Republican party
Re the April 7 letter from Allan Ciftci, Better GOP Nominees: A looming contested Republican national convention is an affirmation that both Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz are driving the Republican Party off the cliff and into irrelevance.
The traditional Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan is virtually dead. Neither of those previous presidents could get the party nomination today. Why? Because moderation, compromise and Bush’s compassionate conservatism have become alien ideas and non-starters for a majority of today’s Republican base.
The Republican Party has moved so far to the right that only extreme rhetoric and those politicians willing to promote them are now the defining characteristics of the party. Trump and Cruz have ushered in a new Republican Party where better GOP nominees are now a thing of the past.
Edward Blanco, Miami
This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 7:45 PM with the headline "Republican party."