A Party Without a Soul

A Party Without a Soul

What, if anything, do Republicans stand for anymore?

The party that promised to restore honor and integrity to Washington brought us Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay and now, Mark Foley and the subsequent cover-up.

The President that campaigned against nation-building got us into a $1 trillion quagmire in Iraq.

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What, if anything, do Republicans stand for anymore?

The party that promised to restore honor and integrity to Washington brought us Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay and now, Mark Foley and the subsequent cover-up.

The President that campaigned against nation-building got us into a $1 trillion quagmire in Iraq.

An Administration that pledged to maintain fiscal discipline turned a $127 billion surplus into a $300 billion budget deficit and presided over the larger expansion of government since LBJ.

I could go on and on.

The Democrats aren’t exactly a profile in clarity. But Republicans today give nihilism a good name.

Hurray that the Washington Times and other conservatives are calling for Dennis Hastert and his minions in the House leadership to resign.

But the GOP’s problems began long before Mark Foley started soliciting underage boys.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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