and Its Citizens’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> contrary to the [[mainstream media]] spin.<ref>Kurtz, Howard (February 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/01/trumps-firing-defiant-obama-holdover-why-hes-no-richard-nixon.html Trump's firing of a defiant Obama holdover: Why he's no Richard Nixon]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref> That same night, Trump replaced the acting director of [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (another Obama holdover) with a more competent official who had a reputation for enforcing immigration laws.<ref>Chamberlain, Samuel (January 31, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/trump-names-thomas-homan-acting-director-ice-replacing-obama-holdover.html Trump names Thomas Homan acting director of ICE, replacing Obama holdover]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Berman, Mark; Zapotosky, Matt (January 30, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/30/trump-appoints-new-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-director-noted-for-his-work-deporting-illegal-immigrants/?utm_term=.addf12ae690a Trump appoints new Immigration and Customs Enforcement director noted for his work deporting illegal immigrants]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref>

====Reducing regulations and government====
:''For more information, see [[Donald Trump achievements: Deregulation and government size]]''
In the first six weeks of Trump's presidency, over 90 regulations were repealed, whether through executive orders, Acts of Congress, or other means.<ref>Farand, Chloe (March 6, 2017). [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-federal-state-regulations-month-oval-office-white-house-us-president-deregulate-a7614031.html Donald Trump disassembles 90 federal state regulations in just over a month in White House]. ''The Independent''. Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3480299-10-Examples-Industries-Push-Followed-by-Trump.html#document/p60/a341284 Trump-Era Trend: Industries Protest. Regulations Rolled Back. A Dozen Examples]. ''The New York Times'' (through ''DocumentCloud''). Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref> Trump also signed numerous executive actions promoting a smaller government.

====Supreme Court====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: The courts|Trump Supreme Court}}
On January 31, 2017, Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>Klukowski, Ken (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/trump-nominates-judge-neil-gorsuch-supreme-court/ Trump Nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Hurley, Lawrence; Holland, Steve (January 31, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-trump-idUSKBN15F1OW Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for U.S. Supreme Court]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> The nomination was well received by many conservatives.<ref>Chamberlain, Steve (January 31, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/reaction-to-trumps-supreme-court-pick-split-along-partisan-lines.html Conservatives hail Trump's Supreme Court pick]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Ertelt, Steven (January 31, 2017). [http://www.lifenews.com/2017/01/31/president-donald-trump-nominates-pro-life-friendly-judge-neil-gorsuch-to-the-supreme-court/ President Donald Trump Nominates Pro-Life-Friendly Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court]. ''LifeNews.com''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> Others, most notably [[Andrew Schlafly]], disagreed with the nomination due to concerns about Gorsuch's position on abortion.<ref>Dannenfelser, Marjorie (January 31, 2017). [http://townhall.com/columnists/marjoriedannenfelser/2017/01/31/the-truth-about-trumps-prolife-scotus-list-n2279232 The Truth about Trump’s Pro-life SCOTUS List]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref><ref>http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:Mainpageright&diff=1302133&oldid=1301962</ref>

Upon the swing justice [[Anthony Kennedy|Anthony Kennedy's]] announcement on June 21, 2018 that he would retire from the Court at the end of the succeeding month, Trump nominated the conservative [[Brett Kavanaugh]] to replace him.<ref>Mason, Ian (July 9, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/07/09/trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-nominee/]</ref>

====Public trust====
According to a poll conducted by [[Emerson College]] on February 5–6, 2017, more Americans trust the Trump Administration than the media.<ref>McHugh, Katie (February 9, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/09/poll-voters-trust-trump-administration-media/ Poll: Voters Trust Trump Administration More Than Media]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref>

====Economic progress====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Economic policy and labor}}
In May 2017, the unemployment rate fell from 4.4% from 4.3%, the lowest since May 2001, as the number of unemployed persons was little changed at 6.9 million and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.7 percent.<ref>[https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate United States Unemployment Rate]. ''tradingeconomics.com''. Retrieved June 14, 2017.</ref>

According to a Rasmussen survey, consumer confidence is the second-highest it’s been in the index’s history. The market cap of the U.S. stock market has risen more than $3 trillion since Mr. Trump was elected. Small-business confidence has surged to a 12-year high.

==Books==
*''Trump: The Art of the Deal'' with Tony Schwartz (1987)
*''Trump: Surviving at the Top'' with Charles Leerhsen (1990)
*''Trump: The Art of the Comeback'' with Kate Bohner (1997)
*''The America We Deserve'' with Dave Shiflett (2000)
*''Trump: How to Get Rich'' with Meredith McIver (2004)
*''Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know about Success, Real Estate and Life'' with Meredith McIver (2005)
*''Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message'' with Meredith McIver and Robert T. Kiyosaki (2006)
*''Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life'' with Bill Zanker (2007)
*''Trump: Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success'' with Meredith McIver (2008)
*''Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life'' with Meredith McIver (2009)
*''Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—and Why Most Don't'' with Robert T. Kiyosaki (2011)
*''Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again'' (2011)
*''Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again'' (2015)

==Quotes==
===Quotes as U.S. President===
====Inaugural address====
*"....today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people."<ref name="InaugTransc">[http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/full-text-donald-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript-233907 Full text: 2017 Donald Trump inauguration speech transcript]. ''Politico''. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref>
*"We assembled here today our issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power, from this day forward: a new vision will govern our land, from this day forward, it's going to be only America first. America first."<ref name="InaugTransc"/>
*"[We will] unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth."<ref name="InaugTransc"/>
*"When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice."<ref name="InaugTransc"/>

====2017====
*"In America we don’t worship government, we worship God."<ref>Miller, S.A. (May 13, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/13/donald-trump-tells-liberty-university-graduates-we/ Trump at Liberty University: ‘We don’t worship government, we worship God’]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 13, 2017.</ref><ref>Moons, Michelle (May 13, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/13/president-donald-trumps-1st-commencement-speech-america-dont-worship-government-worship-god/ President Donald Trump’s First Commencement Speech: ‘In America We Don’t Worship Government, We Worship God’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 13, 2017.</ref>
*"I didn’t get elected to serve the Washington media—I got elected to serve the forgotten men and women and that’s exactly what I’m doing."<ref>Spiering, Charlie (May 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/17/donald-trump-vows-to-fight-on-no-politician-in-history-has-been-treated-worse-or-more-unfairly/ Donald Trump: ‘I Didn’t Get Elected to Serve the Washington Media’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 17, 2017.</ref><ref>Singman, Brooke (May 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/17/trump-takes-on-media-during-coast-guard-commencement-speech.html Trump takes on media during Coast Guard commencement speech]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved May 17, 2017.</ref>
* "The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented." (UN speech, September 2017)
* "The most important truth our Founders understood was this: Freedom is not a gift from government; freedom is a gift from God."<ref>[https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/920474831749025795 @realDonaldTrump], 17 Oct 2017</ref><ref>Crookston, Paul (October 17, 2017). [http://freebeacon.com/politics/trump-freedom-not-gift-government-freedom-gift-god/ Trump: ‘Freedom Is Not a Gift From Government; Freedom Is a Gift From God’]. ''The Washington Free Beacon''. Retrieved October 20, 2017.</ref>

===Quotes from the 2016 campaign for President===
[[File:Donald Trump and Mike Pence RNC July 2016.jpg|thumb|Trump and his running-mate, [[Mike Pence]], at the 2016 Republican National Convention.]]
Trump's tactics of naming and shaming candidates has been proven very effective. He called Jeb Bush 'low-energy Jeb' and it stuck. Then came Marco Rubio as 'Little Marco.' Next came 'Lyin' Ted' for Ted Cruz. For the Democrats, he calls Hillary Clinton 'Crooked Hillary'. He doesn't give Bernie Sanders the same treatment though he has referred to him as a Communist.

*“We will no longer surrender this country or its people to the false song of [[globalism]].”
*"I think we have a president who, as a president, is totally incompetent, and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I think he has no idea what he’s doing. And our country is going to [[hell]]."<ref>http://time.com/4210983/republican-debate-barack-obama-incompetent/</ref>
*"I will be the greatest jobs president that [[God]] ever created."
*"I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich."
*"Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people."
*"Nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump. Nobody. Within our military, I will find the General Patton, or I will find General MacArthur, I will find the right guy."
*"I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have [[Mexico]] pay for that wall."
*"I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct."<ref>http://video.foxnews.com/v/4406746003001/watch-a-replay-of-fox-news-prime-time-presidential-debate/?#sp=show-clips</ref><ref>https://www.google.com/search?q=a+big+problem+with+our+country+is+too+politically+incorrect&oq=a+big+problem+with+our+country+is+too+politically+incorrect&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l3.8295j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8</ref>
*"Becoming the nominee of the party of [[Abraham Lincoln]] has been the greatest honor of my life.<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/294401-trump-claims-party-of-lincoln-mantle-in-speech-at-black</ref>

====General election debate quotes====
*"Because you would be in jail." (Trump in response to Clinton saying that it would be a good thing that he "is not in charge of the law in our country")<ref name="2ndTranscript">[http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-transcript-229519 Full transcript: Second 2016 presidential debate]. ''Politico''. October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.</ref>
*"Now she’s blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln. ...Honest Abe never lied. That’s the good thing. That's the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you." (Trump in response to Clinton's excuse for having "'a public and private position on certain issues.'")<ref name="2ndTranscript"/>
*"Hillary has experience, but it’s bad experience."<ref>Goodenough, Patrick (September 27, 2016). [http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/ Trump: 'Hillary Has Experience, But It's Bad Experience']. ''cnsnews.com''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

===Quotes from Twitter===
[[File:Screenshot 2015-09-28-12-11-31-1.png|right|300px|Thumb|Tweet from Billionaire Carl Icahn]]

{{Cquote| '''Somebody said I’m the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters.'''}}

* "An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud."<ref>Trump, Donald J. (August 6, 2012, 1:23 pm). [http://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/232572505238433794 "An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud."] Tweet by @realDonaldTrump.</ref>
* "It’s amazing how people can talk about me but I’m not allowed to talk about them."<ref>Trump, Donald J. (November 13, 2012, 12:23pm). [http://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/268449146711703553 "It’s amazing how people can talk about me but I’m not allowed to talk about them."] Tweet by @realDonaldTrump.</ref>
* "This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bull**** has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice."<ref>Trump, Donald J. (January 1, 2014, 4:39pm). [http://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/418542137899491328 "This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bull**** has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice."] Tweet by @realDonaldTrump.</ref>

====2015====
* "So many 'politically correct' fools in our country. We have to all get back to work and stop wasting time and energy on nonsense!" (August 8, 2015)
* "Notice that illegal immigrants will be given ObamaCare and free college tuition but nothing has been mentioned about our VETERANS #DemDebate" (October 13, 2015)
* "They laughed at me when I said to bomb the ISIS controlled oil fields. Now they are not laughing and doing what I said." (November 13, 2015)
* "President Obama said 'ISIL continues to shrink' in an interview just hours before the horrible attack in Paris. He is just so bad! CHANGE." (November 14, 2015)
* "Refugees from Syria are now pouring into our great country. Who knows who they are - some could be ISIS. Is our president insane?" (November 17, 2015)
* "Eight Syrians were just caught on the southern border trying to get into the U.S. ISIS maybe? I told you so. WE NEED A BIG & BEAUTIFUL WALL!" (November 19, 2015)

====2016====
* "Hillary said that guns don't keep you safe. If she really believes that she should demand that her heavily armed bodyguards quickly disarm!" (January 3, 2016)
* "I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a Mosque? Very sad that he did not go!" (February 20, 2016)
* "The organized group of people, many of them thugs, who shut down our First Amendment rights in Chicago, have totally energized America!" (March 12, 2016)
* "Why is it that the horrendous protesters, who scream, curse punch, shut down roads/doors during my RALLIES, are never blamed by media? SAD!" (March 20, 2016)
* "Do you all remember how beautiful and safe a place Brussels was. Not anymore, it is from a different world! U.S. must be vigilant and smart!" (March 22, 2016)
* "For the 1st time in American history, America’s 16,500 border patrol agents have issue[d] a presidential primary endorsement—me! Thank you." (April 1, 2016)

====2017====
*"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!"<ref>Greenwood, Mark (February 17, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/320168-trump-the-media-is-the-enemy-of-the-american-people Trump tweets: The media is the 'enemy of the American people']. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 27, 2017.</ref>
* "Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion!" (March 31, 2017)
* "That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!" (June 5, 2017, while the Dept. of Justice was arguing in court that his Executive Order was not a "travel ban")
* "Fake News is at an all time high. Where is their apology to me for all of the incorrect stories???" (June 13, 2017)

===Other quotes===
* "[T]he country is going to hell."<ref>Cassidy, Chris (March 19, 2015). [http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2015/03/country_is_going_to_hell_claims_donald_trump "'Country is going to hell,' claims Donald Trump"]. BostonHerald.com website.</ref>
* "We have no leader in this country.”<ref>Reisner, Hiram (April 22, 2011). [http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/donaldtrump-karlrove-gop-birther/2011/04/22/id/393742 "Trump: I'd just take Libyan oil"]. NewsMax website.</ref>
* "Our leaders are stupid, they are stupid people."<ref>Pierce, Tony (April 29, 2011). [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/donald-trump-in-vegas-our-leaders-are-stupid-they-are-stupid-people.html "Donald Trump in Vegas: 'Our leaders are stupid; they are stupid people'"]. Los Angeles Times website/Top of the Ticket blog.</ref>
* "I can tell you I am [the 2012 Obama campaign's] worst nightmare."<ref>Mooney, Alexander (April 11, 2011). [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/11/trump-says-he-is-obama-campaigns-worst-nightmare/comment-page-6/ "Trump says he is Obama campaign's worst nightmare"]. Cable News Network website/politicalticker blog.</ref>
* "Obama has no solutions."<ref>Coz, Steve (August 19, 2012). [http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/trump-gibbs-fox-obama/2012/08/19/id/449050/ "Trump fires back at Obama campaign smear"]. Newsmax website/Newsfront.</ref>
*"Everything in life is luck."<ref name="Telegraph">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/12107003/Donald-Trump-faces-questions-over-Two-Corinthians.html</ref>
*"[Barack Obama] is probably the least transparent president in the history of the country."<ref name="Telegraph"/>
*"Not teaching your kids about money is like not caring whether they eat."<ref name="Telegraph"/>

== Liberal denialism and Donald Trump ==

:''See also:'' [[Liberal denialism and Donald Trump]] and [[Liberal denial]]

Post the 2016 U.S. Presidential election many liberals were in denial that Donald Trump was going to be president of the United States. Before the election, many liberal media outlets took the line that Donald Trump could not win the [[Republican]] primary and could not win the presidential election.<ref>
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/09/the-wrongest-media-predictions-about-donald-trump/?utm_term=.febb2623a89f The wrongest media predictions about Donald Trump The wrongest media predictions about Donald Trump], ''Washington Post'', 2016</ref>

=== Political scientists, denialism and Donald Trump ===

{{See also|Atheism and science}}

Few, if any, [[Political science|political scientists]] predicted early on that Donald Trump would win the Republican primary and then would subsequently be elected president of the United States. Furthermore, most pollsters indicated that Trump would lose the election.

27 percent of American political scientists believe in the existence of God while 76 percent of American doctors said they believe in God.<ref>
*[http://www.livescience.com/379-scientists-belief-god-varies-starkly-discipline.html Scientists belief in God varies starkly by discipline], Livescience.com
*[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8318894/ns/health-health_care/t/survey-most-doctors-believe-god-afterlife/ Most doctors believe in God], NBC News</ref> Most American [[atheism|atheists]] lean to the left politically (see: [[Atheism and politics]]). Compared to [[medical science]], which has many effective medicines and surgical procedures, the social science of political science is often unreliable.

===Trump and the mainstream media===
{{See also|Mainstream media and Donald Trump}}
The leftist [[mainstream media]] despises Trump and fails to report objectively when covering him.

=== Angry secular leftists and Donald Trump ===

:''See also:'' [[Donald Trump and American atheists]] and [[Secular leftists and psychogenic illness]]

American [[secular left]]ists were extremely angry and upset in the aftermath of Donald Trump's election victory (see: [[Donald Trump and American atheists]]).

In certain cases, it became debilitating (see:: [[Secular leftists and psychogenic illness]]). The website Marketwatch reported concerning the aftermath of the 2016 presidential race: ''Trump’s win is causing a surge in demand for mental health services''<ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-win-is-causing-a-surge-in-demand-for-mental-health-services-2016-11-10 Trump’s win is causing a surge in demand for mental health services], Marketwatch 2016</ref>

The ''Religion News Service'' reported:
{{Cquote|For the last decade, [[Atheism|atheists]], [[secular humanism|humanists]] and others [[secular]]ists have worked hard to organize a “secular vote” that would counter the political clout of the [[religious right]].

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory dealt that movement a body blow when he garnered 81 percent of the white [[Evangelical Christians|evangelical]] vote and 60 percent of the white [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] vote. [[Mormonism|Mormons]], too, voted overwhelmingly for Trump...

[Trump's] platform was seen as anti-secular in many atheist and humanist circles. He said he would appoint religiously conservative Supreme Court justices, ban [[Islam|Muslim]] immigrants, favor [[Christianity]] and repeal the [[Johnson Amendment]], which prohibits certain tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates — issues antithetical to organized atheism and [[humanism]].<ref>[http://religionnews.com/2016/11/09/dealt-a-body-blow-atheists-and-humanists-regroup/ Dealt a body blow, atheists and humanists regroup] by Kimberly Winston, ''Religion News Service'', November 9, 2016</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Donald Trump's religious views]]
* [[Trump Administration]]
* [[Essay:Donald Trump One Two Body Blow]]
* [[The Chalkening]]
* [[Trump University]]
*[[Liberal Smear Machine]]
* [[Kathryn Steinle]]
* [[Sarah Root]]
* [[Alveda King]]
* [[Trump effect]]

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

==External links==
* [http://www.greatagain.gov Presidential transition website GreatAgain.gov]
* [http://www.trump.com Official website]
* [http://www.LyingCrookedHillary.com LyingCrookedHillary.com]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw8c2Cq-vpg The Untruth About Donald Trump] by [[Stefan Molyneux]], Published on Jan 18, 2016
* [http://www.untruthaboutdonaldtrump.com UntruthAboutDonaldTrump.com]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yyoauXmzjg Do Emotions Trump Facts?] [[Thomas Sowell]] on Donald Trump - Rebutted! by Stefan Molyneux
* [http://shouldtrumprun.com/ Should Donald Run? Polling]
* [http://gop12.thehill.com/2011/04/trump-explains-conversion-on-abortion.html Trump explains his pro-life conversion]
* [https://www.donaldjtrump.com Donald Trump 2016 campaign website]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZq3iCn2y74 Inside of Trump's Boeing 757]
* 100 groups have signed [http://www.pseagles.com/Coalition_letter_Supreme_Court this coalition letter] re: Trump's [[Trump Supreme Court|nomination to the Supreme Court]].
{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trump, Donald}}

[[Category:Donald Trump]]
[[Category:Celebrities]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:American Authors]]
[[Category:2016 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:Best Selling Authors]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Pro Second Amendment]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Liberal Conservatism]]
[[Category:Billionaires]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Patriots]]

Donald Trump

2018-08-06T21:53:48Z

JoeRW: Added info on Trump's nomination of Kavanaugh

{{Officeholder
|name=Donald John Trump
|image=Donald Trump official presidential photo.jpg
|party=[[Republican]] (1987–1999, 2009–2011, 2012–present) formerly [[Democrat]] (until 1987, 2001–2009), [[Reform Party|Reform]] (1999–2001), and [[Independent voter|Independent]] (2011–2012)
|spouse=Ivana Trump Marla Maples [[Melania Trump]]
|religion=[[Presbyterian Church (USA)|Presbyterian]]
|offices={{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=45th
|terms=January 20, 2017 – present
|vp=[[Mike Pence]]
|preceded=[[Barack Obama]]
|former=n
}}
}}
:''For his achievements as U.S. President, see [[Donald Trump achievements]].''
:''Donald Trump was [[Conservative of the Year 2017]].''
'''Donald John Trump''' (b. [[Queens]], [[New York]], on June 14, 1946), nicknamed "'''The Donald'''", is the 45th [[President of the United States of America]], as a result of winning the [[2016 presidential election]] as the [[Republican Party]] nominee. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and [[television]] personality.

==Financial worth & education==
Trump has engaged in many financial pursuits and estimated that his net worth was $10 billion, as of July 2015.<ref>LoGiurato, Brett (July 25, 2015). [http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-net-worth-2015-7 "We finally know a lot more about Donald Trump's 'massive' net worth"]. Business Insider website.</ref> ''Forbes'', however, estimates his net worth is $3.7 billion as of March 2017.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/ "The world's most powerful people: #2 Donald Trump"]. (March 6, 2017). Forbes.com website.</ref> He graduated from the New York Military Academy in 1964 and first attended college at [[Fordham University]] for two years before transferring to the more competitive [[University of Pennsylvania]] and completing his undergraduate studies at its Wharton School of Finance and Commerce.

Early media profiles of Trump claim he graduated "first in his class" from Wharton.<ref>Whitman, Alden (January 28, 1973). [http://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/28/archives/a-builder-looks-backand-moves-forward-builder-looks-back-but-moves.html "A builder looks back—and moves forward".] ''New York Times''. Retrieved from ''New York Times'' website.</ref> The evidence suggests otherwise and yet Trump has never sought to correct or clarify this potentially significant error.<ref>Geist, William E. (April 8, 1984). [http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/08/magazine/the-expanding-empire-of-donald-trump.html "The expanding empire of Donald Trump".] ''New York Times Magazine''. Retrieved from ''New York Times'' website.</ref>

==Candidacy==
On June 16, 2015, he declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the [[2016 presidential election]].<ref>Multiple references:
*[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/16/trump-announces-white-house-bid-joins-crowded-gop-field/ "Trump announces White House bid, joins crowded GOP field"] (June 16, 2015). Fox News website/Politics. The front-runner in a record-breaking field of 17 [[Republican]] candidates, Trump announced that he did not anticipate "throwing punches" against his rivals in the first GOP debate.
*Chiacu, Donna and Torbati, Yeganeh (August 2, 2015). [http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/02/us-usa-election-debate-idUSKCN0Q70NI20150802 "Trump says won't be 'throwing punches' in U.S. Republican debate"]. Reuters/Politics. But at the debate the [[Fox News Channel]]—particularly its [[feminist]] non-journalist [[Megyn Kelly]]—ambushed Trump with out-of-context quotations designed to smear him as somehow being anti-women. This ignited a national controversy that lasted for days, and Trump called upon Kelly to apologize, which she refused to do.</ref> Unlike most other U.S presidential candidates, Trump sharply criticizes the media and talks about issues that no elected official dares touch. For example, Trump stands up against [[feminists]], unlike most politicians. In another example, in 2011 Trump persistently doubted whether [[Barack Obama]] had been born in the [[United States]], which caused Obama's approval ratings to drop below 40% until Obama finally caved in to Trump and produced what Obama claimed was his birth certificate. Trump then scoffed at Obama's conduct.

'''''In February 2011, Trump announced that he is [[pro-life]], and at the final presidential debate on Oct. 19, 2016, Trump gave the strongest endorsement of the pro-life position of any presidential nominee in history'''''.

Trump's central campaign theme has been to oppose [[illegal immigration]] and [[free trade]], and nominated Senator [[Jeff Sessions]] as [[Attorney General]] to enforce standing legislation on the issue. As reported by [[Breitbart News Network|Breitbart]], "Sen. Sessions, Chairman of the Senate’s Immigration Subcommittee, is widely regarded as the gold standard on immigration. Sessions has also become the intellectual thought leader in the Republican Party on appealing to the blue collar voters who have been abandoned by their political leaders." <ref>Hahn, Julia (August 14, 2015). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/14/game-change-trump-consults-with-sen-jeff-sessions-on-immigration-strategy/ "Game change: Trump consults with Sen Jeff Sessions on immigration strategy"]. Breitbart website/Big government.</ref> In the later campaign Trump focused more on [[ISIS]] and terrorism.

At the final presidential debate between [[Hillary Clinton]] and Trump on October 19, 2016, Clinton chastised Trump for running a newspaper advertisement in 1987 critical of the [[Reagan Administration]]. But Trump persuasively explained that he has always disagreed with Reagan's support of free trade, as many other [[conservatives]] disagree with Reagan on this issue.

==Religious beliefs==
{{Main|Donald Trump's religious views}}
Donald Trump attended the First [[Presbyterian]] Church in Jamaica, [[Queens]]. He told the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] that he still considers himself a [[Presbyterian]] and attends services for all major holidays and Sundays, and that "The [[Bible]] is certainly THE book." He receives Bibles from fans in the mail, and he either stores them or gives them away to others.<ref>Haberman, Maggie (April 11, 2011). [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52942.html "Donald Trump talks about religion"]. Politico website.</ref>

In July 2015, Trump stated in an interview that "Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?"<ref>Nothstine, Ray (July 23, 2015). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-why-do-i-have-to-repent-or-ask-for-forgiveness-if-i-am-not-making-mistakes-video-141856/ Trump: 'Why Do I Have to Repent or Ask for Forgiveness If I Am Not Making Mistakes?' (Video)]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref> He also stated that "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't."<ref>Scott, Eugene (July 18, 2015). [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/trump-has-never-sought-forgiveness/ Trump believes in God, but hasn't sought forgiveness]. ''CNN''. Retrieved December 4, 2016.</ref> January 2016, Trump stated that "I have a great relationship with God," but that "I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness."<ref>Key, Pam (January 17, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/01/17/trump-i-dont-like-to-have-to-ask-for-forgiveness-from-god/ Trump: ‘I Don’t Like to Have to Ask for Forgiveness’ from God]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref> When confronted by [[Cal Thomas]] in an interview in mid 2016 about his not asking God for forgiveness, Trump stated that he would ask God for forgiveness.<ref>Chumley, Cheryl (August 6, 2016). [http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/trump-answers-question-who-do-you-say-jesus-is/ Trump answers question: 'Who do you say Jesus is?] ''WorldNetDaily''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref> In October 2016, [[Ben Carson]] stated that Trump did ask forgiveness from God with [[James Robison]].<ref>Showalter, Brandon (October 10, 2016). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/ben-carson-donald-trump-asked-god-for-forgiveness-prayed-with-james-robison-170650/ Ben Carson: Donald Trump Asked God for Forgiveness, Prayed With James Robison]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref>

According to exit polling in the 2016 election, Trump won 81 percent of evangelical Christians compared to 16 percent for Clinton, a record high and even more than [[George W. Bush]] won in 2004, showing strong support for Trump from evangelical Christians.<ref name="townhall.com">O'Brien, Cortney (November 12, 2016). [http://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2016/11/12/white-evangelical-voters-showed-up-this-time-n2243931 Evangelical Voters Showed Up Big Time For Trump]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved December 8, 2016.</ref><ref name="wsj.com">Lovett, Ian (November 9, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/evangelicals-back-donald-trump-in-record-numbers-despite-earlier-doubts-1478689372 Evangelicals Back Donald Trump in Record Numbers, Despite Earlier Doubts]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved December 8, 2016.</ref> He was the first sitting American president to address the annual Values Voters Conference in Washington.<ref>http://www.npr.org/2017/10/13/557459193/trump-set-to-address-values-voter-summit-for-first-time-as-president</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Trump business.jpg|right]]
Donald Trump began his career at [[Trump Organization]]. In his college years, he helped revitalize one of his father's failing real estate ventures. Trump began opening hotels and casinos, which provided him with the cash flow to engage in other ventures. He owns the world-famous [[Trump Tower]] and is the founder of the publicly traded Trump Hotel Casinos & Resorts. Trump also owns the Trump brand, which sells a variety of items, such as bottled water, steak, and even mortgages. Trump has authored a number of books and weathered changing business fortunes, but despite the challenges that he has encountered, he has continued to be a successful businessman and entrepreneur.

Trump [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2000|ran unsuccessfully]] for the nomination of the [[Reform Party]] in 2000. Trump considered [[presidential election 2012|running for President in 2012]] as a [[Republican]]. He, among others, questioned the citizenship of [[Barack Obama]], citing his failure to produce his birth certificate. After Obama produced his birth certificate, Trump and the other [[birther]]s continue to doubt its authenticity. Obama's approval ratings were around 40% during the peak of the controversy. Trump later exited the race, and gave the customary endorsement to [[Mitt Romney]] as the other [[Republican]] contenders did.

==Major properties==

*Trump World Tower: 845 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY.

*Trump Tower: 725 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10022 Personal Residence

*Bank of America Center (San Francisco)

*The Trump Building at 40 Wall Street

*Trump Park Avenue

*AXA Financial Center, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY

*Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago

*Trump International Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

*Mar-A-Lago Palm Beach

*Four golf courses in the U.S.

==Media==
[[File:Donald Trump star.JPG|thumbnail|left|Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
In 2003 Trump began as the host and executive producer of the reality [[television]] show ''The Apprentice'' and ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', where contestants compete for a position in Trump's organization. On this show, Trump popularized his catchphrase "You're fired!"

Trump used to own the un-Christian Miss Universe Pageant, which objectified the female body and promoted lust and infidelity. Controversy arose when one of the winners, Tara Conner, was caught breaking pageant rules by drinking and other activities. Trump gave her a second chance after personally speaking with her and allowed her to retain her crown as she attended rehabilitation. For several weeks after this, [[Rosie O'Donnell]] berated Trump for his decision on ''The View''. A bitter media war ensued with the two exchanging insults.

Trump has made many guest appearances, usually as himself, on many TV shows and in several movies.

Childish [[liberals]] are vandalizing Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame three times a day. A person asked about the vandalism said Trump has it coming.<ref>Press Association (April 8, 2016). [http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20160408/4211707/Donald-Trump-Hollywood-Walk-of-Fame-Star.htm "Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star vandalised three times a day"]. One News Page website article and video [0:37]. 0:15 advertising wall required to view.</ref>

==Political positions==

====Social Issues====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Religious liberty, gender issues, and other social policies|Donald Trump achievements: Abortion}}
[[File:Donald-Trump-Rosa-Parks.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Donald Trump received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations in 1986 for improving the lives of African-American urban youths. From left to right: [[Anita Bryant]], [[Mohammad Ali]], [[Rosa Parks]], and Donald Trump.]]
At the 2011 [[CPAC]] conference, Trump announced he is [[pro-life]].<ref>Rahn, Will (February 10, 2011). [http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/10/trump-at-cpac-points-to-white-house-run/ "Trump at CPAC points to White House run"]. The Daily Caller website.</ref> Trump would not fund Planned Parenthood and the government should not give funds to any organizations that perform abortions<ref>Carroll, Lauren (May 1, 2016) [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/may/01/ted-cruz/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-planned-parenthood/ "Do Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton agree on Planned Parenthood funding?"] Politifact website.</ref> However, he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother or child.<ref>Ertelt, Steven (February 1, 2016). [http://www.lifenews.com/2016/02/01/mike-huckabee-defends-donald-trumps-abortion-conversion-he-is-pro-life-now/ "Mike Huckabee defends Donald Trump’s abortion conversion: 'He is pro-life now'"] LifeNews.com.</ref>

Trump says that the legalization of [[same-sex "marriage"]] doesn't matter because it's "settled law" now,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120831060550/http://www.gop.com/2012-republican-platform_We/#Item3 "Republican platform: We believe in America"] (bef. August 31, 2012). GOP.com website. Archived at Internet Archive on August 31, 2012.</ref> even though five liberal members of the Supreme Court illegally made ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]'' into "law" via [[judicial activism]] based on their personal feelings about the issue. Trump believes that homosexual couples have the same adoption rights as straight couples,<ref>Guo, Jeff (August 10, 2016). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/10/how-donald-trump-is-slowly-teaching-republicans-to-embrace-gay-rights/ "Donald Trump is teaching the GOP a different way to embrace gay rights".] ''Washington Post'' website.</ref> Despite what the Left claims, Donald Trump has voiced open support for the LGBTQ community, and was the first Republican President to do so.{{cn}} He has stated that he will do everything he can do to protect the LGBTQ community, from Islamic extremists.

Trump says that a business should be able to deny service to a customer if the request conflicts with the owner’s religious beliefs?<ref name="christiantoday.com">Hicap, Jonah (June 2, 2015). [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/donald.trump.vows.to.be.the.greatest.representative.of.christians.if.he.wins.white.house/55023.htm "Donald Trump: 'I will be the greatest representative of Christians if I win the White House'"]. Christian Today website.</ref> Trump would not require health insurance providers to offer free birth control.<ref>Associated Press (February 11, 2012). [http://web.archive.org/web/20151128095810/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-02-11/obama-birth-control-cpac/53046728/1 "GOP conservatives unite against birth control coverage"]. ''USA Today'' website/News/Washington. Retrieved from November 28, 2015 archive at Internet Archive.</ref>

Trump doesn't think that universities should provide “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces” for students.<ref>Hashmi, Siraj (November 10, 2016). [http://redalertpolitics.com/2016/11/10/safe-spaces-handed-election-donald-trump/ "Safe Spaces handed the election to Donald Trump"]. Red Alert Politics website.</ref>

Trump believes that marital rape be classified and punished as severely as non-marital rape?<ref>Diamond, Jeremy (July 28, 2015). [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/28/politics/donald-trump-adviser-michael-cohen-rape/ "Trump distances himself from top aide's rape comment"]. CNN website/Politics.</ref>

Trump would not add "Gender Identity" to anti-discrimination laws.<ref>http://www.advocate.com/politics/2016/5/24/donald-trump-claims-accommodating-transgender-people-too-expensive</ref>

Trump wouldn't support a [[separation of church and state]] by removing references to God on money, federal buildings, and national monuments.<ref name="christiantoday.com"/>

Trump says that after a psychological examination to show they fully understand this choice, terminally ill patients be allowed to end their lives via [[assisted suicide]].<ref>http://wingspanonline.net/?p=2398</ref>

Trump supports the [[death penalty]].<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/01/nyregion/angered-by-attack-trump-urges-return-of-the-death-penalty.html</ref>

Trump thinks that the military should allow women to serve as long as they can pass the same physical tests as men.<ref>http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/donald-trump-women-combat-tricky/2015/12/06/id/704736/</ref> (Compare [[gender norming]].)

Trump says that board members of a business should be the most qualified regardless of gender.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3269718/Trump-gives-young-feminist-brush-equal-pay-abortion-going-make-good-job-happen-pro-life.html</ref>

Trump does not believe that the government can show a confederate flag on public property.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-tees-off-on-the-confederate-flag/</ref>

Trump believes that women should be allowed to wear a Niqāb, or face veil, to civic ceremonies.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFVCZhFsNR8</ref>

====Healthcare Issues====
Trump does not support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and would open the markets so insurers can compete across state lines and reduce costs.<ref name="donaldjtrump.com">https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform</ref><ref name=Educ>Breitbart.tv (February 9, 2011). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2011/02/09/pro-life-donald-trump-would-eliminate-dept-of-education-impose-25-tax-on-china-imports-if-president/ "Pro-life Donald Trump would eliminate Dept of Education, impose 25% tax on China imports if president"]. Breitbart.com.</ref> However, he has also said, "I like the mandate."<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/19/trump-on-obamacare-i-like-the-mandate-video/ "Trump On Obamacare: ‘I Like The Mandate’"]</ref>

Trump thinks that the government should regulate the prices of life-saving drugs.<ref>http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/trump-backs-
medicare-negotiating-drug-prices-218215</ref>

Trump supports the legalization of marijuana for medical use.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/06/18/exclusive-donald-trump-on-what-made-him-run-for-president-on-hannity/</ref>

''Donald Trump has not yet answered if he supports the privatization of veteran's healthcare.''

Trump believes that the federal government increase funding of health care for low income individuals (Medicaid).<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-15/trump-calls-for-expanded-medicaid-birth-control-without-doctor</ref>

====Controversy with Barack Obama====
[[File:Donald Trump Speaking in Fountain Hills.jpg|thumb|Trump speaking in Fountain Hills, Arizona in March 2016.]]
Trump has also questioned Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to be President, in light of the ongoing questions surrounding his birth certificate.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=280533 "Trump: Obama spending millions to hide his past"] (March 28, 2011). WorldNetDaily website.</ref> Trump questioned whether the Obama Administration was successful in negotiating with foreign countries. Trump declared during the 2016 election that he no longer would question Obama's eligibility.

====Economic Issues====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Economic policy and labor}}
Trump’s economic plan is designed to make the country more competitive by implementing policies that apply to all companies: cutting taxes, including the corporate tax rate, repealing and rolling back stifling regulations, including the biggest of them all, Obamacare and those clobbering the energy sector, renegotiating trade deals such as NAFTA, and killing off the nascent Trans-Pacific Partnership.<ref>Crowley, Monica (December 7, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/7/donald-trump-and-the-art-of-getting-it-done/ Donald Trump and the art of getting it done]. ''The Washingon Times''. Retrieved December 10, 2016.</ref>

Trump would not require employers be required to pay men and women the same salary for the same job as there are too many other variables such as education, experience, and tenure that determine a fair salary.

''Trump has not answered whether welfare recipients be tested for drugs.''

Trump said he would require businesses be required to provide paid leave for full-time employees during the birth of a child or sick family member.

Trump would raise the federal minimum wage.

Trump believes there should be more restrictions on current welfare benefits.

Trump would instate a 35% tariff on all imports from China even though he used Chinese steel to build all of his Trump Towers.<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/how-donald-trump-ditched-us-steel-workers-china-505717</ref>

Trump would also lower the corporate tax rate.<ref>https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-economic-plan-winning-the-global-competition</ref>

Trump says that the U.S. shouldn't continue to participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).<ref>http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/16/news/economy/donald-trump-nafta-mexico-china-tariff/</ref>

Trump would cut public spending in order to reduce the public debt.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/donald-trump-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/</ref>

Trump believes that the government is currently over-regulating private businesses and that it shouldn't require businesses to pay salaried employees, making up to $46k/year, time-and-a-half for overtime hours.<ref>http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift/2016/08/trump-v-overtime-rule-215883</ref>

Trump thinks that the government should prevent “mega mergers” of corporations that could potentially control a large percentage of market share within its industry.<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-10-22/trump-would-block-proposed-at-t-time-warner-merger-if-elected</ref>

Trump said that labor unions, in theory help the economy but have recently become corrupt and should have their powers limited.<ref>http://projects.newsday.com/opinion/newsday-editorial-board-interviews-donald-trump/#nypd</ref>

Trump would increase the tax on profits from the sale of stocks, bonds, and real estate.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4I5QUGRf-Q&feature=youtu.be</ref>

Trump believes economic stimulus will aid the country during times of recession.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/politics/trump-clinton-infrastructure.html?_r=0</ref>

Trump thinks the Federal Reserve Bank should be audited by Congress.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-trump-fed-idUSL1N12Y1ZG20151103</ref>

Trump doesn't support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as this will incentivize companies to move U.S. jobs overseas.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/us/politics/transcript-of-the-republican-presidential-debate-in-new-hampshire.html</ref>

Trump would eliminate the estate tax.<ref>http://thehill.com/policy/finance/290825-clinton-to-criticize-trumps-plan-to-repeal-the-estate-tax</ref>

Trump would end all government subsidies and let the free market run its course.<ref>http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/17cfa1a0-0b9e-11e5-a06e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3e0UlsdmX</ref>

''Trump has not answered if pension payments be increased for retired government workers.''

Trump favors an increased sales tax in order to reduce property taxes even though sales tax would not provide a steady stream of income.<ref>http://www.taxjusticeblog.org/archive/2015/06/donald_trumps_regressive_and_r.php#.VYr8_hNViko</ref>

Trump supports pension plans for federal, state, and local government workers be transitioned into privately managed accounts.<ref name="donaldjtrump.com"/>

Trump said that the U.S. government should not bailout Puerto Rico.<ref>http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=c89b639c-07de-4a0f-a634-dda08e3de95a</ref>

Trump believes citizens should not be allowed to save or invest their money in offshore bank accounts as too many wealthy citizens are abusing loopholes in offshore banking laws to evade taxes.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-puts-his-money-in-companies-that-stash-cash-abroad/</ref>

Trump would not apply an in-state sales tax apply to online purchases of in-state buyers from out-of-state sellers.<ref>http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ce65fe3f0bbd43c19cf17c5c8da8d958/trump-amazons-bezos-uses-washington-post-avoid-taxes</ref>

Trump thinks that the government classify Bitcoin as a legal currency.<ref>https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/trump-presidency-boost-bitcoin-price/</ref>

====Department of Education====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Education}}
At the 2011 [[CPAC]] conference, he stated that he wants to eliminate the Department of Education.<ref name=Educ/>

====Foreign policy====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Foreign policy}}
Donald Trump is a [[nationalism|nationalist]] who promised to "put America first"<ref>[http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/06/07/trump-touts-new-infrastructure-plan-cincinnati-states-america-first-message 'It's Time Finally to Put America First': Trump Touts New Infrastructure Plan]</ref> (See: [[Donald Trump and nationalism]]). At the same time, in April 2017, he stated that "I’m a nationalist and a globalist."<ref>Starr, Penny (April 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/28/trump-im-a-nationalist-and-a-globalist/ Trump: ‘I’m a Nationalist and a Globalist’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</ref>

In July 2015 Trump explained he wants to improve relationships with [[Russia]]n president [[Vladimir Putin]].<ref>Johnson, Simon (July 31, 2015). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11775145/Donald-Trump-Id-get-on-very-well-with-Putin-if-I-were-president.html "Donald Trump: I'd get on 'very well' with Putin if I were president"]. The Telegraph [U.K.] website.</ref> In an interview with [[ABC]] he said that Putin won't make a military move into [[Ukraine]]. Furthermore, Trump argued in a tweet that the conflict over [[Crimea]] was the fault of the Obama administration.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/31/politics/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-crimea-putin/ Trump says Putin is 'not going to go into Ukraine,' despite Crimea]</ref> Trump later accused Russia of taking [[Crimea]] by force and asked whether Obama was too soft on Russia.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russia-latest-tweet-accuse-crimea-obama-too-soft-distance-campaign-team-white-house-a7581511.html Donald Trump accuses Russia of taking Crimea by force in attempt to distance himself from campaign allegations]</ref>

Trump says the [[Iran nuclear deal]] is bad, but as president, he would enforce it anyway.

After his election as U.S. president, [[Israel]]i prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] called Trump "a true friend of the State of Israel."<ref>[http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/netanyahu-trump-israel-true-friend-231094?lo=ap_c4 Netanyahu calls Trump 'a true friend' of Israel]. ''Politico''. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref> On February 2, 2017, Trump stated that building new settlements in the [[West Bank]] "may not be helpful" to achieving peace in the [[Middle East]], and he appeared to shift his formerly strong stance on moving the U.S. embassy to [[Jerusalem]] as he had previously stated.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/trump-to-israel-settlements-may-not-help-achieve-peace-in-middle-east.html Trump to Israel: Settlements ‘may not help’ achieve peace in the Middle East]. ''Fox News''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.</ref> But on December 6, 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that the U.S. would begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy from [[Tel Aviv]] to Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/12/06/president-donald-j-trumps-proclamation-jerusalem-capital-state-israel|title=President Donald J. Trump's Proclamation on Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel |publisher=White House|accessdate=6 December 2017|date=6 December 2017}}</ref>

Trump had stated that [[NATO]] was obsolete, but in April 2017, he changed his position, stating that it was "no longer obsolete."<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/news/the-latest-trump-says-nato-no-longer-obsolete/ The Latest: Trump says NATO ‘no longer obsolete’]. ''Breitbart News'' (from the ''Associated Press''). Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref><ref>Hagen, Lisa (April 21, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/328558-trump-nato-is-no-longer-obsolete Trump: NATO is ‘no longer obsolete’]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>

====Global warming====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Energy and environmental policy}}
Trump does not believe in the [[Climate Change]] hysteria, once stating the "Nobel committee should take the [[Nobel Prize]] back from [[Al Gore]]."

====Second Amendment rights====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Gun rights}}
Trump is strongly pro-[[Second Amendment]] and against [[leftist]] [[gun control]] and gun free zones. As president, Trump has promised to re-arm military personnel on all American military bases as well as [[ROTC]] recruitment centers, which were disarmed by the [[Clinton Administration]] policy.<ref name=Educ/> Trump was strongly endorsed by the [[National Rifle Association]] in one of its earliest endorsements in an election campaign.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/20/nra-to-endorse-trump.html# Trump wins NRA endorsement, blasts Clinton on gun stance at forum]. ''Fox News''. May 20, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.</ref>

====Homosexual agenda====
For all practical purposes, Trump seems to be on the side of the [[homosexual agenda]]. He supports the creation of new law by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], as in a new right to [[homosexual marriage]], and declares it the "law of the land" even though Congress passed no such law.

Trump has attended multiple [[same-sex marriage]] ceremonies, but has also said in the past that he opposes same-sex marriage. Trump's views are not yet known on other aspects of the [[homosexual agenda]], such as whether Trump would ban [[conversion therapy]] for minors as [[Chris Christie]] did. The [[Fox News Channel]] debate in August avoided these issues, but future debates will probably require Trump to declare his position.

====Immigration====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Immigration, illegal immigration, and border security}}
See the discussion in the introduction above. This is Trump's main campaign issue.

A central part of his immigration plan is to build a giant wall on the border with Mexico. Trump estimates it will cost $8 billion, approximately 35 to 40 feet high and stretch 2000 miles.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/09/donald-trump-the-wall-is-probably-8-billion Trump Border Wall]</ref> During the campaign, Trump promised that Mexico will pay for the wall, but after taking office, he clarified that payment could be in the form of a tax on Mexican imports or other revenues measures after the Mexican government showed opposition towards Trump's plan.

Trump has also proposed to temporarily ban [[Muslims]] from entering the United States, until "our leaders figure out what the hell is going on," in order to protect Americans from the threats posed by [[Islamic]] [[refugee]]s (and those pretending to be<ref>[http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/isis-fighters-infiltrating-syrian-refugees-uk-is-warned/article/2572051 ISIS fighters infiltrating Syrian refugees, UK is warned]</ref>) entering the country.<ref>[http://www.donaldjtrump.com/media/donald-trump-insists-muslim-ban-is-about-safety-not-religion Donald Trump Insists Muslim Ban Is About Safety, Not Religion]</ref>

Efforts have been made by hostile journalists to paint Trump as advocating a [[Muslim registry]], but what he actually proposed was a [[database for Syrian refugees]].

====Political contributions====
He has been criticized for his substantial contributions to [[Democrat]] lawmakers; the majority of those lawmakers are located in the states he resides in: New York and Florida. The amount he has donated since 2008 is $25,000, which is insignificant considering his wealth.<ref>Allin, Olivia (April 30, 2011). [http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Donald-Trump-calls-nations-leaders-stupid-people-and-blood-sucking-politicians/8104644 "OTRC: Donald Trump calls nation's leaders 'stupid people' and 'blood-sucking politicians'"]. OnTheRedCarpet [news]. Retrieved from ABC7 [KABC Television, Los Angeles] website.</ref>

Trump is not known to be beholden to any big-money donors.

====Tariffs====
[[File:Donald Trump RNC July 2016.jpg|thumb|Trump accepting the GOP nomination in Cleveland on June 21, 2016.]]
At the 2011 [[CPAC]] conference, he stated that he supports a 25% tariff on Chinese goods.<ref name=Educ/> The number floated around in 2016 is a 45% tariff. Trump was speaking in regards to China and the [[World Trade Organization]],<ref>[http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-finance-ministerlou-jiwei-takes-aim-at-donald-trumps-trade-policies-1460892988 Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei Takes Aim at Donald Trump’s Trade Policies, WallStreetJournal, April 17, 2016]</ref>

{{cquote|In a statement from his campaign, Mr. Trump charged that [[China]] was “in total violation of WTO regulations” and that the U.S. “has incompetently allowed them to get away with this” and has failed to impose “equal or greater taxes and tariffs” on China. If he is elected president, Mr. Trump said, China “will learn to deal fairly and justly or we will not deal at all” with Beijing.}}

====Vaccines====
Trump believes that [[vaccines]] cause [[autism]]<ref>Ferris, Sarah (September 16, 2015). [http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/253980-trump-links-vaccines-to-autism-epidemic "Trump links vaccines to autism 'epidemic'"]. The Hill website/Policy/Healthcare.</ref> and has argued against requiring that so many vaccines be given to infants.

