What the heck happened to the Republican Party? Something awful, obviously. I decided to look at the GOP platform of 1968 and see what had changed in the last 55 years. Turns out, a lot. Today’s GOP would think the 1968 GOP was way too woke. 1/18
https://t.co/AAkZHF58S5

In 1968, a U.S. political party pushed gun control, backed the FBI, sought to liberalize the voting system, acknowledged “frustrations” that led to urban riots, and pushed for a federal crackdown on polluters.
That party was the Republican Party. 2/18 https://t.co/Noeh2MxXsg

GOP in 1968: “We propose to reform the Electoral College system, establish a nationwide, uniform voting period for presidential elections, and recommend that the states remove unreasonable requirements [for] ... presidential elections.”
GOP now: Electoral College forever. 3/18

GOP in 1968: “We specifically favor representation in Congress for the District of Columbia.”
GOP now: Republicans oppose D.C. statehood even though the district has more residents than two states, Vermont and Wyoming. D.C. has a non-voting delegate in the House. That’s it. 4/18

GOP in 1968: “We believe that lower age groups should be accorded the right to vote.” (In 1971, 18-year-olds got that right.)
GOP now: Strategist Cleta Mitchell aims to make it harder for college students to vote. GOP's Vivek Ramaswamy wants to restrict voting at ages 18-25. 5/18

GOP in 1968: “Minorities among us—particularly the black community, the Mexican-American, the American Indian—suffer disproportionately.” GOP "strongly advocates measures to alleviate ... frustrations that contribute to riots.”
GOP now: Demonizing social justice protesters. 6/18

GOP in 1968: Republicans offer their “full support of the FBI and all law enforcement agencies of the federal government.”
GOP now: Leading Republicans want to “defund the FBI.” 7/18
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-facing-criminal-charges-calls-defunding-fbi-2023-04-05/

GOP in 1968: “Air and water pollution, already acute in many areas, require vigorous state and federal action, regional planning, and maximum cooperation among neighboring cities, counties and states.”
GOP now: Attacking environmental rules, with help from Supreme Court. 8/18

GOP in 1968: Republicans support “enactment of legislation to control indiscriminate availability of firearms.”
GOP now: Republicans in Congress wear AR-15 pins. Red states loosen gun laws as massacres increase. Half of states require no permit to carry a handgun. 9/18

GOP in 1968: “We will also improve the management of the national debt.”
Now: It’s $32 trillion, with Republicans among the culprits. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan nearly tripled the national debt. One quarter of the total debt was created in just four years under Trump. 10/18

GOP in 1968: “Public confidence in an independent judiciary is absolutely essential to the maintenance of law and order.”
GOP now: Republicans’ successful effort to steer the courts in a radical right-wing direction has eroded public confidence. 11/18
https://news.gallup.com/poll/394103/confidence-supreme-court-sinks-historic-low.aspx#:~:text=Twenty%2Dfive%20percent%20of%20independents,high%20of%2053%25%20in%202020.

GOP in 1968: “The principles of the 1965 Immigration Act—non-discrimination against national origins, reunification of families, and selective support for the American labor market—have our unreserved backing.”
GOP now: Muslim ban, “shithole countries,” family separation. 12/18

GOP in 1968: “Our relations with Western Europe, so critical to our own progress and security, have been needlessly and dangerously impaired. They must be restored, and NATO revitalized and strengthened.”
GOP now: Trump has threatened to quit NATO. 13/18

GOP in 1968: “We support a strong program of research in the sciences, with protection for the independence and integrity of participating individuals and institutions.”
GOP now: Top Republicans lie about vaccines. Poll shows confidence in science plummets among GOP voters. 14/18

GOP in 1968: “We are the only barricade against those who, through excessive government power, would overwhelm and destroy man's liberty.”
GOP now: Supreme Court revokes women’s right to control their bodies. When the GOP platform cited “man’s liberty,” were women excluded? 15/18

Actions speak louder than words, but party platforms are an opportunity to express ideals. Or at least they were. Republicans didn’t even present a platform in 2020, indicating that their top goal is not about issues but about seizing more political power. 16/18

I’m certainly nor pretending the GOP was a saintly institution in 1968. They nominated Nixon, for goodness sake. And the “Southern strategy” to woo white supremacists was under way. But they thought they had to express some level of decency then. They don’t anymore. 17/18

Many of the ideas in this thread plus added context are in this op-ed I wrote for @couriernewsroom. Take a look. And start following Courier! 18/18 https://couriernewsroom.com/news/the-1968-republican-party-platform-was-woke/