At critical junctures in their histories, political parties reassess their platforms, methods and the qualities and values they desire their politicians to embody. The Jan. 6 coup attempt that intended to keep President Donald Trump in office illegally was such a moment for the GOP, which ever since has been remaking itself into an illiberal entity with dizzying speed.
The Republican Party is expunging the remaining democratic elements from its cadres and political culture with great vigor. It is embracing home-grown extremists, forcing out moderates, threatening dissenters and aligning itself with foreign autocrats like Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Democratic frameworks are of little use to explain this tragic trajectory, or why the GOP has supported Donald Trump through two impeachments, a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and now possible violations of the Espionage Act.
