There has been a lot of talk in recent months about the schism in the Republican Party, with the “Stop the Steal” wing, steadfastly loyal to former President Trump, on one side, and what one Republican pollster referred to me last week as the “reality-based” wing on the other. The contrast between the approaches and personalities of the two top Republican leaders in Congress is about as stark as any we have seen, and underscores the oddity of this time in the history of the Grand Ole Party.
Not that long ago, the mere mention of the late Ronald Reagan’s name would bring bowed heads and misty eyes. Now it is Trump’s name that has eclipsed Reagan’s as the party’s defining figure, no matter that the policies and mindset of the Reagan and Trump administrations could hardly be more different.
But the division within the Republican Party is hardly the only seemingly contradictory dynamic in American politics today. CONTINUED
Charlie Cook