==== Eminent domain====
Trump believes that the government has the right to take private property upon paying just compensation for both infrastructure and to promote economic development.

==== Supreme Court====
Trump opposed filling the Supreme Court seat held by [[Antonin Scalia]] before the next President takes office. When asked who he might select to the Supreme Court, he said that his sister, a sitting federal court judge, would make a great Supreme Court justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/423196/trump-praises-his-sister-pro-abortion-extremist-judge-ramesh-ponnuru|title=Trump Praises His Sister, a Pro-Abortion Extremist Judge|date=Aug 27, 2015|accessdate=February 21, 2016}}</ref>

===Hillary Clinton===
Trump had pledged, if elected president, to appoint a special prosecutor to further investigate [[Hillary Clinton]]'s use of a private email server whilst Secretary of State, but Hillary took her crushing defeat so hard that Trump charitably softened his stance after winning.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-investigation.html Donald Trump Drops Threat of New Hillary Clinton Investigation] New York Times - Nov. 22, 2016</ref> A few of Trump supporters, such as [[Ann Coulter]] and [[Breitbart]], expressed disappointment but Trump rose in overall public approval.<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/ann-coulter-slams-trump-clinton/2016/11/22/id/760220/ Ann Coulter Slams Trump's Decision on Clinton] Newsmax.com - Nov. 22, 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/11/23/peter-schweizer-letting-hillary-off-hook-definition-rigged-system/ Peter Schweizer: Letting Hillary off the Hook Is ‘Definition of a Rigged System’] Breitbart.com - Nov. 23, 2016</ref>

==2016 presidential election==
[[File:Donald Trump (29273256122) Phoenix.jpg|thumb|250px|Donald Trump on August 31, 2016.]]
{{Main|2016 U.S. presidential election}}
===Path to the Nomination===
In the 2015 [[Value Voters Debate|Value Voters]] poll, Trump performed poorly, coming in fifth, indicating many [[Christian]] [[conservatives]] had not yet warmed up to him.<ref>Flores, Reena (September 26, 2015). [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-conservative-poll-donald-trump-could-not-win/ "The conservative poll Donald Trump could not win"]. CBSNews website.</ref> Trump is a big supporter of [[gambling]], which most Christians, other religious groups, and [[conservatives]] oppose. But by 2016 Trump was winning more support from [[evangelical]]s than any other Republican candidate.

Trump won the Republican primary, receiving more votes than any other Republican primary candidate in history.<ref>Hoft, Joe (June 7, 2016). [http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/trump-trumps-wins-historic-race-record-fashion/ HISTORY! Trump Shatters Republican Primary Vote Record by 1.4 Million Votes]. ''The Gateway Pundit''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

===General election===
Trump faced former liberal Democrat Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] in the general election. Trump's campaign was vastly outspent, outraised, and out-staffed by Clinton's.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/10/more-with-less-trumps-lean-machine-beats-clintons-big-bank-account.html More With Less: Trump's lean machine beats Clinton's big bank account]. ''Fox News''. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref> The [[mainstream media]] was extremely biased against and unfair towards Trump.<ref>Kurtz, Howard (November 11, 2016). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/11/media-remain-hostile-to-donald-trump-even-as-some-pundits-admit-blew-it.html Media remain hostile to Donald Trump even as some pundits admit they blew it]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.billoreilly.com/b/Media-Bias-to-the-Extreme/39285014073786148.html Media Bias to the Extreme]. ''BillOReilly.com''. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref> According to a study, 91% of the media coverage concerning Trump was negative and 96% of campaign contributions from the media went to Clinton.<ref>Bedard, Paul (March 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/anti-trump-media-91-coverage-negative-96-of-donations-to-hillary/article/2617828 http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/anti-trump-media-91-coverage-negative-96-of-donations-to-hillary/article/2617828]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref>

It was widely expected that Clinton would easily win the election, and the elite pollsters and "political insiders" all predicted a massive Clinton victory.<ref>Vogel, Kenneth P. & Isenstadt, Alex (November 9, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/how-did-everyone-get-2016-wrong-presidential-election-231036 How did everyone get it so wrong?]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref><ref>Catanese, David (October 24, 2016). [http://www.usnews.com/news/the-run-2016/articles/2016-10-24/republicans-last-hope-the-polls-are-wrong Republicans’ Last Hope: The Polls Are Wrong]. ''U.S. News & World Report''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> At least once, when a poll was released that actually showed Trump leading, Clinton's campaign dismissed it as "bad polling".<ref>Nelson, Louis (November 1, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/clinton-campaign-bad-poll-abc-washington-post-230591 Clinton camp on new survey showing Trump ahead: It’s ‘bad polling’]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> Instead, Trump won the election in a massive, historical upset, winning even states such as [[Pennsylvania]], [[Michigan]], and [[Wisconsin]], which a Republican had not won for 20–30 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 10, 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 10, 2016.</ref> The predictions were off the mark dramatically. The actual polls themselves were broadly correct showing Clinton leading over Trump by about 2%.<ref>[http://www.redstate.com/jaycaruso/2017/07/16/latest-job-approval-poll-president-trump-awful]</ref> However Trump 'flipped' key districts and states smashing Clinton's so-called 'Blue firewall'.<ref>Flint, Joe & Alpert, Lukas I. (November 9, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/bad-polling-in-hand-media-misses-mark-badly-with-election-predictions-1478710860 How the Media’s Election Predictions Badly Missed the Mark]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> Trump's election victory was described by ''[[Politico]]'' as "the most stunning upset in American history."<ref>Goldmacher, Shane & Schreckinger, Ben (November 9, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/election-results-2016-clinton-trump-231070?lo=ap_c1 Trump pulls off biggest upset in U.S. history]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 9, 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]].<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> Although Clinton won the popular vote 65,515,369 (48.05%) to 62,853,327 (46.09%), according to unofficial results, the large vote totals came from states which have resisted voter identification reforms.<ref>[http://www.inquisitr.com/3719036/3-million-illegal-immigrants-voted-gregg-phillips-votestand-donald-trump-final-popular-vote-count-2016-predictions/ 3 Million Illegal Immigrants Voted, Claims Gregg Phillips Of VoteStand: Donald Trump’s Final Popular Vote Count Alleged To Be Better Than 2016 Predictions], Patrick Frye, ''The Inquisitr'', November 15, 2016</ref> Trump won the [[electoral college]] vote, 306 to 232, with the incomplete vote count reported.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/election/results|title=Election Results|accessdate=Nov. 12, 2016}}</ref> Trump won more votes in the general election than any Republican candidate in U.S. history, and he won the largest number of electoral votes since [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>Hoft, Jim (November 22, 2016). [http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/11/trump-breaks-record-votes-republican-candidate-history/ Trump Breaks Record for Most Votes by Republican Candidate in History]. ''The Gateway Pundit''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> In addition, Trump won 2,623 counties—the largest number for both a Republican or Democrat since [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1984—while the Democrats won only 489, something even the liberal [[PolitiFact]] admitted to be true.<ref>Jacobson, Louis (December 4, 2016). [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/dec/04/mike-pence/mike-pence-says-donald-trump-won-most-counties-rep/ Mike Pence says Donald Trump won most counties by a Republican since Ronald Reagan]. ''PolitiFact''. Retrieved December 4, 2016.</ref> Geographically speaking, Trump accordingly won 85 percent of the nation<ref>Wallace, Tim (November 16, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/16/us/politics/the-two-americas-of-2016.html?_r=0 The Two Americas of 2016]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref> and 61 percent of the states (including Maine's 2nd district). With the historic flip of Elliott County, Kentucky, every rural, white-majority Southern county voted for the Republican nominee for the first time in history.<ref>Simon, Jeff (December 9, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/09/politics/elliott-county-kentucky-democratic-streak-broken-by-donald-trump/index.html How Trump ended Democrats' 144-year winning streak in one county]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 15, 2017.</ref>

According to exit polling, Trump won 81 percent of evangelical Christians compared to 16 percent for Clinton, a record high and even more than [[George W. Bush]] won in 2004,<ref name="townhall.com"/><ref name="wsj.com"/> even though some have disputed the accuracy of such exit polling methods.<ref>Showalter, Brandon (November 16, 2016). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/81-percent-evangelicals-vote-trump-eric-teetsel-joe-carter-171542/ Did 81 Percent of Evangelicals Really Vote for Trump? Not So Fast, Some Say]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved December 8, 2016.</ref> This is largely due to Trump's conservative policies that align well with the Bible, including opposition to abortion.

While liberal, establishmentarian world leaders made generally nuanced statements in response to Trump's election upset, conservative, right-wing leaders, including the leaders of insurgent parties in European nations, reacted positively to Trump's election.<ref>Ashkenas, Jeremy; Aisch, Gregor (December 5, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/05/world/europe/populism-in-age-of-trump.html?_r=0 European Populism in the Age of Donald Trump]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref>

In addition to Trump's defeat of Clinton, 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> 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>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> The GOP now 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>

Despite expectations that Trump's election victory would cause the markets to plunge, the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] actually performed very strongly, closing at the highest level it had ever reached in history after the second day.<ref name="MarketRally">La Monica, Paul R. (November 10, 2016). [http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/10/investing/markets-stocks-donald-trump-rally/index.html The 'yuge' Donald Trump market rally continues]. ''CNN Money''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> It is rare for the stock market to rise immediately after a U.S. presidential election regardless of the winner.<ref name="MarketRally"/> The stock market had its best week in five years due to optimism of a Trump presidency.<ref>Craig, Victoria (November 11, 2016). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/11/trump-optimism-propels-dow-to-best-week-in-five-years.html Trump Optimism Propels Dow to Best Week in Five Years]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref>

After the election, childish [[leftists]] and [[anarchists]], who could not accept the results of the election, strongly protested Trump's victory and committed outrageous and extreme acts of vandalism and violence,<ref name="Protests">Chiaramonte, Perry (November 10, 2016). [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/10/trump-protests-intensify-as-doubts-swirl-about-spontaneity.html Trump protests intensify, as doubts swirl about spontaneity]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref> even brutally attacking and beating at least one alleged Trump supporter.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/10/video-emerges-group-beating-chicago-man-while-yelling-dont-vote-trump.html Video emerges of mob beating Chicago man while yelling 'don't vote Trump']. ''Fox News''. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.</ref> Many of these protests were likely organized and coordinated, as many protestors were bused in by Coach buses.<ref name="Protests"/> This occurred on the heels of Hillary Clinton, the Clinton campaign, and major mainstream media condemning in the harshest terms Trump and his supporters' complaints of a "rigged election," and failure to accept the results would damage democracy. Clinton, President Obama, and the media highlighted the protests and failed to condemn the leftist violence and protests as detrimental to democracy.

==President of the United States==
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements}}
===Transition===
{{See also|Trump transition}}
The day after being elected president, Trump released a solidly conservative agenda for his first 100 days in office, even though ending the [[abortion|legalized murder of the unborn]] was not on the agenda.<ref>Kelly, Amita & Sprunt, Barbara (November 9, 2016). [http://www.npr.org/2016/11/09/501451368/here-is-what-donald-trump-wants-to-do-in-his-first-100-days Here Is What Donald Trump Wants To Do In His First 100 Days]. ''NPR''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

On November 30, 2016, before Trump had finalized all his cabinet appointments, it was still described by Politico as "a conservative dream team that has Republicans cheering and liberals in despair" due to the many strong conservatives Trump had appointed, in contrast to moderates like [[George W. Bush]].<ref>Restuccia, Andrew; Cook, Nancy; Woellert, Lorraine (November 30, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/trump-conservative-dream-team-231972 Trump's conservative dream team]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 30, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/30/politico-donald-trump-cabinet-conservative-dream-team/ Politico: Donald Trump’s Cabinet a ‘Conservative Dream Team’]. ''Breitbart News''. November 30, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.</ref> Accordingly, ''[[Newsweek]]'' called Trump's incomplete cabinet the most conservative cabinet in U.S. history.<ref>Cooper, Matthew (December 9, 2016). [http://www.newsweek.com/trump-cabinet-picks-nominees-conservative-530477 Donald Trump Is Building the Most Conservative Presidential Cabinet In U.S. History]. ''Newsweek''. Retrieved December 10, 2016.</ref> ''[[The Washington Times]]'' noted how Trump was defying Washington establishment norms in his cabinet picks.<ref>Hurt, Charles (December 6, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/6/donald-trumps-cabinet-picks-define-business-as-not/ Trump defines business as not-usual for D.C.] ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved December 10, 2016.</ref>

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' stated that "it’s nearly impossible to identify a clear ideological bent" in Trump's appointments.<ref>Seib, Gerald (December 5, 2016). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-shuffles-the-ideological-deck-1480955194 Donald Trump Shuffles the Ideological Deck]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref> However, this can be easily explained by the fact that Trump has used some of his cabinet nominations to unite the GOP by appealing to most of its factions, even though Trump's appointments are still very conservative.

During the transition period, the Obama Administration engaged in surveillance and information-gathering of Trump, in order to investigate any [[Trump-Russia scandal|alleged ties to Russia]]. This was confirmed by GOP U.S. Representative [[Devin Nunes]] on March 22, 2017,<ref>Derespina, Cody (March 23, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/23/trump-basks-in-nunes-surveillance-news-so-that-means-im-right.html Trump basks in Nunes surveillance news: 'So that means I'm right']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 23, 2017.</ref> and by [[Evelyn Farkas]], the deputy assistant secretary of defense under Obama, on March 29, 2017.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/29/former-obama-official-discloses-rush-to-get-intelligence-on-trump-team.html Former Obama official discloses rush to get intelligence on Trump team]. ''Fox News''. March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.</ref><ref>Poor, Jeff (March 29, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/03/29/fmr-obama-official-reveals-pre-inauguration-effort-to-gather-intel-on-incoming-trump-team/ Fmr Obama Official Reveals Pre-Inauguration Effort to Gather Intel on Incoming Trump Team]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.</ref>

===Inauguration===
[[File:Donald Trumpswearing in.jpg|thumb|200px|Trump being sworn in, January 20, 2017.]]
Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017, giving one of the strongest inauguration addresses in American history.<ref>Boyle, Matthew (January 20, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/20/america-first-president-donald-trump-brings-the-rain-in-inauguration-address/ ‘America First’: President Donald Trump Brings the Rain in Inauguration Address]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref>McCaskill, Nolan D. (January 20, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/key-points-of-trumps-inaugural-speech-233900 Key moments from Trump's inauguration speech]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref>Scott, Patrick; Midgley, Robert (January 20, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/donald-trump-just-delivered-american-inauguration-speech-ever/ Donald Trump just delivered the most 'American' inauguration speech ever]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> His first bill signed as president was to allow retired general and Defense Secretary nominee [[James Mattis]] to be confirmed.<ref>Kopan, Tal (January 20, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/donald-trump-first-law-actions/ President Donald Trump signs first bill into law]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> That same day, Trump instituted a national day of patriotism,<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-measures-idUSKBN1542IH Trump takes first actions on Cabinet, declares day of patriotism: spokesman]. ''Reuters''. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> and a few days later Trump officially designated his inauguration day the '''''National Day of Patriotic Devotion'''''.<ref>[https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/24/2017-01798/national-day-of-patriotic-devotion National Day of Patriotic Devotion -- Proclamation 9570 of January 20, 2017]. ''Federal Register''. January 24, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref><ref>Shelbourne, Mallory (January 23, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315735-trump-declares-inauguration-day-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315735-trump-declares-inauguration-day-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref>

Despite the fact that leftists knew for two months that Trump would be inaugurated president, hateful, anti-American, and immature leftists engaged in violent protests and did major acts of vandalism and even injuring the police who were sent in.<ref>Vargas, Theresa; Hartz, Taylor; Hermann, Peter (January 20, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/protesters-bring-shouts-skirmishes-and-shutdowns-to-inauguration-celebration/2017/01/20/00ea4c72-df11-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html?utm_term=.c4443fa64f5a Inauguration protesters vandalize, set fires, try to disrupt Trump’s oath, as police arrest 200]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref name="LimoFire">Lawler, David (January 20, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/anti-donald-trump-activists-try-block-access-inauguration/ Donald Trump protests: Limo 'set on fire' and 217 arrested as police use tear gas on black-clad activists]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> At least 217 protesters were arrested.<ref name="LimoFire"/><ref>Weber, Joseph (January 20, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/20/trump-supporters-protesters-rally-before-sunrise-on-inauguration-day.html Hundreds of protesters arrested in Inauguration Day clashes]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Noble, Andrea; McDermott, Ryan M. (January 20, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/20/donald-trump-inauguration-protests-begin-turn-viol/ D.C. police report 217 arrested during Inauguration Day riots]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref>

Despite having no power to block Trump's cabinet nominees and having no reason to delay the process,<ref>Pergram, Chad (January 20, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/20/senate-battle-erupts-over-dem-delay-confirming-trump-nominees.html Senate battle erupts over Dem 'delay' confirming Trump nominees]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> liberal Senate Democrats delayed confirmation of Trump's nominees, so that only two were confirmed on Trump's first day in office.<ref>Dinan, Stephen (January 22, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/22/trumps-cabinet-picks-delayed-by-democrats-only-two/? Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks delayed by Democrats, only two confirmed]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> This was a large difference from other recent presidents,<ref>Phillips, Amber (January 21, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/20/donald-trump-will-start-his-presidency-with-the-smallest-confirmed-cabinet-in-decades/?utm_term=.9d7692169687 Donald Trump is starting his presidency with the smallest confirmed Cabinet in decades]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved Janaury 23, 2017.</ref> who, with the exception of [[George H. W. Bush]], had much larger numbers confirmed in the first week.<ref>Bluey, Robert (January 22, 2017). [http://dailysignal.com/2017/01/22/trumps-nominees-face-unprecedented-democrat-obstructionism/ Trump’s Nominees Face ‘Unprecedented’ Democrat Obstructionism]. ''The Daily Signal''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref>

===Tenure===
Due to his promotion and support of conservative, America First policies, President Trump faced large opposition from the Left, including from within the government bureaucracy.<ref>Singman, Brooke (January 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/trump-faces-bureaucratic-battle-in-implementing-agenda.html Trump faces bureaucratic battle in implementing agenda]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Kurtz, Howard (February 3, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/empire-strikes-back-why-trumps-private-talks-with-foreign-leaders-were-leaked.html The empire strikes back: Why Trump's private talks with foreign leaders were leaked]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref> (The fact that members of the Deep State have grown visibly scared of reports stating such confirms this view;<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/03/22/politico-obama-admin-bureaucrats-panicked-by-breitbart-spotlight-dont-question-our-loyalty/ POLITICO: Obama Admin Bureaucrats ‘Panicked’ by Breitbart Spotlight: Don’t Question Our Loyalty!] ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 22, 2017.</ref> in May 2017, it was reported that 60% of [[National Security Council]] employees were Obama-Administration holdovers<ref>Wong, Kristina (May 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/17/trump-under-siege-more-than-60-percent-of-nsc-employees-placed-by-obama/ Trump Under Siege: More than 60 Percent of NSC Employees Placed by Obama]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 18, 2017.</ref>) Additionally, Senate Democrats continued to unduly delay Trump's cabinet nominees at historic and unprecedented proportions—by February 8, 2017, only [[George Washington]] had fewer cabinet nominees confirmed by this length of time into his presidency.<ref>Singman, Brooke (February 8, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/08/trump-facing-historic-delays-in-confirmation-push.html Trump facing historic delays in confirmation push]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 8, 2017.</ref>

On January 23, 2017, Trump signed an order which withdrew the United States from the globalist [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]].<ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (January 23, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/23/trump-signs-executive-order-withdrawing-us-from-tpp-trade-deal.html Trump signs executive order withdrawing US from TPP trade deal]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> That same day, Trump signed an order reinstating the [[Mexico City Policy]], which defunded International Planned Parenthood and other organizations that promote foreign abortions.<ref>LaBarbera, Peter (January 23, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-trump-signs-order-defunding-international-planned-parenthood-forei BREAKING: Trump signs order defunding International Planned Parenthood, foreign abortions]. ''LifeSite News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref><ref>Hellman, Jessie (January 23, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/abortion/315652-trump-signs-executive-order-reinstating-global-gag-rule-on Trump reinstates ban on US funds promoting abortion overseas]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref>

Trump was very busy and productive in his first week and showed he was serious about his campaign promises, undoing Obama's illegitimate legacy and instituting conservative executive orders.<ref>Davenport, David (January 27, 2017). [http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddavenport/2017/01/27/how-trump-managed-to-undo-obamas-legacy-in-one-week/#3ae6bcba5bbf How Trump Managed To Undo Obama's Legacy In One Week]. ''Forbes''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Said-Moorhouse, Lauren (January 26, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/executive-orders-presidents-actions-presidential-memoranda/ What's Trump done so far? His productive first week and how it stacks up to previous presidents]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/28/president-trumps-first-week-action President Trump's First Week of Action]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.</ref> This caused the [[stock market]] to increase, and the [[Dow Jones]] passed 20,000 points for the first time in history.<ref>Imbert, Fred (January 25, 2017). [http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/us-markets.html Dow closes above 20,000 for first time as Trump orders send stocks flying]. ''CNBC''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref><ref>Craig, Victoria (January 25, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/25/dow-races-past-20k-in-reinvigorated-trump-rally.html Dow Races Past 20K in Reinvigorated Trump Rally]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref> On March 1, 2017, the day after Trump made his first address to a joint-session of Congress, the stock market rose dramatically again, with the Dow Jones passing the 21,000 mark for the first time in history.<ref>Witkowski, Wallace; Mahmudova, Anora (March 1, 2017). [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-set-to-resume-rally-on-fed-rate-hike-hopes-trump-relief-2017-03-01 Dow closes above 21,000 as stocks soar after Trump speech]. ''MarketWatch''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Holcomb, John (March 1, 2017). [https://townhall.com/tipsheet/justinholcomb/2017/03/01/stock-market-booms-past-21000-for-the-first-time-in-history-n2292388 The Trump Bump: Stock Market Hits 21,000 for the First Time in History]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref><ref>DeSoto, Randy (March 1, 2017). [http://www.westernjournalism.com/stock-market-hits-new-high-follow-trumps-speech-to-congress/ Stock Market Hits New High Following Trump’s Speech To Congress]. ''Western Journalism''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref>

As evidence of this intense [[mainstream media]] opposition to President Trump, a study published close to the 100th-day mark of Trump's presidency showed that 89% of media coverage regarding Trump was negative.<ref>
* Harper, Jennifer (April 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/19/donald-trump-media-coverage-is-89-percent-negative/ As first 100 days in office approaches, media coverage of Trump is 89% negative: Study]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
* Noyes, Rich; Ciandella, Mike (April 19, 2017). [http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2017/04/18/honeymoon-hell-liberal-media-vs-president-trump Honeymoon from Hell: The Liberal Media vs. President Trump]. ''NewsBusters -- Media Research Center''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref> Additionally, Trump was on track to become the most mocked president on late-night comedy TV in at least 25 years.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2017/05/04/study-trump-track-mocked-president-late-night-25-years/ Study: Trump On Track to Be Most Mocked President on Late-Night TV in 25 Years]. ''Breitbart News''. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref>

On April 26, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security, acting under an executive order established by President Trump, established the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE), created to help support victims of illegal immigrant crime, and it established the DHS-Victim Information and Notification Exchange, which was created to help those victims track the custody status of the illegal criminals.<ref>
* Singman, Brooke (April 26, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/26/dhs-announces-office-for-victims-illegal-immigrant-crime.html DHS announces office for victims of illegal immigrant crime]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
* McHugh, Katie (April 26, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/26/dhs-kelly-voice-victims-illegal-alien-criminals/ DHS Kelly Creates VOICE For Many Victims of Illegal Alien Criminals]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
* McHugh, Katie (April 25, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/25/dhs-unveil-voice-office-victims-illegal-alien-crime/ DHS to Unveil VOICE Office for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> However, leftists took to pranking the phone line created, showing disrespect to the victims of illegal immigration.<ref>Singman, Brooke (April 27, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/27/ice-rips-pranksters-jamming-hotline-to-report-space-aliens.html ICE rips pranksters jamming hotline to report space aliens]. '' Fox News''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref>

Canadian Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] described President Trump as being very authentic – the way he acts in public is like how he does in private.<ref>Yilek, Caitlin (August 31, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-trump-is-surprisingly-authentic/article/2633107 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: Trump is surprisingly 'authentic']. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved August 31, 2017.</ref>

====Temporary immigration and refugee suspensions====
Trump received criticism from liberals and [[establishment]] Republicans<ref>McHugh, Katie (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/establishment-republicans-bash-trumps-executive-order-on-immigration-refugee-resettlement/ Establishment Republicans Bash Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration, Refugee Resettlement]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> when he signed an executive order temporarily banning immigration from certain high-risk Islamic countries as well as refugee entry. Despite this criticism, 49 percent of the American public supported the decision compared to 41 percent opposed, according to the "mainstream" Reuters,<ref>Kahn, Chris (January 31, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-poll-exclusive-idUSKBN15F2MG Exclusive: Only a third of Americans think Trump's travel ban will make them more safe]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> and 57% percent of likely American voters supported the ban according to Rasmussen.<ref>[http://m.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/january_2017/most_support_temporary_ban_on_newcomers_from_terrorist_havens Most Support Temporary Ban on Newcomers from Terrorist Havens].'' January 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref> Additionally, while the leftist [[establishment]] European leaders opposed the ban, a strong majority—55% average—of Europeans support the ban, according to a poll in 10 [[European Union]] nations.<ref>Shaw, Adam (February 9, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/09/majority-europeans-in-favor-trump-style-muslim-ban-poll-shows.html Majority of Europeans in favor of a Trump-style Muslim ban, poll shows]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref><ref>Jamieson, Alastair (February 8, 2017). [http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/europes-border-crisis/majority-leading-eu-nations-support-trump-style-travel-ban-poll-n718271 Majority in Leading EU Nations Support Trump-Style Travel Ban: Poll]. ''NBC News''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref> On March 6, 2017, Trump signed a second executive order concerning the temporary suspension of refugees and others from certain high-risk countries after the first one was blocked by the courts. The second order made some clarifications and minor improvements over the first, such as exempting green card holders from the ban and excluding [[Iraq]] from it as it had developed an acceptable vetting process.<ref>Munro, Neil (March 6, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/06/trump-new-refugees-executive-pushes-back-judges/ Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Travel from Six Terror-Tied Countries]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (March 6, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/06/trump-signs-new-immigration-order-narrows-scope-travel-ban.html Trump signs new immigration order, narrows scope of travel ban]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 6, 2017.</ref>

Trump showed he would not tolerate incompetent leftist administration officials when he fired acting [[United States Department of Justice|Attorney General]] [[Sally Yates]] (a left-wing Obama holdover) when she refused to defend his refugee and immigration ban executive order.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/30/acting-ag-tells-justice-department-staff-not-to-defend-trumps-refugee-order.html Trump fires acting AG after Justice Department staff told not to defend refugee order]. ''Fox News''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/30/statement-appointment-dana-boente-acting-attorney-general Statement on the Appointment of Dana Boente as Acting Attorney General]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> Trump emulated [[Ronald Reagan]]'s firing of the striking PATCO workers in 1981 by doing so,<ref>Boyle, Matthew (January 30, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/30/trumps-patco-moment-emanating-reagan-president-takes-control-federal-government-protect-country-citizens/ Trump’s PATCO Moment: Emanating Reagan, the President Takes Control of Federal Government to ‘Protect the Country and Its Citizens’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> contrary to the [[mainstream media]] spin.<ref>Kurtz, Howard (February 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/01/trumps-firing-defiant-obama-holdover-why-hes-no-richard-nixon.html Trump's firing of a defiant Obama holdover: Why he's no Richard Nixon]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref> That same night, Trump replaced the acting director of [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (another Obama holdover) with a more competent official who had a reputation for enforcing immigration laws.<ref>Chamberlain, Samuel (January 31, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/trump-names-thomas-homan-acting-director-ice-replacing-obama-holdover.html Trump names Thomas Homan acting director of ICE, replacing Obama holdover]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Berman, Mark; Zapotosky, Matt (January 30, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/30/trump-appoints-new-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-director-noted-for-his-work-deporting-illegal-immigrants/?utm_term=.addf12ae690a Trump appoints new Immigration and Customs Enforcement director noted for his work deporting illegal immigrants]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref>

====Reducing regulations and government====
:''For more information, see [[Donald Trump achievements: Deregulation and government size]]''
In the first six weeks of Trump's presidency, over 90 regulations were repealed, whether through executive orders, Acts of Congress, or other means.<ref>Farand, Chloe (March 6, 2017). [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-federal-state-regulations-month-oval-office-white-house-us-president-deregulate-a7614031.html Donald Trump disassembles 90 federal state regulations in just over a month in White House]. ''The Independent''. Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3480299-10-Examples-Industries-Push-Followed-by-Trump.html#document/p60/a341284 Trump-Era Trend: Industries Protest. Regulations Rolled Back. A Dozen Examples]. ''The New York Times'' (through ''DocumentCloud''). Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref> Trump also signed numerous executive actions promoting a smaller government.

====Supreme Court====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: The courts|Trump Supreme Court}}
On January 31, 2017, Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>Klukowski, Ken (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/trump-nominates-judge-neil-gorsuch-supreme-court/ Trump Nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Hurley, Lawrence; Holland, Steve (January 31, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-trump-idUSKBN15F1OW Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for U.S. Supreme Court]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> The nomination was well received by many conservatives.<ref>Chamberlain, Steve (January 31, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/reaction-to-trumps-supreme-court-pick-split-along-partisan-lines.html Conservatives hail Trump's Supreme Court pick]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Ertelt, Steven (January 31, 2017). [http://www.lifenews.com/2017/01/31/president-donald-trump-nominates-pro-life-friendly-judge-neil-gorsuch-to-the-supreme-court/ President Donald Trump Nominates Pro-Life-Friendly Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court]. ''LifeNews.com''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> Others, most notably [[Andrew Schlafly]], disagreed with the nomination due to concerns about Gorsuch's position on abortion.<ref>Dannenfelser, Marjorie (January 31, 2017). [http://townhall.com/columnists/marjoriedannenfelser/2017/01/31/the-truth-about-trumps-prolife-scotus-list-n2279232 The Truth about Trump’s Pro-life SCOTUS List]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref><ref>http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:Mainpageright&diff=1302133&oldid=1301962</ref>

Upon the swing justice [[Anthony Kennedy|Anthony Kennedy's]] announcement on June 21, 2018 that he would retire from the Court at the end of the succeeding month, Trump nominated the conservative [[Brett Kavanaugh]] to replace him.<ref>Mason, Ian (July 9, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/07/09/trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-nominee/]

====Public trust====
According to a poll conducted by [[Emerson College]] on February 5–6, 2017, more Americans trust the Trump Administration than the media.<ref>McHugh, Katie (February 9, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/09/poll-voters-trust-trump-administration-media/ Poll: Voters Trust Trump Administration More Than Media]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref>

====Economic progress====
{{See also|Donald Trump achievements: Economic policy and labor}}
In May 2017, the unemployment rate fell from 4.4% from 4.3%, the lowest since May 2001, as the number of unemployed persons was little changed at 6.9 million and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.7 percent.<ref>[https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate United States Unemployment Rate]. ''tradingeconomics.com''. Retrieved June 14, 2017.</ref>

According to a Rasmussen survey, consumer confidence is the second-highest it’s been in the index’s history. The market cap of the U.S. stock market has risen more than $3 trillion since Mr. Trump was elected. Small-business confidence has surged to a 12-year high.

==Books==
*''Trump: The Art of the Deal'' with Tony Schwartz (1987)
*''Trump: Surviving at the Top'' with Charles Leerhsen (1990)
*''Trump: The Art of the Comeback'' with Kate Bohner (1997)
*''The America We Deserve'' with Dave Shiflett (2000)
*''Trump: How to Get Rich'' with Meredith McIver (2004)
*''Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know about Success, Real Estate and Life'' with Meredith McIver (2005)
*''Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message'' with Meredith McIver and Robert T. Kiyosaki (2006)
*''Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life'' with Bill Zanker (2007)
*''Trump: Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success'' with Meredith McIver (2008)
*''Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life'' with Meredith McIver (2009)
*''Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—and Why Most Don't'' with Robert T. Kiyosaki (2011)
*''Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again'' (2011)
*''Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again'' (2015)

==Quotes==
===Quotes as U.S. President===
====Inaugural address====
*"....today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people."<ref name="InaugTransc">[http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/full-text-donald-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript-233907 Full text: 2017 Donald Trump inauguration speech transcript]. ''Politico''. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref>
*"We assembled here today our issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power, from this day forward: a new vision will govern our land, from this day forward, it's going to be only America first. America first."<ref name="InaugTransc"/>
*"[We will] unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth."<ref name="InaugTransc"/>
*"When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice."<ref name="InaugTransc"/>

====2017====
*"In America we don’t worship government, we worship God."<ref>Miller, S.A. (May 13, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/13/donald-trump-tells-liberty-university-graduates-we/ Trump at Liberty University: ‘We don’t worship government, we worship God’]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 13, 2017.</ref><ref>Moons, Michelle (May 13, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/13/president-donald-trumps-1st-commencement-speech-america-dont-worship-government-worship-god/ President Donald Trump’s First Commencement Speech: ‘In America We Don’t Worship Government, We Worship God’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 13, 2017.</ref>
*"I didn’t get elected to serve the Washington media—I got elected to serve the forgotten men and women and that’s exactly what I’m doing."<ref>Spiering, Charlie (May 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/17/donald-trump-vows-to-fight-on-no-politician-in-history-has-been-treated-worse-or-more-unfairly/ Donald Trump: ‘I Didn’t Get Elected to Serve the Washington Media’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 17, 2017.</ref><ref>Singman, Brooke (May 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/17/trump-takes-on-media-during-coast-guard-commencement-speech.html Trump takes on media during Coast Guard commencement speech]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved May 17, 2017.</ref>
* "The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented." (UN speech, September 2017)
* "The most important truth our Founders understood was this: Freedom is not a gift from government; freedom is a gift from God."<ref>[https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/920474831749025795 @realDonaldTrump], 17 Oct 2017</ref><ref>Crookston, Paul (October 17, 2017). [http://freebeacon.com/politics/trump-freedom-not-gift-government-freedom-gift-god/ Trump: ‘Freedom Is Not a Gift From Government; Freedom Is a Gift From God’]. ''The Washington Free Beacon''. Retrieved October 20, 2017.</ref>

===Quotes from the 2016 campaign for President===
[[File:Donald Trump and Mike Pence RNC July 2016.jpg|thumb|Trump and his running-mate, [[Mike Pence]], at the 2016 Republican National Convention.]]
Trump's tactics of naming and shaming candidates has been proven very effective. He called Jeb Bush 'low-energy Jeb' and it stuck. Then came Marco Rubio as 'Little Marco.' Next came 'Lyin' Ted' for Ted Cruz. For the Democrats, he calls Hillary Clinton 'Crooked Hillary'. He doesn't give Bernie Sanders the same treatment though he has referred to him as a Communist.

*“We will no longer surrender this country or its people to the false song of [[globalism]].”
*"I think we have a president who, as a president, is totally incompetent, and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I think he has no idea what he’s doing. And our country is going to [[hell]]."<ref>http://time.com/4210983/republican-debate-barack-obama-incompetent/</ref>
*"I will be the greatest jobs president that [[God]] ever created."
*"I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich."
*"Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people."
*"Nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump. Nobody. Within our military, I will find the General Patton, or I will find General MacArthur, I will find the right guy."
*"I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have [[Mexico]] pay for that wall."
*"I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct."<ref>http://video.foxnews.com/v/4406746003001/watch-a-replay-of-fox-news-prime-time-presidential-debate/?#sp=show-clips</ref><ref>https://www.google.com/search?q=a+big+problem+with+our+country+is+too+politically+incorrect&oq=a+big+problem+with+our+country+is+too+politically+incorrect&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l3.8295j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8</ref>
*"Becoming the nominee of the party of [[Abraham Lincoln]] has been the greatest honor of my life.<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/294401-trump-claims-party-of-lincoln-mantle-in-speech-at-black</ref>

====General election debate quotes====
*"Because you would be in jail." (Trump in response to Clinton saying that it would be a good thing that he "is not in charge of the law in our country")<ref name="2ndTranscript">[http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-transcript-229519 Full transcript: Second 2016 presidential debate]. ''Politico''. October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.</ref>
*"Now she’s blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln. ...Honest Abe never lied. That’s the good thing. That's the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you." (Trump in response to Clinton's excuse for having "'a public and private position on certain issues.'")<ref name="2ndTranscript"/>
*"Hillary has experience, but it’s bad experience."<ref>Goodenough, Patrick (September 27, 2016). [http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/ Trump: 'Hillary Has Experience, But It's Bad Experience']. ''cnsnews.com''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref>

===Quotes from Twitter===
[[File:Screenshot 2015-09-28-12-11-31-1.png|right|300px|Thumb|Tweet from Billionaire Carl Icahn]]

{{Cquote| '''Somebody said I’m the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters.'''}}

* "An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud."<ref>Trump, Donald J. (August 6, 2012, 1:23 pm). [http://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/232572505238433794 "An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud."] Tweet by @realDonaldTrump.</ref>
* "It’s amazing how people can talk about me but I’m not allowed to talk about them."<ref>Trump, Donald J. (November 13, 2012, 12:23pm). [http://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/268449146711703553 "It’s amazing how people can talk about me but I’m not allowed to talk about them."] Tweet by @realDonaldTrump.</ref>
* "This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bull**** has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice."<ref>Trump, Donald J. (January 1, 2014, 4:39pm). [http://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/418542137899491328 "This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bull**** has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice."] Tweet by @realDonaldTrump.</ref>

====2015====
* "So many 'politically correct' fools in our country. We have to all get back to work and stop wasting time and energy on nonsense!" (August 8, 2015)
* "Notice that illegal immigrants will be given ObamaCare and free college tuition but nothing has been mentioned about our VETERANS #DemDebate" (October 13, 2015)
* "They laughed at me when I said to bomb the ISIS controlled oil fields. Now they are not laughing and doing what I said." (November 13, 2015)
* "President Obama said 'ISIL continues to shrink' in an interview just hours before the horrible attack in Paris. He is just so bad! CHANGE." (November 14, 2015)
* "Refugees from Syria are now pouring into our great country. Who knows who they are - some could be ISIS. Is our president insane?" (November 17, 2015)
* "Eight Syrians were just caught on the southern border trying to get into the U.S. ISIS maybe? I told you so. WE NEED A BIG & BEAUTIFUL WALL!" (November 19, 2015)

====2016====
* "Hillary said that guns don't keep you safe. If she really believes that she should demand that her heavily armed bodyguards quickly disarm!" (January 3, 2016)
* "I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a Mosque? Very sad that he did not go!" (February 20, 2016)
* "The organized group of people, many of them thugs, who shut down our First Amendment rights in Chicago, have totally energized America!" (March 12, 2016)
* "Why is it that the horrendous protesters, who scream, curse punch, shut down roads/doors during my RALLIES, are never blamed by media? SAD!" (March 20, 2016)
* "Do you all remember how beautiful and safe a place Brussels was. Not anymore, it is from a different world! U.S. must be vigilant and smart!" (March 22, 2016)
* "For the 1st time in American history, America’s 16,500 border patrol agents have issue[d] a presidential primary endorsement—me! Thank you." (April 1, 2016)

====2017====
*"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!"<ref>Greenwood, Mark (February 17, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/320168-trump-the-media-is-the-enemy-of-the-american-people Trump tweets: The media is the 'enemy of the American people']. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 27, 2017.</ref>
* "Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion!" (March 31, 2017)
* "That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!" (June 5, 2017, while the Dept. of Justice was arguing in court that his Executive Order was not a "travel ban")
* "Fake News is at an all time high. Where is their apology to me for all of the incorrect stories???" (June 13, 2017)

===Other quotes===
* "[T]he country is going to hell."<ref>Cassidy, Chris (March 19, 2015). [http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2015/03/country_is_going_to_hell_claims_donald_trump "'Country is going to hell,' claims Donald Trump"]. BostonHerald.com website.</ref>
* "We have no leader in this country.”<ref>Reisner, Hiram (April 22, 2011). [http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/donaldtrump-karlrove-gop-birther/2011/04/22/id/393742 "Trump: I'd just take Libyan oil"]. NewsMax website.</ref>
* "Our leaders are stupid, they are stupid people."<ref>Pierce, Tony (April 29, 2011). [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/donald-trump-in-vegas-our-leaders-are-stupid-they-are-stupid-people.html "Donald Trump in Vegas: 'Our leaders are stupid; they are stupid people'"]. Los Angeles Times website/Top of the Ticket blog.</ref>
* "I can tell you I am [the 2012 Obama campaign's] worst nightmare."<ref>Mooney, Alexander (April 11, 2011). [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/11/trump-says-he-is-obama-campaigns-worst-nightmare/comment-page-6/ "Trump says he is Obama campaign's worst nightmare"]. Cable News Network website/politicalticker blog.</ref>
* "Obama has no solutions."<ref>Coz, Steve (August 19, 2012). [http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/trump-gibbs-fox-obama/2012/08/19/id/449050/ "Trump fires back at Obama campaign smear"]. Newsmax website/Newsfront.</ref>
*"Everything in life is luck."<ref name="Telegraph">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/12107003/Donald-Trump-faces-questions-over-Two-Corinthians.html</ref>
*"[Barack Obama] is probably the least transparent president in the history of the country."<ref name="Telegraph"/>
*"Not teaching your kids about money is like not caring whether they eat."<ref name="Telegraph"/>

== Liberal denialism and Donald Trump ==

:''See also:'' [[Liberal denialism and Donald Trump]] and [[Liberal denial]]

Post the 2016 U.S. Presidential election many liberals were in denial that Donald Trump was going to be president of the United States. Before the election, many liberal media outlets took the line that Donald Trump could not win the [[Republican]] primary and could not win the presidential election.<ref>
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/09/the-wrongest-media-predictions-about-donald-trump/?utm_term=.febb2623a89f The wrongest media predictions about Donald Trump The wrongest media predictions about Donald Trump], ''Washington Post'', 2016</ref>

=== Political scientists, denialism and Donald Trump ===

{{See also|Atheism and science}}

Few, if any, [[Political science|political scientists]] predicted early on that Donald Trump would win the Republican primary and then would subsequently be elected president of the United States. Furthermore, most pollsters indicated that Trump would lose the election.

27 percent of American political scientists believe in the existence of God while 76 percent of American doctors said they believe in God.<ref>
*[http://www.livescience.com/379-scientists-belief-god-varies-starkly-discipline.html Scientists belief in God varies starkly by discipline], Livescience.com
*[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8318894/ns/health-health_care/t/survey-most-doctors-believe-god-afterlife/ Most doctors believe in God], NBC News</ref> Most American [[atheism|atheists]] lean to the left politically (see: [[Atheism and politics]]). Compared to [[medical science]], which has many effective medicines and surgical procedures, the social science of political science is often unreliable.

===Trump and the mainstream media===
{{See also|Mainstream media and Donald Trump}}
The leftist [[mainstream media]] despises Trump and fails to report objectively when covering him.

=== Angry secular leftists and Donald Trump ===

:''See also:'' [[Donald Trump and American atheists]] and [[Secular leftists and psychogenic illness]]

American [[secular left]]ists were extremely angry and upset in the aftermath of Donald Trump's election victory (see: [[Donald Trump and American atheists]]).

In certain cases, it became debilitating (see:: [[Secular leftists and psychogenic illness]]). The website Marketwatch reported concerning the aftermath of the 2016 presidential race: ''Trump’s win is causing a surge in demand for mental health services''<ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-win-is-causing-a-surge-in-demand-for-mental-health-services-2016-11-10 Trump’s win is causing a surge in demand for mental health services], Marketwatch 2016</ref>

The ''Religion News Service'' reported:
{{Cquote|For the last decade, [[Atheism|atheists]], [[secular humanism|humanists]] and others [[secular]]ists have worked hard to organize a “secular vote” that would counter the political clout of the [[religious right]].

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory dealt that movement a body blow when he garnered 81 percent of the white [[Evangelical Christians|evangelical]] vote and 60 percent of the white [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] vote. [[Mormonism|Mormons]], too, voted overwhelmingly for Trump...

[Trump's] platform was seen as anti-secular in many atheist and humanist circles. He said he would appoint religiously conservative Supreme Court justices, ban [[Islam|Muslim]] immigrants, favor [[Christianity]] and repeal the [[Johnson Amendment]], which prohibits certain tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates — issues antithetical to organized atheism and [[humanism]].<ref>[http://religionnews.com/2016/11/09/dealt-a-body-blow-atheists-and-humanists-regroup/ Dealt a body blow, atheists and humanists regroup] by Kimberly Winston, ''Religion News Service'', November 9, 2016</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Donald Trump's religious views]]
* [[Trump Administration]]
* [[Essay:Donald Trump One Two Body Blow]]
* [[The Chalkening]]
* [[Trump University]]
*[[Liberal Smear Machine]]
* [[Kathryn Steinle]]
* [[Sarah Root]]
* [[Alveda King]]
* [[Trump effect]]

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

==External links==
* [http://www.greatagain.gov Presidential transition website GreatAgain.gov]
* [http://www.trump.com Official website]
* [http://www.LyingCrookedHillary.com LyingCrookedHillary.com]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw8c2Cq-vpg The Untruth About Donald Trump] by [[Stefan Molyneux]], Published on Jan 18, 2016
* [http://www.untruthaboutdonaldtrump.com UntruthAboutDonaldTrump.com]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yyoauXmzjg Do Emotions Trump Facts?] [[Thomas Sowell]] on Donald Trump - Rebutted! by Stefan Molyneux
* [http://shouldtrumprun.com/ Should Donald Run? Polling]
* [http://gop12.thehill.com/2011/04/trump-explains-conversion-on-abortion.html Trump explains his pro-life conversion]
* [https://www.donaldjtrump.com Donald Trump 2016 campaign website]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZq3iCn2y74 Inside of Trump's Boeing 757]
* 100 groups have signed [http://www.pseagles.com/Coalition_letter_Supreme_Court this coalition letter] re: Trump's [[Trump Supreme Court|nomination to the Supreme Court]].
{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trump, Donald}}

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[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Pro Second Amendment]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Liberal Conservatism]]
[[Category:Billionaires]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Patriots]]

President of the United States of America

2018-04-15T20:18:11Z

JoeRW: Changed Bush 43's wing to moderate right given his focus on globalist rather than nationalist policies

[[Image:Presidential seal 506x508.gif|thumbnail|right|The [[United States]] Presidential Seal]]
The '''President of the United States''' is the head of the [[United States of America|U.S.]] [[Executive Branch]]. As the [[head of state]] of the [[United States of America]], the president is one of the most powerful people in the [[world]]. The writers of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] recognized that they were writing a job description which, in [[England]], was and is filled by the office of the [[prime minister]] and position of the [[Monarchy|monarch]]. According to the [[Founding Fathers]] of the USA, at that time, the monarchy of England did not appear to serve the common man and the Founding Fathers wanted a [[government]] that did.

==Current president==
[[Donald J. Trump]] currently is the 45th and current President. He took office on January 20, 2017. His legitimate predecessor was [[George W. Bush]] (see note below the Presidents list regarding [[Barack Hussein Obama]]).

==Election==
The president is selected every four years by the American people, although not through a popular vote but rather through the [[Electoral College]]. This process makes the presidency one of the few elected officials in the [[United States of America]] chosen indirectly. The Founding Fathers implemented this procedure to ensure the relevance of smaller states in the voting process.

