He was not a fan of them. Just about everything he said has come to pass with today's GOP.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.
Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.
It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.
Democrats have not been perfect about this either but they actually try to govern first and think of party second. After this is all over and the GOP is buried and seen with the same revulsion of the Nazi party, I think the focus has to be on making sure that partisan politics can never again be allowed to poison the well in this country. We have to make sure that people in government service - civil, military, or elective - are duty bound to put the interests of this country first and the party a distant second.
I can remember growing up there were times when Republicans would support Democrats just to keep the Kluxers out of elective office, like when Duke ran in Louisiana. Now the party is the KKK without the sheets.
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lol
