By RICKY L. JONES
The current master narrative of many “respectable” Republicans is the party “lost its way” somewhere between the advent of the Tea Party in 2009 after the election of Barack Obama and Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. It is a compelling story marked by inexplicable victories by political extremists and madmen who turned a decent, reasonable and diverse party into something unrecognizable. And it is a lie. The true story goes back much farther.
Between 1861 (the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president) and 1933, only two Democrats occupied the Oval Office. When Republican Herbert Hoover was inaugurated on March 4, 1929, he had no idea that the stock market would crash seven months later and change everything. After enjoying almost perpetual power, the Republicans were frozen out of executive control for 20 years beginning in 1933 by the undefeatable Franklin Roosevelt. The GOP was determined his four-term run would not be repeated. By 1947, GOP members and Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats), who were also opposed to many New Deal policies, joined forces in demanding presidential term limits. Ultimately, the 22nd Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms, was ratified in 1951.