==Term limits==
Prior to [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], presidents voluntarily limited themselves to two terms as an homage to [[George Washington]]. After Franklin D. Roosevelt served a little over twelve years in office, [[Congress]] passed the 22nd [[Constitutional Amendment]] restricting future presidents to two terms.

However, if the vice president succeeds to the presidency with no more than two years left in the prior president's term, he is allowed to run for two full terms, raising the potential time in office to ten years.

The first president to whom term limits applied was [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].

==See also==
* [[Vice President of the United States of America]]
* [[Unitary Executive Theory]]
* [[List of United States Presidential firsts]]

==Presidents list==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!President
!Years
!State
!Party
!Vice President(s)
!Wing
|-
|1. [[George Washington]]
|1789-1797
|[[Virginia]]
|none
|[[John Adams|Adams]]
|Right
|-
|2. [[John Adams]]
|1797-1801
|[[Massachusetts]]
|[[Federalist]]
|[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]]
|
|-
|3. [[Thomas Jefferson]]
|1801-1809
|[[Virginia]]
|[[Republican (Jeffersonian)]]
|[[Aaron Burr|Burr]], [[George Clinton|Clinton]]
|
|-
|4. [[James Madison]]
|1809-1817
|[[Virginia]]
|[[Republican (Jeffersonian)]]
|[[George Clinton|Clinton]], [[Elbridge Gerry|Gerry]]
|
|-
|5. [[James Monroe]]
|1817-1825
|[[Virginia]]
|[[Republican (Jeffersonian)]]
|[[Daniel D. Tompkins|Tompkins]]
|
|-
|6. [[John Quincy Adams]]
|1825-1829
|[[Massachusetts]]
|[[National Republican]]
|[[John C. Calhoun|Calhoun]]
|
|-
|7. [[Andrew Jackson]]
|1829-1837
|[[Tennessee]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[John C. Calhoun|Calhoun]], [[Martin van Buren|Van Buren]]
|
|-
|8. [[Martin van Buren]]
|1837-1841
|[[New York]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Richard M. Johnson|Johnson]]
|
|-
|9. [[William Henry Harrison]]
|1841
|none
|[[Whig Party|Whig]]
|[[John Tyler|Tyler]]
|
|-
|10. [[John Tyler]]
|1841-1845
|[[Virginia]]
|[[Whig Party|Whig]]
|none
|
|-
|11. [[James Knox Polk]]
|1845-1849
|[[Tennessee]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[George M. Dallas|Dallas]]
|
|-
|12. [[Zachary Taylor]]
|1849-1850
|none
|[[Whig Party|Whig]]
|[[Millard Fillmore|Fillmore]]
|
|-
|13. [[Millard Fillmore]]
|1850-1853
|[[New York]]
|[[Whig Party|Whig]]
|none
|
|-
|14. [[Franklin Pierce]]
|1853-1857
|[[New Hampshire]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[William King|King]]
|
|-
|15. [[James Buchanan]]
|1857-1861
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[John C. Breckinridge|Breckinridge]]
|
|-
|16. [[Abraham Lincoln]]
|1861-1865
|[[Illinois]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Hannibal Hamlin|Hamlin]], [[Andrew Johnson|Johnson]]
|Right
|-
|17. [[Andrew Johnson]]
|1865-1869
|[[Tennessee]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|none
|
|-
|18. [[Ulysses S. Grant]]
|1869-1877
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Schuyler Colfax|Colfax]], [[Henry Wilson|Wilson]]
|
|-
|19. [[Rutherford Hayes]]
|1877-1881
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[William A. Wheeler|Wheeler]]
|
|-
|20. [[James Garfield]]
|1881
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Chester Arthur|Arthur]]
|
|-
|21. [[Chester Arthur]]
|1881-1885
|[[New York]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|none
|
|-
|22. [[Grover Cleveland]]
|1885-1889
|[[New York]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Thomas Hendricks|Hendricks]]
|Right
|-
|23. [[Benjamin Harrison]]
|1889-1893
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Levi P. Morton|Morton]]
|
|-
|24. [[Grover Cleveland]]
|1893-1897
|[[New York]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Adlai Ewing Stevenson|Stevenson]]
|Right
|-
|25. [[William McKinley]]
|1897-1901
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Garret Hobart|Hobart]],[[Theodore Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]
|
|-
|26. [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
|1901-1909
|[[New York]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Charles Fairbanks|Fairbanks]]
|Centre
|-
|27. [[William Taft]]
|1909-1913
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[James S. Sherman|Sherman]]
|
|-
|28. [[Woodrow Wilson]]
|1913-1921
|[[Virginia]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Thomas R. Marshall|Marshall]]
|Left
|-
|29. [[Warren G. Harding]]
|1921-1923
|[[Ohio]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Calvin Coolidge|Coolidge]]
|
|-
|30. [[Calvin Coolidge]]
|1923-1929
|[[Massachusetts]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Charles Dawes|Dawes]]
|Right
|-
|31. [[Herbert Hoover]]
|1929-1933
|[[California]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Charles Curtis|Curtis]]
|Center
|-
|32. [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]
|1933-1945
|[[New York]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[John Nance Garner|Garner]], [[Henry A. Wallace|Wallace]], [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]]
|Left
|-
|33. [[Harry S. Truman]]
|1945-1953
|[[Missouri]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Alben Barkley|Barkley]]
|Moderate Left
|-
|34. [[Dwight David Eisenhower]]
|1953-1961
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]
|Moderate Right
|-
|35. [[John Fitzgerald Kennedy]]
|1961-1963
|[[Massachusetts]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Lyndon Baines Johnson|Johnson]]
|Moderate Left
|-
|36. [[Lyndon Baines Johnson]]
|1963-1969
|[[Texas]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey]]
|Left
|-
|37. [[Richard Milhouse Nixon]]
|1969-1974
|[[California]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Spiro Agnew|Agnew]], [[Gerald Ford|Ford]]
|Moderate Right
|-
|38. [[Gerald Ford]]
|1974-1977
|[[Nebraska]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller|Rockefeller]]
|Moderate
|-
|39. [[Jimmy Carter]]
|1977-1981
|[[Georgia]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Walter Mondale|Mondale]]
|Left
|-
|40. [[Ronald Wilson Reagan]]
|1981-1989
|[[California]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[George H. W. Bush|(H.W.) Bush]]
|Right
|-
|41. [[George Herbert Walker Bush]]
|1989-1993
|[[Texas]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Dan Quayle|Quayle]]
|Moderate Right
|-
|42. [[Bill Clinton]]
|1993-2001
|[[Arkansas]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Al Gore|Gore]]
|Left
|-
|43. [[George Walker Bush]]
|2001-2009
|[[Texas]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Dick Cheney|Cheney]]
|Moderate Right
|-
|44. [[Barack Hussein Obama]]1
|2009-2017
|[[Illinois]]
|[[Democrat Party|Democrat]]
|[[Joseph Biden|Biden]]
|Left
|-
|45. [[Donald John Trump]]
|took office on January 20, 2017
|[[New York]]
|[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|[[Mike Pence|Pence]]
|Right
|}

1 There is doubt as to the legitimacy and legality of Obama's claim to the Presidency due to his refusal to disclose his legitimate birth records (the fraudulent "birth certificate" he released notwithstanding) and his history prior to his announcing his plan to run for President as a Democrat candidate in 2007. He has determined to keep his records sealed because revelation of such would reveal that, under [[United States Constitution:Article II|Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution]], he was not only not eligible to hold the office of President but was ineligible to even run for the Presidency, thereby making both his Presidential run and his subsequent assumption of the office illegal under the Constitution. As such, Obama's ineligibility to run for or hold the office of President would mean that the United States of America did not have a legitimate executive from January 20, 2009 (the day that Obama assumed the office<ref>[http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2016/05/01/accountability/executive/barack-obama-stole-america/ Barack Obama Stole America] at Conservative News and Views</ref>) until January 20, 2017 (the day President [[Donald Trump]] was sworn in to possibly become the first legitimate President since George W. Bush).

==References==
<references />

{{USPresidents}}
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:United States Elected Officials]]
[[Category:United States History]]

Catholic Church

2018-03-30T01:22:39Z

JoeRW: Took out [or we] since the official translation in the Nicene Creed by the Catholic Church on that line now starts with "I believe"

''See also the [[Roman Catholic Church]]''.

{{Christianity}}
[[Image:Murillo Inmaculada de El Escorial.jpg|left|140px]]
==Different churches==

The term "The Catholic Church" refers to any one of a number of different Rites and church organizations, but, in the United States, it is most often used synonymously for the church whose most widespread Rite is the Latin Rite—the Roman Catholic Church. Other Rites include the Byzantine, Alexandrian, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite, Chaldean, Melkite (also known as the Greek Catholic Church), the Malankara Church, the Syro-Malabar Church, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. They are different from the Latin rite in many ways but still recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) and are in communion with Rome. These Eastern Rite churches are Catholic and do not belong to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest [[Christianity|Christian]] denomination in the world, with over one billion adherents.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity</ref> It comprises one of the three great divisions of Christianity, together with [[Protestantism]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]].

Despite important differences in doctrine, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the Orthodox Church's Holy Orders (priesthood) as valid; however, the Orthodox generally follow a theory of ordination for place and purpose, so the notion of being ordained outside the Orthodox Church is moot, and no theory of validity is held to.

The Roman Catholic Church has often, especially prior to the rise of Protestantism, been considered the Western Church while the Greek Orthodox Church is considered the Eastern Church. But more eastern than that, there was, from the earliest centuries, the Aramaic Church of the East (see [[Aramaic Church]]) which considers itself to be a Catholic church. The full name for this Church is the "Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East." This Church, being cut of for most of the time from the Roman and Byzantine spheres by being in the "enemy" empire - Parthia - developed differently from its sister Catholic Church of the West. The Church of the East also having the threefold ministry of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, and being in [[Apostolic succession]] (through the Apostle Thomas rather than Peter), never developed the infallibility of bishops, as the Roman Church would do for the bishop of Rome (the Pope) nor infallibility of the synod of bishops as did the Greek Orthodox church. This elevates the authority of the Bible and brings affinity of this Catholic Church to the Evangelical world.

It is commonly thought that the Catholic church forbids its priests to marry. But this is true only of the Latin Rite. Eastern Rite Catholic Church congregations which are in communion with the Roman Catholic church have a married priesthood and diaconate although bishops may not marry. It is a common sight for non Latin rite Catholic priests to be seen, particularly in the Mid East and India, with wives and children. Priestly celibacy for Latin Rite Roman Catholic, though in force, is considered as canonical ruling having papal force but not an infallible decree or teaching coming "ex cathedra" - and thus priestly celibacy may be changed by the Pope and be in line with the non Latin rites of the Catholic Church. The general rule in the Roman Catholic Church in relation to its eastern rite communions within it is to allow the customs, practices, and even doctrines to remain "eastern". This approach entails not only the allowance of married priests but also mixed vernacular liturgies of natural development (Aramaic with Arabic, Aramaic with Greek), baptism of infants immediately followed by Chrismation (confirmation), rather than the Latin rite 12 year interval between baptism and confirmation, baptism by full immersion even of infants rather than sprinking or pouring as in Latin rite.

The Roman Catholic Church historically regarded [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Christianity as heretical, that is, being against Roman doctrine. The tone changed in the 1960s when [[Pope John XXIII]] called the Second Vatican Council, at which "the doors of the Church were opened wide" and Protestants were referred to as "our separated brethren".

[[Image:JpII.jpg|right|thumb|John Paul II]]
The [[Anglican Church]] (also called "Episcopal" in the United States and Scotland) represents a special situation because it encompasses within it several factions. "Low Church" emphasizes Protestant worship aspects while "High Church" emphasizes Catholic worship aspects. Anglicans who consider themselves to be "Anglo-Catholics" are usually "High Church," i.e. in favor of Roman Catholic-style vestments, ceremonies, and devotionals. Anglicans who consider themselves to be "Evangelicals" are usually marked by worship services in the "Low Church" style that is liturgical but not nearly as ceremonial, and by Protestant views on salvation, the sacraments, and the supremacy of Scripture over Tradition.

Anglo-Catholics sometimes regard the Anglican churches as being part of the Catholic Church. They may also be called "Anglo-Roman" if they further accept the authority of the Pope, even though he exercises no jurisdiction over their churches. Although all Anglicans believe in the unbroken line of the Apostolic Succession, the Roman Catholic Church has ceased to recognize as valid the Anglican claim thereto.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern branches take a position that could be described as saying that the Anglican Church is almost Catholic. There have long been unification talks between the churches, and Anglican priests who wish to convert to the Catholic Church and receive Catholic Holy Orders are often provided with an abbreviated path to that goal.

The [[Nicene Creed]], the great historical statement of Christian belief, contains the line "I believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church". The [[Apostles' Creed]] contains a similar affirmation. However, Protestants and Catholics place different interpretations on the term "universal", or "catholic". Protestants believe that it refers to the general, overarching spiritual unity of all Christian believers, Jew or gentile, which transcends individual churches and denominations. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that the [[Roman Catholic Church]], as the single true church founded by Christ, is the universal Catholic Church in itself. Some avoid referring to their own church as the "Roman" Catholic Church, on the grounds that such formulations implicitly deny this point of doctrine.

=="Roman Catholic" versus "Catholic"==
[[Image:Malaga catedral.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Cathedral of Malaga, [[Spain]].]]
The term "catholic" (from the Greek ''katholikos'') means "universal", and its roots in ecclesiastical parlance go back to the early years of Christianity. Some Protestants believe that (Roman) Catholics do not have the right to monopolize the term, and so prefix it with the adjective "Roman". Historically speaking, the term "Roman Catholic" was coined in nineteenth-century Britain as a [[euphemism]] to replace insulting terms such as "papist" that had previously been in use. However, Cardinal John Henry Newman states, regarding the early period in which [[Arianism]] was being fought, that "It is more remarkable that the Catholics during this period were denoted by the additional title of Romans. Of this there are many proofs in the histories of St. Gregory of Tours, Victor of Vite, and the Spanish Councils."<ref>Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845; rev. ed. 1878), see ch. 6, sec. 3</ref>

==Sacraments==

The Roman Catholic Church has seven sacraments:
*[[Baptism]]
*[[Confirmation]]
*[[Holy Eucharist]]
*[[Confession|Reconciliation]]
*[[Anointing of the Sick]]
*[[Matrimony]]
*[[Holy Orders]]

An important distinctions between the theology of different Christian denominations is the acceptance or rejection of the seven sacraments. The [[Anglican Church]] recognizes all seven, although it grants Baptism and the Eucharist higher significance than the other five. Other Protestant churches typically recognize only Baptism and the Eucharist, as did Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism.

== See also ==
[[Image:Catholic.jpg|right|Catholic life]]

* [[Roman Catholic Church]]
* [[Anglicanism]]
* [[Protestantism]]
*[[Orthodox Church]]
*[[Aramaic Church]]
*[[Christianity in Conservapedia]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Holy See]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Christianity]]
[[Category:Catholic Church]]

New York Mets

2018-01-26T23:31:28Z

JoeRW: Mets fan here; we won a pennant in 2015 as well

{{MLBTeam
|name=New York Mets
|logo=Mets logo.jpg
|text=#ff5731 
|background=#003581
|location=New York, New York
|year=1962
|colors=orange, blue, white
|mascot=Mr. Met
|champs=2
|website=http://newyorkmets.com
}}
The ''' New York Mets ''' are a [[Major League Baseball]] team in the [[National League]] East Division.

The Shea Stadium is the home of New York Mets, 1964 to present.

'''World Series Titles''': 2 (1969, 1986)

'''National League Pennants''': 5 (1969, 1973, 1986, 2000, 2015)
==Roster==
<nowiki>*Not on active roster</nowiki> 
<nowiki>**Not on 40 man roster</nowiki>
===Pitchers===
*35 - Lance Broadway
*64 - Elmer Dessens
*25 - Pedro Feliciano
*27 - Nelson Figueroa
*50 - Sean Green
*18 - Ryota Igarashi
*33 - John Maine
*76 - Jenrry Mejia
*48 - Pat Misch
*49 - Jonathon Niese
*38 - Fernando Nieve
*34 - Mike Pelfrey
*46 - Oliver Perez
*44 - Tim Redding
*75 - Francisco Rodriguez
*57 - Johan Santana
*47 - Hisanori Takahashi

===Catchers===
*21 - Rod Barajas
*4 - Henry Blanco
*29 - Gustavo Molina

===Infielders===
*1 - Luis Castillo
*13 - Alex Cora
*11 - Anderson Hernandez
*35 - Mike Jacobs
*17 - Fernando Tatis
*79 - Ruben Tejada
*4 - Wilson Valdez
*5 - David Wright

===Outfielders===
*44 - Jason Bay
*27 - Frank Catalanotto
*12 - Jeff Francoeur
*19 - Gary Matthews Jr.
*16 - Angel Pagan
*18 - Jeremy Reed

==Minor League Affiliates==
The minor league affiliates of the Mets are:
*AAA - New Orleans Zephyrs
*AA - Binghamton Mets
*A Adv. - St. Lucie Mets
*A - Savannah Sand Gnats
*SS - Brooklyn Cyclones

==See also==

* [[Cincinnati Reds]]
* [[Colorado Rockies]]
* [[San Francisco Giants]]
* [[Milwaukee Brewers]]

== External links ==
*[http://mets.mlb.com/ Official Team Website]
*[http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nym ESPN - Team News]

{{Nb_sl_mlb_national}}
==Further reading==
* Jackson, Kenneth, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' (1995), [http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-New-York-City/dp/0300055366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240594479&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
[[Category:New York City]]
[[Category:Baseball Teams]]

Indiana

2017-07-02T00:38:31Z

JoeRW: /* Notable people from Indiana */ Updated Mike Pence's description with regard to today

{{USState
|name=Indiana
|flag=Indiana_State_Flag.gif
|motto="The Crossroads of America"
|nick=[[Crossroads of America]]
|capital=Indianapolis
|language=English
|governor=Mike Pence
|gparty=Republican
|senator2=Todd Young
|s2party=Republican
|s2phone=(202) 224-5623
|s2email=http://www.young.senate.gov/content/contact-senator Contact
|senator1=Joe Donnelly
|s1party=Democrat
|s1phone=(202) (202) 224-4814
|s1email=mailto:senator_donnelly@donnelly.senate.gov Contact
|population=
|date=December 11, 1816 (19th)
}}
'''Indiana''' was the nineteenth state to enter the union. Nicknamed "The Hoosier State", is encompasses a geographical area of 36,291 square miles (38th in size among United States), and has a population of 6,195,643, according to a 2003 census. Its capital and largest city is [[Indianapolis]]. Indiana is bordered by [[Ohio]], [[Kentucky]], [[Illinois]], and [[Michigan]].

[[File:IndianaStateCapitol.jpg|thumb|right|Indiana State Capitol]]
Indiana is recognized as the 'Limestone capital of the world' with more [[limestone]] quarried from the state than anywhere else in the world.

==Origin of the word "Hoosier"==
Some believe that the word ''Hoosier'' comes from the popularity of a black preacher named [[Harry Hosier]].<ref>[http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=136 Black History Issue 2005]</ref><ref>[http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/11454/16617 The Origin of the Word "Hoosier": A New Interpretation]</ref>

==Elected Officials==

===Federal===
*Sen. [[Richard Lugar]] (R)
*Sen. [[Todd Young]] (R)
*Rep. [[Pete Visclosky]] [D, IN-1]
*Rep. [[Jackie Warlowski]] [R, IN-02]
*Rep. [[Jim Banks]] [R, IN-03]
*Rep. [[Todd Rokita]] [R, IN-04]
*Rep. [[Susan W. Brooks]] [R, IN-05]
*Rep. [[Luke Messer]] [R, IN-06]
*Rep. [[Andre Carson]] [D, IN-07]
*Rep. [[Larry Bucshon]] [R, IN-08]
*Rep. [[Trey Hollingsworth]] [R, IN-09]

===Statewide===
*Governor [[Mike Pence]] (R)
*Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann
*Attorney General [[Greg Zoeller]] (R)
*Secretary of State Connie Lawson
*State Auditor Dwayne Sawyer
*State Treasurer [[Richard Mourdock]] (R)

==Notable people from Indiana==

* Hoagy Carmichael, Songwriter
* Jim Davis, Creator of Garfield the Cat
* Eugene V Debs, 5-timr Socialist presidential candidate was based in terre Haute
* Orville Redenbacher, [[Popcorn]] Magnate
* Steve McQueen, Actor
* James Dean, Actor
* Karl Malden, Actor
* Kurt Vonnegut, Novelist
* Lew Wallace, Civil War General, Author ( Ben Hur )
* Wendell Willkie, GOP presidential candidate 1940.
* Alfred Kinsey, Sexual behavior researcher was based at Indiana University, Bloomington
*Senator [[Evan Bayh]], also a former governor; he is the son of former Senator Birch Bayh
*[[Astronaut]] Gus Grissom was born in Mitchell.
*Former President [[Benjamin Harrison]] lived in Indianapolis and represented Indiana as a Senator.
*[[William Henry Harrison]], a former President and the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, was the first governor of Indiana territory.
*Singer [[Michael Jackson]] is from Gary.
*David Letterman (host of Late Night and the Late Show) was born in Indianapolis.
*[[Mike Pence]], current [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] (2017-present)
*Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] [[Dan Quayle]] was born in Indianapolis and represented the states in the House and Senate.
*His son, [[Ben Quayle]], is from Fort Wayne.
*Axl Rose, lead singer for Guns N Roses and now, [[AC/DC]] as well
*David Lee Roth, lead singer for Van Halen
*Harland David Sanders (also known as Colonel Sanders), founder of [[Kentucky Fried Chicken]], was born in Henryville.
*Adam Driver, Actor (''Girls'', ''[[Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens|Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]'') grew up in Mishawaka, Indiana and later went to the University of Indianapolis.
*Sasheer Zamata, Actress and Comedian (''[[Saturday Night Live]]'')
*Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple, the cult who committed mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978.
*James Hellwig (later changed name to Warrior), professional wrestler known as the Ultimate Warrior

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://www.in.gov/ Official State of Indiana site]
* [http://www.h-net.org/~indiana/ H-Indiana], a daily e-mail-based discussion list sponsored by the Indiana Historical Society and H-Net, and edited by experts. The list commissionms reviews of newe books and brings together academics, history professionals, activists in local historical societies and anyone interested in the state's history to exchange ideas and foster discussion on Indiana's history and culture. They communicate current research and research interests; discuss new articles, books, papers, methods, and tools of analysis; and announce upcoming conferences and events related to Indiana history. Subscriptions are free, and the complete logs of back issues are available online from its founding in February 1998.

==Bibliography==
===Surveys===
* Boomhower, Ray E.; Jones, Darryl, photog. ''Destination Indiana: Travels through Hoosier History.''2000. 203 pp.
* Gray, Ralph D., comp., ed. ''Indiana History: A Book of Readings.'' 1995. 442 pp. articles by scholars
* Madison, James H. ''The Indiana Way: A State History'' (1990) [http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-Way-State-History/dp/025320609X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643233&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Peckham, Howard H. ''Indiana: A History'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-HISTORY-Howard-H-Peckham/dp/0252071468/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643431&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]
* Reese, William J. ''Hoosier Schools: Past and Present'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Hoosier-Schools-Present-Midwestern-History/dp/0253211549/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643233&sr=1-7 excerpt and text search]
* Rudolph, L. C. ''Hoosier Faiths: A History of Indiana's Churches and Religious Groups.'' 1995. 710 pp.
* Skertic, Mark, and John J. Watkins. ''A Native's Guide to Northwest Indiana'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Natives-Guide-Northwest-Indiana/dp/1893121089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643207&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Taylor, Robert M., Jr. and McBirney, Connie A., ed. ''Peopling Indiana: The Ethnic Experience.'' 1996. 703 pp. covers every major ethnic group
* Taylor, Robert M. ed. ''The State of Indiana History 2000: Papers Presented at the Indiana Historical Society's Grand Opening'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/State-Indiana-History-2000-Historical/dp/0871951533/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643233&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Vanausdall, Jeanette. ''Pride and Protest: The Novel in Indiana.'' 1999. 169 pp.

===Pre 1880===
* Bigham, Darrel E., ed. ''The Indiana Territory, 1800-2000: A Bicentennial Perspective.'' 2001. 196 pp.
* Buley, R. Carlyle.
* Carmony, Donald Francis. ''Indiana, 1816 to 1850: The Pioneer Era'' (1998), 924 pp [http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-1816-1850-Pioneer-History/dp/0871951258/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643157&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search], standard scholarly history
* Cayton, Andrew R. L. ''Frontier Indiana.'' 1996. 340 pp. , standard scholarly history
* Giffin, William W. ''The Irish: Peopling Indiana.'' 2006. 127 pp.
* Kellar, James H. ''Introduction to the Prehistory of Indiana'' (1983) [http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Prehistory-Indiana-James-Kellar/dp/0871950448/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643233&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Mills, Randy K. ''Jonathan Jennings: Indiana's First Governor.'' 2005. 259 pp.
* Simons, Richard S. and Parker, Francis H., ed. ''Railroads of Indiana.'' 1997. 297 pp.
* Stampp, Kenneth M. ''Indiana Politics during the Civil War'' (1949) [http://www.questia.com/read/3782996 online edition]

===Since 1880===
* Barrows, Robert G. ''Albion Fellows Bacon: Indiana's Municipal Housekeeper.'' 2000. 229 pp.
* Fadely, James Philip. ''Thomas Taggart: Public Servant, Political Boss, 1856-1929.'' 1997. 267 pp.
* Madison, James H. ''Indiana through Tradition and Change: A History of the Hoosier State and Its People, 1920-1945'' (1982) [http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-through-Tradition-Change-Historical/dp/0871950421/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196643233&sr=1-10 excerpt and text search], standard scholarly history
* Phillips, Clifton J. ''Indiana in Transition: The Emergence of an Industrial Commonwealth, 1880-1920'' (1968), standard scholarly history
* Rund, Christopher. ''The Indiana Rail Road Company: America's New Regional Railroad.'' 2006. 254 pp.
* Thornbrough, Emma Lou. ''Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century.'' Indiana U. Press, 2000. 287 pp.
* Whitford, Frederick and Martin, Andrew G. ''The Grand Old Man of Purdue University and Indiana Agriculture: A Biography of William Carroll Latta.'' Purdue U. Press, 2005. 385 pp.

===Primary sources===
* Bowen, Otis R. and DuBois, William, Jr. ''Doc: Memories from a Life in Public Service.'' 2000. 232 pp. Bowen was Governor 1972-80
* Streightoff, Frances Doan. ''Indiana: A Social and Economic Survey'' (1916) [http://books.google.com/books?id=PuJCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA252&dq=intitle:social+intitle:survey+date:1900-1923&num=30&as_brr=1#PPA2,M1 full text online]
* Taylor, ed. Robert M. ''Indiana: A New Historical Guide'' (1990), highly detailed guide to citiies and recent history
* WPA Indiana Writer's Project. ''Indiana: A Guide To The Hoosier State: American Guide Series'' (1941), famous WPA Guide to every location; strong on history, architecture and culture; reprinted 1973; [http://www.questia.com/read/99249272 online edition]

{{USstates}}
[[Category:States of the United States]]

Yellow Dog Democrat

2017-07-01T19:34:04Z

JoeRW: Removed the "conservative" description of Yellow Dog Democrats since they were not so conservative like Republicans at the turn of the 20th century, despite being portrayed so by the liberal media and academia

A '''Yellow Dog Democrat''' is a very loyal [[Democrat]]. The phrase originated in the South at the turn of the 20th century. Presumably, a Southern voter "would vote for a mangy yellow dog before he/she would vote for a Republican."<ref>http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly55.htm Capitol Questions, 11/16/00</ref>

==References==
<references />

==See also==
*[[Blue Dog Democrat]]

[[Category:United States Political Terms]]

Populism

2017-05-18T23:38:00Z

JoeRW: Added Trump as another populist figure

'''Populism''' is a political term describing a political agenda which aims to favor the average person over the [[elitism|elite]]. The term can be either negative or positive based on the context. The [[Populist Party]] in the U.S. in the 1890s was a coalition of leftist farmers and workers. In the late 20th century [[Ronald Reagan]] and other [[conservative]]s adopted populist themes, attacking elites, such as federal judges and the [[lamestream media|national media]], as too elitist and too distant from the people, and calling for more power to the people.

New conservative parties in formed Europe in the late 20th century adopting a populist style, often attacking immigrants.<ref>Hans-George Betz, "The New Politics of Resentment: Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe ", ''Comparative Politics,'' Vol. 25, No. 4 (Jul., 1993), pp. 413-427 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/422034 in JSTOR]
Abstract</ref>

Since 1900 famous populist leaders in the U.S. included [[Huey Long]] campaigning from the left in the 1930s, [[George Wallace]] (combining both left and right elements) in the 1968 presidential election, and [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Donald Trump]] from the right in the 1980 and 2016 presidential elections, respectively.

Conservative populism has often been attacked by [[liberal]]s as "radical right," falsely implying that it is somehow beyond the bounds of legitimate debate.

==Bibliography==
* Kazin, Michael. ''The Populist Persuasion: An American History'' (1995), 380pp, the standard history, by a liberal historian
====notes====
<references/>
==See also==
[[Populist Party]]
[[Category:Political Ideologies]]

Supreme Court of the United States

2017-05-18T19:51:26Z

JoeRW: /* Current members */ Updated for the newest justice added to the Supreme Court, under Trump's presidency

[[Image:Supreme Court.jpg|thumb|200px|US Supreme Court Building]]
The '''Supreme Court of the United States''' (SCOTUS) is the highest court of the judiciary of the [[United States of America]]. Between 1800 and 1935, it met primarily in the basement of the United States [[Capitol]] building, then in the Old Senate Chamber, until it moved into its present location at One First Street NE, [[Washington, D.C.]]. [[Alexander Hamilton]] originally described the federal judiciary as the "least dangerous branch" due to the fact that it does not have the power to enforce its rulings, or control the country's [[finance]]s.<ref>http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa78.htm Federalist #78</ref> However, due to [[liberal]] tendencies the Supreme Court has grabbed so much power in the last half-century that it currently exceeds the authority of the other branches of government.

==Structure==
By custom, the Court is composed of eight [[Associate Justice]]s and one [[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]. To assist them there are many clerks, guards, and staff. Cases are heard ''[[en banc]]'' whenever the Court is in session. Historians generally divide Court history into eras named after the Chief Justice then presiding (e.g., the [[Rehnquist Court]] and the [[Warren Court]]).
[[Image:SCOTUS.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Supreme Court of the United States, 2010 Back Row (l-r):Sotomayor, Breyer, Alito, Kagan Front Row(l-r):Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg]]
Justices are appointed by the U.S. [[President]] with the advice and approval of the [[U.S. Senate]], which means that confirmation by a vote of a simple majority of the Senate is required before one can be sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court.

A list of pending cases to be heard on their merits by the Supreme Court, also known as petitions for which [[certiorari]] has been granted, is available on its website.<ref>[http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/07grantednotedlist.pdf Cases pending for the 2007 term]</ref>

==Opinions==
Prior to the [[Marshall Court]], the Court issued [[opinion]]s in ''seriatim''. This means that each Justice wrote his own opinion and delivered it from the bench. Currently, the Court issues one opinion, said to be "the opinion of the Court". Opinions tend to have the history of the case, followed by the Court's reasoning and action. Generally the opinion will be written by a member of the majority, chosen by either the Chief Justice or the most senior Justice in the majority.

When a majority of Justices agrees to the opinion, it is called the [[Majority Opinion|majority opinion]]. Occasionally, a majority of Justices agrees to the [[remedy]], yet a minority of Justices agrees with the main opinion. This is called a [[plurality opinion]].

Justices that disagree with the Court's action can and frequently do write [[dissenting opinion]]s, which state their objections to the ruling. When a Justice agrees with an action, but not the reasoning behind it, he may write a concurring opinion, which states the reasoning he would have used. Such opinions have no bearing on the case at bar, but are often used later in time as justification for legal rulings.

==Conservative and liberal votes==
[[File:Judges-over-time.jpg|thumb|200px|How judges became more conservative (moving up) or liberal (moving down) over time. Click to enlarge.]]

Four of the five most conservative justices to serve on the court since 1937, out of a total of 43 justices, are on the court right now: Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] and Justices [[Antonin Scalia]], [[Clarence Thomas]] and [[Samuel Alito]] The fifth was Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]], whom Chief Justice Roberts replaced in 2005.<ref>see Adam Liptak, "To Nudge, Shift or Shove the Supreme Court Left," [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/weekinreview/01liptak.html?_r=1&hp ''New York Times'' Jan. 31, 2009] Data from a 2008 study by William M. Landes, who teaches law and economics at the University of Chicago, and conservative Judge Richard A. Posner of the federal appeals court.</ref> Looking at votes in divided cases on ideologically charged issues like criminal procedure, civil rights and the First Amendment shows Justice Thomas, the most conservative justice. He voted for the conservative position in those cases 82% of the time. Justice Marshall, the only other African-American to serve on the court, was by this measure the most liberal, voting for the conservative side 21% of the time. Thankfully, Scalia maintained a hard conservative position, consistently opposing liberals and their fruitless court positions.

In ten of the last eleven appointments, the new justice was more conservative than the one replaced.

==Current members==
{|class="wikitable"
!Name!!Date of Accession!!Appointed by!!Title!!General ideology
|-
|[[Anthony Kennedy]]||February 18, 1988|||[[Ronald Reagan]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[moderate]]/swing
|-
|[[Clarence Thomas]]||October 23, 1991|||[[George H. W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]||August 10, 1993|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Stephen Breyer]]||August 3, 1994|||[[Bill Clinton]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[John Roberts]]||September 29, 2005|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Chief Justice of the United States of America|Chief Justice]]|||[[moderate]]/swing
|-
|[[Samuel Alito]]||January 31, 2006|||[[George W. Bush]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[conservative]]
|-
|[[Sonia Sotomayor]]||August 6, 2009|||[[Barack Obama]]|||[[Associate Justice]]|||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Elena Kagan]]||August 7, 2010||[[Barack Obama]]||[[Associate Justice]]||[[liberal]]
|-
|[[Neil Gorsuch]]||April 10, 2017||[[Donald Trump]]||[[Associate Justice]]||[[conservative]]
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[State supreme court]], usually the corresponding court in a [[state court]] system
*[[Supreme Court]] for supreme courts generally
*[[Supreme Court 2011 Term]]
*[[28 U.S.C. § 1254(1)]]
*[[2007 key issues]]
*[[American Trucking Ass'ns v. Scheiner]]
*[[Anderson v. Liberty Lobby]]

==Further reading==
* Hall, Kermit L., ed. ''The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Supreme-United-States/dp/0195176618/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525239&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search], complete text online at many academic libraries.
** Patrick, John J. ed. ''The Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States'' (1994)
* Hall, Kermit L., and James W Ely Jr., eds. ''The Oxford Guide to United State Supreme Court Decisions'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Guide-United-Supreme-Decisions/dp/019537939X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525239&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search], complete text online at many academic libraries.
* Rehnquist, William H. ''The Supreme Court'' (2002), a popular introduction [http://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Court-William-H-Rehnquist/dp/0375708618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525459&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Savage, David G. ''Turning Right: The Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court'' (1993) [http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Right-Making-Rehnquist-Supreme/dp/0471595535/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233525459&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]

{{Supreme Court|jay=y|ellsworth=y|marshall=y|taney=y|chase=y|waite=y|fuller=y|white=y|taft=y|hughes=y|stone=y|vinson=y|warren=y|burger=y|rehnquist=y|roberts=y}}

[[Category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court]]
[[Category:United States Law]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:New Deal]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:United States History]]

Donald Trump achievements

2017-05-04T17:08:34Z

JoeRW: Added a new Trump achievement that just came out today

[[File:Donald Trump official photo.jpg|200px|thumb|Official presidential photo of President Donald Trump]]
[[File:Donald Trump Joint Congressional Session, February 2017.jpg|thumb|200px|President Trump speaking to Congress, February 28, 2017.]]
This article is a non-exhaustive list of '''political achievements (and failures) of United States President [[Donald Trump]]''' (and also [[United States Congress|Congress]]) in passing [[conservative]] legislation, advancing conservative ideals, and "Making America Great Again".

'''''When adding additional examples, please add at least one reliable source for each example for future reference.'''''

==Republican National Convention and 2016 election==
===Primaries and convention===
*''See also: [[2016 U.S. presidential election#Primaries and convention]]''
*The [[National Rifle Association]] strongly endorsed Trump in May 2016 in one of its earliest endorsements ever, before Trump became the official GOP nominee.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/20/nra-to-endorse-trump.html Trump wins NRA endorsement, blasts Clinton on gun stance at forum]. ''Fox News''. May 20, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref><ref>Sherfinski, David (May 20, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/20/nra-endorsing-donald-trump-president/ Donald Trump endorsed by NRA: ‘Fantastic honor’]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref>
*The [[Republican Party]] drafted and approved a very [[conservative]] platform in 2016.<ref>[https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL[1]-ben_1468872234.pdf Republican Platform 2016]. ''GOP.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2017.</ref> Among its many provisions was very strong [[pro-life]] language that recognized 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 March 19, 2017.</ref>

===Historic general election victory===
Not only did Trump experience a major and historic election victory upset, winning states like [[Wisconsin]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Michigan]], that Republicans had not won in years, but they broke other records and won in other levels of government as well.
*''Main article: [[2016 U.S. presidential election#General election results]]''

==Trump Transition==
Despite not even being inaugurated, Trump made several notable accomplishments.

*November 2016 — In an effort to "Drain the Swamp," Trump instituted a 5-year lobbying ban for potential administration picks as well as transition team members.<ref>Restuccia, Andrew; Arnsdorf, Isaac (November 18, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/11/lobbyists-leave-trump-transition-team-ethics-rule-231641 Lobbyists leave Trump transition team after new ethics rule]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref> This is much longer than [[Barack Obama]]'s ban, which was for two years.<ref>Diaz, Daniella (November 17, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/16/politics/lobbying-donald-trump-washington-swamp-transition/ The Trump pledge: No lobbying for 5 years]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref>
*After Trump's election and because of his strong criticism of outsourcing, numerous businesses have specifically backed off from outsourcing jobs to foreign nations, citing Trump as either the reason or a large reason.<ref>Long, Heather (Janaury 3, 2017). [http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/03/news/economy/ford-700-jobs-trump/index.html Ford cancels Mexico plant. Will create 700 U.S. jobs in 'vote of confidence' in Trump]. ''CNN Money''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/30/trump-effect-after-carrier-pledge-to-keep-jobs-in-us-more-companies-may-follow.html The Trump Effect? After Carrier pledge to keep jobs in US, more companies may follow]. ''Fox News''. November 30, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref><ref>Noguchi, Yuki (January 3, 2017). [http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/03/508078574/trump-has-gotten-action-so-far-by-shaming-firms-that-export-jobs Shaming Firms That Export Jobs Has Worked For Trump So Far]. ''NPR''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref>
*:{{jobs leaving America}}
*Trump picked [[Cabinet of Donald Trump|the most conservative cabinet]], at least in recent U.S. history.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Bierman | first1=Noah | last2=Halper | first2=Evan | title=Trump's Cabinet Picks are Among the Most Conservative in History. What that Means for His Campaign Promises | url=http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-cabinet-conservative-20161209-story.html | date=December 15, 2016 | publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' | accessdate=December 15, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Restuccia | first1=Andrew | last2=Cook | first2=Nancy | last3=Woellert | first3=Lorraine | title=Trump's Conservative Dream Team | url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/trump-conservative-dream-team-231972 | date=November 30, 2016 | publisher=[[Politico]] | accessdate=November 30, 2016}}</ref> In addition, rather than picking [[establishment]] Washington [[RINOs]] with worthless governmental experience in [[Washington, D.C.|the capital city]], Trump chose an unorthodox cabinet of true conservatives, small-government proponents, and outsiders.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Stanage | first1=Niall | title=Trump's Unorthodox Cabinet | url=http://www.thehill.com/homenews/administration/310489-trumps-unorthodox-cabinet | date=December 15, 2016 | publisher=''[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]'' | accessdate=December 15, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/2016/12/28/506299885/how-the-donald-trump-cabinet-stacks-up-in-3-charts|title=How The Donald Trump Cabinet Stacks Up, In 3 Charts|author=Danielle Kurtzleben|date=December 28, 2016|work=[[NPR]]|accessdate=December 28, 2016}}</ref> Additionally, Trump nominated [[David Friedman]]—one of the most pro-[[Israel]] figures in the entire world—as U.S. ambassador to Israel (which other Republicans likely would not have done),<ref>Maltz, Judy (December 16, 2016). [http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/u-s-election-2016/.premium-1.752378 What Do We Know About David Friedman, Trump’s Pick for Ambassador to Israel?]. ''Haaretz''. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Lederman, Josh (December 26, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/26/trumps-pick-for-ambassador-to-israel-has-all-sides/ David Friedman, Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel, has all sides on edge]. ''The Washington Times'' (from the Associated Press). Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref> and he ordered all of Obama's [[ambassador]]s to leave by Inauguration Day.<ref>Hickey, Jennifer G. (January 6, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/06/trump-tells-obamas-ambassadors-to-leave-by-inauguration-day.html Trump tells Obama's ambassadors to leave by Inauguration Day]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Taylor, Kristinn (January 5, 2017). [http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/01/trump-fires-obama-politically-appointed-ambassadors-effective-inauguration-day/ Trump Fires All Obama Politically Appointed Ambassadors Effective Inauguration Day]. ''The Gateway Pundit''. Retrieved january 6, 2017.</ref> (the Senate confirmed all of Trump cabinet picks,<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/27/senate-confirms-alexander-acosta-to-head-labor-department.html Senate confirms Alexander Acosta to head Labor Department]. ''Fox News''. April 27, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref> as well as Friedman as Ambassador<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/23/senate-confirms-trumps-choice-for-us-ambassador-to-israel.html Senate confirms Trump's choice for US ambassador to Israel]. ''Fox News'' (from the ''Associated Press''). March 23, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref>)
*December 2016 — In foreign policy, even before being inaugurated, Trump broke decades of [[leftist]] policy instituted by liberal [[Jimmy Carter]] by answering a phone call from the president of [[Taiwan]], which showed he is able to stand up to the [[China|"People's" "Republic" of China]].<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442824/ Donald Trump’s Taiwan Call: An Opportunity, Not a Crisis]. ''National Review''. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref><ref>Collinson, Stephen; Gaouette, Nicole; Labott, Elise; Smith-Spark, Laura (December 3, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/politics/donald-trump-taiwan/ China lodges complaint over Trump-Taiwan call]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref>
*December 2016/January 2017 — Trump criticized [[Boeing]] and [[Lockheed Martin]] for selling the U.S. overpriced weaponry (including the failed [[F-35 Lightning II]] program), and he criticized Boeing for planning an extremely overpriced new [[Air Force One]].<ref>Scarborough, Rowan (January 3, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/3/donald-trump-blasts-boeing-lockheed-martin-for-ove/ Trump blasts defense contracting titans for overpriced]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref> After criticizing Boeing over Air Force One and meeting with its executives, the company's CEO assured Trump that the new plane would not be over budget.<ref>Reilly, Katie (December 22, 2016). [http://fortune.com/2016/12/21/boeing-ceo-air-force-one-donald-trump/ Boeing CEO Says He Assured Donald Trump New Air Force One Will Cost Less Than $4B]. ''Fortune''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref>
*January 2017 — Trump stopped the GOP-controlled House from changing the House Ethics Oversight panel rules after tweeting against the change.<ref>Spiering, Charlie (January 3, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/03/house-republicans-humiliated-reverse-plans-gut-house-ethics-oversight/ House Republicans Humiliated; Reverse Plans to Gut House Ethics Oversight]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 7, 2017.</ref> While the panel does have problems that the proposed change would address and many [[fake news|fake MSM news]] surrounding it,<ref>Pollak, John B. (January 3, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/01/03/fake-news-office-congressional-ethics/ Fake News About the Office of Congressional Ethics]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 7, 2017.</ref> Trump reminded the House to focus first on helping the American people rather than themselves.
*Due to Trump's election, U.S. generals in [[Iraq]] fighting the [[Islamic State]] began taking greater freedom to conduct operations in the way they saw fit.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/20/us-troops-in-iraq-operating-closer-to-front-lines.html US troops in Iraq operating closer to front lines]. ''Fox News''. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.</ref>

==As U.S. President==
[[File:Donald Trumpswearing in.jpg|thumb|200px|Trump being sworn in, January 20, 2017.]]
Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017, giving one of the strongest inauguration addresses in American history.<ref>Boyle, Matthew (January 20, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/20/america-first-president-donald-trump-brings-the-rain-in-inauguration-address/ ‘America First’: President Donald Trump Brings the Rain in Inauguration Address]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref>McCaskill, Nolan D. (January 20, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/key-points-of-trumps-inaugural-speech-233900 Key moments from Trump's inauguration speech]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref name="MostAmerican">Scott, Patrick; Midgley, Robert (January 20, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/donald-trump-just-delivered-american-inauguration-speech-ever/ Donald Trump just delivered the most 'American' inauguration speech ever]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> His first bill signed as president was to allow retired general and Defense Secretary nominee [[James Mattis]] to be confirmed.<ref>Kopan, Tal (January 20, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/donald-trump-first-law-actions/ President Donald Trump signs first bill into law]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> Trump had a very busy and productive first week, undoing Obama's legacy and instituting conservative executive orders.<ref>Davenport, David (January 27, 2017). [http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddavenport/2017/01/27/how-trump-managed-to-undo-obamas-legacy-in-one-week/#3ae6bcba5bbf How Trump Managed To Undo Obama's Legacy In One Week]. ''Forbes''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Said-Moorhouse, Lauren (January 26, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/executive-orders-presidents-actions-presidential-memoranda/ What's Trump done so far? His productive first week and how it stacks up to previous presidents]. ''CNN''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/28/president-trumps-first-week-action President Trump's First Week of Action]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.</ref> He had already made a reasonably large impact by his 50th day in office.<ref>Kew, Ben (March 10, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/10/major-impact-president-donald-trumps-first-50-days-in-office/ Major Impact: President Donald Trump’s First 50 Days in Office]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 10, 2017.</ref>

President Trump accomplished many of his campaign promises by his [[First 100 days|100th day in office]] and he had already made a large impact by then, most notably by reducing regulations, enforcing American immigration laws, and appointing and having the Senate confirm his Supreme Court nominee [[Neil Gorsuch]].<ref>Kew, Ben (April 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/28/making-america-great-again-donald-trumps-100-day-success/ Making America Great Again: Donald Trump’s 100 Days’ Success]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref><ref>Wise, Lindsay (April 27, 2017). [http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article146867634.html Think Trump didn’t achieve much in his first 100 days? Think again.] ''The Sacramento Bee''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref><ref>Singman, Brooke (April 29, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/29/trumps-first-100-days-did-keep-his-promises.html Trump's first 100 days: Did he keep his promises?] ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref> In his 100 days as president, Trump signed the most pieces of legislation of any president since [[Harry Truman]] and more executive orders than any previous president.<ref>Singman, Brooke (April 29, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/29/trumps-first-100-days-by-numbers.html Trump's first 100 days – by the numbers]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref> By his 100th day, it was clear that Trump had disrupted the liberal political [[establishment]] consensus.<ref>Derespina, Cody (April 29, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/29/100-days-disruption-how-trump-rewrote-presidential-script.html 100 Days of Disruption: How Trump rewrote the presidential script]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref> Additionally, a poll taken shortly before the 100th day of Trump's presidency indicated that 96% of his supporters would have voted for him again had an election been held that day.<ref>Pollak, Joel B. (April 23, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/california/2017/04/23/poll-trump-supporters-popular-vote-96/ Poll: 96% of Trump Supporters Would Vote for Him Again, Win Popular Vote]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 24, 2017.</ref>

