The GOP Rests on Ideologically Shaky Ground

History of the Republican Party Because Pro could not refute the history of the Republican Party he moved to dismiss it. Movement denied. The Republican Party’s core ideologies have not changed; they still promote the sovereignty of the people, and rule of law. What have changed are their policies, and their views regarding the relation between the states and the federal government. Pro claims that the terms used in my charts are “impenetrable”, when in actuality the terms are pretty cut and dry. I will clarify the terms so he may better understand the context; (n) Collectivism (the practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it.) (n) Individualism (a social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.) (n) Left Wing (the section of a political party or system advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social reform.) (n) Right Wing (the section of a political party or system opposing political or social reform) [1] These 4 ideologies are comprised into 2 axes; sociopolitical and sociocultural. One’s position in regards to these 2 axes determines their ideologies regarding the policy of the state, the sovereignty over the state, and the sovereignty of the state. One can have a collectivist State policy, while advocating individualist sovereignty; the 3 categories are mutual exclusive, but they still have some influence on the motives behind the other 2 ideologies. For example; France is a Unitary Republic. A unitary state is collectivist, but a Republic is individualist. The Democratic Party favors a loose left wing constitution, while Republicans favor a strong Right Wing Constitution. When the Civil War broke out many New Englanders requested Lincoln issue an executive order to emancipate the slaves. Lincoln knew this was unconstitutional, so he replied with the following analogy; “How many legs would a calf have if you call the leg a tail? Four; Calling the tail a leg does not make it a leg” [2] The later proclamation, near the end of the war, did not free all the slaves, but rather it freed the slaves under military’s jurisdiction. Limited government Pro misunderstands my argument about Republicans. Republicans favor a strong constitution, when it comes to sovereignty over the state. Conservatives favor policies that maintain the status quo; that is why modern republicans are attracted to a strict constitution. Republicanism and conservatism is not the same thing, as conservatives can also be Democrats. Rule of Law vs Majority Rule Pro misunderstands rule of law and majority rule. Rule of Law means that no-one is above the law, not even the government. Hence the government is ruled/restricted by the law. In contrast Majority rule means that government is restricted only by the whims of the majority. If the government is ruled by majority rule, the only limits on potential laws are reelection, or a majority vote to pass the bill into law. [1] Pro has completely misrepresented my arguments. He is using semantics to construct straw men, rather than addressing my arguments in context. Libertarianism & Classic Liberalism There are two forms of Libertarianism; Anarchism (left wing libertarianism), and Classic Liberalism (Right Wing Libertarianism). In order for Libertarianism to be a subcategory of Classic Liberalism, there would need to be more subcategories. The category Pro falsely refers to as “classic liberalism” is actually the much broader “liberalism” category. Fallacy of composition Pro claims that because Liberal Conservatives and Social Liberals have some classic liberal values, that all conservatives and all progressives are classic liberals; this claim is completely fallacious. Coalition Parties The Republican Party favors republicanism, while the Democratic Party favors democracy. The two parties are coalition Parties, similar to the Court Party and Country Party of the 18th century. 1. Oxford Dictionary 2. books.google.com/books?id=yYTQAAAAMAAJ