President Obama considers the Republican party an international outlier, and so does Steve Benen, a producer for MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. (That’s “outlier,” not “outlaw,” though, who knows, for them that may be a distinction without a difference.)
After quoting Obama’s recent comment that the GOP is “the only major party that I can think of in the advanced world that effectively denies climate change,” Benen, who’s also the primary blogger for the TRMS website, wrote in a Monday post that “hearing Obama talk about this got me thinking about other ways in which the contemporary GOP is an international ‘outlier.’”
Benen crudely summarized a few Republican positions -- “anti-health care, pro-gun, and anti-science” -- and acknowledged that if you share them, they’re some of “what makes today’s Republican Party…the greatest major party in the world – precisely because it stands alone. The GOP, on a global scale, is one of a kind.”
From Benen’s post (bolding added):
Obama’s point about the U.S. Republican Party being an international outlier is both true and under-appreciated. The GOP is, in fact, the only major party in the advanced world – a paper was published in the fall comparing conservative parties from the Western world on the climate crisis, and it found American Republicans as the only major party that proposes doing nothing to deal with the problem.
But hearing Obama talk about this got me thinking about other ways in which the contemporary GOP is an international “outlier.”
For example, the contemporary Republican Party is the only major party in the advanced world that remains staunchly opposed to universal health care.
The contemporary Republican Party is the only major party in the advanced world that believes citizens of its country should have largely unfettered access to firearms.
Other than Israeli parties, the contemporary Republican Party was the only major party in the advanced world that opposed – and actively tried to sabotage – the international nuclear agreement with Iran.
This isn’t necessarily a pejorative description. If you’re anti-health care, pro-gun, and anti-science, what makes today’s Republican Party unique is what makes it the greatest major party in the world – precisely because it stands alone. The GOP, on a global scale, is one of a kind.
But for those who take issue with the far-right ideology, it’s worth appreciating just how different Republicans are – not just from their pre-radicalized past, but from other conservative parties around the globe.