Due to his promotion and support of conservative, America First<ref>Spiering, Charlie (April 4, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/04/donald-trump-to-american-workers-im-not-and-i-dont-want-to-be-the-president-of-the-world/ Donald Trump to American Workers: ‘I’m Not, and I Don’t Want to Be, the President of the World’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 5, 2017.</ref> policies, President Trump faced large opposition from the left and the [[establishment]],<ref>Klein, Aaron (April 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/28/trumps-first-100-days-establishment-goes-to-war-to-halt-presidents-agenda/ Trump’s First 100 Days: Establishment Goes to War to Halt President’s Agenda]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref> including from within the government bureaucracy.<ref>Singman, Brooke (January 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/trump-faces-bureaucratic-battle-in-implementing-agenda.html Trump faces bureaucratic battle in implementing agenda]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Kurtz, Howard (February 3, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/empire-strikes-back-why-trumps-private-talks-with-foreign-leaders-were-leaked.html The empire strikes back: Why Trump's private talks with foreign leaders were leaked]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref> (The fact that members of the [[Deep State]] have grown visibly scared of reports stating such confirms this view.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/03/22/politico-obama-admin-bureaucrats-panicked-by-breitbart-spotlight-dont-question-our-loyalty/ POLITICO: Obama Admin Bureaucrats ‘Panicked’ by Breitbart Spotlight: Don’t Question Our Loyalty!] ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 22, 2017.</ref>) As a testament to the deep opposition and hatred towards him by the left-wing, at least 217 violent protestors were arrested in Washington D.C. on Inauguration Day.<ref>Weber, Joseph (January 20, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/20/trump-supporters-protesters-rally-before-sunrise-on-inauguration-day.html Hundreds of protesters arrested in Inauguration Day clashes]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Noble, Andrea; McDermott, Ryan M. (January 20, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/20/donald-trump-inauguration-protests-begin-turn-viol/ D.C. police report 217 arrested during Inauguration Day riots]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref> Additionally, Senate Democrats unduly delayed Trump's cabinet nominees at historic and unprecedented proportions—by February 8, 2017, only [[George Washington]] had fewer cabinet nominees confirmed by this length of time into his presidency.<ref>Singman, Brooke (February 8, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/08/trump-facing-historic-delays-in-confirmation-push.html Trump facing historic delays in confirmation push]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 8, 2017.</ref> Trump's last cabinet secretary was confirmed on April 27, 2017.<ref>Kellman, Laurie (April 27, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/27/alex-acosta-trumps-secretary-labor-confirmed/ Senate confirms last member of Trump cabinet at 100th day in office nears]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref> As in the 2016 presidential election, the [[mainstream media]] strongly opposed Trump and wrote him off as a failure early in his presidency, despite his numerous accomplishments by that time.<ref>Kurtz, Howard (April 3, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/03/media-score-triple-bogey-presidency-but-trump-is-just-getting-started.html Media score a triple-bogey presidency, but Trump is just getting started]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 3, 2017.</ref> As evidence of this intense MSM opposition, a study published close to the 100th-day mark of Trump's presidency showed that 89% of media coverage regarding Trump was negative.<ref name="89%negative">
* Harper, Jennifer (April 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/19/donald-trump-media-coverage-is-89-percent-negative/ As first 100 days in office approaches, media coverage of Trump is 89% negative: Study]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
* Noyes, Rich; Ciandella, Mike (April 19, 2017). [http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2017/04/18/honeymoon-hell-liberal-media-vs-president-trump Honeymoon from Hell: The Liberal Media vs. President Trump]. ''NewsBusters -- Media Research Center''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>

Despite opposition to Trump from the Left, Congressional Republicans were more united during Trump's presidency than in any other time in recent U.S. political history.<ref>Stucky, Phillip (April 2, 2017). [http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/02/trump-smashes-records-with-party-unity/ Trump Smashes Records With Party Unity]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref>

===Social policy===
====Legislation signed====
*March 27, 2017—One of the four [[Congressional Review]] bills that Trump signed into law that day repealed Obama's ''Blacklisting Rule'', which would have required firms contracted by federal agencies to release every claim of unfair labor practices concerning them – something which would have given unionized contractors an upper-hand. On the same day, President Trump signed an executive order repealing the contracting rule.<ref name="ContractingRepeal">
*McMorris, Bill (March 27, 2017). [http://freebeacon.com/issues/trump-ends-obama-contracting-rule/ Trump Ends Obama Contracting Rule]. ''The Washington Free Beacon''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
*Devaney, Tim (March 27, 2017). [http://thehill.com/regulation/325963-trump-repeals-blacklisting-rule Trump repeals 'blacklisting rule']. ''The Hill''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
*Brenner, Guy; Weinstein, Alex C. (March 29, 2017). [http://www.natlawreview.com/article/breaking-blacklisting-rule-officially-and-completely-dead BREAKING: Blacklisting Rule Is Officially and Completely Dead]. ''The National Law Review''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
*[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/27/presidential-executive-order-revocation-federal-contracting-executive Presidential Executive Order on the Revocation of Federal Contracting Executive Orders]. ''whitehouse.gov''. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.</ref>
*April 19, 2017—President Trump signed an extension of the Veterans Choice Act of 2014, which allowed veterans to seek medical care outside the VA system due to serious VA problems.<ref>Boyer, Dave (April 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/19/donald-trump-signs-extension-veterans-choice-healt/ Trump turns focus to veterans, signs extension for choice in health care]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 19, 2017.</ref><ref>Westwood, Sarah (April 19, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-signs-bill-allowing-veterans-to-seek-care-outside-broken-va-system/article/2620659 Trump signs bill allowing veterans to seek care outside broken VA system]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 19, 2017.</ref>

====Executive actions====
*January 20, 2017—On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that would lessen [[Obamacare]]'s burden while Republicans work to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.<ref>Fabian, Jordan (January 20, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315414-trump-signs-obamacare-executive-order Trump signs ObamaCare executive order]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref><ref>Chamberlain, Samuel (January 20, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/20/trump-orders-regulatory-freeze-directs-agencies-to-ease-burden-obamacare.html In first executive order, Trump tells agencies to ease ObamaCare burden]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref>
*February 2017—Attorney General [[Jeff Sessions]] rescinded an Obama Administration memo that directed the Bureau of Prisons to begin phasing out private prisons.<ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (March 16, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/16/trump-administration-reversal-on-private-prison-use-faces-pitfalls.html Trump administration reversal on private prison use faces pitfalls]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref>
*February 9, 2017—President Trump signed three executive orders pertaining to law enforcement. The first cracked down and strengthens the law against international crime organizations, the second deals with anti-law enforcement crimes, and third with finding a strategy for reducing crime in general, "including, in particular, illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and violent crime."<ref>Fabian, Jordan (February 9, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/318693-trump-signs-executive-actions-targeting-crime Trump signs executive actions aimed at crime crackdown]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref>
*February 22, 2017—President Trump rescinded former President Obama's pro-[[transgender]] guidelines for schools receiving federal aid that are subject to [[Title IX]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/22/trump-administration-revokes-obama-era-transgender-bathroom-guidance-for-schools.html Trump administration revokes Obama-era transgender bathroom guidance for schools]. ''Fox News''. February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.</ref> A day earlier, the Trump Administration announced it would discontinue Obama's pro-transgender policies.<ref>Munro, Neil (February 21, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2017/02/21/trump-junks-obama-transgender-policy/ Donald Trump Junks Barack Obama’s Pro-Transgender Policies]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved February 21, 2017.</ref>
*March 27, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order repealing Obama-era requirements for federal contractors, along with signing a bill that day on the same topic.<ref name="ContractingRepeal"/>
*April 3, 2017—Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered the Department of Justice to review Obama's agreements with local police departments. Sessions made this order to give back local control to police departments.<ref>
* Chakraborty, Barnini (April 4, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/04/sessions-tells-doj-to-revisit-obama-era-agreements-with-local-police-departments.html Sessions tells DOJ to revisit Obama-era agreements with local police departments]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
* Starr, Penny (April 4, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/04/ag-sessions-orders-review-of-doj-police-conduct-investigations-restore-respect-local-control/ AG Sessions Orders Review of DOJ Police Conduct Investigations — Restore, Respect Local Control]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.</ref>
*April 14, 2017—President Trump appointed Roger Severino, a strong defender of [[religious liberty]], to the HHS Office for Civil Rights.<ref>Berry, Susan (April 14, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/14/trump-appoints-religious-liberty-defender-roger-severino-head-hhs-office-civil-rights/ Trump Appoints Religious Liberty Defender Roger Severino to Head HHS Office for Civil Rights]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref><ref>LaBarbera, Peter (April 11, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-picks-pro-life-conservative-to-lead-civil-rights-department-at-hhs Trump picks pro-life conservative to lead HHS civil rights office]. ''Life Site News''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref>
*April 14, 2017—The Justice Department dropped its lawsuit against North Carolina that alleged discrimination with its "bathroom bill" (filed under the Obama Administration) after a compromise bill was passed. Homosexual activists still opposed the new bill.<ref>Noble, Andrea (April 14, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/14/justice-dept-drops-north-carolina-bathroom-bill-su/ Justice Dept. drops ‘bathroom bill’ suit against North Carolina after HB2 repeal]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 15, 2017.</ref>
*Although receiving little reporting from the [[mainstream media]], the Justice Department established a policy in April 2017 against [[female genital mutilation]], which is practiced among many Muslims.<ref>Munro, Neil (April 19, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/18/media-ignores-imported-female-genital-mutilation/ Establishment Media Hides Trump’s New Policy to Stop ‘Genital Mutilation’ of American Girls]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 19, 2017.</ref>
*April 27, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order creating an office in the [[Department of Veterans Affairs]] to investigate obstacles preventing the VA from firing incompetent employees, and to protect those who reveal cases of incompetency in the department.<ref>Wong, Kristina (April 27, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/27/trump-signs-executive-order-to-hold-va-employees-accountable/ Trump Signs Executive Order to Hold VA Employees Accountable]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref>
*May 4, 2017 —On the annual National Day of Prayer at the Rose Garden, President Trump signed an executive order on religious liberty by loosening IRS restrictions against political activities by tax-exempt religious organizations, effectively weakening the [[Johnson Amendment]]. In issuing this order, Trump stressed the importance of religious freedom within the [[First Amendment]] and asserted that the faithful should "not be targeted, bullied, or silenced again". This came about following the emergence of more than 50 lawsuits by religious groups against the Obama administration for religious discrimination, especially the Little Sisters of the Poor.<ref>Starnes, Todd (May 4, 2017). "Townhall". Retrieved May 4, 2017. [https://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2017/05/04/trump-we-will-not-allow-people-of-faith-to-be-bullied-n2322358].</ref>

===Abortion===
President Trump kept his [[pro-life]] promises during his first 100 days of his presidency and made several considerable achievements during that time.<ref name="KeepProLife">Berry, Susan (April 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/24/trump-pence-keeping-pro-life-promises-first-100-days/ Trump and Pence Keeping Pro-Life Promises in First 100 Days]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 24, 2017.</ref>

====Legislation signed====
*April 13, 2017—President Trump signed a [[Congressional Review]] bill into law annulling a recent Obama Administration regulation that would have prohibited states from discriminating in awarding Title X family planning funds based on whether the local clinic also performs abortions (some states adopted rules which distribute federal family planning funds on the condition that the organizations do not perform abortions).<ref>
* Berry, Susan (April 13, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/13/trump-signs-resolution-overturning-obama-planned-parenthood-state-funding-mandate/ Trump Signs Resolution Overturning Obama Planned Parenthood State Funding Mandate]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
* Leonard, Kimberly (April 13, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-signs-bill-allowing-states-to-strip-funding-from-planned-parenthood/article/2620213 Trump signs bill allowing states to strip funding from Planned Parenthood]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
* Hellmann, Jessie (April 13, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/328674-trump-signs-bill-targeting-planned-parenthood-funding Trump signs bill targeting funding for abortion providers]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref> The Act was "the first major national pro-life bill in more than a decade."<ref>Dinan, Stephen (April 13, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/13/donald-trump-gives-states-power-cut-planned-parent/ Trump gives states power to cut off Planned Parenthood money]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref>

====Executive actions====
*January 23, 2017—President Trump signed an order reinstating the [[Mexico City Policy]], which defunded International Planned Parenthood and other organizations that promote foreign abortions.<ref>LaBarbera, Peter (January 23, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-trump-signs-order-defunding-international-planned-parenthood-forei BREAKING: Trump signs order defunding International Planned Parenthood, foreign abortions]. ''LifeSite News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref><ref>Hellman, Jessie (January 23, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/abortion/315652-trump-signs-executive-order-reinstating-global-gag-rule-on Trump reinstates ban on US funds promoting abortion overseas]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> However, unlike previous administrations, the Trump Administration expanded the policy to include all global health assistance funding.<ref name="KeepProLife"/>
*April 4, 2017—The Trump Administration halted U.S. funding of the [[United Nations]] Population Fund, which has links to inhumane abortion programs such as [[China]]'s [[one-child policy]]. Instead, the $32.5 million was shifted to the U.S. Agency for International Development.<ref>Berry, Susan, Dr. (April 4, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/04/trump-halts-u-s-funding-united-nations-population-fund/ Trump Halts U.S. Funding of United Nations Population Fund]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.</ref>
*April 28, 2017—President Trump appointed Dr. Charmaine Yoest, a strong pro-life advocate and the former president of [[Americans United for Life]], to the position of assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services.<ref>Berry, Susan (April 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/28/pro-life-advocate-appointed-assistant-secretary-hhs-public-affairs/ Donald Trump Appoints Pro-Life Advocate as Assistant Secretary of HHS for Public Affairs]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref>

===Gun politics===
====Legislation signed====
*February 28, 2017—President Trump signed a bill into law (Public Law 115-8)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/legislation/hjres-40-joint-resolution-providing-congressional-disapproval-under-chapter-8-title-5|title=Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Social Security Administration relating to Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.|work=White House|date=February 28,2017|accessdate=April 11, 2017}}</ref> repealing a Social Security Administration rule adding mental disability determinations to the background check registry, subject to a person applying to be removed from the list.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/19/2016-30407/implementation-of-the-nics-improvement-amendments-act-of-2007|title=Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007|work=Federal Register|date=December 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name=wt>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/15/senate-votes-undo-obama-administration-gun-rule/ |title=Senate votes to repeal Obama’s ban on gun sales for certain Social Security recipients|date=February 15, 2017 |work=Washington Times|accessdate=April 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>
* Hawkins, Awr (February 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/28/report-trump-signs-repeal-of-obamas-social-security-gun-ban/ Report: Trump Signs Repeal of Obama’s Social Security Gun Ban]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
* Korte, Gregory (February 28, 2017). [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/28/trump-sign-bill-blocking-obama-gun-rule/98484106/ Trump signs bill reversing Obama rule to ban gun purchases by mentally ill]. ''USA Today''. Retrieved March 4, 2017.</ref> Congress had passed a law requiring federal agencies to search their records for people who were "mentally defective", and the Social Security Administration had published their method of gathering names on December 16, 2016. The regulation would have added the names of disability beneficiaries who have a mental illness or are not competent to manage their own finances, potentially leading to the removal of Second Amendment rights to many perfectly competent, mentally healthy citizens.<ref name=wt/><ref>Hawkins, Awr (April 10, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/10/politico-trump-repealed-social-security-gun-ban-behind-closed-doors-hide-benefits-severely-mentally-ill/ Politico: Trump Repealed Social Security Gun Ban Behind Closed Doors to Hide Benefits for ‘Severely Mentally Ill’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 10, 2017.</ref> By signing the resolution of disapproval, as with other CRA acts, the Social Security Administration cannot come up with different criteria for supplying names to the background check registry for 10 years.

====Executive actions====
*Starting early in his presidency, the Trump Administration has undone Obama-era executive branch gun regulations.<ref>Hawkins, Awr (April 14, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/14/president-trump-quietly-rolling-back-obama-era-gun-controls/ President Trump Quietly Rolling Back Obama-Era Gun Controls]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 15, 2017.</ref>

===Immigration, illegal immigration, and border security===
There was a large change in the Trump Administration, particularly in the Justice Department,<ref>Mason, Ian (April 27, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/27/new-sheriff-town-first-100-days-sessions-doj/ New Sheriff in Town: The First 100 Days at the Sessions DOJ]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Noble, Andrea (April 27, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/27/jeff-sessions-lays-justice-foundation-in-difficult/ Sessions helps stabilize volatile Justice Department in first 100 days]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref> concerning immigration policy, compared to the Obama Administration.<ref>Llorente, Elizabeth (April 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/17/sessions-immigration-policies-mark-big-change-from-obama-policies.html Sessions' immigration policies mark big change from Obama policies]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref> It was reported early in Trump's presidency that immigration hardliners had become influential in the Trump Administration.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/24/nyt-immigration-reformers-rising-trump-administration/ NYT: Immigration Hard-Liners Rising in Trump Administration]. ''Breitbart News''. April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.</ref>

According to data released early in Trump's presidency, illegal border crossings decreased by 40% in the first month of Trump's presidency – a remarkable achievement, considering that illegal immigration usually increases by 10 to 20% in January and February.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/09/illegal-border-crossings-decrease-by-40-percent-in-trumps-first-month-report-says.html Illegal border crossings decrease by 40 percent in Trump's first month, report says]. ''Fox News''. March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/news/illegal-border-crossings-from-mexico-down-40/ Illegal border crossings from Mexico down 40%]. ''Breitbart News''. March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref> In March, illegal immigration had fallen by over 60%.<ref>
* [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/06/u-s-illegal-immigration-plunges-trump-crackdown/ U.S. Illegal Immigration Plunges on Trump Crackdown]. ''Breitbart News''. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
* [https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/05/statement-press-secretary-decline-southwest-border-apprehensions Statement from the Press Secretary on the Decline in Southwest Border Apprehensions]. ''whitehouse.gov''. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
* Churchwell, Logan (April 4, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/04/illegal-immigration-fell-67-percent-trump-says-fmr-border-chief/ Illegal Immigration Fell 67 Percent under Trump, Says Fmr. Border Chief]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 5, 2017.</ref> By Trump's 100th day in office, levels had falled by 73%.<ref>Nolan, Lucas (April 29, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/29/trump-illegal-immigration-down-by-unprecedented-73/ Trump: ‘Illegal Immigration Down by Unprecedented 73%’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref><ref name="PFtrue">Valverde, Miriam (April 25, 2017). [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/apr/25/donald-trump/illegal-immigration-lowest-17-years-trump-said/ Is illegal immigration the lowest in 17 years, as Trump said?] ''PolitiFact''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref> It was reported in April that illegal immigration levels had fallen to the lowest point in 17 years.<ref name="PFtrue"/><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/10/l-times-southwest-border-crossings-lowest-point-least-17-years/ L.A. Times: Southwest Border Crossings at ‘Lowest Point in at Least 17 Years’]. ''Breitbart News''. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.</ref> In six months, the illegal immigration of Haitians, specifically, into the U.S. declined by 97%.<ref>Dinan, Stephen (April 16, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/16/haitians-at-border-down-as-trump-crackdown-news-sp/ Haitians get word of Trump crackdown, slow flow to border by 97%]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.</ref> Illegal immigration dropped so much that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was able to close on of their temporary holding facilities.<ref>Price, Bob (February 15, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/02/15/migrant-detention-center-closes-drop-border-crossings/ Drop in Trump Era Border Crossings Shutters Detention Center]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref> This drop was probably due to the [[Trump effect]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/30/sessions-border-crossings-down-60-percent-due-to-trumps-strong-leadership.html Sessions: Border crossings down 60 percent due to 'Trump's strong leadership']. ''Fox News''. March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Brown, Ben (April 12, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/04/12/border-patrol-union-president-illegal-immigration-decline-strictly-due-to-trump.html Border Patrol Union President: Illegal Immigration Decline ‘Strictly’ Due to Trump]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.</ref>

President Trump worked to eliminate Obama's legacy of giving privileges to illegal immigrants in detention centers.<ref>Price, Bob (April 14, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/14/trump-kelly-dismantle-obamas-progress-illegal-immigrants/ Trump and Kelly ‘Dismantle’ Obama’s ‘Progress’ for Illegal Immigrants]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref> At the same time, the Trump Administration expanded immigration enforcement efforts, such as through building additional detention centers.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/15/trump-administrations-first-immigrant-detention-center-goes-texas/ Trump Administration’s First Immigrant Detention Center Goes Up in Texas]. ''Breitbart News''. April 15, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.</ref>

====Legislation signed====

====Executive actions====
[[File:Donald Trump refugee order, Jan 27, 2017.jpg|thumb|200px|Trump signing his Jan. 27, 2017 order regarding refugees and travel from high-risk countries.]]
[[File:Donald Trump "Muslim ban".png|thumb|200px|Countries affected by Trump's Jan. 27, 2017 travel ban.]]
*January 25, 2017—Trump signed two executive orders. The first one included ordering the "immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border," the hiring of 5,000 additional border control agents, and ending "catch-and-release" policies for illegal immigrants. The second order called for hiring an additional 10,000 federal immigration officers, re-establishing the Secure Communities Program and other local partnerships, making the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants a priority, directing the State Department to use leverage to ensure countries-of-origin take back illegal immigrants, and stripping federal grant money from [[Sanctuary City (Immigration)|sanctuary cities and states]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/25/trump-orders-construction-border-wall-targets-sanctuary-cities.html Trump orders construction of border wall, targets sanctuary cities]. ''Fox News''. January 25, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref><ref>Schultheis, Emily (January 25, 2017). [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-immigration-executive-order-wall/ Trump signs immigration executive orders at visit to DHS]. ''CBS News''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref>
*January 27, 2017—Trump signed an executive order indefinitely banning the admission of [[Syria]]n refugees, suspending the overall refugee program for 120 days, suspending entry and the issuing of visas from seven failed Middle Eastern countries<ref>Hayward, John (January 30, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/01/30/7-nations-named-trump-executive-order-security-nightmares/ Corruption, Terrorism, and Genocide: The 7 Nations Covered by Trump Executive Order]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.</ref> for at least 90 days, and reducing the number of refugees allowed into the nation during the fiscal year from 110,000 to 50,000.<ref>Toosi, Nahal (January 27, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-executive-order-immigration-vetting-terrorists-234290 Trump bars Syrian refugees, halts entry of citizens from some Muslim states]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Paletta, Damian; Sonne, Paul; Schwartz, Felicia (January 27, 2017). [http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-is-signing-executive-orders-on-military-rebuilding-immigration-vetting-1485554165 Donald Trump Signs Actions Banning Syrians, Suspending Refugee Program]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/27/executive-order-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-states EXECUTIVE ORDER: PROTECTING THE NATION FROM FOREIGN TERRORIST ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 27, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref> Additionally, Trump made clear that he would help [[Christian]] refugees, a reversal from the Obama Administration.<ref>Hayward, John (January 27, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/01/27/trump-will-give-persecuted-christians-priority-refugee-status/ Trump: Christian Refugees ‘Horribly Treated,’ ‘We Are Going to Help Them’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref> Despite criticism from leftists and non-conservatives, 49 percent of the American public supported the decision compared to 41 percent opposed, according to the "mainstream" Reuters,<ref>Kahn, Chris (January 31, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-poll-exclusive-idUSKBN15F2MG Exclusive: Only a third of Americans think Trump's travel ban will make them more safe]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> and 57% percent of likely American voters supported the ban according to Rasmussen.<ref>[http://m.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/january_2017/most_support_temporary_ban_on_newcomers_from_terrorist_havens Most Support Temporary Ban on Newcomers from Terrorist Havens].'' January 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref> Additionally, while the leftist [[establishment]] European leaders opposed the ban, a strong majority—55% average—of Europeans supported the ban, according to a poll in 10 [[European Union]] nations.<ref>Shaw, Adam (February 9, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/09/majority-europeans-in-favor-trump-style-muslim-ban-poll-shows.html Majority of Europeans in favor of a Trump-style Muslim ban, poll shows]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref><ref>Jamieson, Alastair (February 8, 2017). [http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/europes-border-crisis/majority-leading-eu-nations-support-trump-style-travel-ban-poll-n718271 Majority in Leading EU Nations Support Trump-Style Travel Ban: Poll]. ''NBC News''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref>
*March 6, 2017—President Trump signed a second executive order concerning the temporary suspension of refugees and others from certain high-risk countries after the first one was blocked by the courts. The second order made some clarifications and minor improvements over the first, such as exempting green card holders from the ban and excluding [[Iraq]] from it as it had developed an acceptable vetting process.<ref>Munro, Neil (March 6, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/06/trump-new-refugees-executive-pushes-back-judges/ Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Travel from Six Terror-Tied Countries]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (March 6, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/06/trump-signs-new-immigration-order-narrows-scope-travel-ban.html Trump signs new immigration order, narrows scope of travel ban]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 6, 2017.</ref>
*On March 31, 2017, after talking tough against [[Sanctuary City (Immigration)|"sanctuary cities"]] and illegal immigration, [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Jeff Sessions]] announced a plan to speed up the deportation of imprisoned illegals.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/30/sessions-seeks-to-speed-up-deportation-illegal-immigrants-in-federal-facilities.html Sessions seeks to speed up deportation of illegal immigrants in federal facilities]. ''Fox News''. March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Kew, Ben (March 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/31/ag-jeff-sessions-unveils-program-to-accelerate-deportation-of-imprisoned-illegals/ AG Jeff Sessions Unveils Program to Accelerate Deportation of Imprisoned Illegals]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref> On April 11, 2017, Sessions issued a memorandum to U.S. attorneys, instructing them to enforce much stricter guidelines against immigration crimes,<ref>Mason, Ian (April 11, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2017/04/11/crackdown-ag-sessions-vows-new-era-at-southern-border/ Crackdown: AG Sessions Vows ‘New Era’ at Southern Border]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 11, 2017.</ref> and he announced the Justice Department would hire 125 immigration judges in the next two years.<ref>Singman, Brooke (April 11, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/11/ag-sessions-vows-to-confront-cartels-gangs-on-visit-to-us-mexico-border.html AG Sessions vows to confront cartels, gangs on visit to US-Mexico border]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 11, 2017.</ref>
*In late March/early April 2017, the Trump Administration cracked down on [[H-1B visa]]s in a series of actions, making it much more difficult for entry-level programmers to enter the U.S., combating corruption in the program, and making sure that Americans were not discriminated against.<ref>
* Kumar, Bhaswar (April 4, 2017). [http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/h-1b-visas-trump-s-us-not-barring-all-programmers-only-entry-level-ones-117040400235_1.html H-1B visas: Trump's US not barring all programmers, only entry-level ones]. ''Business Standard''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
* Singh, Kanishka (April 4, 2017). [http://indianexpress.com/article/world/tightened-us-h-1b-visa-norms-in-line-with-trumps-america-first-slogan-4599268/ Tightened US H-1B visa norms in line with Trump’s ‘America first’ slogan]. ''Indian Express''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
* Cao, Jing; Brustein, Joshua (April 4, 2017). [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-03/new-h-1b-guidelines-crack-down-on-computer-programmer-jobs Trump Cracks Down on H-1B Visa Program That Feeds Silicon Valley]. ''Bloomberg''. Retrieved March 4, 2017.</ref> On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order restricting the H-1B visa to give the hiring preference to American workers and enacting stronger enforcement of laws requiring the use of American-made materials in federal projects.<ref>
* Miller, S.A. (April 18, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/18/trump-signs-executive-order-reining-h-1b-visa-prog/ Trump signs executive order for ‘buy-American, hire-American’ policy]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
* Spiering, Charlie (April 18, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/18/donald-trump-celebrates-america-first-executive-order-wisconsin/ Donald Trump Celebrates ‘America First’ Executive Order in Wisconsin]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
* Chakraborty, Barnini (April 18, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/18/trump-signs-order-to-clamp-down-on-visa-program-enforce-buy-american-policy.html Trump signs order to clamp down on visa program, enforce 'buy American' policy]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref> Experts on the H-1B visa supported his order.<ref>Binder, John (April 18, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/18/h-1b-experts-trumps-order-elected/ H-1B Experts on Trump’s Order: ‘This Is What We Elected Him For’]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref>
*April 14, 2017—President Trump appointed two conservatives on immigration issues to senior positions in the Department of Homeland Security.<ref>Binder, John (April 14, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/14/immigration-hawks-ascend-senior-dhs-positions/ Immigration Hawks Ascend to Senior DHS Positions]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref> Like Attorney General Jeff Sessions, [[Secretary of Homeland Security]] [[John F. Kelly]] (with the full support of President Trump<ref>Derespina, Cody (April 18, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/18/trump-illegal-immigrant-criminals-are-getting-hell-out.html Trump: Illegal immigrant criminals are 'getting the hell out']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref>) also adopted a strong position against illegal immigration.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/16/dhs-kelly-defends-more-ice-border-hires-says-illegal-immigrants-must-be-dealt-with.html DHS' Kelly defends more ICE, border hires; says illegal immigrants must be 'dealt with']. ''Fox News''. April 16, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.</ref>
*April 26, 2017—The Department of Homeland Security established the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE), created to help support victims of illegal immigrant crime, and it established the DHS-Victim Information and Notification Exchange, which was created to help those victims track the custody status of the illegal criminals.<ref>
* Singman, Brooke (April 26, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/26/dhs-announces-office-for-victims-illegal-immigrant-crime.html DHS announces office for victims of illegal immigrant crime]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
* McHugh, Katie (April 26, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/26/dhs-kelly-voice-victims-illegal-alien-criminals/ DHS Kelly Creates VOICE For Many Victims of Illegal Alien Criminals]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
* McHugh, Katie (April 25, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/25/dhs-unveil-voice-office-victims-illegal-alien-crime/ DHS to Unveil VOICE Office for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref>

===Energy and environmental policy===
The shift in the Trump Administration regarding energy and the environment could be illustrated with the changes made to the website of the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] a few months after President Trump took office.<ref>Rodriguez, Katherine (April 29, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/29/epa-removes-climate-science-website-announces-changes-reflect-trump-administration/ EPA Removes Climate Science Website, Announces ‘Changes’ to Reflect Trump Administration]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref>

====Legislation signed====
* February 14, 2017 - Trump signed H.J.Res.41 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers" (see "Size of Government" section below).<ref name="H.J.Res.41"/>

====Executive actions====
*January 24, 2017—Trump signed two orders reviving consideration for the [[Keystone XL]] and [[Dakota Access Pipeline|Dakota Access]] pipeline projects, which Obama halted due to supposed environmental concerns.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/24/trump-to-sign-orders-reviving-pipeline-projects-sources-say.html Trump signs orders reviving pipeline projects]. ''Fox News''. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.</ref> On March 24, 2017, the Trump Administration approved the Keystone XL Pipeline.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/24/trump-administration-approves-keystone-xl-pipeline.html Trump administration approves Keystone XL pipeline]. ''Fox News'' (from the ''Associated Press''). March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.</ref>
*January 24, 2017—In addition to the above, Trump signed three other orders, one requiring the [[United States Secretary of Commerce]] make a plan within six months mandating all new or improved pipelines be made with American steel, another order requiring every federal agency to streamline manufacturing regulations, and the third allowing fast-track approval for important infrastructure projects.<ref>Korte, Gregory (January 24, 2017). [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/24/trump-signs-five-more-orders-pipelines-steel-and-environment/96988428/ Trump signs five more orders on pipelines, steel and environment]. ''USA Today''. Retrieved January 24, 2017.</ref>
*March 18, 2017—The Trump Administration forced the [[Group of Twenty|G-20]] to remove any mention of [[climate change]] from its joint statement.<ref name="TeleMar2017"/><ref name="IndepMar2017"/> (See "Foreign policy" section below)
*March 28, 2017—President Trump signed a major executive order repealing several Obama-era environmental regulations unfavorable to coal. In addition to this, the order started an immediate review of Obama's Clean Power Plan, help create American energy jobs, bring American [[Energy Independence|energy independence]] by stimulating domestic energy production, and giving authority back to the states.<ref name="SpieringMarch2017">Spiering, Charlie (March 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/28/the-war-on-coal-is-over-donald-trump-signs-energy-executive-order/ ‘The War on Coal Is Over’: Donald Trump Signs Energy Executive Order]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref><ref name="RollingBackEnergy">[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/28/trump-signs-executive-order-rolling-back-obama-era-energy-regs.html Trump signs executive order rolling back Obama-era energy regs]. ''Fox News''. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref>
*April 28, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order repealing a ban on offshore drilling that Obama did in the days of his presidency and directing the Interior Secretary to review U.S. drilling policy and regulations.<ref>Wolfgang, Ben (April 28, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/28/donald-trump-signs-order-expand-offshore-drilling/ Trump tosses Obama’s offshore drilling limits: ‘We’re opening it up’]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/28/trump-signs-executive-order-aimed-at-expanding-drilling-in-arctic-atlantic-oceans.html Trump signs executive order aimed at expanding drilling in Arctic, Atlantic oceans]. ''Fox News''. April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref>

===Economic policy===
====Legislation signed====

====Executive actions====
*February 3, 2017—President Trump signed an order directing Treasury Secretary [[Steven Mnuchin]], upon his confirmation, to plan changes to the [[Dodd-Frank]] bank regulatory law in order to cut much of it.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/trump-begins-rollback-dodd-frank-financial-regulations.html Trump begins rollback of Dodd-Frank financial regulations]. ''Fox News''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/03/presidential-executive-order-core-principles-regulating-united-states Presidential Executive Order on Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System]. ''whitehouse.gov''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref>
*April 21, 2017—President Trump signed one executive order and two memorandums. The order directed the Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to look at the U.S. tax code and recommend the removal of unnecessary regulations and the two memorandums directing the Treasury Secretary to conduct a review of portions of the Dodd-Frank law.<ref>
* Boyer, Dave (April 21, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/21/trump-sign-executive-actions-could-ease-dodd-frank/ Trump signs executive actions to ease Dodd-Frank regulations, promises tax reform]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
* Heinlein, Peter (April 21, 2017). [https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-orders-review-of-financial-system-regulations/3821105.html Trump Orders Wide Review of Financial System Regulations]. ''Voice of America''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>

===Trade===
====Legislation signed====

====Executive actions====
*January 23, 2017—Trump signed an order which withdrew the United States from the globalist [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]].<ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (January 23, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/23/trump-signs-executive-order-withdrawing-us-from-tpp-trade-deal.html Trump signs executive order withdrawing US from TPP trade deal]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref>
*March 18, 2017—The Trump Administration forced the [[Group of Twenty|G-20]] to remove its opposition to [[protectionism]] and its support for [[free trade]] from its joint statement.<ref name="WaExMar2017"/><ref name="FoxBMar2017"/> (See "Foreign policy" section below)
*March 31, 2017—President Trump signed two orders. The first order instituted a crackdown on violations of anti-[[dumping]] laws and help to officials to collect penalties already owed to the U.S. The second order ordered a report by the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]] and the U.S. Trade Representative on the causes of the U.S. trade deficit due within 90 days.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/31/trump-signs-executive-orders-to-crack-down-on-trade-abuses-increase-enforcement.html Trump signs executive orders to crack down on trade abuses, increase enforcement]. ''Fox News''. March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Korte, Gregory (March 31, 2017). [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/31/trump-executive-orders-target-trade-cheaters/99881390/ Trump executive orders will target trade 'cheaters']. ''USA Today''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref>
*April 20, 2017—President Trump signed a memorandum directing the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]] to investigate whether steel imports pose a threat to U.S. national security.<ref>Alexander, Harriet (April 20, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/20/donald-trump-praises-historic-day-american-steel-launches-investigation/ Donald Trump praises 'historic day for American steel' as he launches investigation into imports]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.</ref><ref>Westwood, Sarah (April 20, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-administration-opens-sweeping-trade-investigation/article/2620767 Trump administration opens sweeping trade investigation]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>
*April 25, 2017—After [[Canada]] changed its milk pricing policy, putting U.S. farmers at a severe disadvantage,<ref>Tobin, Michael (April 26, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/26/nafta-wisconsin-dairy-farmers-uncertain-fate-escalates-us-canada-trade-war.html NAFTA: Wisconsin dairy farmers' uncertain fate escalates US-Canada trade war]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref> the Trump Administration imposed tariffs at rates up to 24% on Canadian lumber imports.<ref>Epstein, Jennifer; Light, Joe (April 25, 2017). [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-canada-trade-dispute-timber-milk-war-huge-import-tariff-lumber-a7701186.html Donald Trump intensifies Canadian trade dispute by placing huge import tariff on lumber]. ''The Independent''. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref>
*April 27, 2017—President Trump signed a memorandum opening a Department of Commerce investigation into whether the high level of aluminum imports constitutes a threat to U.S. national security.<ref>Moons, Michelle (April 27, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/27/ttrump-orders-investigation-into-national-security-threat-of-world-aluminum-excess/ Trump Orders Investigation into National Security Threat of World Aluminum Excess]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 27, 2017.</ref>
*April 29, 2017—President Trump signed two executive orders, one ordering the U.S. to review all of its free trade agreements including NAFTA, and the other establishing a White House trade policy office.<ref>Korte, Gregory (April 29, 2017). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/04/29/100-days-trump-order-review-free-trade-agreements-commerce/101066150/ On his 100th day in office, Trump orders review of free trade agreements]. ''USA Today''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref><ref>Greenwood, Max (April 29, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/331247-trump-signs-order-calling-for-review-of-trade-deals Trump signs order calling for review of trade deals]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref>

===Foreign policy and terrorism===
[[File:Donald Trump Syrian Military Strike April 2017.jpg|thumb|200px|President Trump being briefed on April 6, 2017 concerning a military strike on Syria.]]
President Trump was observed early in his presidency to have adopted a strong foreign policy<ref>Collinson, Stephen (April 14, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/14/politics/donald-trump-military-afghanistan/index.html Trump carves out tough commander-in-chief posture]. ''CNN''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref> and was described as having made a "consequential impact" on foreign policy early on.<ref>Taylor, Guy; Boylan, Dan (April 27, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/27/donald-trumps-foreign-policy-makes-impact/ Trump’s unconventional foreign policy makes consequential impact in first 100 days]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref> This was as opposed to Barack Obama's foreign policy.<ref>Llorente, Elizabeth (April 14, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/14/ex-obama-officials-say-hesitation-to-use-force-in-syria-elsewhere-emboldened-adversaries.html Ex-Obama officials say hesitation to use force in Syria, elsewhere, emboldened adversaries]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref> As the North Korean vice-foreign minister stated, Trump's foreign policy was "more vicious and more aggressive" than that of Barack Obama.<ref>Talmadge, Eric (April 14, 2017). [https://www.yahoo.com/news/n-korean-official-us-more-vicious-aggressive-under-051124540.html N. Korean official: Ready for war if Trump wants it]. ''Yahoo News'' (from the ''Associated Press''). Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref> [[Fox News]] reported that the Trump Administration has adopted a more critical stance toward the [[United Nations]] than the Obama Administration.<ref>Shaw, Adam (April 10, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/10/un-tensions-with-trump-administration-mount-as-both-sides-dig-in.html UN tensions with Trump administration mount as both sides dig in]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 10, 2017.</ref>

It was observed earlier in his presidency that President Trump had developed a strong position on fighting terrorism, making good on his campaign promises.<ref>Wong, Kristina (April 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/24/trump-takes-on-terrorism-in-his-first-hundred-days/ Trump Takes on Terrorism in His First Hundred Days]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 24, 2017.</ref>

====Legislation signed====

====Executive actions====
*February 3, 2017—After [[Iran]] tested a ballistic missile in apparent violation of a UN Security Council resolution, the Trump Administration instituted unilateral economic sanctions against 13 Iranian individuals and 12 companies.<ref>Torbati, Yeganeh (February 3, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-idUSKBN15H253 Trump administration tightens Iran sanctions, Tehran hits back]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 3, 2017.</ref><ref>Boyer, Dave; Taylor, Guy (February 3, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/3/donald-trump-slaps-sanctions-iran-missile-test/ Trump slaps sanctions on Iran over missile test]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref>
*March 2017—After the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia authored a destructive and [[anti-Semitic]]<ref>Tobin, Jonathan S. (March 17, 2017). [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445879/un-report-israel-apartheid-accusation-outrageous-anti-semitic More than Just Another Anti-Israel U.N. Farce]. ''National Review''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref><ref>Russell, George (March 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/17/beyond-apartheid-u-n-commission-pushes-legal-and-propaganda-offensive-against-israel.html Beyond 'apartheid'--U.N. commission pushes legal and propaganda offensive against Israel]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref> report against [[Israel]], the report and agency were strongly criticized by the United States and UN Ambassador [[Nikki Haley]], and the executive director of the commission resigned in response.<ref>Shaw, Adam (March 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/17/un-official-resigns-over-nixed-anti-israel-report-after-pressure-from-haley.html UN official resigns over nixed anti-Israel report after pressure from Haley]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/03/17/un-official-quitting-israel-apartheid-report/ UN Official Quitting Over ‘Israel Apartheid’ Report]. ''Breitbart News''. March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref>
*On March 18, 2017, the Trump Administration successfully forced the [[Group of Twenty|G-20]] to remove its opposition to [[protectionism]] and temper its support for [[free trade]],<ref name="WaExMar2017">Scarry, Eddie (March 18, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-administration-rebuffs-free-trade-appeals-at-g-20-meeting/article/2617793 Trump administration rebuffs free trade appeals at G-20 meeting]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref><ref name="FoxBMar2017">Koranyi, Balazs; Heller, Gernot (March 18, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/18/g20-financial-leaders-acquiesce-to-u-s-drop-free-trade-pledge.html G20 Financial Leaders Acquiesce to U.S., Drop Free Trade Pledge]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref> and any mention of [[climate change]]<ref name="TeleMar2017">McGoogan, Cara; Sherlock, Ruth (March 18, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/03/18/g20-leaders-roll-back-commitment-free-trade-climate-change-following/ G20 leaders roll back commitment to free trade and climate change following US pressure]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref><ref name="IndepMar2017">Sharman, Jon (March 18, 2017). [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/g20-finance-ministers-statement-climate-change-fair-trade-trump-a7636956.html US 'forces G20 to drop any mention of climate change' in joint statement]. ''The Independent''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref> from its joint statement. Later, in April 2017, the Trump Administration refused to sign the G7 joint statement because the other nations could not agree to include support for nuclear and fossil fuels without support for the Paris climate agreement. The G7, thus, went without a joint statement.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/12/report-trump-administration-officials-clashed-with-g7-ministers-over-climate-policy.html Report: Trump administration officials clashed with G7 ministers over climate policy]. ''Fox News''. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.</ref><ref>Bastasch, Michael (April 11, 2017). [http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/11/trump-refuses-to-sign-g7-statement-endorsing-paris-climate-agreement/ Trump Refuses To Sign G7 Statement Endorsing Paris Climate Agreement]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 12, 2017.</ref>
*April 6, 2017—After the [[Syria]]n government used chemical weapons on its people, President Trump ordered a one-time airstrike against a Syrian air base, firing 60 cruise missiles at it.<ref>
* Griffin, Jennifer; Tomlinson, Lucas (April 7, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/07/us-missiles-target-syria-airfield-in-response-to-chemical-weapons-attack.html US missiles target Syria airfield in response to chemical weapons attack]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
* [https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/06/statement-president-trump-syria Statement by President Trump on Syria]. ''whitehouse.gov''. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.</ref> The U.S. destroyed about 20 Syrian jet planes and caused extremely heavy damage on the base.<ref>
* [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/07/about-20-syrian-jets-destroyed-in-airstrike-defense-officials-say.html About 20 Syrian jets destroyed in missile strike, defense officials say]. ''Fox News''. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/07/syria-missile-attack-satellite-photos-show-major-damage-to-airfields.html Syria missile attack: Satellite photos show major damage to airfields]. ''Fox News''. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/06/initial-reports-indicate-syrian-airbase-almost-completely-destroyed-after-us-strike.html Initial reports indicate Syrian airbase 'almost completely destroyed' after US strike]. ''Fox News''. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017. 
However, reports claimed the base was still operational afterward:
* Muñoz, Carlo (April 10, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/10/pentagon-defends-limited-scope-syrian-attack/ Pentagon defends limited scope of Syrian attack]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
* Ensor, Josie (April 8, 2017). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/08/syrian-warplanes-take-air-base-bombed-us-tomahawks/ Syrian warplanes take off once again from air base bombed by US Tomahawks]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
* Dooley, Erin (April 8, 2017). [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-defends-decision-hit-runway-syrian-airbase/story?id=46677805 Trump defends decision not to hit runway on Syrian air base]. ''ABC News''. Retrieved April 9, 2017.</ref> Defense Secretary [[James Mattis]] stated the attacks destroyed 20% of Syria's operational aircraft.<ref>
* Moore, Mark (April 10, 2017). [http://nypost.com/2017/04/10/mattis-says-us-strike-destroyed-large-number-of-syrian-military-aircraft/ Mattis says US strike destroyed large number of Syrian military aircraft]. ''New York Post''. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
* Lehman, Charles Fain (April 10, 2017). [http://freebeacon.com/national-security/mattis-20-percent-syrias-aircraft-damaged-destroyed-u-s-strikes/ Mattis: 20 Percent Of Syria’s Operational Aircraft Damaged or Destroyed in U.S. Strikes]. ''The Washington Free Beacon''. Retrieved April 10, 2017.</ref> As even the ''New York Times'' reported, Trump's action was a show of U.S. strength, and it was in stark contrast to Obama, as Trump used surprise and speed in the attacks.<ref>Gordon, Michael R.; Cooper, Helene; Shear, Michael D. (April 6, 2017). [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/world/middleeast/us-said-to-weigh-military-responses-to-syrian-chemical-attack.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news Dozens of U.S. Missiles Hit Air Base in Syria]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved April 7, 2017.</ref> World leaders supported the strong action.<ref>
* Williams, Thomas D., Ph.D. (April 7, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/04/07/world-leaders-praise-u-s-strike-on-syria-proportionate-appropriate/ World Leaders Praise U.S. Strike on Syria, ‘Proportionate, Appropriate’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/07/syria-airstrikes-international-community-reacts-to-us-bombing-airfield.html Syria strikes: International community reacts to US bombing of airfield]. ''Fox News''. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.</ref> This was the first direct military action the U.S. took against the [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]] regime.<ref>Ackerman, Spencer; Pilkington, Ed; Jacobs, Ben; Borger, Julian (April 7, 2017). [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/06/trump-syria-missiles-assad-chemical-weapons Syria missile strikes: US launches first direct military action against Assad]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved April 7, 2017.</ref> On April 23, 2017, in response to the chemical attacks, the Trump Administration put sanctions on 271 employees of Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center, which supported the nation's chemical weapons program.<ref>Starr, Penny (April 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/24/winning-trump-follows-up-bombing-of-assads-military-assets-with-tough-diplomacy-271-new-sanctions-for-syria/ Trump Admin Unloads Block of 271 Sanctions on Assad Regime for Chemical Weapons Attack]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref>
[[File:MOAB bomb.jpg|thumb|200px|MOAB, the "Mother Of All bombs"]]
*April 13, 2017—Under the increased autonomy President Trump gave the Defense Department,<ref>Griffin, Jennifer; Tomlinson, Lucas (April 14, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/14/moab-drop-ordered-by-us-general-trump-approval-not-needed-officials-say.html MOAB drop ordered by US general, Trump approval not needed, officials say]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 14, 2017.</ref> the U.S. dropped a [[GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast|GBU-43B]] (also known as MOAB or the "Mother Of All bombs"), the largest non-[[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] bomb in existence at 21,000 pounds on a complex of [[Islamic State]] tunnels in [[Afghanistan]]. Although tested in 2003, the bomb had never been used in combat before.<ref>
* Tomlinson, Lucas (April 13, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/13/us-drops-largest-non-nuclear-bomb-in-afghanistan-after-green-beret-killed.html US drops largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan after Green Beret killed]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/14/watch-moab-makes-impact-against-isis-tunnels-in-afghanistan.html Watch: MOAB makes impact against ISIS tunnels in Afghanistan]. ''Fox News''. April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
* Wong, Kristina (April 13, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/04/13/us-military-drops-massive-bomb-on-islamic-state-in-afghanistan/ U.S. Military Drops Massive Bomb on Islamic State in Afghanistan]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref> It caused much damage,<ref>McKay, Hollie (May 2, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/02/moab-devastates-isis-afghanistan-tunnels.html 'MOAB' aftermath: Fox News tours site where Afghanistan bomb was dropped]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved May 2, 2017.</ref> being estimated to have killed at least 94 ISIS fighters, including four commanders – no civilians were killed.<ref>Wellman, Phillip Walter (April 15, 2017). [https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/afghan-official-death-toll-from-massive-us-bomb-rises-to-94-including-4-isis-commanders-1.463677#.WPQNiojytPY Afghan official: Death toll from massive US bomb rises to 94, including 4 ISIS commanders]. ''Stars and Stripes''. Retrieved April 16, 2017.</ref> It also destroyed several of the tunnels as well as weapon stockpiles.<ref>Davis, Jack (April 14, 2017). [http://www.westernjournalism.com/moab-inflicts-vast-damage-to-isis-in-afghanistan-biggest-complex-destroyed/ MOAB Inflicts Vast Damage To ISIS In Afghanistan – ‘Biggest Complex Destroyed’]. ''Western Journalism''. Retrieved April 17, 2017.</ref><ref>Chappell, Bill (April 14, 2017). [http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/14/523902376/giant-bomb-was-right-weapon-for-attack-on-isis-u-s-general-says Afghan Official Says 94 ISIS Fighters Killed In 'Mother Of All Bombs' Attack]. ''NPR''. Retrieved April 17, 2017.</ref> The attack was reported as having dealt a heavy blow to ISIS's Afghanistan branch.<ref>Mora, Edwin (April 14, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/04/14/with-moab-u-s-military-delivers-major-blow-to-already-weak-afghan-islamic-state/ With MOAB, U.S. Military Delivers Major Blow to Weak Afghan Islamic State]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 16, 2017.</ref>
*March and April, 2017—President Trump and the U.S. Senate approved [[Montenegro]]'s accession into [[NATO]], over [[Russia]]'s objections.<ref>Boyer, Dave (April 11, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/11/trump-certifies-addition-montenegro-nato/ Trump certifies addition of Montenegro in NATO over Russian opposition]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>
*April 21, 2017—The Trump Administration refused to issue waivers to any companies which wanted to do business with Russia, which was under economic sanctions, including [[ExxonMobil]], which had applied for a waiver.<ref>Gehrke, Joel (April 21, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/steve-mnuchin-no-russia-sanctions-waiver-for-exxon-other-companies/article/2620913 Steve Mnuchin: No Russia sanctions waiver for Exxon, other companies]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref><ref>Solomon, Jay; Olson, Bradley (April 21, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/21/u-s-denies-exxon-bid-for-waiver-on-russia-sanctions-3rd-update.html U.S. Denies Exxon Bid for Waiver on Russia Sanctions -- 3rd Update]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref> The day earlier, the Trump Administration announced, in strong language, it was implementing the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which blacklisted certain Russian citizens.<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/20/letter-president-certain-congressional-committee-chairs A Letter from the President to Certain Congressional Committee Chairs]. ''whitehouse.gov''. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref><ref>Herszenhorn, David M. (April 21, 2017). [http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-crackdown-on-rights-abusers-in-russia/ Trump pledges crackdown on rights abusers in Russia and beyond]. ''Politico''. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref>

