Establishment politicians saying "no más" to party line?
March 3, 2016 8:16 PM Subscribe
Has any establishment national politician every played along with the party line to a point where they couldn't anymore and dramatically quit/retired/flamed out?
I don't mean my counter-example inspiration to start its own debate or chat so if I've got details wrong, forgive me and I hope you can take the spirit of the question: John McCain was at one time seen as a principled guy, and he can be seen to be pledging to support the guy who made fun of him for being a POW. I'm not certain what his motivations are, but the question is, has a guy in his position ever dramatically flamed out and refused to play along?
Looking for heartwarming or badass stories of politicians of any stripe going along for a time before saying "this is a bridge too far" in a public or dramatic way. Entirely possible this has never happened in the way I am hoping to read about.
I don't mean my counter-example inspiration to start its own debate or chat so if I've got details wrong, forgive me and I hope you can take the spirit of the question: John McCain was at one time seen as a principled guy, and he can be seen to be pledging to support the guy who made fun of him for being a POW. I'm not certain what his motivations are, but the question is, has a guy in his position ever dramatically flamed out and refused to play along?
Looking for heartwarming or badass stories of politicians of any stripe going along for a time before saying "this is a bridge too far" in a public or dramatic way. Entirely possible this has never happened in the way I am hoping to read about.
Joe Clark was Prime Minister of Canada as a Progressive Conservative. When the PC party merged with another party to become the Conservative Party of Canada, Clark refused to sign on and has publicly supported the liberals since then, as well as individual candidates from the NDP. There are lots of other examples of MPs "Crossing the floor" in parliamentary systems, but this it the only PM I'm aware of.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:34 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:34 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Joe Lierberman was elected as a Democrat to the Connecticut Senate in 1970, to the US Senate as a Democrat in 1988, and who ran for VP as a Democrat on the Gore/Lieberman ticket in 2000.
Lieberman was listed as an "Independent Democrat" in Congress after the 2000 election, but in 2008 he gave a speech at the GOP Convention endorsing John McCain over Barack Obama.
However, he somehow managed to remain a Democrat after that, even while holding many positions that put him squarely in line with Republicans, until he retired in 2013.
posted by erst at 8:52 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Lieberman was listed as an "Independent Democrat" in Congress after the 2000 election, but in 2008 he gave a speech at the GOP Convention endorsing John McCain over Barack Obama.
However, he somehow managed to remain a Democrat after that, even while holding many positions that put him squarely in line with Republicans, until he retired in 2013.
posted by erst at 8:52 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Winston Churchill famously crossed the floor twice ("Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat.”). The 1904 party switch was over a disagreement with leadership about tariffs.
posted by Maastrictian at 9:37 PM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Maastrictian at 9:37 PM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
Somewhat speculative, and not sure this fits the pattern you're thinking of, but John Boehner's retirement seemed to me to be abrupt and somewhat born of frustration. Not sure if he had a change of heart about any of it or just got tired of DC. Occurred the day after the Pope's visit to the USA, FWIW.
posted by randomkeystrike at 9:39 PM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by randomkeystrike at 9:39 PM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
Robin Cook, Leader of the House of Commons, who resigned protesting against U.K. entry into the Iraq War in 2003. Full speech transcription and YouTube.
posted by galaksit at 9:40 PM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by galaksit at 9:40 PM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
Elliot Richardson and William Ruckelshaus in 1973.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:06 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:06 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
geoffrey howe resigned and took down margaret thatcher on his way out. an action famously referred to as being "savaged by a dead sheep." video.
[i miss robin cook]
posted by andrewcooke at 12:54 AM on March 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
[i miss robin cook]
posted by andrewcooke at 12:54 AM on March 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Lincoln Chafee famously refused to vote for George W. Bush's reelection in 2004 before quitting the Republican Party altogether. Chafee at the time was about as establishment as it gets, a sitting US Senator who got his seat by replacing his long-serving father in the Senate. He ran for president as a Democrat this year, but, alas, few noticed.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:35 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 4:35 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ronald Reagan famously quipped that he didn't leave the Democratic Party, the democratic Party left him.
posted by Gelatin at 4:54 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Gelatin at 4:54 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Zachary Taylor, on the issue of slavery.
posted by mmiddle at 6:29 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mmiddle at 6:29 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Somewhat speculative, and not sure this fits the pattern you're thinking of, but John Boehner's retirement seemed to me to be abrupt and somewhat born of frustration.
It's definitely what I was looking for! I was hoping for grainy 80's CSPAN footage of somebody upending a desk and kicking open a door on the way out but Boehner's exit was conducted with a (figurative) middle finger and works perfectly. Thank you for all the other answers so far as well, some of these I had just forgotten and others I'm just learning about.
posted by ftm at 7:18 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's definitely what I was looking for! I was hoping for grainy 80's CSPAN footage of somebody upending a desk and kicking open a door on the way out but Boehner's exit was conducted with a (figurative) middle finger and works perfectly. Thank you for all the other answers so far as well, some of these I had just forgotten and others I'm just learning about.
posted by ftm at 7:18 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Jerald terHorst, Ford's press secretary, resigned upon Ford's pardon of Nixon
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:54 PM on March 4, 2016
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:54 PM on March 4, 2016
Not sure how dramatic it was, but Strom Thurmond went from being a "Dixiecrat" to Republican in the 60s.
posted by wwartorff at 7:42 PM on March 4, 2016
posted by wwartorff at 7:42 PM on March 4, 2016
Tulsi Gabbard's recent resignation from the DNC vice was pretty badass in my estimation.
Also, for a related look at pols acting as cassandras when they see their party approaching that "bridge too far", consider Nelson Rockefeller's address to the 1964 GOP National Convention, wherein he railed against expressions of extremism: "It is essential that this Convention repudiate here and now any doctrinaire, militant minority, whether Communist, Ku Klux Klan or Bircher which would subvert this party to purposes alien to the very basic tenets which gave this party birth."
It's at this convention that you can see the beginnings of the shift of power from Eisenhower Rs to Reagan Rs. It's worth a read.
posted by eclectist at 5:40 PM on March 7, 2016
Also, for a related look at pols acting as cassandras when they see their party approaching that "bridge too far", consider Nelson Rockefeller's address to the 1964 GOP National Convention, wherein he railed against expressions of extremism: "It is essential that this Convention repudiate here and now any doctrinaire, militant minority, whether Communist, Ku Klux Klan or Bircher which would subvert this party to purposes alien to the very basic tenets which gave this party birth."
It's at this convention that you can see the beginnings of the shift of power from Eisenhower Rs to Reagan Rs. It's worth a read.
posted by eclectist at 5:40 PM on March 7, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by town of cats at 8:24 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]