Closing out the Liberal Republican Biographies (For Now)

In addition to the seven Liberal Republican politicians profiled during the last couple of months on the website and Facebook page, many other progressive and moderate Republicans were leading legislators, state governors, Cabinet officers and judicial officials from the 1940’s to the 1970’s and later. Please share with us your stories about these politicians, as many readers have done about the seven Liberal Republicans already profiled.

Here is a list of other liberal and moderate Republicans. [For more on these politicians, click here]:

             John Anderson of Illinois‎                                                         Olympia Snowe of Maine

                     Earl Warren of California                                                William Scranton of Pennsylvania

Charles Percy of Illinois

Elliott Richardson of Massachusetts

Lowell Weicker of Connecticut

Thomas Kuchel of California

Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania

Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island

John Lindsay of New York

Howard Baker of Tennessee

Richard Lugar of Indiana

Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania and

Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania.

These public servants held a wide variety of political views. Sometimes they were liberal on some issues and not on others. Many held views that became more liberal the longer they served. Unfortunately, none would have a place in today’s Republican Party.

If America is again to be a place where consensus politics is the norm, it is essential that the Republican Party again becomes a place where politicians such as these are welcome. And unless consensus politics again becomes the norm, the U.S. is likely to be condemned to slowly decline, as our current gridlocked political system fails to deal effectively with matters that only effective government can address.