===Size of Government===
President Trump and Congress spent much time rolling back regulations, particularly those created by Obama.<ref>
* [http://www.breitbart.com/news/bit-by-bit-trump-methodically-undoing-obama-policies/ Bit by Bit, Trump Methodically Undoing Obama Policies]. ''Breitbart News''. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
* Desanctis, Alexandra (April 3, 2017). [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/446375/congressional-review-act-congress-reclaims-power-administrative-state-federal-regulations-overreach Congress Begins to Reclaim Power from the Administrative State]. ''National Review''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
* Chakraborty, Barnini (April 25, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/25/first-100-days-trump-team-touts-number-obama-rules-killed.html First 100 days: Trump team touts number of Obama rules they killed]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref> In the first six weeks of Trump's presidency, over 90 regulations were repealed, whether through executive orders, Acts of Congress, or other means<ref>Farand, Chloe (March 6, 2017). [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-federal-state-regulations-month-oval-office-white-house-us-president-deregulate-a7614031.html Donald Trump disassembles 90 federal state regulations in just over a month in White House]. ''The Independent''. Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3480299-10-Examples-Industries-Push-Followed-by-Trump.html#document/p60/a341284 Trump-Era Trend: Industries Protest. Regulations Rolled Back. A Dozen Examples]. ''The New York Times'' (through ''DocumentCloud''). Retrieved March 7, 2017.</ref> — clearly keeping his promises.<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/27/president-trump-takes-action-get-washington-out-way President Trump Takes Action to Get Washington Out of the Way]. ''whitehouse.gov''. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref> He has successfully made use of [[Congressional Review]] numerous times to roll back Obama-era regulations—even more than expected.<ref name="Korte4Bills">Korte, Gregory (March 27, 2017). [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/27/trump-signs-four-bills-roll-back-obama-era-regulations/99690456/ Trump signs four bills to roll back Obama-era regulations]. ''USA Today''. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref><ref>Pollak, Joel B. (April 15, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/15/trump-congressional-review-act-legislative-milestone/ Trump’s Use of the Congressional Review Act Is a Legislative Milestone]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 15, 2017.</ref> Prior to Trump's presidency, the Congressional Review Act had been used only once successfully, sixteen years prior.<ref>Adriance, Sam (February 16, 2017). [http://www.natlawreview.com/article/president-trump-signs-first-congressional-review-act-disapproval-resolution-16-years President Trump Signs First Congressional Review Act Disapproval Resolution in 16 Years]. ''The National Law Review''. Retrieved March 8, 2017.</ref>

====Legislation signed====
*February 14, 2017—President Trump signed a bill into law repealing an Obama Era relation requiring energy companies to disclose financial transactions with foreign governments.<ref name="H.J.Res.41">[https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/41/text H.J.Res.41 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers".] ''Congress.gov''. Retrieved February 20, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/14/president-trump-cutting-red-tape-american-businesses President Trump: Cutting Red Tape for American Businesses]. ''whitehouse.com''. February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.</ref><ref>Soergel, Andrew (February 14, 2017). [http://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-02-14/donald-trump-scraps-energy-regulations-gop-embraces-congressional-review-act Donald Trump Scraps Obama-Era Energy Regulations]. ''U.S. News & World Report''. Retrieved February 15, 2017.</ref>
*February 16, 2017—President Trump signed a bill into law blocking the "Stream Protection Rule," an environmental regulation.<ref>Henry, Devin (February 16, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/319938-trump-signs-bill-undoing-obama-coal-mining-rule Trump signs bill undoing Obama coal mining rule]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 20, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/38/text H.J.Res.38 - Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule.] ''Congress.gov''. Retrieved February 20, 2017.</ref>
*March 27, 2017—President Trump signed four bills undoing Obama-era regulations.<ref name="Korte4Bills"/><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/27/president-donald-j-trump-signs-hjres-37-hjres-44-hjres-57-and-hjres-58 President Donald J. Trump Signs H.J.Res. 37, H.J.Res. 44, H.J.Res. 57, and H.J.Res. 58 into Law]. ''whitehouse.gov''. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref> Two of those bills rolled back federal education regulations.<ref>Berry, Susan, Dr. (March 28, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/28/trump-rolls-back-two-obama-era-education-regulations/ Trump Rolls Back Two Obama-Era Education Regulations]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 28, 2017.</ref>
*March 31, 2017—President Trump signed another bill undoing an Obama-era regulation, giving the power back to the states to expand drug testing for unemployment benefit applicants.<ref>Lovegrove, Jamie (April 1, 2017). [http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/03/31/trump-signs-cruz-brady-bill-expand-drug-testing-unemployment-benefit-applicants Trump signs Cruz-Brady bill to expand drug testing of unemployment benefit applicants]. ''Dallas Morning News''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.</ref>
*April 3, 2017—President Trump signed a bill reversing an Obama-era [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] privacy regulation applicable to internet service providers. The FCC had adopted the rule to fill a gap created by a court case which ruled that the [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]] did not have jurisdiction to extend its privacy rule over internet service providers because they were regulated by the FCC. The new law repealed the FCC rule and prohibits the FCC from enacting a replacement for 10 years without giving the FTC jurisdiction to regulate internet service providers' privacy practices.<ref>
* Superville, Darlene (April 3, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/04/03/trump-signs-bill-blocking-online-privacy-regulation.html Trump Signs Bill Blocking Online Privacy Regulation]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
* Neidig, Harper (April 3, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/327107-trump-signs-internet-privacy-repeal Trump signs internet privacy repeal]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
* {{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2017/04/03/fcc-online-privacy-faq/|title=What Really Happens When the FCC’s Online Privacy Rules Are Cancelled|first=Aaron |last=Pressman|date=April 3, 2017|accessdate=April 4, 2017}}</ref> Part of yet another series of bills undoing other Obama regulations.<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/03/president-donald-j-trump-signs-hjres-69-hjres-83-hr-1228-sjres-34-law President Donald J. Trump Signs H.J.Res. 69, H.J.Res. 83, H.R. 1228, S.J.Res. 34 into Law]. ''whitehouse.gov''. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.</ref>

====Executive actions====
*January 20, 2017—On its first day in office, the Trump Administration ordered a regulatory freeze on all federal governmental agencies.<ref>Wheeler, Lydia (January 20, 2017). [http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/315425-trump-white-house-tells-agencies-to-halt-regulations Trump White House tells agencies to halt regulations]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref>
*On Inauguration Day, 2017, the Trump administration instituted a federal hiring freeze.<ref>[http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Which-executive-orders-did-Trump-sign-on-Day-One-411380215.html Which executive orders did Trump sign on Day One?] ''WCTV'' (from ''CBS News''). January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.</ref> On January 23, 2017, Trump signed an executive order instituting the hiring freeze, from which the military was exempted.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-to-sign-executive-orders/ Donald Trump signs three executive memos]. ''CBS News''. January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.</ref> On April 12, 2017, the hiring freeze was replaced with a plan to restructure and shrink the executive branch.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/12/trump-replaces-federal-hiring-freeze-with-surgical-cuts.html Trump replaces federal hiring freeze with agency cuts to end billions 'wasted']. ''Fox News''. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.</ref><ref>Moran, Sean (April 12, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/12/trump-ends-federal-hiring-freeze/ Trump Ends Federal Hiring Freeze]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref>
*January 30, 2017—Trump signed an executive order that requires two federal regulations must be eliminated for every regulation created.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/30/trump-signs-executive-order-to-drastically-cut-federal-regs.html Trump signs executive order to drastically cut federal regs]. ''Fox News''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.</ref><ref>McCaskill, Nolan D.; Nussbaum, Matthew (January 30, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-signs-executive-order-requiring-that-for-every-one-new-regulation-two-must-be-revoked-234365 Trump signs executive order requiring that for every one new regulation, two must be revoked]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/30/presidential-executive-order-reducing-regulation-and-controlling Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.</ref>
*February 3, 2017—President Trump signed a memorandum directing the [[United States Department of Labor]] to review a regulation signed by Obama set to go into effect.<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/03/presidential-memorandum-fiduciary-duty-rule Presidential Memorandum on Fiduciary Duty Rule]. ''whitehouse.gov''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.</ref>
*February 24, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order requiring every federal agency to create a "regulatory reform task force" to find unnecessary, burdensome regulations to repeal.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/24/trump-orders-new-task-force-push-to-eliminate-red-tape.html Trump orders new task force push to eliminate red tape]. ''Fox News''. February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.</ref> This order was called "the most far reaching effort to pare back U.S. red tape in recent decades."<ref>Shepardson, David; Holland, Steve (February 24, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-regulations-idUSKBN1631NV In sweeping move, Trump puts regulation monitors in U.S. agencies]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved February 25, 2017.</ref>
*February 28, 2017—President Trump announced that he did not plan on filling numerous government positions he considered unnecessary.<ref>Derespina, Cody (February 28, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/28/trump-no-plans-to-fill-unnecessary-appointed-positions.html Trump: No plans to fill 'unnecessary' appointed positions]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 28, 2017.</ref> According to one source, about 2,000 positions were vacant, and most of them were likely included in this list.<ref>Kessler, Aaron; Kopan, Tal (February 25, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/25/politics/donald-trump-cabinet-vacancies/ Trump still has to fill nearly 2,000 vacancies]. ''CNN''. Retrieved February 28, 2017.</ref> As of April 4, 2017, President Trump did not make a nomination for nearly 500 positions requiring Senate confirmation.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/ Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.</ref>
*March 13, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order to perform an audit on every executive branch agency in order to reduce spending and waste and improve services.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/13/trump-signs-executive-order-to-make-fed-agencies-lean-more-accountable.html Trump signs executive order to make fed agencies 'lean,’ more ‘accountable']. ''Fox News''. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref><ref>Fabian, Jordan (March 13, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/323772-trump-signs-executive-order-to-cut-government-waste Trump signs executive order to cut government waste]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/13/presidential-executive-order-comprehensive-plan-reorganizing-executive Presidential Executive Order on a Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch]. ''whitehouse.gov''. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.</ref>
*April 25, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order ordering the Department of Agriculture to find and eliminate unnecessary regulations, in an effort to help farmers, particularly in the light of NAFTA and the trade imbalance with Canada.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/25/trump-orders-agriculture-dept-to-end-unnecessary-regulations-help-farmers.html Trump orders Agriculture Dept. to end unnecessary regulations, help farmers]. ''Fox News''. April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref>
*April 26, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order ordering the Interior Department to review designations of national monuments from as far back as 20 years prior, with the intention of reversing federal overreach in land acquisition and returning power to the states.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/26/trump-orders-review-national-monument-designations.html Trump orders review of national monument designations]. ''Fox News''. April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref>
*April 26, 2017—President Trump signed an executive order ordering Secretary of Education [[Betsy DeVos]] to review Department of Education regulations, with the intention of returning power to the states and local governments.<ref>Miller, S.A. (April 26, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/26/donald-trump-pull-feds-out-k-12-education/ Trump to pull feds out of K-12 education]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref><ref>Russell, Jason (April 26, 2017). [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-asks-betsy-devos-to-study-federal-overreach-in-education/article/2621365 Trump asks Betsy DeVos to study federal overreach in education]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref>

===Military===
====Legislation signed====

====Executive actions====
*January 27, 2017—Trump signed a memorandum to begin the expansion and rebuilding of the U.S. military.<ref>Herb, Jeremy (January 27, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-rebuild-military-executive-action-234288 Trump order sets military buildup in motion]. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Hagen, Lisa (January 27, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/defense/316591-trump-signs-order-to-grow-military-modernize-nuke-arsenal Trump signs directive spurring 'great rebuilding' of armed forces]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref>
*February 3, 2017—The Trump Administration and Lockheed Martin reached a tentative deal that would purchase 90 F-35 jet at the lowest price in the program's history.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/pentagon-strikes-new-f-35-deal-with-lockheed-after-trump-involvement.html Pentagon strikes new F-35 deal with Lockheed after Trump involvement]. ''Fox News''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/news/lockheed-trims-costs-for-f-35-most-expensive-plane-ever/ Lockheed trims costs for F-35, most expensive plane ever]. ''Breitbart News''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref> The first 90 planes were about $725 million below budget, with billions of more dollars of savings expected, and it saved at least one U.S. ally, [[Japan]], $100 million dollars.<ref>Davis, Jack (April 25, 2017). [http://www.westernjournalism.com/trump-f-35-cost-reductions-helped-american-ally-save-money/ Trump: F-35 Cost Reductions Helped An American Ally Save Money]. ''Western Journalism''. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Mitchell, Ellen (April 21, 2017). [http://thehill.com/policy/defense/325021-lockheed-ceo-trump-absolutely-contributed-to-f-35-savings Lockheed CEO: Trump 'absolutely' contributed to F-35 savings]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref>

===Proclamations===
*January 20, 2017—The day he was inaugurated, President Trump instituted a national day of patriotism for the country,<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-measures-idUSKBN1542IH Trump takes first actions on Cabinet, declares day of patriotism: spokesman]. ''Reuters''. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref> and a few days later Trump officially designated his inauguration day the '''''National Day of Patriotic Devotion'''''.<ref>[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-01-24/pdf/2017-01798.pdf National Day of Patriotic Devotion -- Proclamation 9570 of January 20, 2017]. ''Federal Register''. January 24, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Shelbourne, Mallory (January 23, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315735-trump-declares-inauguration-day-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315735-trump-declares-inauguration-day-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 2, 2017.</ref>
*January 22–28, 2017—'''''National School Choice Week''''', as proclaimed by President Trump<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/26/president-trump-releases-national-school-choice-week-proclamation President Trump Releases National School Choice Week Proclamation]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-01-30/pdf/2017-02092.pdf National School Choice Week, 2017 -- Proclamation 9571 of January 25, 2017]. ''Federal Register''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref>
*May 1, 2017—President Trump proclaimed that day as '''''Loyalty Day''''', to "recognize and reaffirm our allegiance" to American values, such as "individual liberties, to limited government, and to the inherent dignity of every human being."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/28/trump-proclaims-may-1-as-loyalty-day.html Trump proclaims May 1 as 'Loyalty Day']. ''Fox News''. April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/28/president-donald-j-trump-proclaims-may-1-2017-loyalty-day President Donald J. Trump Proclaims May 1, 2017, as Loyalty Day]. ''whitehouse.gov''. April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref>

===Other===
*On January 5, 2017, the U.S. House passed a motion condemning Obama's allowing a leftist anti-Israel resolution to pass in the UN.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/05/house-overwhelmingly-votes-to-condemn-un-resolution-on-israel-settlements.html House overwhelmingly votes to condemn UN resolution on Israel settlements]. ''Fox News''. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Cortellessa, Eric (January 6, 2017). [http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-house-passes-repudiation-of-un-security-council-resolution-on-israel/ US House passes motion repudiating UN resolution on Israel]. ''The Times of Israel''. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref> Additionally, Trump voiced his strong support for Israel during his transition.<ref>Pollak, Joel B. (December 23, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/23/trump-hints-defunding-un-anti-israel-vote/ Trump on UN Anti-Israel Vote: ‘Things Will Be Different After Jan. 20’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref><ref>Swoyer, Alex (December 29, 2016). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/29/trump-im-very-very-strong-on-israel/ Trump: ‘I’m Very, Very Strong on Israel’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 6, 2017.</ref> On April 27, 2017, all 100 members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres demanding an end to the anti-Israel bias in the UN.<ref>Danan, Deborah (April 30, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/04/30/netanyahu-thanks-100-senators-for-standing-up-for-israel-at-un/ Netanyahu Thanks All 100 Senators for ‘Standing Up For Israel At UN’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref> After that, the U.S. condemned the UN after the organization ignored the letter from the Senate.<ref>
* Wallace, Christopher; Evansky, Ben (May 2, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/02/un-ignores-unanimous-senate-to-pass-anti-israel-measure.html UN ignores unanimous Senate to pass anti-Israel measure]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
* Cortellessa, Eric (May 2, 2017). [http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-official-raps-biased-unesco-statement-on-jerusalem/ US official raps ‘biased’ UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem]. ''The Times of Israel''. Retrieved May 3, 2017.</ref>
*January 20, 2017—On the day he took office, Trump returned the bust of UK Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] to the Oval Office that Obama removed when he took office.<ref>Morrongiello, Babby (January 21, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/21/trump-returns-churchill-bust-to-oval-office.html Trump returns Churchill bust to the Oval Office]. ''Fox News'' (from the ''The Washington Examiner''). Retrieved January 21, 2017.</ref> He also accepted the [[United Kingdom]]'s offer to re-loan the second identical bust of Churchill, which Obama removed and returned after the first loan expired.<ref>Kessler, Glenn (January 23, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/23/heres-the-real-story-about-the-churchill-bust-in-the-oval-office/?utm_term=.b50008454d3c Here’s the real story about the Churchill bust in the Oval Office]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved January 24, 2017.</ref>
*January 28, 2017—Trump signed an executive order banning administration officials from lobbying their federal agencies for five years, as well as banning them for life from lobbying foreign nations and political parties.<ref>Vladimirov, Nikita; Shelbourne, Mallory (January 28, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316701-admin-trump-to-issue-three-more-executive-orders Trump signs three more executive actions]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved January 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/28/executive-order-ethics-commitments-executive-branch-appointees Executive Order: ETHICS COMMITMENTS BY EXECUTIVE BRANCH APPOINTEES]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.</ref>
*January 30, 2017—Trump showed he would not tolerate incompetent leftist administration officials when he fired acting [[United States Department of Justice|Attorney General]] Sally Yates (a left-wing Obama holdover) when she refused to defend his refugee and immigration ban executive order.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/30/acting-ag-tells-justice-department-staff-not-to-defend-trumps-refugee-order.html Trump fires acting AG after Justice Department staff told not to defend refugee order]. ''Fox News''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/30/statement-appointment-dana-boente-acting-attorney-general Statement on the Appointment of Dana Boente as Acting Attorney General]. ''whitehouse.gov''. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> Trump emulated [[Ronald Reagan]]'s firing of the striking PATCO workers in 1981 by doing so,<ref>Boyle, Matthew (January 30, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/30/trumps-patco-moment-emanating-reagan-president-takes-control-federal-government-protect-country-citizens/ Trump’s PATCO Moment: Emanating Reagan, the President Takes Control of Federal Government to ‘Protect the Country and Its Citizens’]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> contrary to the [[mainstream media]] spin.<ref>Kurtz, Howard (February 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/01/trumps-firing-defiant-obama-holdover-why-hes-no-richard-nixon.html Trump's firing of a defiant Obama holdover: Why he's no Richard Nixon]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref> That same night, Trump replaced the acting director of [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (another Obama holdover) with a more competent official who had a reputation for enforcing immigration laws.<ref>Chamberlain, Samuel (January 31, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/trump-names-thomas-homan-acting-director-ice-replacing-obama-holdover.html Trump names Thomas Homan acting director of ICE, replacing Obama holdover]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Berman, Mark; Zapotosky, Matt (January 30, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/30/trump-appoints-new-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-director-noted-for-his-work-deporting-illegal-immigrants/?utm_term=.addf12ae690a Trump appoints new Immigration and Customs Enforcement director noted for his work deporting illegal immigrants]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref>
*March 10, 2017—Conservative attorney General [[Jeff Sessions]] asked the 46 remaining [[United States Attorney|U.S. attorneys]] appointed by Obama, arguably the most left-wing president in U.S. history, to resign.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/10/ag-sessions-asks-remaining-46-us-attorneys-to-resign.html AG Sessions asks remaining 46 US attorneys to resign]. ''Fox News''. March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/10/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-seeks-resignations-46-us-attorneys/ Attorney General Jeff Sessions Seeks Resignations of 46 US Attorneys]. ''Breitbart News''. March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.</ref> One of those U.S. attorneys was the failed Zachary Fardon, who was lax in his prosecution of gun crimes (Sessions directed the Justice Department to increase prosecutions on gun-law violations and to reinforce harsh sentences for such).<ref>Hawkins, Awr (March 11, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/11/jeff-sessions-asks-chicagos-obama-appointed-federal-prosecutor-to-resign/ Jeff Sessions Asks Chicago’s Failed Obama-Appointed Federal Prosecutor to Resign]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 11, 2017.</ref> When one of those attorneys, Preet Bharara, refused to resign (likely for political gain), he was fired.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/11/us-attorney-bharara-is-fired-after-rejecting-sessions-step-down-request.html US attorney Bharara is fired after rejecting Sessions' step-down request]. ''Fox News''. March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.</ref>
*Attorney General Jeff Sessions completely reformed the Justice Department, reorienting it in a strongly conservative direction and with conservative policies, in stark contrast with the Obama Administration.<ref>Munro, Neil (April 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/17/jeff-sessions-reforms-justice-department/ Report: AG Jeff Sessions Enacts Comprehensive Reform at Justice Department]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref>
*March 21, 2017—President Trump signed a bill into law not only funding [[NASA]], but setting a goal of having humans visit [[Mars]] "in the 2030s" and potentially colonizing another planet.<ref>Kew, Ben (March 21, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/21/trump-signs-bill-securing-nasa-funding-plans-to-reach-mars/ WATCH: Trump Signs Bill Securing NASA Funding, Plans to Reach Mars]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 21, 2017.</ref> The bill also funded the agency, the first time such a bill was signed into law in seven years.<ref>Kaplan, Sarah (March 21, 2017). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/03/21/trump-signs-nasa-bill-aimed-at-landing-on-mars/?utm_term=.140a91aaba6d Trump signs NASA bill aimed at sending people to Mars]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved March 21, 2017.</ref>
*April 21, 2017—President Trump replaced Obama-appointed [[Vivek Murthy]], who was opposed by [[gun rights]] groups, as [[Surgeon General of the United States]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/22/trump-replaces-obama-appointee-us-surgeon-general-murthy.html Trump replaces Obama appointee US Surgeon General Murthy]. ''Fox News''. April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref><ref>Hawins, Awr (April 23, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/23/president-trump-removes-obamas-pro-gun-control-surgeon-general/ President Trump Removes Obama’s Pro-Gun Control Surgeon General]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 23, 2017.</ref> During the same month, the Trump Administration reassigned two career government officials who had been strongly criticized by conservative organizations.<ref>Toosi, Nahal (April 21, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/21/sahar-nowrouzzadeh-reassigned-state-department-237466 State Dept. official reassigned amid conservative media attacks]. ''Politico''. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref>

==Non-legislative or policy achievements==
*Trump has been bold enough to meet with conservative, right-wing figures who stand boldly for [[small government]] and conservatism, unlike many other Republicans. For example, he met with [[Alex Jones]], becoming the first president to have ever met with Alex Jones (the meeting occurred during the campaign).<ref name="AlexJones">Jones, Alex (November 12, 2016). [http://www.infowars.com/donald-trump-kept-his-promise-to-the-alex-jones-show/ DONALD TRUMP KEPT HIS PROMISE TO THE ALEX JONES SHOW]. ''Infowars.com''. Retrieved January 5, 2017.</ref> Also, Trump has had very strong relations with [[Nigel Farage]] of the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]].,<ref>Hope, Christopher (December 15, 2016). [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/15/nigel-farage-meets-donald-trump-third-time-amid-speculation/ Nigel Farage meets Donald Trump for a third time amid speculation of new role advising on UK/US trade deal]. ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved December 15, 2016.</ref><ref>Mance, Henry; Brown, John Murray (November 22, 2016). [https://www.ft.com/content/f37d612c-b081-11e6-a37c-f4a01f1b0fa1 Trump’s Nigel Farage tweet ruffles UK feathers]. ''Financial Times''. Retrieved December 15, 2016.</ref>
*Trump has stood up to political correctness and the left-wing consensus in numerous aspects, most notably for rejecting political correctness and communicating directly to the public rather than the [[mainstream media]]. Also, Trump has been bold in rejecting the term "happy holidays."
*January 20, 2017—Trump became the first president to say "radical Islamic terrorism" in his inaugural address.<ref name="MostAmerican"/><ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/president-trump-puts-fights-against-radical-islamic-terrorism-at-heart-of-inauguration-speech/ President Trump puts fight against ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ at heart of inauguration speech]. ''The Times of Israel''. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.</ref>
*January 27, 2017—Vice President [[Mike Pence]] became the first vice president in United States history to speak at the annual [[March for Life]] march in Washington D.C.<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> Additionally, Trump senior advisor [[Kellyanne Conway]] also spoke at the event, and Trump himself strongly expressed his support for the march.<ref>Nelson, Louis (January 27, 2017). [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/march-for-life-2017-trump-supports-234267 Trump: March for Life demonstrators 'have my full support']. ''Politico''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Bilger, Micaiah (January 27, 2017). [http://www.lifenews.com/2017/01/27/president-donald-trump-tweets-march-for-life-you-have-my-full-support/ President Donald Trump Tweets March for Life: “You Have My Full Support!]. ''LifeNews.com''. Retrieved January 27, 2017.</ref>
*The Trump Administration played a large role in successfully helping prevent [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] officer Sabrina de Sousa from being extradited to Italy, with the decision coming on March 1, 2017.<ref>Corbin, Cristina (March 1, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/01/italy-cancels-former-cia-agents-extradition-from-portugal-in-muslim-abduction-case.html Ex-CIA officer has Trump administration to thank for extradition KO, spokesman says]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref> On April 21, 2017, Egypt released an Egyptian-American who had been detained for three years.<ref>Boyer, Dave (April 21, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/21/donald-trump-greets-aya-hijazi-egyptian-american-w/ Trump greets Egyptian-American woman after working behind the scenes to free her]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>
*President Trump and his administration have not been afraid to criticize the left-wing Obama Administration for its failures. This could be seen regarding Syria and Obama's failed and broken "red line" promise concerning the [[Syrian Civil War]],<ref>
* Moons, Michelle (April 4, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/04/white-house-on-syria-heinous-attack-consequence-of-obama-administrations-weakness-and-irresolution/ White House: ‘Heinous’ Syria Chemical Attack a Result of Obama Admin’s ‘Weakness and Irresolution’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/05/trump-faults-obama-for-middle-east-mess-says-s-now-responsible.html Trump faults Obama for Middle East ‘mess,’ says he’s now responsible]. ''Fox News''. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/05/pence-says-chemical-attack-in-syria-reflection-failure-obama-admin-to-confront-violence.html Pence says chemical attack in Syria 'a reflection of the failure' of Obama admin to confront violence]. ''Fox News''. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.</ref> as well as Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly criticizing the Obama Administration's failure regarding illegal immigration and national security.<ref>Munro, Neil (April 18, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/18/dhs-kelly-sacred-duty-protect-america/ DHS Kelly Slams Obama’s Policies, Proclaims ‘Sacred Duty’ To Protect America]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref><ref>Mora, Edwin (April 21, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/21/dhs-chief-obama-nothing-truly-secure-border/ DHS Chief: Obama Did ‘Nothing’ to ‘Truly’ Secure Border]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>
*Early in Trump's presidency, he and his administration took a much tougher tone against [[North Korea]] than his predecessors,<ref>
* Moons, Michelle (April 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/04/17/vp-mike-pence-from-korean-demilitarized-zone-era-of-strategic-patience-is-over/ VP Mike Pence from Korean Demilitarized Zone: ‘Era of Strategic Patience Is Over’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
* Key, Pam (April 17, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/04/17/trump-presidents-obama-clinton-outplayed-north-korea/ Trump: Presidents Obama, Clinton Were ‘Outplayed’ by North Korea]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
* [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/19/sword-stands-ready-pence-warns-north-korea.html 'The sword stands ready': Pence warns North Korea]. ''Fox News''. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.</ref> and he deployed a missile defense system to [[South Korea]] (first announced in 2016) despite [[China]]'s strong objections.<ref>
* Diaz, Alex (April 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/17/us-missile-system-en-route-to-korean-peninsula.html US missile system en route to Korean peninsula]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
* Dickstein, Corey (May 1, 2017). [https://www.stripes.com/news/thaad-now-ready-to-defend-south-korea-against-missile-attacks-1.466295#.WQnPh4jytPY THAAD now ready to defend South Korea against missile attacks]. ''Stars and Stripes''. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
* Hayward, John (May 2, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/05/02/u-s-military-thaad-missile-defense-system-now-operational-in-south-korea/ U.S. Military: THAAD Missile System Operational in South Korea]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 3, 2017.</ref>
*April 28, 2017—President Trump became the first president since [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1983 to speak at the [[National Rifle Association]]'s annual convention.<ref>Hawkins, Awr (April 15, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/15/donald-trump-to-be-first-president-since-reagan-to-speak-at-nra-annual-meetings/ Donald Trump to Be First President Since Reagan to Speak at NRA Annual Meetings]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref><ref>Sherfinski, David (April 28, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/28/trump-nra-crowd-you-came-through-me/ Trump to NRA: ‘You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you’]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref>
*It was reported in late April that nine Trump Administration cabinet members, including Vice President Mike Pence, were participating in a weekly [[Bible study]], and members of the House and Senate were also conducting their own Bible studies.<ref>[http://www1.cbn.com/beltwaybuzz/archive/2017/04/24/trump-cabinet-members-praying-studying-the-bible-together TOP STORY: Trump Cabinet Members Praying, Studying the Bible Together]. ''CBN News''. April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.</ref><ref>Gotera, Jay (April 28, 2017). [http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-cabinet-members-gather-weekly-for-prayer-session-senate-and-house-also-hold-bible-studies-181770/ Trump Cabinet Members Gather Weekly for Prayer Session; Senate and House Also Hold Bible Studies]. ''The Christian Post''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref><ref>Haverluck, Michael F. (April 29, 2017). [https://www.onenewsnow.com/church/2017/04/27/trump-cabinet-fellowships-thru-prayer-bible-study Trump cabinet fellowships thru prayer, Bible study]. ''One News Now''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref> This suggested that the Trump Administration is, at least in part, striving to be under [[God]].<ref>Bakinski, Pete (April 29, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/mike-pence-sponsors-bible-study-for-trump-cabinet Mike Pence sponsors Bible study for Trump cabinet]. ''Life Site News''. Retrieved April 29, 2017.</ref>
*Rather than spend his [[First 100 days|100th day in office]] attending the White House Correspondents Dinner with its left-wing [[anti-Trump]] journalists and media figures, Trump went to Pennsylvania to hold a Trump Rally for his supporters.<ref>Persons, Sally (April 29, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/29/donald-trump-harrisburg-mark-his-100th-day-office/ Trump marks his 100th day in office, lists successes, takes dig at ‘boring’ WHCD]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref><ref>Miles, Frank (April 29, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/29/trump-pennsylvania-rally-president-marks-first-promises-made-and-kept-in-office.html Trump Pennsylvania Rally: President marks first promises made and kept in office]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref> Trump became the first president since Reagan in 1981 to skip the dinner.<ref>Althoff, Eric (April 30, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/30/white-house-correspondents-dinner-goes-on-without-/ White House Correspondents Dinner goes on without President Trump]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved April 30, 2017.</ref>

==The courts==
===Supreme Court===
[[File:Donald Trump with Neil Gorsuch Jan. 31, 2017.jpg|thumb|200px|President Trump announcing his nomination of Gorsuch, January 31, 2017.]]
[[File:Neil Gorsuch swearing-in, April 10, 2017.jpg|thumb|200px|President Trump looks on as Gorsuch is sworn-in.]]
On January 31, 2017, Trump nominated [[Neil Gorsuch]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>Klukowski, Ken (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/trump-nominates-judge-neil-gorsuch-supreme-court/ Trump Nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Hurley, Lawrence; Holland, Steve (January 31, 2017). [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-trump-idUSKBN15F1OW Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for U.S. Supreme Court]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> The nomination was well received by many conservatives.<ref>Chamberlain, Steve (January 31, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/31/reaction-to-trumps-supreme-court-pick-split-along-partisan-lines.html Conservatives hail Trump's Supreme Court pick]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref><ref>Ertelt, Steven (January 31, 2017). [http://www.lifenews.com/2017/01/31/president-donald-trump-nominates-pro-life-friendly-judge-neil-gorsuch-to-the-supreme-court/ President Donald Trump Nominates Pro-Life-Friendly Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court]. ''LifeNews.com''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref> Others, however, most notably [[Andrew Schlafly]], disagreed with the nomination due to concerns about Gorsuch's position on abortion.<ref>Dannenfelser, Marjorie (January 31, 2017). [http://townhall.com/columnists/marjoriedannenfelser/2017/01/31/the-truth-about-trumps-prolife-scotus-list-n2279232 The Truth about Trump’s Pro-life SCOTUS List]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved February 1, 2017.</ref><ref>http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:Mainpageright&diff=1302133&oldid=1301962</ref> The Senate ultimately confirmed Gorsuch on a vote of 54–45, even though the GOP was forced to initiate the [[nuclear option]] and lowering the vote threshold to overturn a [[filibuster]] for Supreme Court nominees due to Democrat obstructionism.<ref>Berger, Judson (April 7, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/07/gorsuch-confirmed-to-supreme-court.html Gorsuch confirmed to Supreme Court]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 7, 2017.</ref> Gorsuch assumed office on April 10, 2017.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/10/gorsuch-sworn-in-as-supreme-court-justice-ahead-key-cases.html Gorsuch sworn in as Supreme Court justice ahead of key cases]. ''Fox News''. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.</ref>

==Trump and the stock market==
With expectations that Trump's election victory would cause the markets to plunge, the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] actually performed very strongly, closing at the highest level it had ever reached in history after the second day.<ref name="MarketRally">La Monica, Paul R. (November 10, 2016). [http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/10/investing/markets-stocks-donald-trump-rally/index.html The 'yuge' Donald Trump market rally continues]. ''CNN Money''. Retrieved November 10, 2016.</ref> It is rare for the stock market to rise immediately after a U.S. presidential election regardless of the winner.<ref name="MarketRally"/> The stock market had its best week in five years due to optimism of a Trump presidency.<ref>Craig, Victoria (November 11, 2016). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/11/trump-optimism-propels-dow-to-best-week-in-five-years.html Trump Optimism Propels Dow to Best Week in Five Years]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved November 12, 2016.</ref>

Trump was very busy in his first week and showed he was serious about his campaign promises. This caused the [[stock market]] to increase, and the [[Dow Jones]] passed 20,000 points for the first time in its history.<ref>Imbert, Fred (January 25, 2017). [http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/us-markets.html Dow closes above 20,000 for first time as Trump orders send stocks flying]. ''CNBC''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref><ref>Craig, Victoria (January 25, 2017). [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/25/dow-races-past-20k-in-reinvigorated-trump-rally.html Dow Races Past 20K in Reinvigorated Trump Rally]. ''Fox Business''. Retrieved January 25, 2017.</ref> On March 1, 2017, the day after Trump made his first address to a joint-session of Congress, the stock market rose dramatically again, with the Dow Jones passing the 21,000 mark for the first time in history.<ref>Witkowski, Wallace; Mahmudova, Anora (March 1, 2017). [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-set-to-resume-rally-on-fed-rate-hike-hopes-trump-relief-2017-03-01 Dow closes above 21,000 as stocks soar after Trump speech]. ''MarketWatch''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref><ref>Holcomb, John (March 1, 2017). [https://townhall.com/tipsheet/justinholcomb/2017/03/01/stock-market-booms-past-21000-for-the-first-time-in-history-n2292388 The Trump Bump: Stock Market Hits 21,000 for the First Time in History]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref><ref>DeSoto, Randy (March 1, 2017). [http://www.westernjournalism.com/stock-market-hits-new-high-follow-trumps-speech-to-congress/ Stock Market Hits New High Following Trump’s Speech To Congress]. ''Western Journalism''. Retrieved March 1, 2017.</ref> The stock market had one of the best performances in the [[first 100 days]] of Trump's presidency compared to the first 100 days of previous presidents in U.S. history.<ref>Carney, John (May 1, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/economics/2017/05/01/trumps-first-100-days-stock-markets-best-ever-expansionary-rally/ Donald Trump’s First 100 Days: Stock Market’s Best-Ever Expansionary Rally]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 1, 2017.</ref>

== Donald Trump's victories over the liberal media establishment ==
{{See also|Fake news|Liberal media}}
*Donald Trump helped further discredit the [[mainstream media]] due to his repeatedly challenging their honesty and by demonstrating that their predictions regarding his candidacy were repeatedly false. Americans who trust the media is at 32%, an all time low, according to the Gallup organization.<ref>[http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx Americans' Trust in Mass Media Sinks to New Low]</ref> Additionally, between the 2016 election and late January, trust in the media fell from 21 to 15 percent among Trump voters, and even among Clinton voters it fell from 57 to 51 percent.<ref>Spiering, Charlie (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/poll-15-percent-donald-trump-voters-trust-media/ Poll: Only 15 Percent of Donald Trump Voters Trust Media]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved January 31, 2017.</ref>
*Donald Trump's humor has cut down leading media figures to size. He told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that if [[Megyn Kelly]] didn't repeatedly attack him, her audience would be even smaller than Blitzer's. When asked by [[George Stephanopoulos]] what his biggest mistakes were on the campaign trail, he pointed that Stephanopoulos has regrets too and pointed out his donation to the Clinton Foundation.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJaU8KmNfRQ Donald Trump destroys George Stephanopoulos]</ref>
*At an hour-long press conference on February 16, 2017, Trump repeatedly criticized the press as biased and "so dishonest ... out of control."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/politics/donald-trump-press-conference-amazing-day-in-history/index.html|title=An amazing moment in history: Donald Trump's press conference|accessdate=February 16, 2017}}</ref>
*On February 17, 2017, Trump tweeted: "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!"<ref>Greenwood, Mark (February 17, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/320168-trump-the-media-is-the-enemy-of-the-american-people Trump tweets: The media is the 'enemy of the American people']. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 27, 2017.</ref>
*On February 24, 2017, President Trump excluded several liberal media organizations from attending a press briefing.<ref>Fabian, Jordan (February 24, 2017). [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/321049-white-house-hand-picks-select-media-for-briefing White House hand-picks select media outlets for briefing]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 27, 2017.</ref><ref>Pollak, Joel B. (February 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/02/24/fake-news-media-outrage-white-house-exclusion/ Media Outrage over White House ‘Exclusion’ is Fake News]. ''Breitbart''. Retrieved February 27, 2017.</ref>

=== Donald Trump's establishment of a massive direct line to the public via social media ===
Via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, Donald Trump has established a massive direct link to the American public which is unfiltered by the mainstream media. His social media audience is about 45 million people.<ref>[https://thefederalist.com/2017/01/17/donald-trumps-social-media-use-key-sidelining-press/ Donald Trump’s Social Media Use Is Key To Sidelining The Press]</ref>

===Donald Trump's association with conservative media===
Rather than associate with the leftist mainstream media, Trump has associated himself with the [[conservative media]], particularly [[Fox News]].<ref>Stelter, Brian (March 19, 2017). [http://www.nbc-2.com/story/34948054/donald-trump-a-fox-news-president Donald Trump: A Fox News president]. ''nbc-2.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2017.</ref> In April 2017, President Trump hosted a media briefing exclusively for conservative media outlets.<ref>Spiering, Charlie (April 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/24/donald-trump-invites-conservative-media-to-white-house-for-exclusive-briefing/ Donald Trump Invites Conservative Media to White House for Exclusive Briefing]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref> He also became the first president to have ever met with [[Alex Jones]] (the meeting occurred during the campaign).<ref name="AlexJones"/>

==Failures==
*January 31, 2017—President Trump announced he would keep a 2014 executive order signed by former President Obama that gave protected status to homosexual employees of the government and federal contractors.<ref>Craine, Patrick B. (January 31, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-trump-wont-overturn-obama-order-granting-special-rights-to-lgbt-go BREAKING: Trump won’t overturn Obama’s special rights for LGBT gov’t workers]. ''Life Site News''. Retrieved February 3, 2017.</ref><ref>Rodriguez, Katherine (January 31, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/31/trump-continue-enforce-obamas-executive-order-protecting-lgbtq-federal-workers/ Trump to Keep Obama Executive Order Protecting LGBTQ Federal Workers]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.</ref> Additionally, [[Ivanka Trump]] and [[Jared Kushner]] reportedly derailed a proposed executive order protecting religious liberty at the same time.<ref>LaBarbera, Peter (February 9, 2017). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ivanka-trump-husband-reportedly-stopped-religious-freedom-order-pence-affir Ivanka Trump, husband reportedly stopped religious freedom order; Pence affirms pro-LGBT rights move]. ''LifeSiteNews.com''. Retrieved April 8, 2017.</ref> However, [[Homosexual rights advocacy|supporters of homosexual privileges]] claimed that a March 27, 2017 order, which repealed much of Obama's 2014 executive order, went against Trump's statement to keep the 2014 Obama order (which, if true, would annul this supposed failure).<ref>O'Hara, Mary Emily (March 29, 2017). [http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lgbtq-advocates-say-trump-s-news-executive-order-makes-them-n740301 LGBTQ Advocates Say Trump’s New Executive Order Makes Them Vulnerable to Discrimination]. ''NBC News''. Retrieved March 30, 2017.</ref>
*February 2, 2017—Trump stated that building new settlements in the [[West Bank]] "may not be helpful" to achieving peace in the [[Middle East]], and he appeared to shift his formerly strong stance on moving the U.S. embassy to [[Jerusalem]] as he had previously stated.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/trump-to-israel-settlements-may-not-help-achieve-peace-in-middle-east.html Trump to Israel: Settlements ‘may not help’ achieve peace in the Middle East]. ''Fox News''. February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.</ref>
* President Trump did not sign an executive order ending "no gun zones" on schools early in his presidency as promised.<ref>Neidig, Harper (May 20, 2016). [http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/280723-trump-vows-to-end-gun-free-zones Trump at NRA: 'We're getting rid of gun-free zones' if I'm elected]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref>
*February 2017—Despite enacting a crackdown on illegal immigration,<ref>Berger, Judson (February 21, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/21/dhs-secretary-orders-immigration-agent-hiring-surge-end-to-catch-and-release.html DHS secretary orders immigration agent hiring surge, end to 'catch-and-release']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 21, 2017.</ref> President Trump announced he would keep [[Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]] (DACA), a program started in 2012 which basically allows illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to stay.<ref>Kopan, Tal; Jarrett, Laura (February 21, 2017). [http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/politics/daca-dreamers-donald-trump-both-ways/ Trump keeps DACA but chips away at barriers to deportation]. ''CNN''. Retrieved February 21, 2017.</ref><ref>Munro, Neil (April 21, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/21/trump-says-daca-illegals-can-rest-easy/ Trump OKs DACA Amnesty: ‘This Is a Case of Heart’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 22, 2017.</ref>
*President Trump and congressional Republicans did not repeal and replace ObamaCare immediately or quickly as promised.<ref>Kodjak, Alison (February 6, 2017). [https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/02/06/npr-trump-congressional-gop-back-off-from-immediate-obamacare-repeal Trump, congressional GOP back off from immediate Obamacare repeal]. ''MPR News'' (from ''NPR''). Retrieved February 9, 2017.</ref> They failed to agree on or pass a replacement bill for [[ObamaCare]] as a part of 2017 budget reconciliation. They withdrew the bill to avoid losing a vote on the House floor.<ref>Chakraborty, Barnini (March 24, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/24/trump-blames-democrats-for-gop-health-care-bill-failure-says-obamacare-is-imploding.html Trump blames Democrats for GOP health care bill failure, says ObamaCare is 'imploding']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 24, 2017.</ref><ref>Spiering, Charlie (March 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/24/donald-trump-blames-democrats-health-care-failure-promises-shift-tax-reform/ Donald Trump Blames Democrats for Health Care Failure, Promises Better Plan in the Future]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 24, 2017.</ref> This may not have been a total failure, as polling indicated that only 17% of Americans supported the bill,<ref>Munro, Neil (March 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/24/ryancare-polls-negative/ Polls: GOP Legislators Dodged 2018 Headache When Leaders Dropped Ryancare]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 27, 2017.</ref> and its passage would have likely led the GOP to an electoral failure in 2018.<ref>Munro, Neil (March 30, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/30/house-freedom-caucus-saved-gop-from-ryancare-says-analysis/ House Freedom Caucus Saved GOP Majority from Ryancare Disaster, Says Voter Study]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 31, 2017.</ref> Some commentators have stated that Trump used this failure in order to further his agenda in the long run,<ref>Pollak, Joel B. (March 24, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/24/health-care-bill-failure-art-of-the-deal/ Health Care Bill’s Failure: Just Part of the ‘Art of the Deal’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 24, 2017.</ref> and Trump himself made clear he was not finished with the issue.<ref>Weber, Joseph (March 25, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/25/trump-signals-new-hope-for-obamacare-overhaul-says-do-not-worry.html Trump signals new hope for ObamaCare overhaul, says 'Do not worry!']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 25, 2017.</ref>
*As of early April 2017, several Obama-holdovers still hold their positions in the Trump Administration with little to no indication of leaving.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/02/meet-obama-holdovers-still-in-trumps-government/ Meet Obama Holdovers Still in Trump’s Government]. ''Breitbart News''. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref><ref>Ortiz, Ildefonso (April 5, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/05/brandon-darby-border-patrol-agents-feel-betrayed-trump-administration/ Brandon Darby: Border Patrol Agents Feel Betrayed by the Trump Administration]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 5, 2017.</ref> As of March 9, 2017, President Trump has not fired [[Internal Revenue Service]] Commissioner [[John Koskinen]], who targeted conservative groups under the Obama Administration.<ref>Singman, Brooke (March 9, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/09/republicans-want-to-know-why-trump-hasnt-fired-irs-head.html Republicans want to know why Trump hasn't fired the IRS head]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 9, 2017.</ref> Trump also stated he had no plans on asking FBI director [[James Comey]] to resign.<ref>Rodriguez, Katherine (April 12, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/12/trump-does-not-intend-ask-fbi-director-james-comey-resign/ Trump Does Not Intend to Ask FBI Director James Comey to Resign]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref> The holdovers in the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency engaged in undermining President Trump's agenda of securing the southern border.<ref>Darby, Brandon; Ortiz, Ildefonso (April 18, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/04/18/exclusive-officials-defy-trumps-promises-40-miles-border-ordered-unpatrolled/ EXCLUSIVE: Officials Defy Trump’s Promises: 40 Miles of Border Ordered Unpatrolled]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 18, 2017.</ref> President Trump also appointed at least one NeverTrump individual to the White House.<ref>Boyle, Matthew (April 25, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/25/never-trump-movement-leader-former-jeb-bush-staffer-helen-aguirre-ferre-infiltrates-white-house/ Never Trump Movement Leader, Former Jeb Bush Staffer Helen Aguirre Ferre Infiltrates White House]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref>

==Opposition to Donald Trump's achievements==
{{main|Opposition to Donald Trump}}
In addition to strong opposition from the [[mainstream media]],<ref name="89%negative"/> which consistently misrepresented him and his accomplishments,<ref>Miller, S.A. (April 30, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/30/president-trump-criticizes-dishonest-press-in-100t/ President Trump criticizes ‘dishonest’ press in 100th-day interview]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref> Trump received opposition from Democrats and the liberal-influenced courts. By the [[first 100 days]] of his presidency, congressional Democrats had already (unsuccessfully) filibustered Trump's supreme court nomination, instituted one of the longest and most extreme delays in cabinet confirmations in U.S. history, and initiated an investigation into Trump's alleged ties to [[Russia]].<ref>McLaughlin, Seth (April 27, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/27/democrats-mark-100-days-of-resistance/ Democrats seeking revenge prepare to mark 100 days of ‘resistance’]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref> According to a poll taken around the 100th day of Trump's presidency, only 11% of Democrats believed that their party's opposition to Trump has yielded successful results for them.<ref>Harper, Jennifer (April 30, 2017). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/30/inside-the-beltway-democrats-question-opposition/ Inside the Beltway: Only 11% of Democratic voters say opposition to White House is a success]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref> Liberal federal courts also blocked some of President Trump's executive orders regarding sanctuary cities and immigration.<ref>Spiering, Charlie (April 27, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/27/donald-trump-blasts-ninth-circuit-for-blocking-sanctuary-cities-order-see-you-in-the-supreme-court/ Donald Trump Blasts Ninth Circuit for Blocking Sanctuary Cities Order: ‘See You in the Supreme Court!’] ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref><ref>Klukowski, Ken (March 12, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/12/federal-court-blocks-immigration-executive-order/ Federal Court Blocks Trump Admin’s Immigration Executive Order]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 4, 2017.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Trump effect]]

===Concerning Trump's presidency===
*[[Trump Administration]]
*[[Trump Supreme Court]]
*[[Cabinet of Donald Trump]]

===Concerning leftists and Trump===
*[[Liberal denialism and Donald Trump]]
*[[Mainstream media's war on Trump]]

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

==External links==
*[http://www.breitbart.com/trump-100-days/ ''The First 100 Days of Trump: Breitbart Special Report''], by Breitbart News (eBook)[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/01/breitbart-news-releases-e-book-first-100-days-trump/]
*[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/list-trumps-executive-orders.html List of Trump's executive orders] on [[Fox News]]

[[Category:Donald Trump]]
[[Category:Conservatism]]
[[Category:2010s]]
[[Category:Pro-life]]
[[Category:Pro Second Amendment]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Miami

2017-04-29T17:44:12Z

JoeRW: Fixed up grammar, corrected the Marlins' old name, and added another Miami pro-sports team

'''Miami''' is the largest city in [[Florida]], and a thriving center for Latin America. Its "Miami Beach" was once one of the top resort areas in the entire [[United States]].

