3 tensions that are breaking apart the Republican Party

What's behind the GOP crackup?

House Speaker John Boehner talks to reporters after a House GOP Conference meeting at the U.S. Captiol on Jan. 22.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Although Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) insists President Obama's goal is to "annihilate the Republican Party" and "shove us into the dustbin of history," it's actually internal disagreements that are causing the party to fracture.

As Robert Reich forcefully argues, "The GOP crackup was probably inevitable. Inconsistencies and tensions within the GOP have been growing for years — ever since Ronald Reagan put together the coalition that became the modern Republican Party."

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA TodayBoston Globe, San Francisco ChronicleChicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.