Yes, the problem with America IS the Republican Party. A growing consensus of of leaders, including some old, mainline Republicans, concluded that today's Republican Party has become radically reactionary and has morphed into a party that represents only America's richest people, and uses fear and hate to destroy the very fabric of our society by failing to compromise on even the most basic issues of jobs and the economy. Congressional scholars Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann have written a book based on this premise. "One of the two major parties, the Republican Party, has become an insurgent outlier — ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition," they write in their new book, 'It's Even Worse Than It Looks'. (A link to the NPR discussion of their work is in my first comment.) Politician Adlai Stevenson was also known for his intellectual demeanor, eloquent oratory and promotion of liberal causes. Twice, in 1952 and 1956 he earned his party's nomination for the presidency, only to be defeated by Eisenhower. This quote by Stevenson is perfect for today's America. — with Denise A Romano.