It is home to four pro-sports franchises; the [[NFL|NFL's]] [[Miami Dolphins]], the [[NBA|NBA's]] [[Miami Heat]], the [[MLB|MLB's]] [[Miami Marlins]], and the [[NHL|NHL's]] [[Florida Panthers]].

== External links ==

*[http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080911/lf_nm_life/miami_dc_1 Miami residents are most attractive in U.S.: poll]

[[Category:Florida Cities and Towns]]

Financial Crisis of 2008

2017-04-28T03:30:38Z

JoeRW: Grammar fix

The '''Financial Crisis of 2008''' was a global financial crisis that is the worst the world has seen since 1933 with the [[Great Depression]]. Drastic measures to confront seemingly insurmountable financial calamity resulted in the creation of '''TARP''' (Troubled Assets Relief Program), $700 billion safety net [[appropriation|appropriated]] by the U.S. Congress. The National Bureau of Economic Research<ref>NBER is a private organization that follows its own standards as set by eminent economists such as [[Milton Friedman]]; its dating of business cycles is widely accepted by conservatives.</ref> has identified the peak of the last boom cycle in December 2007; the U.S. economy has been in decline ever since.<ref>See "Text of the NBER's statement on the recession and FAQ's" [http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-12-01-recession-nber-statement_N.htm ''USA Today'' Dec 1, 2008]. "The U.S. economy entered a recession in December 2007, a committee of economists at the private National Bureau of Economic Research said," at [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/US-recession-began-December-2007/story.aspx?guid={7DCF90E4-D61A-4014-83CE-45E938CD632C} Rex Nutting] - MarketWatch</ref> [[Image:CRASH08.JPG|thumb|330px|Oct 11, 2008 editorial; cartoon by Horsey stresses the global collapse]] The crisis has caused the [[Recession of 2008]], which reached bottom in summer 2009, causing a worldwide economic decline that is the most severe since the 1930s. As of 2013, there are still 4 million fewer jobs in the U.S. than in 2008 - despite $5 trillion in federal [[stimulus]] spending.

Some [[free market]] advocates believe Congress and the [[Federal Reserve]] should not have bailed out failing firms and instead should have allowed market mechanism to operate.<ref>Free market advocates assert successful enterprises should be rewarded for doing things right, and failing businesses should be allowed to perish for making mistakes and not providing the public with the things they need or are in demand; government intervention can drag out recessions and depressions. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzTXaAXusiI]</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI</ref> A 2005 study found that government corporate bailouts are often done more for political considerations, and the economic resources allocated exhibit significantly worse performance than resources allocated using practical considerations <ref>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=676905</ref>

The [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) calculated that the global financial crisis would produce $3.4 trillion in losses for financial institutions around the world by 2010.<ref>Peter Dattels and Laura Kodres, "Global Financial System Shows Signs of Recovery, IMF Says," [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2009/RES093009A.htm ''IMF Survey Magazine'' Sept. 30, 2009]</ref> World [[GDP]] in 2007 was approximately $70 trillion, so the immediate decline in the economic output of the planet was about 5%.

==Overview==
Negative economic news spread outward from financial institutions connected to [[Fannie Mae]] and the real estate boom to depress housing sales, construction, commercial real estate, automobiles, retail sales, state and local government, and virtually every other sector of the economy. Consumer confidence and spending plunged. Major banks and corporations went bankrupt.

The recession was worldwide. Initially governments across the world borrowed and spent huge sums of money to reverse the crisis, but the results were anaemic and the decline continued. By 2013, the notion of a [[Keynesian]] stimulus had been abandoned by the [[European Union]], which cut it's budget in real terms, and the United States which invoked a [[sequestration]] of federal mandated spending to reduce the baseline for future years. While the prospect of deflation ordinarily would be real, the Federal Reserve had vastly increased the [[money supply]] both domestically and abroad with lending to foreign [[Central bank]]s. Although the U.S. monetary base aggregates were four times larger than in mid 2007, federal spending was 50% more than in 2008, and the accumulated [[national debt]] one-third greater, U.S. [[GDP]] output still lagged and the workforce was the size (134 million workers) as it was in 2003 - despite population having grown by 24 million people. The U.S. government provided cash bailouts of several hundred billion dollars and long-term loan guarantees of over $7 trillion (compared to a GDP of $14.6 trillion in 2008).

Unlike crises in the mid 1970s and early 1980s, the panic began in the financial and real estate sector with devastating effects on many very large financial companies worldwide, especially in September 2008. The negative effects by October 2008 began spreading to all other sectors of the economy, and forecasts for the next several years showed little likelihood of recovery anywhere. For the effects on the broader economy (outside of finance and autos) see [[Recession of 2008]].

The crisis originated with government-backed home loan guarantees in the United States, and has impacted every country in the world. Banks and financial companies reported losses of over one trillion dollars; investors suffered [[paper loss|"paper losses"]] of many trillions. U.S. stocks went down 50% from their peak in 2007.<ref>For most people the loss is a "paper" loss because they still own the stock and it might go up, or down. If they bought stock in 2003 for $1000, watched it go to $1500 in 2008, then drop to $1000 again in 2008, their "paper loss" is $500 but their real loss is zero since they are back where they started. People who bought at $800 still have made a $200 paper profit. People who bought at $1200, say, have a paper loss of $200. The paper loss or gain becomes real when they finally sell the stock. See [[Paper loss]] for more details</ref> Paper losses for owners of stock in major financial institution were over 70%, and owners of some have lost 99% as major [[bank]]s closed down. The [[stock market]] declined 50-70% in major countries and [[pension]] funds have large paper losses. Paper losses in real estate have been in the trillions; the average price of American houses fell 20%, with 30% and higher declines in California and Florida. However, thus far ordinary depositors with cash in the bank have suffered no losses. Owners of stocks in the 5000 largest U.S. corporations have paper losses of $10 trillion in 2008, dropping to $10 trillion in October from $20 trillion in late 2007.
=== Liquidity crisis ===
In late September the crisis focused on liquidity—financial companies owned hundreds of billions of dollars of "toxic" real estate assets, mostly based on U.S. [[Fannie Mae]]-backed [[mortgage]]s; they could not sell the toxic securities because no one knew how much they were worth, and large scale loans between major institutions stopped flowing as the system lost liquidity and froze up. A $800 billion rescue plan became law in the U.S. October 3. Meanwhile, Europe's sovereign debt crisis continued to deteriorate, as trillions of dollars in losses accumulated there and in many other countries. International agencies such as the International Monetary Fund are giving guidance for medium-sized countries, like Pakistan and Ukraine. In the panic, people around the world sent their money to the U.S. and Japan because the banks there are more tightly regulated and considered safer than their own banks. The price of oil, which reached $145 a barrel in the summer, plunged to under $50. That plunge eased pump prices, helped commuters, and the airline industry.
[[Image:BRIDGE.JPG|thumb|400px|Tom Toles cartoon lampoons Federal bailout efforts as a badly designed [[bridge to nowhere]], Dec. 1, 2008]]
Both parties have expressed anger at the crisis, and have promised extensive new regulations of the financial industry. The Republicans opposed additional bailout aid to General Motors, which was on the verge of bankruptcy.<ref>Treasury Secretary Paulson told Congress on Nov. 18 that the Bush administration remains "firmly opposed" to using any of the $700 billion financial bailout fund to keep afloat auto manufacturers, "no matter how badly they need the help." [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/11/18/paulson-rejects-bailout-money-automakers-senate-considers-legislation/ Fox news report]</ref> Democratic Congressional leaders and President [[Barack Obama]] had the [[United States Treasury]] take control of General Motors while paying existing shareholders 22 cents on the dollar for their investment and claims, and not demanding any meaningful concessions from the [[labor union]]s to bring wages more in line with a competitive world standard.

The Bush administration undertook a program in which it took control of several of the largest financial institutions and [[government sponsored entities]] ([[Fannie Mae]], [[Freddie Mac]], and AIG insurance) at the heart of the crisis, forced mergers of others, purchased $125 billion of ownership in the 9 largest banks in the U.S., and provided relief to the largest bank, Citigroup.

Until October the crisis had little impact on the non-financial sectors of the world economy, but then negative impacts started appearing. Companies could not borrow money for expansion or in some cases for routine operations, and had to cut back. Consumer spending fell and unemployment rose sharply. By [[2008 Presidential election|Election day in November]] pessimistic reports were coming in daily from practically every sector of the American economy. There were no bright spots, and with tax revenues down, state governments began large-scale cutbacks, especially in New York and California.

By late October it appeared the financial crisis was causing a slowdown of all the economies of the world, and a serious recession with widespread unemployment and business failures The Federal Reserve took aggressive steps to dissolve the liquidity freeze and to allow lending to flow again.

==Causes==
As hundreds of billions of dollars poured into the U.S. from abroad, financiers looked for imaginative ways to make a profit. They turned to [[real estate]], with the philosophy "Buy high--sell higher!" The higher price paid for a house the more profit would be made when it was resold ("flipped") in six or 12 months; prices were certain to keep going up and up. Salesmen made big money by phoning prospective buyers, promising to get them Bog Money Quick. People who owned a house whose value had doubled could and did refinance their mortgage for the higher amount, and keep the difference. In the early 2000s, U.S. interest rates were low and demand for housing was high, as housing prices soared, especially in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Mortgage companies and banks were very eager to lend, especially to people with mediocre [[credit]] who would not previously have been eligible for mortgages and to speculators. Speculators were ordinary people who already had a house and who were hoping to make a large profit on the purchase and quick resale ("flip") of another house or condominium, which no one ever lived in.<ref>The only money the speculators had at risk was a down payment; sometimes the construction company paid for the down payment and closing costs, so the risk to the speculator was zero. Mortgages in the U.S. are "non-recourse" which means that borrowers cannot be sued for stopping payments.</ref> The expectation was that continuously rising house prices would cover the mortgage payments through refinancing. Many of the mortgages involved very low down payments and low monthly payments for the first year or two, after which the payments would start soaring. Sometimes the monthly payment at first was zero.

Both the Bush and Clinton administrations made it a national priority to encourage more people to buy houses, assuming this social engineering would be good for everyone. In 2000 [[Howard Husock]] warned that the [[Community Reinvestment Act]] of 1977 and its expansion in 1995 would prove expensive; but President Bush strongly endorsed the program. Despite widespread misunderstanding they did not cause the great crisis since CRA loans to poor neighborhoods comprised only about 6% of the toxic mortgages.<ref>[http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_1_the_trillion_dollar.html The Trillion-Dollar Bank Shakedown That Bodes Ill for Cities], Howard Husock, ''City Journal'', Winter 2000; Governor Randall S. Kroszner, "The Community Reinvestment Act and the Recent Mortgage Crisis," (December 3, 2008) [http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kroszner20081203a.htm online]</ref>

"Option adjustable rate mortgages" (nicknamed "Pick-A-Pay") allowed borrowers to vary their monthly payments; they could be so so small they did not cover their interest charges. That meant the total principal grows over time, compared to normal mortgages where the debt owed shrinks over 30 years to zero and the borrower owns the house free and clear. By 2008 banks sold these dangerous "option adjustable rate" mortgages to two million customers. They made sense if and only if the price of houses kept going up and the borrower could sell it in a year ot two at a huge profit. But if house prices declined, the borrower could stop paying and the bank was left with the loss.

Timeline video showing Democrats opposing regulating housing market financing. President Bush, Senator McCain and Alan Greenspan all predicting financial collapse and offering regulation. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1 See video]

The [[NYTimes]] says Senator [[Charles Schumer]] D-NY, is the most responsible for Wall Street's collapse.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/business/14schumer.html A Champion of Wall Street Reaps Benefits] NYTimes, December 13, 2008</ref> Schumer as a member of the Banking and Finance Committees, led efforts to regulate credit-rating agencies, shield financial institutions from government oversight and tougher regulations, and saved key industry players billions of dollars in taxes and fees.

===Selling Fannie Mae-backed mortgage bundles to pension funds and institutional investors===
Americans owed some $10 trillion on their mortgages, most of which were sound with payments made on time. However financiers bundled the mortgages into very complicated packages called "'''collateralized debt obligations''''<ref>That is, homeowners were obligated to pay the debts and the collateral behind them was the physical house.</ref> or CDOs. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of CDO's were sold to banks, pension funds and financiers in the U.S. and Europe. Generally they borrowed cash to buy the CDOs. The risk was that if the CDO's declined in value, they would not be able to repay those loans. The CDOs were especially attractive because they were not regulated by the government; experts are not sure how many trillions of dollars are involved.

Many mortgages were held or originated by mortgage companies like [[Countrywide]] and [[Washington Mutual]], as well as investment banks such as [[Bear Stearns]], [[Merrill Lynch]], [[Lehman Brothers]], [[Morgan Stanley]] and [[Goldman Sachs]], as well as commercial banking chains like [[Wachovia]] and [[Bank of America]], which have thousands of local offices.

===Commercial real estate===
The speculative [[housing bubble|real-estate bubble]] went far beyond residential homes, it infected as well all kinds of commercial real estate,<ref>Commercial real estate lending is more specialized than Fannie Mae lending, as much commercial property tend to be one-of-kind investments; finding comparable properties to establish appraisal value can be very difficult and complicated. Hence, commercial rates tend to begin at 10% for the best credit customers with much shorter terms and balloon payments.</ref> such as office buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes, hotels, casinos and even empty lots. People bought high expecting to sell higher, and were stunned when the market collapsed. People who loaned money to real estate firms were confident of a 20% return, but more likely lost 25%. The value of office buildings plunged 43% after the peak in Nov. 2007. Most investors who bought in 2007 probably lost all their investment.

For example, in 2006 at the top of the market Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty invested $5.4 billion to buy the largest apartment complex in the United States, in downtown New York City. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, with 110 buildings and 11,227 apartments housing median income families. The plan was to spend billions in upgrades, and as tenants moved out, to raise the rents. The expectation proved wildly overoptimistic, and the monthly rents collected did not cover the debt payments. In January 2010 Tishman Speyer and BlackRock turned over the property to creditors, taking a 100% loss.<ref>Charles V. Bagli, "Huge Housing Complex in N.Y. Returned to Creditors," [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/nyregion/25stuy.html?hp ''New York Times'' Jan. 25, 2010]</ref>

===Misuse of Credit Default Swaps===
Another key contributing factor to the credit market meltdown was the misuse of Credit Default Swaps, or CDSs, which are contracts between entities designed to mitigate against risk of a credit default. A CDS is essentially an insurance policy<ref>[http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/03/credit-default-swaps-cds-are-insurance-products-not-tradeable-assets/ Credit Default Swaps (CDS) Are Insurance Products, Not Tradeable Assets,] Barry Ritholtz, March 2, 2012,</ref> designed to protect the insured party against excessive losses in a separate financial transaction. However, by structuring the contract as a derivative swap instead of a traditional insurance policy, companies other than regulated insurers<ref>such as newly created [[Financial holding companies]] (FHCs)</ref> could offer them. This created two critical risk exposures to the insured companies, and collectively to the overall market. First, traditional insurers are required to maintain a sufficient level of capital reserves to pay on losses, while companies issuing CDSs were not. Since investments in pooled mortgages were viewed as unlikely to devalue or fail, major issuers of CDSs like AIG and Lehman Brothers found themselves over-exposed to losses. The second risk was that CDSs issued by one firm were typically hedged, or backed up financially, by CDSs with other companies. The strategy of minimizing risk by dividing it into collections of smaller exposures with other companies is a sound practice, but when the original risk is overexposed that overexposure is then spread across the companies that participate in the secondary risk markets.

[[AIG]], the world's largest insurance company, was a major player in the financial crisis because it sold $441 billion in unhedged and undercapitalized insurance on securitized debt, much of it tied to mortgage values. Normally an insurance company "lays off" some of the risk by taking out insurance with another company. AIG neglected to do this because it never expected the securities to turn toxic,<ref>or, the borrowers to default when interest rates rose on Adjustable Rate Mortgages.</ref> which they did. Either someone paid the insurance or the nation's financial system would colapse, so the government stepped in, seized AIG, and paid the insurance.

The effect of these risks manifested themselves in two key ways. First, when major players in the CDS market like Bear Sterns and AIG were found to be insolvent, or failed outright like Lehman Brothers, the default conditions that were tied to the risk-spreading CDS's were triggered, and many companies found themselves obligated to pay out on contracts they never expected to. These sudden exposures led to capital and liquidity shortages at scores of firms involved in the secondary credit markets, and the default pattern started repeating on itself in an echo-like manner. Since the complex, interdependent nature of the CDS market made it difficult for firms to assess their true exposure to loss in this unprecedented market, they refrained from both short-term and long-term lending to guard against further losses. This essentially led to a freezing up of credit in the marketplace, as lenders refusing to give credit to other lenders translated into businesses and consumers being unable to get short-term operating loans to meet payroll, or borrow for homes, autos, student loans, or credit-card accounts as before.

This freezing of the markets to avoid loss was the primary incentive for the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which injected billions of dollars of government-backed funds into the credit markets to restore confidence and liquidity.

==Bubble bursts==
The housing "bubble" burst in 2006-07, as prices plunged downward in the Sunbelt. Many speculators and homeowners could not meet their payments, especially those who had "[[sub-prime]]" mortgages because their income was too low to support the eventual monthly payments, or who had adjustable rate mortgages where the monthly payments started small then escalated. [[Foreclosure]]s skyrocketed. With housing prices falling few people risked buying a new house (because it would soon be worth less than they paid for it). Construction firms had built millions of new houses that could not be sold but which glutted the market. By late 2008 half the home sales in the U.S. were by banks selling houses they had foreclosed on at low prices.

The problem was that no one could figure out what CDOs were now worth, so very few were willing to buy them. One major investment bank, Merrill Lynch, sold its CDOs for 22 cents on the dollar—a "[[fire sale]]" price that was less than they were worth in the long run, because in the long run the great majority of people will make their scheduled mortgage payments.

==2008 crises==
Multiple crises started pulling down major financial players. Countrywide, which originated 20% of all American mortgages in 2006, collapsed and was bought up by Bank of America. Bear Stearns, a large investment bank, went under; the government arranged a sale to JPMorgan Chase; stock holders lost about 90% of their investment, and the confidence in other banks was undermined.

On September 7, 2008, the government took control of the two largest mortgage holders, "Fannie Mae"<ref>Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)</ref> and "[[Freddie Mac]]".<ref>Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC)</ref> The two had lost $15 billion on the $5.4 trillion in mortgages they owned, and their notes were widely held in [[China]] and many other countries. The fear was that if the Treasury did not act the world's confidence in the US financial system would collapse. However the rest of the world was in trouble too. The stock markets in China and [[Russia]] plunged 50%, and the [[United Kingdom|British]] Treasury had to take over its largest mortgage company, [[Northern Rock]]. Vast sums of money flowed into the US because it was safer there than anywhere else.
[[Image:PANIC08.jpg|thumb|300px|Panic in Wall Street, Sept. 2008; the "bull" is the symbol of optimism on Wall Street and the "bear" is the symbol of pessimism. Here the bull panics.]]
By September the major banks were no longer lending money and most reported huge losses as they wrote down the value of the CDOs and other assets. Short sellers sold large amounts of stock in threatened companies, causing further panic and driving down share prices.<ref>The short sellers did not own the shares; the practice was stopped on Sept. 19, 2008, by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] because it destabilized markets.</ref> [[Lehman Brothers]], one of the oldest and largest banks in New York, went bankrupt on Sept. 15 with no one to rescue it. The collapse of Lehman with its $639 billion in assets had a multiplier effect worldwide, severely weakening other big banks and sharply increasing the level of fear and distrust inside the system that caused bankers to sharply reduce their lending. Many large firms and hedge funds had borrowed billions of dollars from lenders and had pledged assets they owned as collateral. When the value of their collateral plummeted, the lenders demanded more collateral to make up the difference, so the borrowers had to sell assets to raise emergency cash. The price of the assets they sold was falling, and large additional sales further depressed prices, creating a downward spiral.

Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America for $50 billion, about half its value a few months before. Investors realized that AIG could no longer honor the insurance policies it wrote. It lost $13 billion in the first half of 2008 and its shares fell 95% in value. AIG was "too big" to be allowed to fail, so it was given an $85 billion loan from the government; in return the government received 80% of its stock. The government had to add another $38 billion to the AIG rescue in October.<ref>Barry Meier and Mary Williams Walsh, "A.I.G. to get Additional $37.8 Billion," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/business/economy/09insure.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin ''New York Times,'' Oct. 8, 2008]</ref> In effect AIG, along with GSE (government-sponsored enterprises) Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac were nationalized. The Federal Reserve, with $800 billion in assets, was assisted by the Treasury, which gave it more funds.<ref>See [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/business/02crisis.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1222952525-cWL0bOgQjxNvxNo+OH1qAw Joe Nocera, "36 Hours of Alarm and Action as Crisis Spiraled," ''New York Times'' (Oct. 1, 2008)]</ref>

===European crises===
Heavy borrowing by European banks meant the crisis immediately affected Britain and other countries as well, as the British housing bubble burst about the same time as the U.S. The British government had to take over major mortgage lenders, including Northern Rock in February, 2008. Northern Rock's loans (£25 billion) and guarantees (£30 billion) extended by the Bank of England, together with the value of the company's mortgages (£55 billion), or £100 billion in all, were added to the British national debt. Bradford & Bingley, half the size of Northern Rock, held £40 billion in toxic mortgages, and was nationalized in late September.
====Fortis====
In late September, the Fortis bank, the world's 20th largest business, was partially nationalized by three governments who injected $16 billion in emergency funds. In 2007 Fortis borrowed heavily for its $100 billion takeover of rival bank ABN Amro; the deal came at the market’s peak, and Fortis now cannot pay its debts. The [[Belgium|Belgian]], [[Netherlands|Dutch]] and [[Luxembourg]] governments tried to inject capital but as consumer confidence plunged, Netherlands nationalized the Dutch wing of the company and the rest was sold in early October to the French bank BNP Paribas for €14.5 billion euros ($19 billion).
====Germany====
In [[Germany]] Hypo Real Estate was given €50 billion euros ($68 billion) bailout by the government. The government of [[Iceland]] took over its large banks, as the entire island economy verged on bankruptcy because it depended so much on large foreign loans. Most of the European countries hurriedly announced guarantees of personal bank deposits to avert further drop in consumer confidence and runs on the banks. Stock markets around the world continue to decline as pessimism worsens.
====Central banks====
The European Central Bank aggressively lent money to banks trying to ensure that banks would have adequate cash. The moves have not reassured savers or investors, and European stock markets have fallen even further than the American stock markets, as have the stock markets in China and Russia.

On October 13, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria committed €1.3 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) to guarantee bank loans and take stakes in banks, in an emergency effort to head off the collapse of their financial systems.<ref>Carter Dougherty, Nelson Schwartz and Floyd Norris, "Financial Crises Spread in Europe," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06markets.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin ''New York Times,'' Oct 6, 2008]; Gregory Viscusi, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=azerJ573HcbI&refer=home "EU Nations Commit 1.3 Trillion Euros to Bank Bailouts," ''Bloomberg.com'' Oct. 13. 2008]</ref>
====Britain====
Britain on October 8 announced a gigantic £400 billion ($680 billion) rescue plan for its banks; the government would partially own them. Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]] said banks would still be run by their old managers, but that the government would have to be "satisfied" on matters of salaries, [[dividend]]s and lending activities. The money involved is about a third of Britain's annual [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]] (comparable to $5 trillion in the U.S. economy.)

On October 13, Britain announced it would spend £50 billion ($85 billion) to nationalize two of the five largest banks, HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), while taking partial ownership of a third, Lloyds TSB. A fourth, Barclays will remain private if it can raise an additional £7 billion. The fifth, HSBC is based in Hong Kong and will remain private.<ref>"Financial crisis: HBOS and RBS 'to be nationalised' in £50 billion state intervention," [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3185120/Financial-crisis-HBOS-and-RBS-to-be-nationalised-in-50-billion-state-intervention.html?source=EMC-new_12102008 London ''Telegraph'' Oct 13, 2008] The existing stockholders were not bought out. They will continue to hold shares in the banks, but they will be outvoted by the new stock owned by the government.</ref>
====Switzerland====
In October 2008, the Swiss central bank and the big UBS bank reached an agreement to transfer as much as $60 billion of troubled securities and other assets from UBS’s to a separate entity. UBS will put up $6 billion in equity. The Swiss central bank will control the new entity and loan it $54 billion.

===Asia===
The crisis swept across the Middle East and Asia as well, with South Korea especially hard hit. China, which had been the world's major growth machine in recent years, seemed to slow down. In November China's government announced it would spend 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) through the end of 2010 to stimulate its economy. It specifically targeted people's livelihood in an effort to offset the impact of slowing global demand for its exports and unlock the spending power of its vast population.

==Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) ==
"We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis," [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] warned the nation on Sept. 25, 2008.:
{{QuoteBox|Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse, and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending. Credit markets have frozen. And families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money....without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic, and a distressing scenario would unfold: More banks could fail, including some in your community. The stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet. Foreclosures would rise dramatically. And if you own a business or a farm, you would find it harder and more expensive to get credit. More businesses would close their doors, and millions of Americans could lose their jobs. Even if you have good credit history, it would be more difficult for you to get the loans you need to buy a car or send your children to college. And ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession.<ref>see [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080924-10.html Bush speech online]</ref>}}
On September 19, 2008, the Treasury and Federal Reserve proposed a major rescue plan—the largest government intervention in the economy since [[World War II]]. The plan was for the Treasury to purchase $700 billion of the CDOs. The buyout was needed, Bush said, to avert a major disaster for the economy. Most (but not all) Democrats signed on to the plan, adding provisions for Congressional oversight and caps on CEO compensation; but at the last moment on Sept 25, 2008 House Republicans said no, and GOP presidential nominee [[John McCain]] held off endorsement.

Conservatives were split on what to do. Many agreed with Bush that the program proposed by Treasury Secretary [[Henry M. Paulson]] was urgently needed. Large banks and corporations strongly endorsed the it. The [[American Bankers Association]] and the [[Mortgage Bankers Association]] are fighting against any amendment that would reduce mortgage obligations for people in bankruptcy, while directing all the government funds to the banking industry.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normally an outspoken advocate of big corporate interests, instead stressed the crisis's impact on small and midsize businesses. "We're looking at an economy that was slipping toward recession even before this crisis culminated in a market lockup last week," said Chamber economist Martin Regalia. The debate in Congress, he said, "is costing every American taxpayer money, directly."<ref>Elizabeth Williamson, "Big Business Wants Deal, Setbacks and All," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238988380577457.html ''Wall Street Journal'' Sept. 26, 2008]</ref> Democratic nominee Senator [[Barack Obama]] endorsed the plan, as amended by Congressional Democrats. On the other hand, ordinary taxpayers and "Main Street", that is businessmen who operated at the local level, were highly suspicious of [[Wall Street]]. McCain, blaming the crisis on "the corruption and manipulation of our home mortgage system", rejected the bailout as a favor for Wall Street and little help to Main Street. Advocates of the market economy insisted that the market should run its course, and opposed the government intervention.<ref>See comments from a range of economists at [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26assess.html?ref=business Peter S. Goodman, "Credit Enters a Lockdown," ''New York Times'' Sept. 25, 2008]</ref> The fiscally irresponsible TARP program increased the [[national debt]] by $300 million in 2009.<ref>http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2894</ref>

A compromise was agreed to by leaders of both parties but the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008" (EESA) was voted down in the House on Sept. 29. Democrats favored the Bush bill 60%-40%, but Republicans voted no by 65-35%. The stock market lost a trillion dollars in value in one day as uncertainty reigned. Finally a large majority passed a more expensive bill, that added $100 billion in new subsidies to the original $700 billion, plus tax breaks and a rise in FDIC insurance to $250,000 from $100,000, intended to reassure ordinary depositors. Both Obama and McCain voted for this version of the bill.

The Treasury TARP program proved erratic and had to be radically modified several times. The Treasury dropped the original plan to buy toxic securities and instead has used $250 billion to prop up major banks. In October Paulson and Bernanke used their new powers to take an ownership stake in the nine largest U.S. banks, of $7 to $25 billion each. These banks are now partly owned and controlled by the government. However those banks are keeping the money and not lending it out. The price of bank stocks has fallen sharply since the relief program was passed. The world's largest bank, Citigroup, was on the verge of collapse in late November and received a second loan of $20 billion (in addition to $25 billion in October), and a federal guarantee to cover most of its toxic investments.

In mid-December Bush announced that $17.4 billion of TARP funds would be given to the automobile industry in the form of bridge loans,<ref name=bushremarksautobailout>http://blogs.wsj.com/autoshow/2008/12/19/bushs-remarks-on-the-auto-rescue-plan/ Wall Street Journal, "Bush’s Remarks on the Auto Rescue Plan", December 19, 2008</ref> just enough to prevent the companies from going bankrupt for a few weeks.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122969367595121563.html Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Throws Lifeline to Detroit", December 20, 2008</ref> Bush defended the move by saying "if we were to allow the [[free market]] to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers."<ref name=bushremarksautobailout />

By mid-November the market had lost confidence in Treasury Secretary Paulson, who indicated he was baffled and would let the incoming Obama administration handle the unspent $450 billion. The stock market jumped 6% on the news that Obama had picked New York banker [[Timothy Geithner]] to replace Paulson.<ref>Theo Francis, "Obama to Nominate New York Fed Chief Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary," [http://www.businessweek.com/election/2008/blog/archives/2008/11/obama_to_nomina.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story ''Business Week'' Nov. 21, 2008]</ref> In late November the Federal Reserve announced it will buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-related assets from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, hoping to restart the housing and credit markets. Under the new "Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility", or '''TALF''', the Federal Reserve will loan up to $200 billion to financial companies that hold securities backed by consumer and small-business loans.

Hedge funds are private investment companies with a combined $1.7 trillion in assets. They have lost $180 billion since July and some are near collapse. Investors are demanding their money back, and Wall Street in late October is bracing for a shake-out in the industry.<ref>Louise Story, "Citadel Chief denies rumors of trouble" [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/25/business/25hedge.html?ref=business ''New York Times,'' Oct 24, 2008]</ref>

In late November the government announced an $800 billion plan to boost consumer credit and the market for mortgage-related securities. Plans call for the Federal Reserve in early 2009 to extend up to $200 billion in non-recourse loans to holders of asset-backed securities backed by highly rated consumer and small business loans.<ref>"Non-recourse" loans means that if they are not paid back the borrowers cannot be sued for their other assets. Mortgages fall in this category, so that if people default they just walk away from the debt and never have to repay it. However it damages their credit rating.</ref> Treasury will contribute $20 billion in funds through its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Federal Reserve also announced it will purchase up to $100 billion in GSE (government-sponsored enterprises, especially Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac) debt through a series of competitive auctions starting in December, 2008. The Federal Reserve starting in December will purchase up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by GSEs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed is preparing to launch new liquidity programs to support the economy in addition to further slashing interests rates. The total commitments by the government in relief and loan guarantees exceeded $7 trillion, but the economy nevertheless continued to slip downward.<ref>Maya Jackson Randall, "Paulson Says Treasury Actively Mulling New Rescue Programs," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122816189458369851.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy ''Wall Street Journal'' Dec. 1, 2008]</ref>
===Deepening recession===
By early December the entire economy was heading downward with no bright spots. The recession that began in Dec. 2007 intensified, as retail sales plunged. In November 2008 Americans, their confidence shaken, saved their money and sharply reduced their credit card purchases. Auto sales were down 37% in November (compared to Nov. 2007) to the lowest rate in 26 years. GM sales fell 41% Ford fell 31% and the foreign cars were down just as much, with Toyota down 34%, Nissan down 42% and Honda down 32%.<ref>Stephanie Rosenbloom, "In November, Shoppers Cut Spending Even More," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/business/economy/03shop.html?ref=business ''New York Times'' Dec. 2, 2008]; Nick Bunkley, "Another Month of Miserable Auto Sales," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/business/03sales.html?ref=business ''New York Times'' Dec. 2, 2008].</ref> Retailers rang up the lowest November sales in more than 30 years, as holiday shopping not only failed to lift the economy but showed that the crisis is further distressing everyday consumers. Thirty major companies—including Macy's, Sears, Abercrombie & Fitch and Target—posted sales declines; Wal-Mart, anchoring the bottom of the price chain, sawincreased sales. Retail sales in November fell 2.7 percent compared with the same month last year.<ref>Ylan Q. Mui, "Retailers Report a Crisis in All Aisles: November Sales Slump as Shoppers Stow Credit Cards," [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120404347.html?hpid=topnews ''Washington Post'' Dec. 5, 2008]</ref>
[[Image:Jobloss.jpg|thumb|300px]]

The Federal Reserve reported on Dec. 3, 2008, that every region reported sales declines, drops in manufacturing activity, weakening real estate markets, tighter lending, and deteriorating labor marketsThose sectors that had been strong until recently—especially as agriculture and energy—also softened as commodity prices declined. November saw 533,000 jobs disappear in the worst one-month decline in 34 years.

===Shadow TARP===
In 2011, it was revealed that the Federal Reserve secretly propped up elite bankers all the way from Wall Street to Brussels to the Central Bank of [[Libya]].<ref>[http://teamdemint.com/site/post/2142/the-feds-shadow-tarp The Fed's Shadow TARP, TeamDeMint, August 31, 2011]</ref> This was the Fed covertly operating its own bailout program. The names of those involved were revealed by Bloomberg News and it took several years of Freedom of Information Act court battles to unearth Fed actions. The Fed would have never revealed its secret bailout on its own.

==Collapse of #6 and #4 largest banks, rescue of #1==
===Washington Mutual collapses===
On Sept. 25, Washington Mutual, the 6th largest bank in the US with $310 billion in assets, went [[bankrupt]] after a run in which depositors withdrew $17 billion in a few days. Its stockholders lost all their money, the US government took it over (through the [[FDIC]], which insures ordinary bank deposits), and resold it the same day to the biggest New York bank, JPMorgan Chase. It was the largest commercial bank failure in American history, by far.<ref>In the [[Great Depression]], only one major bank failed (New York's Bank of United States, in late 1930), although over 6000 small neighborhood and rural banks went under; depositors eventually received on average 85% of their deposits.</ref>
===Wachovia collapses===
Meanwhile, the #4 U.S. bank, Wachovia, burdened by $120 billion in toxic securities,<ref>At the height of the bubble in 2006 Wachovia purchased Golden West Financial, a California lender specializing in "pay-option" mortgages that enabled speculators to buy houses and pay very little a month for a year or two (at which time they expected to sell it for a profit). [http://www.brokeroutpost.com/reference/22657.htm explanation of pay-option loans]</ref> was bought out by Citigroup on Sept. 29 in a deal engineered by the FDIC. However Wachovia then broke its deal and merged into Wells Fargo. The result is that four major banks now dominate the American economy ([[Bank of America]], [[Citibank]], [[JPMorgan Chase]], and [[Wells Fargo]]), along with dozens of regional chains and thousands of small local banks.

===Bank of America renegotiates mortgages===
In early October, Bank of America, the new owner of Countrywide, reached a settlement with 11 states that sued it over fraudulent practices. The state of Illinois accused Countrywide of relaxing underwriting standards, structuring loans with risky features, and misleading consumers with hidden fees and fake marketing claims, like a false promise of a "no closing costs loan." Countrywide gave special incentives to its brokers for selling impossible loans by paying higher commissions on them. In reviewing one Illinois mortgage broker’s sales, the Illinois complaint said the "vast majority of the loans had inflated income, almost all without the borrower’s knowledge." Bank of America did not deny the charges and instead agreed to pay out $8.4 billion to 400,000 Countrywide customers. Countrywide will reduce principal balances for some people and cut interest rates for others. Rates for some people could decline to as low as 2.5% and remain at that level for five years. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac, now all owned by the federal government, have begun their own programs to modify mortgage terms for some hard-pressed borrowers.
<ref>Gretchen Morgenson, "Countrywide to Set Aside $8.4 Billion in Loan Aid," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06countrywide.html?ref=business ''New York Times'' Oct. 6, 2008]</ref>
===Largest bank rescued===
Citigroup, the world's largest bank was tottering in late November despite its receipt of $25 billion in TARP funding. Its value on the stock market plunged to $21 billion, down from $244 billion two years ago. Round after round of layoffs have ended 75,000 jobs in 2008 out of 375,000 employees a year ago. Very heavy exposure to toxic mortgages is the main culprit. The government stepped in with the largest relief effort yet, including $20 billion in new cash, and guarantees of toxic assets by the Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve.

At all times Citigroup used elaborate mathematical risk models that looked at mortgages in particular geographical areas, but never included the possibility of a national housing downturn, or the prospect that millions of mortgage holders would default on their mortgages. The prevailing approach at Citigroup and the other big banks was to make money as fast as possible (generating annual bonuses of $10 to $30 million for senior executives), which assigning zero to the risk of a system-wide downturn. Such a downturn came with disastrous consequences for Citigroup and its rivals on Wall Street. Even after Bear Stearns ran into serious trouble in summer 2007, Citigroup decided the possibility of trouble with its CDO’s was so tiny (less than 1/100 of 1%) that they excluded them from their risk analysis.

Despite two federal efforts Citigroup is still wobbly. It holds $20 billion of mortgage-linked securities that have been marked down to between 21 cents and 41 cents on the dollar. It has billions of dollars of giant buyout and corporate loans of dubious value. And it also faces a potential massive losses on auto, mortgage and credit card loans as the economy worsens.<ref>Eric Dash and Julie Creswell, "Citigroup Pays for a Rush to Risk," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/business/23citi.html?ref=business&pagewanted=all ''New York'' Times,’’ Nov. 22, 2008]</ref>

By the end of 2009 most big banks were in much better shape and the Treasury expects to recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it lent to ailing companies, with the portion lent to banks actually showing a slight profit. Meanwhile, over 120 small and medium banks have been shut as insolvent; in most cases the FDIC picks up the losses and another bank takes over the operations and branches.<ref>Jackie Calmes, [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/business/07tarp.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1260187849-MV96Nnjzom3OwAchzjIqrg "U.S. Forecasts Smaller Loss From Bailout of Banks," ''New York Times'' Dec. 6, 2009]</ref>

==Auto stimulus==
In 2008 a series of damaging blows drove the "Big Three" (GM, Ford and Chrysler) to the verge of bankruptcy. Part of the cause was very high labor costs (much higher than the foreign plants in the U.S.), and lack of consumer demand for their products. The Big Three had in recent years stressed expensive, fuel-guzzling SUVs and large pickups. They were much more profitable than smaller, fuel-efficient cars. When gasoline prices shot past $4 in 2008, Americans stopped buying the big cars, and the Big Three saw their sales plummet. The Financial Crisis played a role as no one was willing to loan GM the money to buy Chrysler. Consumer credit has tightened and it became much harder for people with average or poor credit to obtain a bank loan to buy a car, so sales fell further. Stock prices plummeted as shareholders worried about bankruptcy; GM's shares fell to 1946 levels. Intense debate ensued about a massive bailout, that would be in addition to a $25 billion loan Congress passed in September 2008 to assist in increasing fuel efficiency. President Bush proposed changing the terms of that loan so it could be used to cover daily operating expenses, but Congress rejected that. Republicans in Congress in mid-November blocked Democratic proposals to underwrite a new bailout of the auto industry, as industry leaders made an unconvincing case before Congress. President Obama and Democrats in Congress have demanded the Big Three come up with a highly specific plan with some chance of long-term viability. Critics claimed the proposals would lead to unnecessary job loss.

In addition to the Big Three hundreds of large suppliers of parts are in financial crisis as well; most would go under if the Big Three go bankrupt.

Intense debate in December 2008 focused on allowing bankruptcy or injecting billions more of federal aid; it would be in addition to a $25 billion loan Congress passed in September 2008 to assist in increasing fuel efficiency. The Democrats in Congress supported president Bush's proposal to use the fuel-efficiency loans to help with the immediate problem. It passed the House but Senate Republicans broke with Bush and it failed. The opponents called for a bankruptcy that would allow GM to get out of its contracts to pay union members high wages, as well as generous pensions and medical benefits to retired workers. Bush then acted unilaterally and decided to make TARP loans to GM and Chrysler, on December 19. GM and Chrysler will get $13.4 billions in loans they can use to pay their suppliers.<ref>GM and Chrysler will receive $4 billion each when they sign the loan agreements with the Treasury. GM will have access to an addition $5.4 billion on Jan. 16 and another $4 billion on Feb. 17 provided that Congress has released the remaining $350 billion for the Treasury’s TARP rescue program.</ref> GM can receive another $4 billion in February, but by then the Obama administration will be in charge, and it is emphasizing the need for a long-range solution.<ref>David E. Sanger, David M. Herszenhorn and Bill Vlasic, “Bush Aids Detroit, but Hard Choices Wait for Obama,” [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20auto.html?hp ''New York Times'' Dec. 19, 2008]</ref>

===Bankruptcy scenario===
Bankruptcy of Chrysler and GM took place in the second quarter of 2009. Chrysler's sale to Italian automaker Fiat has been finalized. GM received billions more dollars to prevent bankruptcy but fell none-the-less. In addition, GM will require $30 billion in the first stage of bankruptcy. The Obama Administration is the single largest shareholder with the UAW second at 17% ownership. Also, many auto dealerships have been shuttered, thousands of workers have been [[laidoff]], assembly plants closed, and product lines dissolved or sold.

==Obama Administration==
[[Image:Geithner1.jpg|thumb|330px|Critics feared Geithner's vague plans would crash]]

The [[Obama Administration]], taking office on Jan. 20, 2009, moved to handle the crisis on two fronts. Working with Democrats in Congress (and three moderate Republican Senators), it passed the "[[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]", calling for $500 billion of [[Direct spending#New spending|new spending]] and nearly $300 billion in new tax cuts. The new law began operations in mid-February, 2009, and supporters hoped it would slow and turn around the nosediving economy. Conservative critics feared it would be ineffective in the short run and add to the national debt and tax burdens in the long run. As of late March no results are visible.

With major banks on the verge of failure, Treasury Secretary [[Timothy Geithner]] unveiled yet another massive [[bailout]] program in mid-February. Trillions would be spent to move toxic assets out of the banks, but few details were provided. The widespread reaction was very negative, and Geithner lost more of his credibility as a problem solver. Geither finally came back with a plan on March 23 that will not need additional funding or approval by Congress. The Treasury will use $100 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as well as new capital from private investors, in order to generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy toxic loans and assets. The program could potentially expand to $1 trillion over time.

===Criticisms===
:The nations banks now lend 25% less than when the financial bailout was announced.

: The USA relies on China to buy our U.S. Treasury bonds to fund the increased spending.

:America is a debtor nation, we spend more than we save. The dollars value has plummeted against world currencies. Gold prices remain at record levels.The money that we don't have, but spend, will be a debt that future generations will have to worry about. This has brought rise to the term 'Generational Theft' in describing Obama policies.

