My morals are superior to yours (4)

The Republican Party (GOP – Grand Old Party) has undergone a metamorphosis that transformed it from a bastion of economic conservatism into a radicalized cultural movement. What was once a party of economic and conservative elites, a traditional political force rooted in free market advocacy and fiscal restraint, has gradually become a radicalized cultural movement, where religion, resentment, and populism intersect in explosive ways, defining political priorities. This evolution – or mutation – began with Richard Nixon and was consolidated with Donald Trump, involving an explosive alliance between evangelicals, the far right, and now also with technocrats like Peter Thiel.

The turning point began with Richard Nixon's so-called "Southern Strategy" in the early 1970s. Seeking to win over white Southern voters disaffected by Martin Luther King, Jr., and civil rights advances , Nixon mobilized a rhetoric of "law and order" that appealed to a frightened middle class eager for stability. While he distanced himself from evangelicals—still largely apolitical—and the organized but marginalized far right ( the John Birch Society ), it was under Nixon that the bridge between cultural conservatism and partisan politics began, reinforcing the role of identity, including religious identity, in the Republican agenda.

2. Religious Mobilization

The religious right found a catalyst in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which allowed abortion in the US. Pastor Jerry Falwell and his "Moral Majority" transformed religious morality into a powerful electoral tool . Evangelicals ceased to be spectators and became protagonists, demanding a political platform that would combat not only abortion but also the secularization of American society. And the GOP began to absorb this electorate. Adapting to their demands, it adopted the religious agenda and shaped its narrative around the so-called "culture war." At the same time, the far right reorganized around causes such as opposition to taxes, immigration, and foreign interventionism, challenging the party's moderate establishment .

Ronald Reagan was not just a charismatic president—he was the true founder of the modern Republican Party. With him, evangelicals went from allies to protagonists. Reagan promised to defend traditional values, combat abortion, and restore the presence of religion in the public sphere. Despite his pragmatism in several decisions, he managed to unite evangelicals, economic conservatives, and anti-communists in a lasting ideological coalition, shifting the party definitively to the right. Although not a devoutly religious person, Reagan promised to restore the influence of Christian faith in the public sphere and appointed judges aligned with the religious agenda. His legacy is still visible today in the ideological structure of the GOP, especially in the way politics is conducted around moral values, not just economic principles.

4. The Retreat of the Moderates

The presidency of George H.W. Bush marked the beginning of the decline of the Republican moderate center, with evangelicals representing approximately 40% of voters in GOP primaries. Despite inheriting Reagan's coalition, Bush Sr. failed to retain the loyalty of his evangelical and nationalist base. Tax increases and the pursuit of bipartisanship, combined with a centrist stance in international relations, generated internal tensions. Pat Buchanan's challenge in the 1992 primaries and the extremism of Newt Gingrich and his "Contract with America" consolidated the rise of the fiscal far right and anti-government sentiment, sowing the seeds of the future Tea Party movement.

The election of Barack Obama in 2008 was a powerful catalyst for Republican radicalization. For many conservative sectors, Obama embodied everything the GOP rejected: multiculturalism, progressivism, and state intervention. Evangelicals maintained their influence, but it was the far right that grew the most. The Tea Party , born of hostility to Obama, healthcare reform, and the country's growing diversity, consolidated a populist, fiscally conservative, and socially reactionary discourse. Figures like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul combined religion, libertarianism, and nationalism into a inflammatory political discourse. Unfortunately, this rhetoric disfigured the GOP, which became belligerent and intransigent.

6. Trump and the Final Reset

Donald Trump represented the definitive fusion between the moral superiority of faith and fanaticism. Divorced and devoid of religious tradition, the "anomaly" Trump became an icon for conservative Christians, establishing an almost unconditional alignment by promising to defend "religious freedom," appointing anti-abortion judges, and ferociously attacking political correctness and yokelism. The far-right found in him its champion: nativism, protectionism, conspiracy theories, and contempt for democratic institutions became the norm. The attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was the practical expression of this radicalization.

Peter Thiel, a self-proclaimed libertarian who no longer believes freedom and democracy are compatible, has played a fundamental role in the ideological reconfiguration of the GOP. Over the years, Thiel has become a power infrastructure that discreetly shapes strategic decisions within the GOP (the role of Palantir Technologies in the US government should not be overlooked). Considering that liberal democracy is an obstacle to the efficiency of power, Thiel, through think tanks, alternative platforms, and publications, promotes an agenda that challenges the pillars of democracy and is one of the main promoters of the so-called "New Right." By supporting candidates like JD Vance and Blake Masters, by spreading a political vision that blends technological libertarianism, authoritarian nationalism, and democratic skepticism, Thiel is not just a mere funder. He is an ideologue who seeks to define futures through narratives.

Simultaneously, the Heritage Foundation 's Project 2025 presented a plan to completely overhaul the state apparatus, openly proposing the replacement of civil servants with loyal appointments, the dismantling of federal agencies, the criminalization of abortion, and the promotion of religious views in government. This is institutional engineering, intended to make the transformation initiated by Trump irreversible. In other words, it is a manual for the political, administrative, and cultural capture of the United States that jeopardizes secularization and democracy in America (at least they are clear and transparent about what they intend).

8. GOP or MAGA?

In 2025, the Republican Party can no longer be described in its historical terms. The GOP's founding principles—such as respect for the Constitution, fiscal balance, federalism, and restraint of executive power—have been replaced by a logic of personality cult and permanent confrontation. The MAGA movement, led by Trump, has absorbed the party, redefining it as a platform for cultural revenge, populist authoritarianism, and religious moral superiority.

This replacement isn't just symbolic—it's structural. MAGA has become the new political identity of the American right, with Trump as a cult figure. Loyalty is now a criterion for political survival within the party. I don't know if MAGA has a future. Neither J.D. Vance nor Kari Lake have enough charisma to replace Trump. Regardless, at this point, the GOP doesn't exist . What exists now is MAGA, something completely different, even contradictory to the principles and values that were championed by the Republican Party.

After decades of giving in to fanaticism, the GOP is a party dominated by culture and religious wars, identity resentment, and authoritarian populism. Moderates like John McCain and Mitt Romney have been forgotten or marginalized. Even Reagan's anti-communism has been virtually discarded. And social media amplifies radical voices that incite exclusion, confrontation, and the persecution of dissenters. The party, once a defender of democratic values, has become an adversary of those very principles.

The GOP isn't just radicalized—it's profoundly reconfigured. The intersection of organized religion, authoritarian technology, and institutional engineering has transformed it into a party that challenges the foundations of liberal democracy. This transformation, though gradual, has been carefully nurtured and is unlikely to be reversed. But it's not impossible.

Postscript:

I read and listen to what Peter Thiel and others say and I remember Mussolini: “We were the first to state, in the face of demoliberal individualism, that the individual exists only in so far as he is within the State and subjected to the requirements of the State and that, as civilization assumes aspects which grow more and more complicated, individual freedom becomes more and more restricted.” – To the General Staff Conference of Fascism, in Discorsi del 1929, Milano, Alpes, 1930, p. 280).