According to The New York Times, “… a newly triumphant Republican president” is “once again in the headlines.”
What will it take to break “the present national divide, between the narrow but solid Republican majority and a Democratic Party seemingly trapped in second place,” asks the Times. That pattern “may be hardening” into one “that will persist for years to come.” Perhaps breaking the divide will require “an act of God,” the Times writes.
The article quotes a number of eminent historians and political scientists who predict a new era of enduring Republican electoral dominance. In the words of one: “The Republicans are basically unchecked … There is no check in the federal government and no check in the world. They have an unfettered playing field.”
This isn’t a recent take on the 2024 election. The quote comes from 2004, when George W. Bush won reelection by 2.4 percentage points, a slightly larger margin than Donald Trump had Nov. 12, 2024, over Kamala Harris in the election results.
Of course, none of these predictions came to pass. The supposed enduring Republican majority evaporated as Hurricane Katrina, the ongoing war in Iraq and the financial crisis caused President Bush’s popularity to plummet. As a result, Democrats retook the House and the Senate in 2006, and Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008.