:"It's time to terminate the TARP program," Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, told reporters on Monday. "TARP is increasingly not being a vehicle for economic stability and taxpayer protection but is evolving into 700 billion dollar revolving slush fund that the administration can use to advance economic, social and political agenda items far and apart from what Tarp was ever designed to do." <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/08/house-republican-moves-terminate-tarp/ House Republican Moves to 'Terminate the TARP'] Fox News, June 08, 2009</ref>

In the view of 51 mostly conservative economists polled by the ''Wall Street Journal'' in July 2009, the Obama administration's performance is problematic. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner both got an average grade of 70 out of 100 for their handling of the financial crisis, but those grades varied widely. Former President Bush and ex-Treasury chief Paulson got average grades of 50 and 60, respectively, when economists were asked how they handled the crisis while in office. By contrast, Fed chairman Bernanke scores much better, with an average grade of 85; in addition 93% of respondents said he should be reappointed by Obama when Bernanke's term expires early next year.<ref>Phil Izzo, "Few Economists Favor More Stimulus," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708099206913393.html ''Wall Street Journal'' July 10, 2009]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Recession of 2008]]
*[[Henry M. Paulson]]
*[[Paper loss]]
*[[Tiny house movement]]
*[[Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program]]
*[http://ow.ly/3klF The Bailout In Images]

==External links==
*John Samples, [http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa660.pdf Lawless Policy:TARP as Congressional Failure], ''Policy Analysis'' No. 660, [[CATO Institute]], February 4, 2010.
*[http://baselinescenario.com/2010/03/15/senator-kaufman-fraud-still-at-the-heart-of-wall-street/ Senator Kaufman:Fraud Still At The Heart Of Wall Street]
*[http://baselinescenario.com/2010/04/18/john-paulson-needs-a-good-lawyer/ The Baseline Scenario]
*[http://www.chartingstocks.net/2009/02/great-depression-quotes-1929-vs-2008-have-we-learned-anything/ Great Depression Quotes 1929 vs 2008: Have We Learned Anything?]

==Further reading==
* Posner, Richard. ''A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression'' (2009), by a leading conservative
* Taylor, John B. ''Getting Off Track: How Government Actions and Interventions Caused, Prolonged, and Worsened the Financial Crisis'' (2009), 92pp; by a leading conservative

====References====
<references/>

{{Economic preparedness topics}}
[[Category:Economic Preparedness]]
[[Category:Finance]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Economic History]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:2000s]]

Financial Crisis of 2008

2017-04-28T03:30:00Z

JoeRW: Grammar fix

The '''Financial Crisis of 2008''' was global financial crisis that is the worst the world has seen since 1933 with the [[Great Depression]]. Drastic measures to confront seemingly insurmountable financial calamity resulted in the creation of '''TARP''' (Troubled Assets Relief Program), $700 billion safety net [[appropriation|appropriated]] by the U.S. Congress. The National Bureau of Economic Research<ref>NBER is a private organization that follows its own standards as set by eminent economists such as [[Milton Friedman]]; its dating of business cycles is widely accepted by conservatives.</ref> has identified the peak of the last boom cycle in December 2007; the U.S. economy has been in decline ever since.<ref>See "Text of the NBER's statement on the recession and FAQ's" [http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-12-01-recession-nber-statement_N.htm ''USA Today'' Dec 1, 2008]. "The U.S. economy entered a recession in December 2007, a committee of economists at the private National Bureau of Economic Research said," at [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/US-recession-began-December-2007/story.aspx?guid={7DCF90E4-D61A-4014-83CE-45E938CD632C} Rex Nutting] - MarketWatch</ref> [[Image:CRASH08.JPG|thumb|330px|Oct 11, 2008 editorial; cartoon by Horsey stresses the global collapse]] The crisis has caused the [[Recession of 2008]], which reached bottom in summer 2009, causing a worldwide economic decline that is the most severe since the 1930s. As of 2013, there are still 4 million fewer jobs in the U.S. than in 2008 - despite $5 trillion in federal [[stimulus]] spending.

Some [[free market]] advocates believe Congress and the [[Federal Reserve]] should not have bailed out failing firms and instead should have allowed market mechanism to operate.<ref>Free market advocates assert successful enterprises should be rewarded for doing things right, and failing businesses should be allowed to perish for making mistakes and not providing the public with the things they need or are in demand; government intervention can drag out recessions and depressions. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzTXaAXusiI]</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI</ref> A 2005 study found that government corporate bailouts are often done more for political considerations, and the economic resources allocated exhibit significantly worse performance than resources allocated using practical considerations <ref>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=676905</ref>

The [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) calculated that the global financial crisis would produce $3.4 trillion in losses for financial institutions around the world by 2010.<ref>Peter Dattels and Laura Kodres, "Global Financial System Shows Signs of Recovery, IMF Says," [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2009/RES093009A.htm ''IMF Survey Magazine'' Sept. 30, 2009]</ref> World [[GDP]] in 2007 was approximately $70 trillion, so the immediate decline in the economic output of the planet was about 5%.

==Overview==
Negative economic news spread outward from financial institutions connected to [[Fannie Mae]] and the real estate boom to depress housing sales, construction, commercial real estate, automobiles, retail sales, state and local government, and virtually every other sector of the economy. Consumer confidence and spending plunged. Major banks and corporations went bankrupt.

The recession was worldwide. Initially governments across the world borrowed and spent huge sums of money to reverse the crisis, but the results were anaemic and the decline continued. By 2013, the notion of a [[Keynesian]] stimulus had been abandoned by the [[European Union]], which cut it's budget in real terms, and the United States which invoked a [[sequestration]] of federal mandated spending to reduce the baseline for future years. While the prospect of deflation ordinarily would be real, the Federal Reserve had vastly increased the [[money supply]] both domestically and abroad with lending to foreign [[Central bank]]s. Although the U.S. monetary base aggregates were four times larger than in mid 2007, federal spending was 50% more than in 2008, and the accumulated [[national debt]] one-third greater, U.S. [[GDP]] output still lagged and the workforce was the size (134 million workers) as it was in 2003 - despite population having grown by 24 million people. The U.S. government provided cash bailouts of several hundred billion dollars and long-term loan guarantees of over $7 trillion (compared to a GDP of $14.6 trillion in 2008).

Unlike crises in the mid 1970s and early 1980s, the panic began in the financial and real estate sector with devastating effects on many very large financial companies worldwide, especially in September 2008. The negative effects by October 2008 began spreading to all other sectors of the economy, and forecasts for the next several years showed little likelihood of recovery anywhere. For the effects on the broader economy (outside of finance and autos) see [[Recession of 2008]].

The crisis originated with government-backed home loan guarantees in the United States, and has impacted every country in the world. Banks and financial companies reported losses of over one trillion dollars; investors suffered [[paper loss|"paper losses"]] of many trillions. U.S. stocks went down 50% from their peak in 2007.<ref>For most people the loss is a "paper" loss because they still own the stock and it might go up, or down. If they bought stock in 2003 for $1000, watched it go to $1500 in 2008, then drop to $1000 again in 2008, their "paper loss" is $500 but their real loss is zero since they are back where they started. People who bought at $800 still have made a $200 paper profit. People who bought at $1200, say, have a paper loss of $200. The paper loss or gain becomes real when they finally sell the stock. See [[Paper loss]] for more details</ref> Paper losses for owners of stock in major financial institution were over 70%, and owners of some have lost 99% as major [[bank]]s closed down. The [[stock market]] declined 50-70% in major countries and [[pension]] funds have large paper losses. Paper losses in real estate have been in the trillions; the average price of American houses fell 20%, with 30% and higher declines in California and Florida. However, thus far ordinary depositors with cash in the bank have suffered no losses. Owners of stocks in the 5000 largest U.S. corporations have paper losses of $10 trillion in 2008, dropping to $10 trillion in October from $20 trillion in late 2007.
=== Liquidity crisis ===
In late September the crisis focused on liquidity—financial companies owned hundreds of billions of dollars of "toxic" real estate assets, mostly based on U.S. [[Fannie Mae]]-backed [[mortgage]]s; they could not sell the toxic securities because no one knew how much they were worth, and large scale loans between major institutions stopped flowing as the system lost liquidity and froze up. A $800 billion rescue plan became law in the U.S. October 3. Meanwhile, Europe's sovereign debt crisis continued to deteriorate, as trillions of dollars in losses accumulated there and in many other countries. International agencies such as the International Monetary Fund are giving guidance for medium-sized countries, like Pakistan and Ukraine. In the panic, people around the world sent their money to the U.S. and Japan because the banks there are more tightly regulated and considered safer than their own banks. The price of oil, which reached $145 a barrel in the summer, plunged to under $50. That plunge eased pump prices, helped commuters, and the airline industry.
[[Image:BRIDGE.JPG|thumb|400px|Tom Toles cartoon lampoons Federal bailout efforts as a badly designed [[bridge to nowhere]], Dec. 1, 2008]]
Both parties have expressed anger at the crisis, and have promised extensive new regulations of the financial industry. The Republicans opposed additional bailout aid to General Motors, which was on the verge of bankruptcy.<ref>Treasury Secretary Paulson told Congress on Nov. 18 that the Bush administration remains "firmly opposed" to using any of the $700 billion financial bailout fund to keep afloat auto manufacturers, "no matter how badly they need the help." [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/11/18/paulson-rejects-bailout-money-automakers-senate-considers-legislation/ Fox news report]</ref> Democratic Congressional leaders and President [[Barack Obama]] had the [[United States Treasury]] take control of General Motors while paying existing shareholders 22 cents on the dollar for their investment and claims, and not demanding any meaningful concessions from the [[labor union]]s to bring wages more in line with a competitive world standard.

The Bush administration undertook a program in which it took control of several of the largest financial institutions and [[government sponsored entities]] ([[Fannie Mae]], [[Freddie Mac]], and AIG insurance) at the heart of the crisis, forced mergers of others, purchased $125 billion of ownership in the 9 largest banks in the U.S., and provided relief to the largest bank, Citigroup.

Until October the crisis had little impact on the non-financial sectors of the world economy, but then negative impacts started appearing. Companies could not borrow money for expansion or in some cases for routine operations, and had to cut back. Consumer spending fell and unemployment rose sharply. By [[2008 Presidential election|Election day in November]] pessimistic reports were coming in daily from practically every sector of the American economy. There were no bright spots, and with tax revenues down, state governments began large-scale cutbacks, especially in New York and California.

By late October it appeared the financial crisis was causing a slowdown of all the economies of the world, and a serious recession with widespread unemployment and business failures The Federal Reserve took aggressive steps to dissolve the liquidity freeze and to allow lending to flow again.

==Causes==
As hundreds of billions of dollars poured into the U.S. from abroad, financiers looked for imaginative ways to make a profit. They turned to [[real estate]], with the philosophy "Buy high--sell higher!" The higher price paid for a house the more profit would be made when it was resold ("flipped") in six or 12 months; prices were certain to keep going up and up. Salesmen made big money by phoning prospective buyers, promising to get them Bog Money Quick. People who owned a house whose value had doubled could and did refinance their mortgage for the higher amount, and keep the difference. In the early 2000s, U.S. interest rates were low and demand for housing was high, as housing prices soared, especially in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Mortgage companies and banks were very eager to lend, especially to people with mediocre [[credit]] who would not previously have been eligible for mortgages and to speculators. Speculators were ordinary people who already had a house and who were hoping to make a large profit on the purchase and quick resale ("flip") of another house or condominium, which no one ever lived in.<ref>The only money the speculators had at risk was a down payment; sometimes the construction company paid for the down payment and closing costs, so the risk to the speculator was zero. Mortgages in the U.S. are "non-recourse" which means that borrowers cannot be sued for stopping payments.</ref> The expectation was that continuously rising house prices would cover the mortgage payments through refinancing. Many of the mortgages involved very low down payments and low monthly payments for the first year or two, after which the payments would start soaring. Sometimes the monthly payment at first was zero.

Both the Bush and Clinton administrations made it a national priority to encourage more people to buy houses, assuming this social engineering would be good for everyone. In 2000 [[Howard Husock]] warned that the [[Community Reinvestment Act]] of 1977 and its expansion in 1995 would prove expensive; but President Bush strongly endorsed the program. Despite widespread misunderstanding they did not cause the great crisis since CRA loans to poor neighborhoods comprised only about 6% of the toxic mortgages.<ref>[http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_1_the_trillion_dollar.html The Trillion-Dollar Bank Shakedown That Bodes Ill for Cities], Howard Husock, ''City Journal'', Winter 2000; Governor Randall S. Kroszner, "The Community Reinvestment Act and the Recent Mortgage Crisis," (December 3, 2008) [http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kroszner20081203a.htm online]</ref>

"Option adjustable rate mortgages" (nicknamed "Pick-A-Pay") allowed borrowers to vary their monthly payments; they could be so so small they did not cover their interest charges. That meant the total principal grows over time, compared to normal mortgages where the debt owed shrinks over 30 years to zero and the borrower owns the house free and clear. By 2008 banks sold these dangerous "option adjustable rate" mortgages to two million customers. They made sense if and only if the price of houses kept going up and the borrower could sell it in a year ot two at a huge profit. But if house prices declined, the borrower could stop paying and the bank was left with the loss.

Timeline video showing Democrats opposing regulating housing market financing. President Bush, Senator McCain and Alan Greenspan all predicting financial collapse and offering regulation. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1 See video]

The [[NYTimes]] says Senator [[Charles Schumer]] D-NY, is the most responsible for Wall Street's collapse.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/business/14schumer.html A Champion of Wall Street Reaps Benefits] NYTimes, December 13, 2008</ref> Schumer as a member of the Banking and Finance Committees, led efforts to regulate credit-rating agencies, shield financial institutions from government oversight and tougher regulations, and saved key industry players billions of dollars in taxes and fees.

===Selling Fannie Mae-backed mortgage bundles to pension funds and institutional investors===
Americans owed some $10 trillion on their mortgages, most of which were sound with payments made on time. However financiers bundled the mortgages into very complicated packages called "'''collateralized debt obligations''''<ref>That is, homeowners were obligated to pay the debts and the collateral behind them was the physical house.</ref> or CDOs. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of CDO's were sold to banks, pension funds and financiers in the U.S. and Europe. Generally they borrowed cash to buy the CDOs. The risk was that if the CDO's declined in value, they would not be able to repay those loans. The CDOs were especially attractive because they were not regulated by the government; experts are not sure how many trillions of dollars are involved.

Many mortgages were held or originated by mortgage companies like [[Countrywide]] and [[Washington Mutual]], as well as investment banks such as [[Bear Stearns]], [[Merrill Lynch]], [[Lehman Brothers]], [[Morgan Stanley]] and [[Goldman Sachs]], as well as commercial banking chains like [[Wachovia]] and [[Bank of America]], which have thousands of local offices.

===Commercial real estate===
The speculative [[housing bubble|real-estate bubble]] went far beyond residential homes, it infected as well all kinds of commercial real estate,<ref>Commercial real estate lending is more specialized than Fannie Mae lending, as much commercial property tend to be one-of-kind investments; finding comparable properties to establish appraisal value can be very difficult and complicated. Hence, commercial rates tend to begin at 10% for the best credit customers with much shorter terms and balloon payments.</ref> such as office buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes, hotels, casinos and even empty lots. People bought high expecting to sell higher, and were stunned when the market collapsed. People who loaned money to real estate firms were confident of a 20% return, but more likely lost 25%. The value of office buildings plunged 43% after the peak in Nov. 2007. Most investors who bought in 2007 probably lost all their investment.

For example, in 2006 at the top of the market Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty invested $5.4 billion to buy the largest apartment complex in the United States, in downtown New York City. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, with 110 buildings and 11,227 apartments housing median income families. The plan was to spend billions in upgrades, and as tenants moved out, to raise the rents. The expectation proved wildly overoptimistic, and the monthly rents collected did not cover the debt payments. In January 2010 Tishman Speyer and BlackRock turned over the property to creditors, taking a 100% loss.<ref>Charles V. Bagli, "Huge Housing Complex in N.Y. Returned to Creditors," [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/nyregion/25stuy.html?hp ''New York Times'' Jan. 25, 2010]</ref>

===Misuse of Credit Default Swaps===
Another key contributing factor to the credit market meltdown was the misuse of Credit Default Swaps, or CDSs, which are contracts between entities designed to mitigate against risk of a credit default. A CDS is essentially an insurance policy<ref>[http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/03/credit-default-swaps-cds-are-insurance-products-not-tradeable-assets/ Credit Default Swaps (CDS) Are Insurance Products, Not Tradeable Assets,] Barry Ritholtz, March 2, 2012,</ref> designed to protect the insured party against excessive losses in a separate financial transaction. However, by structuring the contract as a derivative swap instead of a traditional insurance policy, companies other than regulated insurers<ref>such as newly created [[Financial holding companies]] (FHCs)</ref> could offer them. This created two critical risk exposures to the insured companies, and collectively to the overall market. First, traditional insurers are required to maintain a sufficient level of capital reserves to pay on losses, while companies issuing CDSs were not. Since investments in pooled mortgages were viewed as unlikely to devalue or fail, major issuers of CDSs like AIG and Lehman Brothers found themselves over-exposed to losses. The second risk was that CDSs issued by one firm were typically hedged, or backed up financially, by CDSs with other companies. The strategy of minimizing risk by dividing it into collections of smaller exposures with other companies is a sound practice, but when the original risk is overexposed that overexposure is then spread across the companies that participate in the secondary risk markets.

[[AIG]], the world's largest insurance company, was a major player in the financial crisis because it sold $441 billion in unhedged and undercapitalized insurance on securitized debt, much of it tied to mortgage values. Normally an insurance company "lays off" some of the risk by taking out insurance with another company. AIG neglected to do this because it never expected the securities to turn toxic,<ref>or, the borrowers to default when interest rates rose on Adjustable Rate Mortgages.</ref> which they did. Either someone paid the insurance or the nation's financial system would colapse, so the government stepped in, seized AIG, and paid the insurance.

The effect of these risks manifested themselves in two key ways. First, when major players in the CDS market like Bear Sterns and AIG were found to be insolvent, or failed outright like Lehman Brothers, the default conditions that were tied to the risk-spreading CDS's were triggered, and many companies found themselves obligated to pay out on contracts they never expected to. These sudden exposures led to capital and liquidity shortages at scores of firms involved in the secondary credit markets, and the default pattern started repeating on itself in an echo-like manner. Since the complex, interdependent nature of the CDS market made it difficult for firms to assess their true exposure to loss in this unprecedented market, they refrained from both short-term and long-term lending to guard against further losses. This essentially led to a freezing up of credit in the marketplace, as lenders refusing to give credit to other lenders translated into businesses and consumers being unable to get short-term operating loans to meet payroll, or borrow for homes, autos, student loans, or credit-card accounts as before.

This freezing of the markets to avoid loss was the primary incentive for the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which injected billions of dollars of government-backed funds into the credit markets to restore confidence and liquidity.

==Bubble bursts==
The housing "bubble" burst in 2006-07, as prices plunged downward in the Sunbelt. Many speculators and homeowners could not meet their payments, especially those who had "[[sub-prime]]" mortgages because their income was too low to support the eventual monthly payments, or who had adjustable rate mortgages where the monthly payments started small then escalated. [[Foreclosure]]s skyrocketed. With housing prices falling few people risked buying a new house (because it would soon be worth less than they paid for it). Construction firms had built millions of new houses that could not be sold but which glutted the market. By late 2008 half the home sales in the U.S. were by banks selling houses they had foreclosed on at low prices.

The problem was that no one could figure out what CDOs were now worth, so very few were willing to buy them. One major investment bank, Merrill Lynch, sold its CDOs for 22 cents on the dollar—a "[[fire sale]]" price that was less than they were worth in the long run, because in the long run the great majority of people will make their scheduled mortgage payments.

==2008 crises==
Multiple crises started pulling down major financial players. Countrywide, which originated 20% of all American mortgages in 2006, collapsed and was bought up by Bank of America. Bear Stearns, a large investment bank, went under; the government arranged a sale to JPMorgan Chase; stock holders lost about 90% of their investment, and the confidence in other banks was undermined.

On September 7, 2008, the government took control of the two largest mortgage holders, "Fannie Mae"<ref>Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)</ref> and "[[Freddie Mac]]".<ref>Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC)</ref> The two had lost $15 billion on the $5.4 trillion in mortgages they owned, and their notes were widely held in [[China]] and many other countries. The fear was that if the Treasury did not act the world's confidence in the US financial system would collapse. However the rest of the world was in trouble too. The stock markets in China and [[Russia]] plunged 50%, and the [[United Kingdom|British]] Treasury had to take over its largest mortgage company, [[Northern Rock]]. Vast sums of money flowed into the US because it was safer there than anywhere else.
[[Image:PANIC08.jpg|thumb|300px|Panic in Wall Street, Sept. 2008; the "bull" is the symbol of optimism on Wall Street and the "bear" is the symbol of pessimism. Here the bull panics.]]
By September the major banks were no longer lending money and most reported huge losses as they wrote down the value of the CDOs and other assets. Short sellers sold large amounts of stock in threatened companies, causing further panic and driving down share prices.<ref>The short sellers did not own the shares; the practice was stopped on Sept. 19, 2008, by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] because it destabilized markets.</ref> [[Lehman Brothers]], one of the oldest and largest banks in New York, went bankrupt on Sept. 15 with no one to rescue it. The collapse of Lehman with its $639 billion in assets had a multiplier effect worldwide, severely weakening other big banks and sharply increasing the level of fear and distrust inside the system that caused bankers to sharply reduce their lending. Many large firms and hedge funds had borrowed billions of dollars from lenders and had pledged assets they owned as collateral. When the value of their collateral plummeted, the lenders demanded more collateral to make up the difference, so the borrowers had to sell assets to raise emergency cash. The price of the assets they sold was falling, and large additional sales further depressed prices, creating a downward spiral.

Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America for $50 billion, about half its value a few months before. Investors realized that AIG could no longer honor the insurance policies it wrote. It lost $13 billion in the first half of 2008 and its shares fell 95% in value. AIG was "too big" to be allowed to fail, so it was given an $85 billion loan from the government; in return the government received 80% of its stock. The government had to add another $38 billion to the AIG rescue in October.<ref>Barry Meier and Mary Williams Walsh, "A.I.G. to get Additional $37.8 Billion," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/business/economy/09insure.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin ''New York Times,'' Oct. 8, 2008]</ref> In effect AIG, along with GSE (government-sponsored enterprises) Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac were nationalized. The Federal Reserve, with $800 billion in assets, was assisted by the Treasury, which gave it more funds.<ref>See [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/business/02crisis.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1222952525-cWL0bOgQjxNvxNo+OH1qAw Joe Nocera, "36 Hours of Alarm and Action as Crisis Spiraled," ''New York Times'' (Oct. 1, 2008)]</ref>

===European crises===
Heavy borrowing by European banks meant the crisis immediately affected Britain and other countries as well, as the British housing bubble burst about the same time as the U.S. The British government had to take over major mortgage lenders, including Northern Rock in February, 2008. Northern Rock's loans (£25 billion) and guarantees (£30 billion) extended by the Bank of England, together with the value of the company's mortgages (£55 billion), or £100 billion in all, were added to the British national debt. Bradford & Bingley, half the size of Northern Rock, held £40 billion in toxic mortgages, and was nationalized in late September.
====Fortis====
In late September, the Fortis bank, the world's 20th largest business, was partially nationalized by three governments who injected $16 billion in emergency funds. In 2007 Fortis borrowed heavily for its $100 billion takeover of rival bank ABN Amro; the deal came at the market’s peak, and Fortis now cannot pay its debts. The [[Belgium|Belgian]], [[Netherlands|Dutch]] and [[Luxembourg]] governments tried to inject capital but as consumer confidence plunged, Netherlands nationalized the Dutch wing of the company and the rest was sold in early October to the French bank BNP Paribas for €14.5 billion euros ($19 billion).
====Germany====
In [[Germany]] Hypo Real Estate was given €50 billion euros ($68 billion) bailout by the government. The government of [[Iceland]] took over its large banks, as the entire island economy verged on bankruptcy because it depended so much on large foreign loans. Most of the European countries hurriedly announced guarantees of personal bank deposits to avert further drop in consumer confidence and runs on the banks. Stock markets around the world continue to decline as pessimism worsens.
====Central banks====
The European Central Bank aggressively lent money to banks trying to ensure that banks would have adequate cash. The moves have not reassured savers or investors, and European stock markets have fallen even further than the American stock markets, as have the stock markets in China and Russia.

On October 13, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria committed €1.3 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) to guarantee bank loans and take stakes in banks, in an emergency effort to head off the collapse of their financial systems.<ref>Carter Dougherty, Nelson Schwartz and Floyd Norris, "Financial Crises Spread in Europe," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06markets.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin ''New York Times,'' Oct 6, 2008]; Gregory Viscusi, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=azerJ573HcbI&refer=home "EU Nations Commit 1.3 Trillion Euros to Bank Bailouts," ''Bloomberg.com'' Oct. 13. 2008]</ref>
====Britain====
Britain on October 8 announced a gigantic £400 billion ($680 billion) rescue plan for its banks; the government would partially own them. Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]] said banks would still be run by their old managers, but that the government would have to be "satisfied" on matters of salaries, [[dividend]]s and lending activities. The money involved is about a third of Britain's annual [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]] (comparable to $5 trillion in the U.S. economy.)

On October 13, Britain announced it would spend £50 billion ($85 billion) to nationalize two of the five largest banks, HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), while taking partial ownership of a third, Lloyds TSB. A fourth, Barclays will remain private if it can raise an additional £7 billion. The fifth, HSBC is based in Hong Kong and will remain private.<ref>"Financial crisis: HBOS and RBS 'to be nationalised' in £50 billion state intervention," [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3185120/Financial-crisis-HBOS-and-RBS-to-be-nationalised-in-50-billion-state-intervention.html?source=EMC-new_12102008 London ''Telegraph'' Oct 13, 2008] The existing stockholders were not bought out. They will continue to hold shares in the banks, but they will be outvoted by the new stock owned by the government.</ref>
====Switzerland====
In October 2008, the Swiss central bank and the big UBS bank reached an agreement to transfer as much as $60 billion of troubled securities and other assets from UBS’s to a separate entity. UBS will put up $6 billion in equity. The Swiss central bank will control the new entity and loan it $54 billion.

===Asia===
The crisis swept across the Middle East and Asia as well, with South Korea especially hard hit. China, which had been the world's major growth machine in recent years, seemed to slow down. In November China's government announced it would spend 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) through the end of 2010 to stimulate its economy. It specifically targeted people's livelihood in an effort to offset the impact of slowing global demand for its exports and unlock the spending power of its vast population.

==Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) ==
"We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis," [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] warned the nation on Sept. 25, 2008.:
{{QuoteBox|Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse, and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending. Credit markets have frozen. And families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money....without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic, and a distressing scenario would unfold: More banks could fail, including some in your community. The stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet. Foreclosures would rise dramatically. And if you own a business or a farm, you would find it harder and more expensive to get credit. More businesses would close their doors, and millions of Americans could lose their jobs. Even if you have good credit history, it would be more difficult for you to get the loans you need to buy a car or send your children to college. And ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession.<ref>see [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080924-10.html Bush speech online]</ref>}}
On September 19, 2008, the Treasury and Federal Reserve proposed a major rescue plan—the largest government intervention in the economy since [[World War II]]. The plan was for the Treasury to purchase $700 billion of the CDOs. The buyout was needed, Bush said, to avert a major disaster for the economy. Most (but not all) Democrats signed on to the plan, adding provisions for Congressional oversight and caps on CEO compensation; but at the last moment on Sept 25, 2008 House Republicans said no, and GOP presidential nominee [[John McCain]] held off endorsement.

Conservatives were split on what to do. Many agreed with Bush that the program proposed by Treasury Secretary [[Henry M. Paulson]] was urgently needed. Large banks and corporations strongly endorsed the it. The [[American Bankers Association]] and the [[Mortgage Bankers Association]] are fighting against any amendment that would reduce mortgage obligations for people in bankruptcy, while directing all the government funds to the banking industry.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normally an outspoken advocate of big corporate interests, instead stressed the crisis's impact on small and midsize businesses. "We're looking at an economy that was slipping toward recession even before this crisis culminated in a market lockup last week," said Chamber economist Martin Regalia. The debate in Congress, he said, "is costing every American taxpayer money, directly."<ref>Elizabeth Williamson, "Big Business Wants Deal, Setbacks and All," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238988380577457.html ''Wall Street Journal'' Sept. 26, 2008]</ref> Democratic nominee Senator [[Barack Obama]] endorsed the plan, as amended by Congressional Democrats. On the other hand, ordinary taxpayers and "Main Street", that is businessmen who operated at the local level, were highly suspicious of [[Wall Street]]. McCain, blaming the crisis on "the corruption and manipulation of our home mortgage system", rejected the bailout as a favor for Wall Street and little help to Main Street. Advocates of the market economy insisted that the market should run its course, and opposed the government intervention.<ref>See comments from a range of economists at [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26assess.html?ref=business Peter S. Goodman, "Credit Enters a Lockdown," ''New York Times'' Sept. 25, 2008]</ref> The fiscally irresponsible TARP program increased the [[national debt]] by $300 million in 2009.<ref>http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2894</ref>

A compromise was agreed to by leaders of both parties but the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008" (EESA) was voted down in the House on Sept. 29. Democrats favored the Bush bill 60%-40%, but Republicans voted no by 65-35%. The stock market lost a trillion dollars in value in one day as uncertainty reigned. Finally a large majority passed a more expensive bill, that added $100 billion in new subsidies to the original $700 billion, plus tax breaks and a rise in FDIC insurance to $250,000 from $100,000, intended to reassure ordinary depositors. Both Obama and McCain voted for this version of the bill.

The Treasury TARP program proved erratic and had to be radically modified several times. The Treasury dropped the original plan to buy toxic securities and instead has used $250 billion to prop up major banks. In October Paulson and Bernanke used their new powers to take an ownership stake in the nine largest U.S. banks, of $7 to $25 billion each. These banks are now partly owned and controlled by the government. However those banks are keeping the money and not lending it out. The price of bank stocks has fallen sharply since the relief program was passed. The world's largest bank, Citigroup, was on the verge of collapse in late November and received a second loan of $20 billion (in addition to $25 billion in October), and a federal guarantee to cover most of its toxic investments.

In mid-December Bush announced that $17.4 billion of TARP funds would be given to the automobile industry in the form of bridge loans,<ref name=bushremarksautobailout>http://blogs.wsj.com/autoshow/2008/12/19/bushs-remarks-on-the-auto-rescue-plan/ Wall Street Journal, "Bush’s Remarks on the Auto Rescue Plan", December 19, 2008</ref> just enough to prevent the companies from going bankrupt for a few weeks.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122969367595121563.html Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Throws Lifeline to Detroit", December 20, 2008</ref> Bush defended the move by saying "if we were to allow the [[free market]] to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers."<ref name=bushremarksautobailout />

By mid-November the market had lost confidence in Treasury Secretary Paulson, who indicated he was baffled and would let the incoming Obama administration handle the unspent $450 billion. The stock market jumped 6% on the news that Obama had picked New York banker [[Timothy Geithner]] to replace Paulson.<ref>Theo Francis, "Obama to Nominate New York Fed Chief Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary," [http://www.businessweek.com/election/2008/blog/archives/2008/11/obama_to_nomina.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story ''Business Week'' Nov. 21, 2008]</ref> In late November the Federal Reserve announced it will buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-related assets from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, hoping to restart the housing and credit markets. Under the new "Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility", or '''TALF''', the Federal Reserve will loan up to $200 billion to financial companies that hold securities backed by consumer and small-business loans.

Hedge funds are private investment companies with a combined $1.7 trillion in assets. They have lost $180 billion since July and some are near collapse. Investors are demanding their money back, and Wall Street in late October is bracing for a shake-out in the industry.<ref>Louise Story, "Citadel Chief denies rumors of trouble" [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/25/business/25hedge.html?ref=business ''New York Times,'' Oct 24, 2008]</ref>

In late November the government announced an $800 billion plan to boost consumer credit and the market for mortgage-related securities. Plans call for the Federal Reserve in early 2009 to extend up to $200 billion in non-recourse loans to holders of asset-backed securities backed by highly rated consumer and small business loans.<ref>"Non-recourse" loans means that if they are not paid back the borrowers cannot be sued for their other assets. Mortgages fall in this category, so that if people default they just walk away from the debt and never have to repay it. However it damages their credit rating.</ref> Treasury will contribute $20 billion in funds through its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Federal Reserve also announced it will purchase up to $100 billion in GSE (government-sponsored enterprises, especially Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac) debt through a series of competitive auctions starting in December, 2008. The Federal Reserve starting in December will purchase up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by GSEs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed is preparing to launch new liquidity programs to support the economy in addition to further slashing interests rates. The total commitments by the government in relief and loan guarantees exceeded $7 trillion, but the economy nevertheless continued to slip downward.<ref>Maya Jackson Randall, "Paulson Says Treasury Actively Mulling New Rescue Programs," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122816189458369851.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy ''Wall Street Journal'' Dec. 1, 2008]</ref>
===Deepening recession===
By early December the entire economy was heading downward with no bright spots. The recession that began in Dec. 2007 intensified, as retail sales plunged. In November 2008 Americans, their confidence shaken, saved their money and sharply reduced their credit card purchases. Auto sales were down 37% in November (compared to Nov. 2007) to the lowest rate in 26 years. GM sales fell 41% Ford fell 31% and the foreign cars were down just as much, with Toyota down 34%, Nissan down 42% and Honda down 32%.<ref>Stephanie Rosenbloom, "In November, Shoppers Cut Spending Even More," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/business/economy/03shop.html?ref=business ''New York Times'' Dec. 2, 2008]; Nick Bunkley, "Another Month of Miserable Auto Sales," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/business/03sales.html?ref=business ''New York Times'' Dec. 2, 2008].</ref> Retailers rang up the lowest November sales in more than 30 years, as holiday shopping not only failed to lift the economy but showed that the crisis is further distressing everyday consumers. Thirty major companies—including Macy's, Sears, Abercrombie & Fitch and Target—posted sales declines; Wal-Mart, anchoring the bottom of the price chain, sawincreased sales. Retail sales in November fell 2.7 percent compared with the same month last year.<ref>Ylan Q. Mui, "Retailers Report a Crisis in All Aisles: November Sales Slump as Shoppers Stow Credit Cards," [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120404347.html?hpid=topnews ''Washington Post'' Dec. 5, 2008]</ref>
[[Image:Jobloss.jpg|thumb|300px]]

The Federal Reserve reported on Dec. 3, 2008, that every region reported sales declines, drops in manufacturing activity, weakening real estate markets, tighter lending, and deteriorating labor marketsThose sectors that had been strong until recently—especially as agriculture and energy—also softened as commodity prices declined. November saw 533,000 jobs disappear in the worst one-month decline in 34 years.

===Shadow TARP===
In 2011, it was revealed that the Federal Reserve secretly propped up elite bankers all the way from Wall Street to Brussels to the Central Bank of [[Libya]].<ref>[http://teamdemint.com/site/post/2142/the-feds-shadow-tarp The Fed's Shadow TARP, TeamDeMint, August 31, 2011]</ref> This was the Fed covertly operating its own bailout program. The names of those involved were revealed by Bloomberg News and it took several years of Freedom of Information Act court battles to unearth Fed actions. The Fed would have never revealed its secret bailout on its own.

==Collapse of #6 and #4 largest banks, rescue of #1==
===Washington Mutual collapses===
On Sept. 25, Washington Mutual, the 6th largest bank in the US with $310 billion in assets, went [[bankrupt]] after a run in which depositors withdrew $17 billion in a few days. Its stockholders lost all their money, the US government took it over (through the [[FDIC]], which insures ordinary bank deposits), and resold it the same day to the biggest New York bank, JPMorgan Chase. It was the largest commercial bank failure in American history, by far.<ref>In the [[Great Depression]], only one major bank failed (New York's Bank of United States, in late 1930), although over 6000 small neighborhood and rural banks went under; depositors eventually received on average 85% of their deposits.</ref>
===Wachovia collapses===
Meanwhile, the #4 U.S. bank, Wachovia, burdened by $120 billion in toxic securities,<ref>At the height of the bubble in 2006 Wachovia purchased Golden West Financial, a California lender specializing in "pay-option" mortgages that enabled speculators to buy houses and pay very little a month for a year or two (at which time they expected to sell it for a profit). [http://www.brokeroutpost.com/reference/22657.htm explanation of pay-option loans]</ref> was bought out by Citigroup on Sept. 29 in a deal engineered by the FDIC. However Wachovia then broke its deal and merged into Wells Fargo. The result is that four major banks now dominate the American economy ([[Bank of America]], [[Citibank]], [[JPMorgan Chase]], and [[Wells Fargo]]), along with dozens of regional chains and thousands of small local banks.

===Bank of America renegotiates mortgages===
In early October, Bank of America, the new owner of Countrywide, reached a settlement with 11 states that sued it over fraudulent practices. The state of Illinois accused Countrywide of relaxing underwriting standards, structuring loans with risky features, and misleading consumers with hidden fees and fake marketing claims, like a false promise of a "no closing costs loan." Countrywide gave special incentives to its brokers for selling impossible loans by paying higher commissions on them. In reviewing one Illinois mortgage broker’s sales, the Illinois complaint said the "vast majority of the loans had inflated income, almost all without the borrower’s knowledge." Bank of America did not deny the charges and instead agreed to pay out $8.4 billion to 400,000 Countrywide customers. Countrywide will reduce principal balances for some people and cut interest rates for others. Rates for some people could decline to as low as 2.5% and remain at that level for five years. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac, now all owned by the federal government, have begun their own programs to modify mortgage terms for some hard-pressed borrowers.
<ref>Gretchen Morgenson, "Countrywide to Set Aside $8.4 Billion in Loan Aid," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06countrywide.html?ref=business ''New York Times'' Oct. 6, 2008]</ref>
===Largest bank rescued===
Citigroup, the world's largest bank was tottering in late November despite its receipt of $25 billion in TARP funding. Its value on the stock market plunged to $21 billion, down from $244 billion two years ago. Round after round of layoffs have ended 75,000 jobs in 2008 out of 375,000 employees a year ago. Very heavy exposure to toxic mortgages is the main culprit. The government stepped in with the largest relief effort yet, including $20 billion in new cash, and guarantees of toxic assets by the Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve.

At all times Citigroup used elaborate mathematical risk models that looked at mortgages in particular geographical areas, but never included the possibility of a national housing downturn, or the prospect that millions of mortgage holders would default on their mortgages. The prevailing approach at Citigroup and the other big banks was to make money as fast as possible (generating annual bonuses of $10 to $30 million for senior executives), which assigning zero to the risk of a system-wide downturn. Such a downturn came with disastrous consequences for Citigroup and its rivals on Wall Street. Even after Bear Stearns ran into serious trouble in summer 2007, Citigroup decided the possibility of trouble with its CDO’s was so tiny (less than 1/100 of 1%) that they excluded them from their risk analysis.

Despite two federal efforts Citigroup is still wobbly. It holds $20 billion of mortgage-linked securities that have been marked down to between 21 cents and 41 cents on the dollar. It has billions of dollars of giant buyout and corporate loans of dubious value. And it also faces a potential massive losses on auto, mortgage and credit card loans as the economy worsens.<ref>Eric Dash and Julie Creswell, "Citigroup Pays for a Rush to Risk," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/business/23citi.html?ref=business&pagewanted=all ''New York'' Times,’’ Nov. 22, 2008]</ref>

By the end of 2009 most big banks were in much better shape and the Treasury expects to recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it lent to ailing companies, with the portion lent to banks actually showing a slight profit. Meanwhile, over 120 small and medium banks have been shut as insolvent; in most cases the FDIC picks up the losses and another bank takes over the operations and branches.<ref>Jackie Calmes, [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/business/07tarp.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1260187849-MV96Nnjzom3OwAchzjIqrg "U.S. Forecasts Smaller Loss From Bailout of Banks," ''New York Times'' Dec. 6, 2009]</ref>

==Auto stimulus==
In 2008 a series of damaging blows drove the "Big Three" (GM, Ford and Chrysler) to the verge of bankruptcy. Part of the cause was very high labor costs (much higher than the foreign plants in the U.S.), and lack of consumer demand for their products. The Big Three had in recent years stressed expensive, fuel-guzzling SUVs and large pickups. They were much more profitable than smaller, fuel-efficient cars. When gasoline prices shot past $4 in 2008, Americans stopped buying the big cars, and the Big Three saw their sales plummet. The Financial Crisis played a role as no one was willing to loan GM the money to buy Chrysler. Consumer credit has tightened and it became much harder for people with average or poor credit to obtain a bank loan to buy a car, so sales fell further. Stock prices plummeted as shareholders worried about bankruptcy; GM's shares fell to 1946 levels. Intense debate ensued about a massive bailout, that would be in addition to a $25 billion loan Congress passed in September 2008 to assist in increasing fuel efficiency. President Bush proposed changing the terms of that loan so it could be used to cover daily operating expenses, but Congress rejected that. Republicans in Congress in mid-November blocked Democratic proposals to underwrite a new bailout of the auto industry, as industry leaders made an unconvincing case before Congress. President Obama and Democrats in Congress have demanded the Big Three come up with a highly specific plan with some chance of long-term viability. Critics claimed the proposals would lead to unnecessary job loss.

In addition to the Big Three hundreds of large suppliers of parts are in financial crisis as well; most would go under if the Big Three go bankrupt.

Intense debate in December 2008 focused on allowing bankruptcy or injecting billions more of federal aid; it would be in addition to a $25 billion loan Congress passed in September 2008 to assist in increasing fuel efficiency. The Democrats in Congress supported president Bush's proposal to use the fuel-efficiency loans to help with the immediate problem. It passed the House but Senate Republicans broke with Bush and it failed. The opponents called for a bankruptcy that would allow GM to get out of its contracts to pay union members high wages, as well as generous pensions and medical benefits to retired workers. Bush then acted unilaterally and decided to make TARP loans to GM and Chrysler, on December 19. GM and Chrysler will get $13.4 billions in loans they can use to pay their suppliers.<ref>GM and Chrysler will receive $4 billion each when they sign the loan agreements with the Treasury. GM will have access to an addition $5.4 billion on Jan. 16 and another $4 billion on Feb. 17 provided that Congress has released the remaining $350 billion for the Treasury’s TARP rescue program.</ref> GM can receive another $4 billion in February, but by then the Obama administration will be in charge, and it is emphasizing the need for a long-range solution.<ref>David E. Sanger, David M. Herszenhorn and Bill Vlasic, “Bush Aids Detroit, but Hard Choices Wait for Obama,” [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20auto.html?hp ''New York Times'' Dec. 19, 2008]</ref>

===Bankruptcy scenario===
Bankruptcy of Chrysler and GM took place in the second quarter of 2009. Chrysler's sale to Italian automaker Fiat has been finalized. GM received billions more dollars to prevent bankruptcy but fell none-the-less. In addition, GM will require $30 billion in the first stage of bankruptcy. The Obama Administration is the single largest shareholder with the UAW second at 17% ownership. Also, many auto dealerships have been shuttered, thousands of workers have been [[laidoff]], assembly plants closed, and product lines dissolved or sold.

==Obama Administration==
[[Image:Geithner1.jpg|thumb|330px|Critics feared Geithner's vague plans would crash]]

The [[Obama Administration]], taking office on Jan. 20, 2009, moved to handle the crisis on two fronts. Working with Democrats in Congress (and three moderate Republican Senators), it passed the "[[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]", calling for $500 billion of [[Direct spending#New spending|new spending]] and nearly $300 billion in new tax cuts. The new law began operations in mid-February, 2009, and supporters hoped it would slow and turn around the nosediving economy. Conservative critics feared it would be ineffective in the short run and add to the national debt and tax burdens in the long run. As of late March no results are visible.

With major banks on the verge of failure, Treasury Secretary [[Timothy Geithner]] unveiled yet another massive [[bailout]] program in mid-February. Trillions would be spent to move toxic assets out of the banks, but few details were provided. The widespread reaction was very negative, and Geithner lost more of his credibility as a problem solver. Geither finally came back with a plan on March 23 that will not need additional funding or approval by Congress. The Treasury will use $100 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as well as new capital from private investors, in order to generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy toxic loans and assets. The program could potentially expand to $1 trillion over time.

===Criticisms===
:The nations banks now lend 25% less than when the financial bailout was announced.

: The USA relies on China to buy our U.S. Treasury bonds to fund the increased spending.

:America is a debtor nation, we spend more than we save. The dollars value has plummeted against world currencies. Gold prices remain at record levels.The money that we don't have, but spend, will be a debt that future generations will have to worry about. This has brought rise to the term 'Generational Theft' in describing Obama policies.

:"It's time to terminate the TARP program," Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, told reporters on Monday. "TARP is increasingly not being a vehicle for economic stability and taxpayer protection but is evolving into 700 billion dollar revolving slush fund that the administration can use to advance economic, social and political agenda items far and apart from what Tarp was ever designed to do." <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/08/house-republican-moves-terminate-tarp/ House Republican Moves to 'Terminate the TARP'] Fox News, June 08, 2009</ref>

In the view of 51 mostly conservative economists polled by the ''Wall Street Journal'' in July 2009, the Obama administration's performance is problematic. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner both got an average grade of 70 out of 100 for their handling of the financial crisis, but those grades varied widely. Former President Bush and ex-Treasury chief Paulson got average grades of 50 and 60, respectively, when economists were asked how they handled the crisis while in office. By contrast, Fed chairman Bernanke scores much better, with an average grade of 85; in addition 93% of respondents said he should be reappointed by Obama when Bernanke's term expires early next year.<ref>Phil Izzo, "Few Economists Favor More Stimulus," [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708099206913393.html ''Wall Street Journal'' July 10, 2009]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Recession of 2008]]
*[[Henry M. Paulson]]
*[[Paper loss]]
*[[Tiny house movement]]
*[[Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program]]
*[http://ow.ly/3klF The Bailout In Images]

==External links==
*John Samples, [http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa660.pdf Lawless Policy:TARP as Congressional Failure], ''Policy Analysis'' No. 660, [[CATO Institute]], February 4, 2010.
*[http://baselinescenario.com/2010/03/15/senator-kaufman-fraud-still-at-the-heart-of-wall-street/ Senator Kaufman:Fraud Still At The Heart Of Wall Street]
*[http://baselinescenario.com/2010/04/18/john-paulson-needs-a-good-lawyer/ The Baseline Scenario]
*[http://www.chartingstocks.net/2009/02/great-depression-quotes-1929-vs-2008-have-we-learned-anything/ Great Depression Quotes 1929 vs 2008: Have We Learned Anything?]

==Further reading==
* Posner, Richard. ''A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression'' (2009), by a leading conservative
* Taylor, John B. ''Getting Off Track: How Government Actions and Interventions Caused, Prolonged, and Worsened the Financial Crisis'' (2009), 92pp; by a leading conservative

====References====
<references/>

{{Economic preparedness topics}}
[[Category:Economic Preparedness]]
[[Category:Finance]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Economic History]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:2000s]]

George H. W. Bush

2017-04-27T15:08:39Z

JoeRW: Grammar fix

{{Officeholder
|name=George H.W. Bush
|image=Gwtgg.jpg
|party=Republican
|spouse=Barbara Bush
|religion=[[Episcopalianism]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=41st
|terms=January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
|vp=[[Dan Quayle]]
|preceded=[[Ronald Reagan]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Bill Clinton]]
}}
{{Officeholder/vice president
|country=the United States
|number=43rd
|terms=January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
|president=[[Ronald Reagan]]
|preceded=[[Walter Mondale]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Dan Quayle]]
}}
{{Officeholder/misc
|office=Director of Central Intelligence
|terms=January 30, 1976 – January 20, 1977
|president=[[Gerald Ford]]
|preceded=[[William Colby]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Stansfield Turner]]
}}
{{Officeholder/ambassador
|for=United States
|to=the United Nations
|president=[[Richard Nixon]]
|terms=March 1, 1971 – January 18, 1973
|preceded=[[Charles Yost]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[John Scali]]
}}
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=Texas
|district=7th
|terms=January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1971
|preceded=John Dowdy
|former=y
|succeeded=William Archer
}}
}}

'''George Herbert Walker Bush''' (born June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts) is a [[World War II]] veteran and war hero who served as the 43rd [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] of the [[United States]] from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st [[President of the United States]], serving January 20, 1989 - January 20, 1993 after defeating [[liberal]] [[Massachusetts]] Governor [[Michael Dukakis]] by a landslide.

