Rule and Ruin Studies in Postwar American Political Development Steven Teles, Series Editor Series Board Members: Paul Frymer Jennifer Hochschild Desmond King Sanford Levinson Taeku Lee Shep Melnick John Skrentny Adam Sheingate Reva Siegel Thomas Sugrue The Delegated Welfare State: Medicare, Markets, and the Governance of Social Policy Kimberly J. Morgan and Andrea Louise Campbell Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party Geoffrey Kabaservice RULE AND RUIN The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party From Eisenhower to the Tea Party Geoffrey Kabaservice Oxford University Press Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2012 by Geoffrey Kabaservice Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kabaservice, Geoffrey M. Rule and ruin: the downfall of moderation and the destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party / Geoffrey Kabaservice. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-976840-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Republican Party (U.S.: 1854–) 2. United States—Politics and government—1945–1989. 3. United States—Politics and government—1989– I. Title. JK2356.K33 2012 324.2734—dc22 2011016422 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper