The House Freedom Caucus should not ‘divorce’ the GOP

In Juan Williams’ latest piece for Fox News Opinion, he charges the liberty wing of the Republican Party with being overly disruptive to the GOP, and suggests that it’s time they split off formally and form their own party.

I’m sure Williams, along with many other Democrats, would love to see their political opposition splintered. Memories of the Green Party’s spoiler effect in the 2000 elections are still too fresh for comfort. But this analysis largely misses the point of what’s going on.

For decades, Republicans have been presenting themselves to the public as the party of lower taxes, less spending, and limited government.

It’s a legacy they’ve inherited from the Old Right, a movement deeply skeptical of government power.

And while these opinions found their way into many a stump speech, energizing the electorate against the socialistic tendencies of the Left, they all too rarely translated into actual policy.

After the glory days of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush raised taxes after promising not to, cementing his status as a one-term president.

George W. Bush expanded the scope of domestic spying in ways previously unheard of, while at the same time increasing spending and greatly strengthening the power of the executive branch.

The supposedly “severely conservative” nominee in 2012, Mitt Romney, was even the architect of the model for ObamaCare.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was a voter mandate giving Republicans control of both the House and the Senate, followed by, drumroll please, complete capitulation to the Democrats’ agenda.