Total Control Is Crippling the GOP

Bill Hoagland spent 25 years as a Republican aide in the Senate, a career spanning the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes. He’s old enough to remember when the GOP was capable of tough things, such as comprehensive tax reform. He also remembers when he could count on such creatures as “yellow dog” Democrats, who were conservative enough to be to the right of a handful of liberal Republicans.

Fast-forward from Reagan’s 1986 tax reforms. Despite controlling the White House and having one of the largest congressional majorities in its history, Republicans today are tied up in knots. That’s mostly the result of the Tea Party infusing its brand of hard-right sentiment into the GOP. “It’s an element of the party that sees no good in government,” says Hoagland. “Which makes me wonder why they’re even serving in Congress.” The yellow dogs are extinct.