Within the past few years, the Republican and Democratic parties have introduced an enormous shift. In past years, there was a good case for Democrats on certain issues and a good case for Republicans on some issues. However in recent years policies of the right have moved to being the policies of the political left:
Energy
Traditionally a majority of Republican s historically promoted American drilling and production of energy, fossil fuels. Democrats and Greens have generally supported only renewable energy, solar and wind power. However this seems to have switched recently:
- In 2023, the US produced more oil than any country… ever. (BusinessInsider, Washington Post)
- Biden approved new oil drilling that same year, angering many concerned scientists and environmentalists (Politifact)
- The Inflation Reduction Act resulted in a “made-in-America clean energy boom“. Biden’s made-in-america talking points echo Trump’s best ideas of encouraging production.
Crime
Republican party generally had been tough on crime and criminals, but with the lead 2024 candidate now being charged for numerous federal and state indictments, their solution is to change the justice system – to instate loyal partisan officials to the FBI and all manner of other parts of governments, as they have boasted in Project 2025 and CPAC “conservative” action conference.
- Under Biden, murders have decreased – stocks have gained, jobs are up, economy expanded, yet weekly average earnings have lowered slightly. (factcheck)
- Donald Trump and his supporters assert that he is a political victim, but in fact Trump had numerous runins with the law before his presidency: The racial discrimination case with Trump real estate, the Real estate “university” scam which ended in $25Million suit, the cheating of migrant workers during the building of Trump Tower, and also thousands of lawsuits.
- Trump’s opponents have been threatened repeatedly at various times in the past few years, making many Republicans afraid to speak out about the truth of the threat of Trump.
- As Republican Liz Cheney noted in her memoir Oath and Honor, Donald Trump was the cause of the Jan 6th riot/coup attempt, and was AWOL when the country needed his leadership to stop an angry Trump-supporting mob. Instead he fanned the flames with incendiary comments about Mike Pence’s refusal to subvert the election.
“Pro-life”
Republicans have generally supported the opposition to abortion, but under Biden administration Roe v Wade was overturned. This was in part due to changes under Trump so he does get some credit, however…
- After end of Roe v Wade, many women who did not get abortions may have sidestepped what may have been an enormous regret if they had… However, studies show that restricting what doctors may be allowed to do for abortion/miscarriages may cause increased maternal deaths.
- Some Republicans were against vaccine mandates (even though personal responsibility was a core tenet of traditional conservatism) even though widely used COVID vaccines have saved somewhere between 3 and 20 million lives by some estimates. Areas with lower vaccination rates often are hit hardest.
Moral example
Many Republicans rightly derided the Clintons for lying, and an extramarital affair in the presidency years ago. Yet in recent years they have given TRUMP a free pass. Peter Wehner, a writer for three former Republican presidents, writes that “In doing so, they embraced a man whose personal, political, and business ethics are not only far more compromised and corrupt than Bill Clinton’s; they are unsurpassed in the history of the American presidency.”
Russia, China and international affairs
Biden has been a big supporter of Israel – and also defendant of those victims of the battle after October 2023, negotiating aid to Gaza from Egypt.
China has been much competitive with the US, and Biden has sanctioned advanced US computer chips – analysts have noted China is likely favoring Trump presidency.
Donald Trump is the only president to be close to Russia and Vladimir Putin, critics have noted that Russian oligarch money was likely invested in Trump real estates. Trump’s closed door meeting with Vladmir Putin was unprecedented as were many other things noted in the recent book House of Trump House of Putin.
See why a number of Republicans are now choosing anyone-but-Trump for 2024 election: