"Defined Less by Its Conservatism Than Its Radicalism and Its Will to Power"

"At every turn, when faced with the choice between norms and power, between the integrity of our institutions and partisan victory, Republicans from Gingrich and Tom DeLay to Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have chosen the latter. It's how brinkmanship became the order of the day under President Obama and why few, if any, Republicans have spoken out against the push for voter suppression in the states. It's what drove the party establishment to consolidate behind Donald Trump, an unstable demagogue whose chief qualification is his physical ability to sign conservative legislation, and it's behind the present choice—in the face of unprecedented behavior and a possible cover-up of unethical (even criminal) activity—to move against accountability.

Jamelle Bouie at Slate defines "The modern Republican Party—the party shaped by Newt Gingrich and his 'revolution.'"