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Death Throes of a Proud Party

The Conservative-Liberal rift in the Republican Party has become an apparently permanent feud. Deep ideological differences, of course, were always there; but there was always someone, notably the President, who said they weren’t; and the disputants themselves, for the sake of party solidarity, tended to go along with the act. Now, the President has lost interest in playing peacemaker. And the disputants, accepting the futility of closing ranks for a lost cause, have begun to call spades spades… All things considered; this is probably the best way for a proud party to die: Lincoln would have preferred his ship to break up on the rock of principle—the way it was put together.

LB

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L. Brent Bozell Jr.

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Death Throes of a Proud Party

The Conservative-Liberal rift in the Republican Party has become an apparently permanent feud. Deep ideological differences, of course, were always there; but there was always someone, notably the President, who said they weren’t; and the disputants themselves, for the sake of party solidarity, tended to go along with the act. Now, the President has lost interest in playing peacemaker. And the disputants, accepting the futility of closing ranks for a lost cause, have begun to call spades spades… All things considered; this is probably the best way for a proud party to die: Lincoln would have preferred his ship to break up on the rock of principle—the way it was put together.