A [[moderate Republican]] who carried on most of the policies of the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan Administration]], Bush's presidency presided over two major events, victory in the [[Cold War]] and collapse of the [[Soviet Union]], and in the [[Persian Gulf War]] in 1991 against [[Saddam Hussein]]. His popularity soared after these [[foreign policy]] triumphs, but had little interest in domestic policies and troubled relations with the Democratic controlled [[Congress]]. He was defeated for reelection in 1992 by [[Arkansas]] Governor [[Bill Clinton]].

During most of his public career, George Bush served other presidents loyally in a number of appointed positions. Not until 1988, after eight years as vice president under Ronald Reagan, did Bush step into the limelight as the Republican nominee for president. Even when his son [[George W. Bush]] was president (2001-2009), he avoided the spotlight.

Bush announced he would vote for [[leftist]] [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2016 presidential election]] rather than businessman [[Donald Trump]]. Compared to Trump, whose positions are strongly conservative, there is clear evidence that Bush is a [[RINO]] and a liberal.<ref name="BushHRC">Gangel, Jamie & Bradner, Eric (September 21, 2016). [http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/politics/george-hw-bush-hillary-clinton/ Sources: Bush 41 says he will vote for Clinton]. ''CNN''. Retrieved October 30, 2016.</ref>

== Early life ==

George Bush, scion of an old New England [[Yankee]] family, was born in Milton, Massachusetts to [[Prescott Bush]] and Dorothy Walker, on June 12, 1924. His father was a wealthy investment banker and later a partner in the [[Wall Street]] firm of Brown Brothers, Harriman and Company. Prescott Bush was a powerful two-term Republican senator from [[Connecticut]] from 1952 to 1963.

Bush's maternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was George Herbert Walker, a wealthy businessman and important figure in American golf history.

With his sister and three brothers, Bush was raised in Greenwich, [[Connecticut]]. George Bush attended Greenwich Country Day School before entering Phillips Academy from 1936 to 1942 in Andover, [[Massachusetts]]. At Andover, he played Varsity baseball, was captain of the basketball and soccer teams, and president of the senior class.
== Military career ==
[[Image:3.jpg|left|thumb|200px|U.S. Navy Pilot George Bush in the cockpit of an Avenger (1942-1945)]] When George Bush graduated from Andover, he had already been admitted to [[Yale University]], but the United States had entered [[World War II]], and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on his 18th birthday instead. After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve at [[Corpus Christi]] at 18 years old, which made him the youngest naval aviator to that date.

Serving in the Pacific theater, he flew 58 combat missions. On one mission over the Pacific, as a torpedo bomber pilot his aircraft was hit by Japanese antiaircraft fire and his engine caught on fire. Despite the fact that his plane was on fire, he completed his attack and released the bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine on fire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft.

While Bush waited four hours in his inflated raft, several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback. For this action Bush received the [[Distinguished Flying Cross]] for bravery in action. During the month he remained on the USS Finback, Bush participated in the rescue of other pilots.

== Postwar years ==

While at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected president. He also captained the Yale baseball team. A left-handed first baseman, Bush played in the first College World Series. As a senior he was, like his son [[George W. Bush]] in 1968 and his father Prescott S. Bush in 1917, inducted into the Skull and Bones secret society in 1948, helping him to build friendships and political support.

He married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945. George and [[Barbara Bush]] have six children: the 43rd US President, [[George W. Bush|George W.]], Pauline Robinson ("Robin") (1949–1953, died of leukemia), [[Jeb Bush]], Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy Walker Kock.

In 1964, Bush ventured into conventional politics by running against [[Texas]]' [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Senator Ralph Yarborough. However, he lost in the 1964 Democratic landslide. Bush did not give up on elective politics, and was elected in 1966 and 1968 to the [[House of Representatives]] from the 7th District of Texas.

Bush lost his second attempt at a [[United States Senate|Senate]] seat in 1970 to Democrat [[Lloyd Bentsen]], who had defeated the incumbent Yarborough in the Democratic primary.

== Political career ==

After the 1970 election loss, Bush was nominated and confirmed to the position of United States Ambassador to the [[United Nations]], at which he served from 1971 to 1973.

After President [[Richard Nixon]] was re-elected President in 1972, he asked Bush to become Chairman of the [[Republican National Committee]]. After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Bush was considered for appointment as the replacement Vice President, but new President [[Gerald Ford]] chose [[Nelson Rockefeller]] instead. Ford appointed Bush to be Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the [[People's Republic of China]]. (Since the United States at the time maintained official relations with the [[Republic of China]] on Taiwan and not the PRC, the Liaison Office did not have the official status of an embassy and Bush did not hold the position of "ambassador" even though he unofficially acted as one.)

In 1975, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of Central Intelligence. The [[CIA]] had been rocked by a serious of revelations about illegal and unauthorized activities, and Bush helped to restore the agency's morale and integrity. In 1999, the CIA headquarters facility in Langley, Virginia was renamed the George Bush Center for Intelligence.

After Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] took the presidency in 1977, Bush became Chairman of the First International Bank in Houston. He also became a board member of the Committee on the Present Danger.

== 1980 Presidential campaign ==
{{Main|United States presidential election, 1980}}

In the 1980 presidential election, Bush ran for the office, stressing his wide range of government experience. In the contest for the Republican Party nomination, despite Bush's establishment backing the front-runner was Ronald Reagan, the former Governor of [[California]], who was now running for President for the second time after narrowing losing the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976. The Bush campaign team coined the term "voodoo economics" to describe the supply-side economic theory that Reagan supported, but later he said he became "converted" and supported the policies as Vice President.

Bush won the Iowa caucus to start the primary season. However, Reagan came back to decisively win the following [[New Hampshire]] primary. With a growing popularity among the Republican voting base, Reagan won most of the remaining primaries and the nomination.

After some preliminary discussion of choosing former President Gerald Ford as his running mate, the original "dream" ticket, Reagan selected Bush as his Vice President, placing him on the winning Republican Presidential ticket of 1980 when current President [[Jimmy Carter]] was handily defeated. [[Image:Reagan_and_HWBush.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Vice President George H.W. Bush with President Ronald Reagan]]

== Vice presidency ==

As Vice President, Bush had influence on Reagan's staffing and was given many foreign affairs responsibilities. Bush was kept busy on overseas diplomatic trips; he attended so many state funerals that he famously quipped, "I'm George Bush. You die, I fly." Vice President Bush headed a task force over illegal drug trade and attended many high level policy meeting in the [[White House]], including the national security council. Bush was seen as being a very loyal Vice President who supported his commander-in-chief even though he had come from a more moderate background. When President Reagan was shot and seriously wounded by [[John Hinckley, Jr.]] in March 1981, Vice President Bush performed the duties of President until he recovered. With a staff of 68 people Bush kept informed on international issues and maintained political [[friend]]ships, thus preparing him for a 1988 presidential campaign.

In 1984, the Reagan/Bush ticket was re-elected in a landslide against the Democrats' [[Walter Mondale]]/[[Geraldine Ferraro]] ticket.

== 1988 Presidential campaign ==
{{Main|United States presidential election, 1988}}

In 1988, after seven years as Vice President, Bush ran for President. Though considered the early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, beaten by winner U.S. Senator [[Bob Dole]] and runner-up televangelist [[Pat Robertson]]. Reagan himself remained neutral in the contest, choosing not to support any individual candidate. Bush was able to rebound to win the New Hampshire primary, much as Reagan had done against him 8 years earlier. Once the multiple-state primaries such as [[Super Tuesday]] began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his.

Leading up to the 1988 [[Republican National Convention]], there was much speculation as to Bush's choice of running mate. Bush chose little-known U.S. Senator [[Dan Quayle]] of [[Indiana]]. On the eve of the convention, Bush trailed Democratic nominee [[Michael Dukakis]], then [[Massachusetts]] governor, by double digits in many polls. He was aided during the convention by Reagan's speech, which eloquently passed the baton to Bush as the next leader of America and his own man. Bush had been dogged by the "wimp" moniker by the press and Reagan's speech was part of the process to remove that. When it came his turn to speak at the convention, Bush, often criticized for his lack of eloquence compared to Reagan, surprised many by giving possibly the best speech of his public career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech for his use of that phrase to describe his vision of American community. Bush's acceptance speech and a generally well-managed Convention catapulted him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and he held the lead for the rest of the race. Bush's acceptance speech at the convention included the pledge, "Read my lips: no new taxes."

In the [[United States presidential election, 1988|1988 Presidential election]] the Bush-Quayle ticket beat Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen soundly in the [[Electoral College]], by 426 to 111 (Lloyd Bentsen received one vote). In the nationwide popular vote, Bush took 53.4% of the ballots cast while Dukakis gained 45.6%.

== Presidency (1989-1993) ==
[[Image:Photo-01201989-ghwbush-square.jpg|right|thumb|175px|President George H. W. Bush Inauguration, 01/20/89]] George H. W. Bush succeeded Reagan as the 41st President of the United States.

===Administration===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Office
! Name
! Term
|-
| [[President]]
| George H. W. Bush
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]]
| Dan Quayle
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of State]]
| [[James Baker]]
| 1989-1992
|-
|
| [[Lawrence Eagleburger]]
| 1992-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Treasury]]
| [[Nicholas Brady]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Defense]]
| [[Richard Cheney]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Attorney General]]
| [[Dick Thornburgh]]
| 1989-1991
|-
|
| [[William Barr]]
| 1991-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Interior]]
| [[Manuel Lujan]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Agriculture]]
| [[Clayton Yeutter]]
| 1989-1993
|-
|
| [[Edward Madigan]]
| 1991–1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Commerce]]
| [[Robert Mosbacher]]
| 1989-1992
|-
|
| [[Barbara Franklin]]
| 1992-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Labor]]
| [[Elizabeth Dole]]
| 1989-1990
|-
|
| [[Lynn Martin]]
| 1990-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Health and Human Services]]
| [[Louis Sullivan]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Education]]
| [[Lauro Cavazos]]
| 1989-1990
|-
|
| [[Lamar Alexander]]
| 1990-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Housing and Urban Development]]
| [[Jack Kemp]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Transportation]]
| [[Samuel Skinner]]
| 1989-1992
|-
|
| [[Andrew Card]]
| 1992-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Energy]]
| [[James Watkins]]
| 1989–1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Veterans Affairs]]
| [[Ed Derwinski]]
| 1989-1993
|-
|}

==Domestic Policy==
On domestic issues, there were few new programs launched and gridlock between the administration and Democratic-[[Congress]]. The economy was in a [[recession]] by late 1991.

===Economy===
With a large federal deficit, Democrats in Congress believed in raising taxes and Republicans believed in reducing federal domestic spending. President Bush and Congressional Democrats reached a compromise that would both have spending cuts and increased taxes, which would reduce the deficit $500 billion over five years as part of a 1990 budget agreement. In 1991 the U.S. entered into a mild recession. Unemployment was at 7.8%, although inflation and interest rates were at its lowest in years. The recession lasted for about six months, although Democrats made it an issue for two years.

===Government Acts===
On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed the [[Americans with Disabilities Act]], which stated that [[business]]es can not discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability. This includes job hiring, job training, [[worker's compensation]] and other terms. Bush also signed the Clean Air Act of 1990, [[environment]]al legislation that is aimed at reducing smog and [[air]] [[pollution]].

===Supreme Court===
President Bush appointed two Justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bush nominated Circuit Judge [[David Souter]] as an Associate Justice of the [[Supreme Court]] on July 25, 1990; he was sworn in in October after being confirmed by a 90-9 vote in the Senate. Senators [[John Kerry]] and [[Ted Kennedy]] opposed him, saying he was too [[conservative]], although on the court he usually voted with [[liberal]]s. On July 1, 1991, President Bush announced Judge [[Clarence Thomas]] to the Supreme Court to replace [[Thurgood Marshall]]. He was confirmed by a much more narrow 52-48.
[[Image:Bush_and_Gorbachev_sign_agreements.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President Bush and President Gorbachev sign United States/Soviet Union agreements in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC. 06/01/90]]

==Foreign Policy==
Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency from its first days. In his January 20, 1989 Inaugural Address upon taking the Presidency, Bush said:
:''"I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken."''

===New World Order===

Bush's Presidency was extraordinarily eventful from a foreign policy standpoint. Over the course of four years the [[Cold War]] ended, [[Germany]] reunified, the [[Soviet Union]] collapsed, American troops intervened in [[Panama]] to remove a criminal dictator and in [[Somalia]] to save people from starvation, and the United States led a coalition victory in the Persian [[Gulf War]] in [[Iraq]].

He differed from Reagan in some minor ways.<ref>See Maynard (2008)</ref> Most important, Bush upgraded the influence of the [[National Security Council]] and made its head Brent Scowcroft his most trusted advisor on international relations. Reagan had relegated the National Security Advisor to a more passive role. Second he brought in a new team of top foreign policy officials, headed by his Secretary of State and long-time friend [[James Baker]]. (Baker had been Reagan's top aide in domestic affairs), Third, he concentrated on how to slowly ease Russia out of its dominant position in Eastern Europe without causing a violent backlash in Russia, thus allowing the peaceful takeover of [[East Germany]] by [[West Germany]].<ref>West Germany paid Russia many billions to take its soldiers home.</ref> Likewise Bush refused to proclaim "victory" in the Cold War and tried to keep [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in power as long as possible despite his fading popularity in Moscow. When the serio-comic [[Boris Yeltsin]] replaced Gorbachev in late 1991, Bush humored him and helped him stay in power as well.

=== End of Cold War ===

With the help of [[Secretary of State]] [[James Baker]], Bush used his strength in foreign policy and helped steer the world through a period of historic [[change]]. In 1989 the world watched in amazement as Germans tore down the [[Berlin Wall]], within a year West Germany and East Germany were reunited. Through out the winter of 1989 [[communist]] governments in Eastern [[Europe]] crumbled. Democratic [[government]]s were created in [[Poland]], [[Hungary]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Romania]], and [[Bulgaria]]. As the [[Soviet Union]] was unraveling, President Bush and Soviet President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] declared a U.S.-Soviet strategic partnership at the summit of July 1991, decisively marking the end of the [[Cold War]] with the Soviet breakdown that had begun under Ronald Reagan. In December 1991, Gorbachev announced the end of the Soviet Union. President Bush declared that U.S.-Soviet cooperation during the [[Persian Gulf War]] in 1990-1991 had laid the groundwork for a partnership in resolving bilateral and world problems.

=== Crisis in China ===

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist governments, [[China]]'s communist leaders were determined to stay in power. Although the country had relaxed controls of its economy, it continued to repress its citizens' political speech. In May 1989, Chinese [[student]]s and workers held demonstrations for [[democracy]]. In June, government tanks crushed their protests in Tienanmen Square in [[Beijing]], the country's capital. Many people were killed and hundreds of activists were arrested. Many were later sentenced to life.

These events shocked the world. The United States and European countries halted arms sells with China and reduced their diplomatic contacts. President Bush resisted calls from congressional leaders for harsher sanctions, instead believing that [[trade]] and diplomacy would moderate China's behavior.

=== Invasion of Panama ===
[[Image:Ghwbush.jpg|right|thumb|275px|President Bush meets with Defense Secretary [[Richard Cheney]] and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman [[Colin Powell]], 08/15/90]]
As President, Bush continued Reagan's [[war on drugs]]. In 1989 he ordered 24,000 United States troops into [[Panama]] to capture one time anti-communist ally General [[Manuel Noriega]], the dictator of Panama, and return him to the United States to face drug charges after Noriega threatened American servicemen. U.S. troops then helped Panamanians hold elections and organize a new government. In 1992, an American court sentenced Noriega to serve 40 years in prison in the U.S., where he is now.

=== Persian Gulf War ===
See: ''[[George H .W. Bush Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the End of the Gulf War]]''

[[Image:20.jpg|right|thumb|275px|President Bush talks with the troops in Saudi Arabia, 11/22/90]] Leading up to the first [[Gulf War]], on September 11, 1990 President Bush addressing the United Nations stated: ''Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a New World Order -- can emerge: a new era'' thus becoming the first President of the United States of America to openly state and work toward global governance.

Bush is best known for leading the United Nations coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In 1990, led by [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Iraq]] invaded its oil-rich neighbor to the south, [[Kuwait]]. The broad coalition sought the limited objective of removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait and ensure that Iraq did not invade [[Saudi Arabia]]. Bush summed up his and the entire free world's position succinctly when he said, "This aggression will not stand," and "this is not a war for oil. This is war against aggression."

Along with troops from the United States, Canadian, [[Europe]], and Arab Nations, President Bush launched "operation desert storm" in which dozens of cruise missiles and laser guided bombs fell on Iraq, destroying its air defenses, bridges, artillery, and other military targets. Then the coalition launched a massive ground attack, were fewer then 300 coalition forces were killed with the war lasting just 100 hours. President Bush achieved his stated objectives of liberating Kuwait and forcing Iraqi withdrawal. President Bush's popularity rating in America soared during and immediately after the success of the military operations and American troops returned home to cheering crowds.

=== NAFTA ===
Bush's government, along with the Progressive-Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA), which Bill Clinton signed in 1993.

=== [[Israel]] ===
George Bush resisted efforts by [[American Israeli Political Action Committee]] (AIPAC) and other organizations to secure American loan guarantees to assist Israel in the construction of new settlements in territories Israel occupied after the 1967 [[Six Day War]]. Bush's larger goal was to undermine the [[conservative]] [[Likud]] government and replace it with a [[leftist]] Labor coalition led by [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. Having secured the election of an Israel government more to its liking, Bush gave his support to a new loan guarantee package.

=== Conflict in [[Somalia]] ===
On December 4, 1992 President Bush ordered 28,000 U.S. troops to the east [[African]], war-torn nation Somalia, where rival warlords were preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid to its citizens. However, the mission lasted 15 months from having U.S. troops embroiled in Somalia's political conflict. In 1993, the new President [[Bill Clinton]] was anxious to bring all troops home. He did so on March 25, 1994, and as a result fighting in Somalia continued into the 21st century.

== 1992 Presidential Campaign ==
{{Main|United States presidential election, 1992}}

During the 1980s, as President Reagan lead efforts to enable the Soviet Union to collapsed defense spending was increased, which later lead to the end of the Soviet empire as the Soviets could not compete with U.S. military ingenuity. However, in addition to this increase of spending to protect the United States, the Democrat-controlled Congress increased spending on social welfare programs. The resulting increase in the federal deficit helped lead to an economic recession which dogged most of Bush's term in office and was a contributing factor to his defeat in the 1992 Presidential election.

Several other factors were key in his defeat, including siding with Congressional Democrats in 1990 to raise taxes despite his famous "Read my lips: No new taxes" pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many members of his conservative and libertarian base, losing their support for his re-election. The issue of foreign policy had faded into the background after the collapse of the USSR, courtesy of Ronald Reagan, which rendered it unimportant to voters in 1992. The failure to remove Saddam after Desert Storm later contributed to the perception that it was a failure, after the initially impression of success. While many believe Ross Perot's 1992 candidacy cost Bush re-election, when looking at [[Ross Perot]]'s pro-homosexual pro-abortion and protectionist stances, combined with Slick Willie's smooth talk and exit poll analysis of Perot's vote, it is clear that President Bush still would have lost without Perot in the race. Bill Clinton was able to capitalize on a Democrat Congress induced poor economy by telling the American public that Bush's tax hike raised taxes on the middle class, which shows 1992 to be a testament as to why Republicans must stick to economically conservative values. Bush's unpopular stance on life also cost him many votes with moderates, along with Pat Buchanan's famous "Culture War speech" which railed against baby-murder, homosexual privilege, and Bill Clinton's draft dodging.

After the election, with the outbreak of war in Somalia, President Bush, a war hero, unlike Bill Clinton committed troops to Operation Restore Hope, and as the American public appreciated what they had, gave him a send off approval rating of 56%.

== Post-presidency ==

Since leaving office, Bush has largely retired from public life. The Bushes live in [[Houston]] and their summer home in Kennebunkport, [[Maine]]. He holds his own fishing tournament in Islamorada, an island in the Florida Keys.

In April 1993, the Iraqi Intelligence Service attempted to assassinate former President Bush via car bomb during a visit to [[Kuwait]]. However, Kuwaiti security foiled the car bomb plot. On June 26, 1993, the U.S. launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush.

[[Image:Hires_20061007-1_ghwbush3-515hc.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President Bush with First Lady Barbara Bush, 10/07/06]] Bush has never written a memoir of his political life, and says he does not plan to. He has, however, published a book containing a series of collected letters (''All The Best, George Bush'', 1999), and co-authored a book on recent foreign policy issues with his former National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft (''A World Transformed'', 1998). He has given a number of paid speeches and participated in business ventures with the Carlyle Group.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the southwest corner of the campus of [[Texas A&M]] University in College Station, Texas.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas was renamed after the former president in 1997. The tenth ''Nimitz''-class [[aircraft carrier]] is named the USS ''George H. W. Bush'' and was launched in 2009.

In 2001, he became the first president since [[John Adams]] to be father of another president when his son George W. Bush, previously Governor of Texas, took office. During his term of office, George H. W. Bush was simply known as President George Bush, since his son had never held elective office and was not especially well-known to the public. He is now commonly referred to with his initials as "George H.W. Bush" as well as by various nicknames and titles, including "Bush the Elder," "the first President Bush," "Bush 41," and simply "41", in order to avoid confusion between his presidency and that of his son. Although the names of the two men are similar, they are not identical—George W. Bush lacks his father's first middle name Herbert—so they are not known as "senior" and "junior."

On June 12, 2004, he went skydiving in honor of his 80th birthday. It was his third parachute jump since World War II. He also made a jump on June 9, 1999, before his 75th birthday, and told reporters then he had also parachuted in [[Arizona]] two years earlier. The day before his 80th birthday jump, he and his son George both took part in eulogizing his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, at the latter's state funeral.

On November 22, 2004, [[New York]] Republican Governor [[George Pataki]] named Bush and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the [[World Trade Center]].

On January 3, 2005, Bush and Bill Clinton were named by the current President Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the Indian Ocean [[tsunami]]. Bush and Clinton both appeared on the [[Super Bowl XXXIX]] pre-game show on FOX in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the relief efforts are going.

In August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by [[Hurricane Katrina]], Bush again teamed with Clinton to coordinate private relief donations. Reports were common that Bush and Clinton had developed a friendship by now, despite the latter having defeated the former in the 1992 election. (Such friendships were not unknown, as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had developed one despite a similar history.) When Gerald R. Ford died in December, 2006 George Bush became the oldest surviving President.

In September 2013 Bush served as witness for a [[same-sex "marriage"]],<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2013/09/25/george-h-w-bush-is-witness-at-same-sex-marriage-in-maine/</ref> showing that he has no regards for the fabric of society.

Despite the fact that conservative businessman [[Donald Trump]] won the GOP primary, rather than establishment RINO [[Jeb Bush]], Bush the Elder stated he would vote for [[Hillary Clinton]], even though her far-left positions.<ref name="BushHRC"/>

== Family ==
George Bush came from an old, rich [[Yankee]] family. He was the son of [[Prescott Bush]], Wall Street banker and liberal Republican Senator from Connecticut from 1952-1963.

Upon his return from the war, George Bush married Barbara Pierce. Their marriage later produced six children: [[George Walker Bush]], Pauline Robinson Bush, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (who became governor of Florida), Neil Mallon Bush, Marvin Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch.

==Bibliography==
* Barilleaux, Ryan J., and Mark J. Rozell. ''Power and Prudence: The Presidency of George H.W. Bush'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Power-Prudence-Presidency-George-Leadership/dp/1585442917/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367309&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]
* Beschloss, Michael R., and Strobe Talbott. ''At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War'' (1993),
* Bose, Meena, and Rosanna Perotti, eds. ''From Cold War to New World Order: The Foreign Policy of George H.W. Bush.'' (2002), 577 pp. essays by scholars [http://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-New-World-Order/dp/0313316821/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194380341&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Brands, H.W. "George Bush and the Gulf War of 1991." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 34#1 (2004) pp. 113+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5006516113 online edition]
* Buckley, Kevin. ''Panama: The Whole Story'' (1991) [http://www.amazon.com/Panama-Kevin-Buckley/dp/0671778765/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367903&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Campbell, Colin, and Bert A. Rockman, eds. ''The Bush Presidency: First Appraisals.'' (1991) 308pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=97419525 online edition]
* Duffy, Michael, and Dan Goodgame. ''Marching in Place: The Status-Quo Presidency of George Bush'' (1992)
* Congressional Quarterly. ''Congress and the Nation, vol. 8, 1989-1992'' (1993). massive 1300 page compendium of details
* Feldman, Leslie D., and Rosanna Perotti. ''Honor and Loyalty: Inside the Politics of the George H.W. Bush White House'' (2002) [http://www.questia.com/read/106966311 online edition]
* Freedman, Lawrence, and Efraim Karsh. ''The Gulf Conflict, 1990-1991: Diplomacy and War in the New World Order'' (1993)
* Gordon, Michael R., and Bernard E. Trainor. ''The General's War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf ''(1995). [http://www.amazon.com/Generals-War-Inside-Story-Conflict/dp/0316321001/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367768&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Greene, John Robert. ''The Presidency of George Bush.'' (2000) 356pp; standard survey by scholar. ISBN 0-7006-0993-8.
* Himelfarb, Richard, and Rosanna Perotti, eds. ''Principle Over Politics?: The Domestic Policy of the George H. W. Bush'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Principle-Over-Politics-Presidency-Contributions/dp/0313321329/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194380341&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Hiro, Dilip. ''Desert Shield to Desert Storm: The Second Gulf War'' (1992)
* Levy, Peter B. ''Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years'' (1996) 461pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77341841 online edition]
* Maynard, Christopher. ''Out of the Shadow: George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War'' (2008) 176pp.
* Naftali, Timothy. ''George H. W. Bush: The American Presidents Series: The 41st President, 1989-1993'' (2007). short survey [http://www.amazon.com/George-Bush-Presidents-President-1989-1993/dp/0805069666/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2 excerpt and text search]
* Rose, Richard. ''The Postmodern President: George Bush Meets the World'' (1991) [http://www.questia.com/read/98398503 online edition]
* Tarpley, Webster Griffin, and Anton Chaitkin. ''George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography'' (2004), a hostile attack from the far left [http://www.amazon.com/George-Bush-Webster-Griffin-Tarpley/dp/0930852923/ref=sr_1_23/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367559&sr=8-23 excerpt and text search]
* Tiefer, Charles. ''The Semi-Sovereign Presidency: The Bush Administration's Strategy for Governing Without Congress'' (1994), 216pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14173303 online edition]
* Yetiv, Steve A. ''Explaining Foreign Policy: U.S. Decision-
Making and the Persian Gulf War'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Explaining-Foreign-Policy-Decision-Making-Persian/dp/0801878101/ref=sr_1_7/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194380341&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]

===Primary sources===
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistcial tables
* Bush, George H. W. ''All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/All-Best-George-Bush-Writings/dp/0743200411/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367309&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Bush, George H. W. and Brent Scowcroft. ''A World Transformed'' (1999), foreign policy. [http://www.amazon.com/World-Transformed-George-H-Bush/dp/0679752595/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367309&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq10-1.htm War Record of LTJG George Bush]
* [http://www.maam.org/flightsim/news/tbm_history.htm History's Youngest Naval Aviator]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gb41.html White House biography]
* [http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ George Bush Presidential Library and Museum]
* [https://librivox.org/author/11306 Works by George H. W. Bush - text and free audio] - [[LibriVox]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George Herbert Walker}}

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:American war heroes]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:United States Veterans]]
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Connecticut]]
[[Category:Maine]]
[[Category:Homosexual Agenda]]
[[Category:RINOs]]
[[Category:Former Heads of State]]
[[Category:Former Heads of Government]]

Establishment

2017-04-27T00:32:51Z

JoeRW: Grammar fix

The '''Establishment''' are the "powers that be," the group of leaders in a society who hold power and use it primarily for their own benefit, opposing [[meritocracy]] and making it unjustifiably difficult for others. The 1964 [[conservative]] classic ''[[A Choice Not An Echo]]'' exposed and defeated the Establishment control over the [[Republican]] presidential nominating process, resulting in the upset victory of [[Barry Goldwater]] for the nomination.

In politics, the Establishment consists of the insiders in the [[Republican Party|Republican]] and [[Democrat Party|Democrat]] Parties who do things behind the scenes to preserve their own position and thwart real competition. [[Nomination by endorsement]] is one way that the Establishment gets what it wants.

For nearly three decades, the Establishment in the Republican Party has been connected with the [[RINO]] [[George Bush|Bush]] family and the Rockefeller family. In the Democrat Party, the [[Hillary Clinton|Clinton]] family and the Kennedy family are part of the Establishment.

'''''In the [[2016 presidential election]], the Establishment was all-out against the nomination of [[Donald Trump]] by the Republican Party'''''. The Establishment was initially in support of [[Jeb Bush]] on the Republican side, and [[Hillary Clinton]] on the [[Democrat]] side. [[Marco Rubio]] was a backup candidate for the Establishment in case Jeb Bush faltered, but then Rubio rebelled and obtained independent financial backing, and stayed in the race long enough to prevent Jeb Bush from gaining any momentum. When [[Jeb Bush]] pulled out after spending more than $100 million, the Establishment swung their support behind Rubio. Rubio withdrew on March 15, 2016, leaving [[John Kasich]] and [[Ted Cruz]] as the remaining Establishment candidates.

[[John Boehner]] was the Establishment's choice as [[Speaker of the House]]. When he surprisingly resigned from that position, the Establishment turned unsuccessfully to Kevin McCarthy to take the reins of power, and then to [[Paul Ryan]], who had been the Establishment pick as the [[GOP]] vice presidential nominee in 2012.

[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:RINOs]]
[[Category:Rino Backers]]

A Choice Not An Echo

2017-04-27T00:31:33Z

JoeRW: /* Description of this popular volume */ Grammar errors

[[Image:Schlafly phyllis.jpg|right|thumb|170px|[[Phyllis Schlafly]] ]]
'''''A Choice, Not An Echo''''' is a [[book]] by [[Phyllis Schlafly]] published in 1964, which became an instant classic of [[conservative]] political writing. It describes the perennial struggle between the [[Establishment]] and [[conservative]] wings in nominating the [[Republican Party]] candidate for president.

==Description of this popular volume==

This book was originally published by Pere Marquette Press, ISBN 0-686-11486-8, and then an updated and expanded version was published as a 50th anniversary edition in 2014 by Regnery, with a forward by [[Ron Paul]], ISBN 978-1-62157-315-9.

The book was written in 1964, and created space within the Republican Party for the modern conservative movement. The book detailed how the [[liberal]] "Rockefeller Republican" wing of the GOP had manipulated the party's choice of nominees in prior national conventions to nominate people like [[Wendell Willkie]] and [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and called on conservatives to rally against the liberal wing and offer a true conservative for the nomination. Hence, the title of the book.

Millions of copies of this book were bought and distributed by supporters of Goldwater, making it one of the all-time best selling conservative political books in the United States. The book helped launch the career of Phyllis Schlafly as a [[movement conservative]].

==Subsequent influence on political events==

The book helped secure the remarkable nomination of the firebrand [[Barry Goldwater]] for [[President of the United States]].

The conservative movement more fully defined itself by stopping the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] in the 1970s.

This book is also noteworthy for exposing the group of elite [[globalists]] who held secret annual meetings to try to exercise control over multiple countries, and this book coined the word the "DeBilderbergers" to describe them (later the Dutch name was shortened to the English "Bilderbergers").

'''''The election of [[Donald Trump]] as president in 2016 was the fulfillment of the vision in this prophetic work.''''' The ''New York Times'' credited this book with the rise of Trump and [[Jeff Sessions]], who was Trump's top nominee for his Cabinet:<ref>[http://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/us/politics/jeff-sessions-attorney-general.html Sharon LaFraniere and Matt Apuzzo, "Jeff Sessions, a Lifelong Outsider, Finds the Inside Track," ''New York Times'' (Jan. 6, 2017)].</ref>
{{cquote|In high school, ... Mr. Sessions was fascinated by Phyllis Schlafly’s book “A Choice Not an Echo,” a catechism on the split between the Republican Party establishment and its right wing. The book enjoined true conservatives to topple the party’s kingmakers and compromisers, presaging the rise of the [[Tea Party]] and Mr. Trump — and now, Mr. Sessions himself.}}

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Conservative Books|Choice, Not An Echo]]

The O'Reilly Factor

2017-04-23T22:03:40Z

JoeRW: Corrected small description error in the first paragraph

[[File:Oreilly.JPG|200px|thumb|right|An example of O'Reilly's ''Talking Points Memo'']]
'''''The O'Reilly Factor''''' (also often known as ''The Factor'' or ''The No-Spin Zone'') was a [[Fox News]] television show hosted by political commentator [[Bill O'Reilly]]. This show was the highest-rated show in [[cable news]]. The show featured O'Reilly (or a guest host, usually [[Greg Gutfeld]], [[Eric Bolling]], [[Jesse Watters]], [[Laura Ingraham]], [[Mike Huckabee]], or [[Juan Williams]]) and guests discussing major issues of that day.

Despite claims that O'Reilly was a conservative, a 2011 study showed that compared to the American population as a whole (which actually was relatively conservative), O'Reilly's views were actually in the political center of the population.<ref name="Pollak">Pollak, Joel B. (April 19, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/04/19/bill-oreilly-secret-centrist-not-conservative/ Bill O’Reilly’s Secret: He Was a Centrist, Not a Conservative]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 19, 2017.</ref> Interestingly, this was likely the reason his show was so popular.<ref name="Pollak"/>

On April 19, 2017, Fox News broke ties with O'Reilly due to an alleged sex abuse scandal revolving around him.<ref>Steel, Emily; Schmidt, Michael S. (April 19, 2017). [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/business/media/bill-oreilly-fox-news-allegations.html?_r=0 Bill O’Reilly Is Forced Out at Fox News]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved April 19, 2017.</ref>

==Segments==
The show has many segments, some of which were eventually discontinued in favor of other segments.
*Talking Points Memo—A daily segment where O'Reilly discusses a key issue in current events with his words appearing as a side note on the screen.
*Top Story—Usually, O'Reilly has guests discuss the issue brought up in the previous Talking Points Memo section
*Personal Story—O'Reilly invites someone who wrote a bestselling book, or has made the news in some way, or who has interviewed a newsmaker
*Miller Time—A Wednesday segment where O'Reilly invites regular guest comedian Dennis Miller on the show. The discussion is generally a lighthearted one on several issues, accompanied with visual gags and movie clips.
*Barack and a Hard Place—Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes discuss issues related to [[Barack Obama]] with O'Reilly
*Watter's World—Jesse Watters goes out every other Monday and interviews younger people on a current issue
*Pinheads and Patriots—Daily segment at the end of the program where people in the news are decided if they had done something good (patriot) or bad (pinhead).
*Tip of the Day—It replaced Pinheads and Patriots, and in it O'Reilly gave a helpful tip to the audience
*Factor Viewer Mail—O'Reilly reads bits of emails at the end of the program, often ones that have contrasting viewpoints on the last show
*Word of the Day—At the last minute of the program, O'Reilly picks an obscure word to challenge the viewer to know or look up

== See also ==
*[[Bill O'Reilly]]
*[[Fox News]]
*[[Hannity (TV show)]]

[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Debatable Whether Conservative]]

Republican Party

2017-04-19T00:57:06Z

JoeRW: Updated the introduction to include the most recent information regarding the presidential transition in 2017

{{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 = [[Ronna Romney McDaniel]]
| housespeaker = [[Paul Ryan]]
| houseleader = [[Kevin McCarthy]]
| senateleader = [[Mitch McConnell]]
| foundation = March 20, 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.

19 of the 30 US Presidents since 1861 have been Republicans and since that same year a Republican has won 24 of the last 38 presidential elections. The party's most recent candidate, [[New York]] businessman [[Donald Trump]], along with his running mate, [[Indiana]] Governor [[Mike Pence]], won the [[2016 presidential election]] against Democrat challenger [[Hillary Clinton]] and her running mate [[Tim Kaine]].

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 Trump official photo.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"/>

Congressional Republicans were more united during Trump's presidency than in any other time in recent U.S. political history.<ref>Stucky, Phillip (April 2, 2017). [http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/02/trump-smashes-records-with-party-unity/ Trump Smashes Records With Party Unity]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref>

== 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:

*[[Frederick Douglass]] (1818-1895): Abolitionist and suffragist from [[Maryland]]
*[[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, [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner
*[[Tom Dewey]] (1902-1971): Governor of [[New York]]; presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948
*[[Everett Dirksen]] (1896-1969): Senate minority leader, instrumental in passing the [[Civil Rights Act]]
*[[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]]
*[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] (1929-1968): [[Civil rights]] leader
*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, considered representative of the liberal wing of the party
*[[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]]
*[[Barry Goldwater]] (1909-1998): Senator from [[Arizona]], presidential nominee in 1964
*[[Antonin Scalia]] (1936-2016): Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1986-2016)
*[[Clarence Thomas]]: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1991-present)
*[[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
*[[Mike Pence]]: Vice President (2017-present), Governor of [[Indiana]] (2013-2017)

==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]]

Washington Post

2017-04-18T20:56:00Z

JoeRW: Modified description

[[File:Washington-Post-logo.jpg|right|200px]]
'''''The Washington Post''''' is the dominant liberal daily newspaper in [[Washington, D.C.]] with an average daily circulation that peaked at 832,232 in 1993 and has fallen to only 638,800 as of 2007.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/05/AR2007120500683.html?sub=AR</ref> It was founded in 1877. Its current op-ed columnists include [[George Will]] and [[David Ignatius]] and formerly included [[Robert Novak]] and [[David Broder]].

==2013: The ''Washington Post'', Amazon, CIA deal==
In 2013 the ''Washington Post'' was aquired by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. That same year, Amazon also obtained a [[CIA]] contract worth $600 million, at least twice what Bezos paid for the ''Post''. The Institute for Public Accuracy released a statement condemning the move.<ref>https://medium.com/@SarahRRunge/amazon-the-washington-post-and-the-cia-d68a4ee802e#.406uub5gw </ref>
{{Quotebox|When the main shareholder in one of the very largest corporations in the world benefits from a massive contract with the CIA on the one hand, and that same billionaire owns the ''Washington Post'' on the other hand, there are serious problems. The Post is unquestionably the political paper of record in the [[United States]], and how it covers governance sets the agenda for the balance of the news media. Citizens need to know about this [[conflict of interest]] in the columns of the Post itself.}}
The ''[[Nation magazine|Nation]]'' magazine also condemned the conflict of interest.

==Past controversies==

In 1981, Janet Cooke, a reporter hired by [[Benjamin C. Bradlee|Ben Bradlee]], described in a series of articles entitled [http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/lit/litjour/spg2002/cooke.htm Jimmy's World] the profile of an eight-year old [[heroin]] addict. Cooke was nominated by [[Bob Woodward]] for the [[Pulitzer Prize]], which she won after it was established that the story was a complete fiction. {{fact}}''Post'' Ombudsman Bill Green concluded an investigation with several comments and recommendations, including "The scramble for journalistic prizes is poisonous. The obligation is to inform readers, not to collect frameable certificates, however prestigious." [http://academics.smcvt.edu/dmindich/Jimmy%27s%20World.htm] The Ombudsman said of Bradlee, "Ensuring accuracy was the editor's job, and he had failed miserably." Woodward said of his nomination for the Pulitzer Prize, “It would be absurd for me or any other editor to review the authenticity or accuracy of stories that are nominated for prizes.”

In 1998 the ''Post'' printed a series of denials regarding public leaks of depositions given by [[President Clinton]] in the ''Jones v. Clinton'' case contrary to an Order of the Court. Dr. Deni Elliot of the Practical Ethics Center after reviewing the matter concluded the ''Washington Post'' knew the source of the illegal leaks yet "knowingly deceived its readers" by alleging the leaks could have come from the Court or the opposing counsels office. Dr. Elliot wrote in the Organization of News Ombudsmen’s publication, “The ''Post'' intentionally lied to its readers in printing this set of denials", and "None of this sounds like the making of ethical principles".<ref>http://www.newsombudsmen.org/elliott.html</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003600242 Bob Woodward: Yes, I Should Have Probed [[Iraq]]i [[WMD]] More Closely], ''Editor & Publisher'', June 18, 2007.
==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States Newspapers]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Anti Second Amendment]]
[[Category:Liberal News Organizations]]
[[Category:Liberal Newspapers]]
[[Category:Newspapers]]

Republican Party

2017-04-13T23:53:17Z

JoeRW: Added several more famous Republicans in and removed the brackets around some who currently do not have their own page of information

{{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 = [[Ronna Romney McDaniel]]
| housespeaker = [[Paul Ryan]]
| houseleader = [[Kevin McCarthy]]
| senateleader = [[Mitch McConnell]]
| foundation = March 20, 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 Trump official photo.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"/>

Congressional Republicans were more united during Trump's presidency than in any other time in recent U.S. political history.<ref>Stucky, Phillip (April 2, 2017). [http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/02/trump-smashes-records-with-party-unity/ Trump Smashes Records With Party Unity]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref>

== 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:

*[[Frederick Douglass]] (1818-1895): Abolitionist and suffragist from [[Maryland]]
*[[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]]
*[[Barry Goldwater]] (1909-1998): Senator from [[Arizona]], presidential nominee in 1964
*[[Antonin Scalia]] (1936-2016): Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1986-2016)
*[[Clarence Thomas]]: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1991-present)
*[[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
*[[Mike Pence]]: Vice President (2017-present), Governor of [[Indiana]] (2013-2017)

==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]]

Republican Party

2017-04-13T23:36:01Z

JoeRW: /* Notable Republicans (Non-presidential) */

{{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 = [[Ronna Romney McDaniel]]
| housespeaker = [[Paul Ryan]]
| houseleader = [[Kevin McCarthy]]
| senateleader = [[Mitch McConnell]]
| foundation = March 20, 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 Trump official photo.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"/>

Congressional Republicans were more united during Trump's presidency than in any other time in recent U.S. political history.<ref>Stucky, Phillip (April 2, 2017). [http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/02/trump-smashes-records-with-party-unity/ Trump Smashes Records With Party Unity]. ''The Daily Caller''. Retrieved April 2, 2017.</ref>

== 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
*[[Mike Pence]]: Vice President (2017-present), Governor of [[Indiana]] (2013-2017)

==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]]

New York

2017-04-13T19:02:35Z

JoeRW: /* Miscellaneous */

{{USState
|name=New York
|flag=Newyorkflag.gif
|motto="Excelsior"
|nick=The Big Apple
|capital=Albany
|language=None
|governor=Andrew Cuomo
|gparty=Democrat
|senator2=Kirsten Gillibrand
|s2party=Democrat
|s2phone=(202) 224-4451
|s2email=no contact info
|senator1=Charles Schumer
|s1party=Democrat
|s1phone=(202) 224-6542
|s1email=http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm Contact
|population=
|date=July 26, 1788 (11th)
}}
'''New York''' state, one of the original [[Colonial America|13 colonies]], became a state in 1776 and was the 11th state to ratify the Constitution on July 26, 1788. In common use, "New York" most often refers to [[New York City]], the financial, news and cultural capital of the U.S.

==Elected Officials==

===Federal===
*Sen. [[Charles Schumer]] (D)
*Sen. [[Kirsten Gillibrand]] (D)
*Rep. [[Lee Zeldin]] [D, NY-01]
*Rep. [[Peter King]] [R, NY-02]
*Rep. [[Thomas Suozzi]] [D, NY-03]
*Rep. [[Kathleen Rice]] [D, NY-04]
*Rep. [[Gregory Meeks]] [D, NY-05]
*Rep. [[Grace Meng]] [D, NY-06]
*Rep. [[Nydia Velazquez]] [D, NY-07]
*Rep. [[Hakeem Jeffries]] [D, NY-08]
*Rep. [[Yvette Clarke]] [D, NY-09]
*Rep. [[Jerrold Nadler]] [D, NY-10]
*Rep. [[Daniel Donovan]] [R, NY-11]
*Rep. [[Carolyn Maloney]] [D, NY-12]
*Rep. [[Adriano Espaillat]] [D, NY-13]
*Rep. [[Joseph Crowley]] [D, NY-14]
*Rep. [[Jose Serranol]] [D, NY-15]
*Rep. [[Eliot Engel]] [D, NY-16]
*Rep. [[Nita Lowey]] [D, NY-17]
*Rep. [[Sean Maloney]] [D, NY-18]
*Rep. [[John Faso]] [R, NY-19]
*Rep. [[Paul Tonko]] [D, NY-20]
*Rep. [[Elise Stefanik]] [R, NY-21]
*Rep. [[Claudia Tenney]] [R, NY-22]
*Rep. [[Tom Reed]] [R, NY-23]
*Rep. [[John Katko]] [R, NY-24]
*Rep. [[Louise Slaughter]] [D, NY-25]
*Rep. [[Brian Higgins]] [D, NY-26]
*Rep. [[Chris Collins]] [R, NY-27]

===Statewide===
*Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] (D)
*Lt. Governor [[Robert Duffy]] (D)
*Attorney General [[Eric Schneiderman]] (D)
*Secretary of State [[Ruth Noemi Colon]] (I)
*State Comptroller [[Thomas DiNapoli]] (D)

==History==
see [[History of New York State]]

==Facts==
[[File:Liberty2.jpg|thumb|Statue of Liberty.]]
* Nickname: The Big Apple.
* State Capital: [[Albany]].
* Total area: 54,471.144 square miles (47,223.839 land and 7,247.305 inland water).
* Population: Based on the 2000 census – 18,976,457; 3rd most populous US state after California and Texas. Much of this population lives in New York City. "Upstate" New York has most of the land area in the state.
* State Song: "I Love New York"
* [[State flower|State Flower]]: [[Rose]]
*There are four mountain ranges in New York State: Adirondack, Catskill, Shawangunk and Taconic.
*The highest point in New York State is Mount Marcy in Essex County in the Adirondacks - 5,344 feet above sea level.
*The State has 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, 9,767 miles of shoreline which includes 8,778 miles of lake shoreline.

==Major Cities==
* [[Albany]]
* [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]
* [[New York City]]
* [[Rochester]]
* [[Schenectady]]
* [[Syracuse]]

==Politics==
New York City is the center of American liberalism. "Upstate" is much more conservative and the suburbs are split. Republicans have a narrow 32-30 seat majority in the State Senate. However, Democrats dominate the State Assembly with a 99-50 seat majority.

In 1980 the state elected 17 Republicans to the House; in 2010 it elected only eight. However, due to population loss, New York only had 29 seats in 2010 compared to 39 in 1980 so the change isn't as dramatic as it seems at first glance.

==Miscellaneous==
New York is the home and birthplace of five American presidents, [[Martin Van Buren]], [[Millard Filmore]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[Franklin Roosevelt]], and [[Donald Trump]].

==External links==
*[http://www.iloveny.com/ Official New York State Tourism Web Site]
*[http://www.ny.gov/governor/ New York State]

==Further reading==
* Blond, Becca, and China Williams. ''Lonely Planet New York State'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-New-York-State/dp/1741041252/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189477988&sr=1-8 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com], a guide book.
* Eisenstadt, Peter, Laura-Eve Moss, and Carole F. Huxley, eds. ''The Encyclopedia Of New York State'' (2005) 1900 pages of articles by experts. The best starting point.
* Jackson, Kenneth, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' (1995), [http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-New-York-City/dp/0300055366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240594479&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

{{USstates}}

[[Category:States of the United States]]
[[Category:New York]]
[[Category:Urban History]]
[[Category:Eastern United States]]