This is an All of The Republican Party Effort. Pappy Bush, Bush Junior, Trump. This is the end result of a GOP drive for absolute presidential power that started in the wake of Watergate.
Right, it bothers me when I see people say, "Oh, x former GOP leader wasn't this bad." Well, yeah, 3 ft from your house isn't far, either, but if you keep walking, you're going to end up someplace else, so it matters what direction you're walking in, and it's dangerous if you don't care.
The best you can say about any former GOP leader is that they didn't care where the party ended up as long as they got what they wanted during their tenure. (With the possible exception of Goldwater, who really did seem to get how awful getting in bed with the Christian Right was going to turn out.)
