Those specific unpopular political maneuvers coincided with a broader change in the party, from a big tent to more of an exclusive club. The Republican Party had pursued unpopular political maneuvers and purged heretics from its ranks, shrinking the party’s base of support. Republicans didn’t win every election — in fact, they’ve won the popular vote for president only once in the last 30 years. Republican policy during the Obama administration made this clear: From debt-ceiling crises to Obamacare repeal to Medicare cuts to government shutdowns to tax cuts for the wealthy, the Republican Party chose the unpopular side of most major policy fights. But for the modern Republican Party, almost all of its major policies and political strategies have failed to attain popular support.

Source: New York Times November 11, 2019 00:01 UTC