The Decline and Pending Downfall of Our American Republic: Pat Buchanan (Part 1 of 2)

Patrick J. Buchanan: He followed Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, leading his party even farther to the extreme right. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

In the nearly twenty years that I’ve been writing these essays, I’ve referred to the devolution of the Republican Party as being the FOX-Republican Party, the FOX-Republican-TEA Party, and now the Trumpista Party. Currently, it is popularly called the MAGA Republican Party, but I prefer the Trumpista Party. That’s because it more accurately addresses its revolutionary opposition to our constitutional system, our belief in the rule of law, our progression toward a more democratic society, and our adhering to scientific knowledge. It’s an autocratic cult that promotes minority rule by the plutocracy and theocracy.

I devoted numerous essays in this series to Ronald Reagan, whose “revolution” led to a 40-year downgrade of our national infrastructure, an increase in the income gap between the extremely rich and everyone else, a neglect of environmental and climate-change urgencies, and set-backs on many other issues. As negatively consequential as Reagan was, it was Pat Buchanan who paved the way for the likes of a Donald J. Trump to take over the party. Mr. Buchanan felt that Reagan was too soft and pragmatic and not extreme enough, especially on social issues. He firmly believed that “the greatest vacuum in American politics is to the right of Ronald Reagan.” And that’s where he led the party.

In 1982, he became part of The McLaughlin Group on PBS TV. While there was always one token representative of the left, it was primarily a shout-fest of angry right-wingers venting their spleens on various current issues. Even though viewers might not have learned much from it, it was entertaining and qualified loosely as infotainment. Fox “News” eventually adapted the format with anchors like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity specializing in misinfotainment.

Thomas Braden and Patrick Buchanan on CNN’s Crossfire (Photo: You Tube/Crossfire

Also in 1982, he and journalist Tom Braden teamed up to be nightly co-hosts for “Crossfire” on CNN. Buchanan was on the right, Tom was on the left, and a noteworthy guest was caught in the crossfire of their questions. It was one of the most popular shows on CNN for several years. (Tom was also known as the author of his biography Eight is Enough, which was freely adapted as a TV series in the mid-seventies.) Later, Mr. Trump, too, became well-known nationally from his appearances on “The Apprentice,” the long-running “reality” TV show where he got to say, “You’re fired.”

After Tom passed away in 2009, I attended his eulogy in Washington, DC, and ran into Mr. Buchanan before the ceremony. I told him that we had met once before at Tom’s Georgetown home for the wedding of my friends Joannie Braden and Rick Ridder. I told him that the girl I had brought with me to the wedding spotted him in the den and rushed up to him to say, “Wouldn’t you know that the only two Republicans at this event would find each other.” I told him that I had been shocked to learn that I had brought a Republican to my friends’ wedding. He gave me a big grin. He does have a sense of humor. He and Rick gave two of three eulogies for Tom. In his, Mr. Buchanan recalled that there were times after filming a “Crossfire” episode that they were so angry with each other that he and Tom couldn’t even speak as they walked together to their cars to drive home.

Pat Buchanan and President Ronald Reagan: Reagan, similarly, used his movie and TV-star status to launch his career into politics, serving two terms as governor of California. While clearly extremist at the time, he still believed in democracy and compromise and used dog whistles and smoke and mirrors to hide his dark side from undiscerning voters. (Photo: Esquire)

With the support of even more Reagan Democrats, Reagan won a second landslide victory in the Election of 1984. By being more accommodating and appealing to Democrats, Reagan was alienating the New Right in his party that wanted greater extremism and less – if any – compromising. In 1985, to placate the extremists, Mr. Buchanan was brought in to be the communications director for the Reagan White House.

The new group that called itself the New Right gradually emerged after the embarrassing failure of Barry Goldwater’s candidacy in 1964. It began its ascendancy just before and during the Reagan Era with leaders like Newt Gingrich in the House, fundamentalist ministers Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly, industrialist-donors Charles and David Koch, George W. Bush, and, of course, TV personality Pat Buchanan. Their emphasis was on wedge issues that would divide the American voters: appealing to single-issue voters who were only concerned with such things as gun rights, abortion, immigration, drug use, or taxes. They also wanted to divide the people on what was moral or not. Things they could not abide included gay rights advocacy and any continuing civil rights protests. Also, they never forgave the Hippie movement and Vietnam War protesters long after the war was over (remember how they lied about John Kerry’s war record when he ran for president in 2004).

It was Pat Buchanan who showed Donald Trump how to use television to gain fame and notoriety in politics with extremist views. Trump saw how Buchanan used his TV popularity to launch radical-reactionary political endeavors in three presidential primary campaigns. Even if it wasn’t successful for Buchanan, Trump thought he might succeed. He was sure the GOP was ripe and eager for him.

A version of the essay was published in south Arkansas’s El Dorado News-Times on September 3, 2023.