George H.W. Bush’s death is not the end of ‘a culture of civility’

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George Herbert Walker Bush’s death was deemed, “The end of a culture – a culture of civility,” by Ron Kaufman, one of Bush’s former senior aides, and other GOP members, according to the AP.

Much is to be said about Bush and his civil relationships among those of opposing political parties, something that is rarely seen with today’s president. His letter to former President Bill Clinton after his loss for re-election for president in 1992 is one that sparked conversation again after his death, a letter that proves political divides don’t have to mean friendship divides.

The last line of the letter said, “Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.” That is civility, yes– courteous and polite.

But Bush was not the last Republican president to break the divides of civility among differing politics to show this “civility.”

His son, George Walker Bush, is often seen conversing, laughing and even sharing candy with Michelle Obama, the wife of Democrat, and former President, Barack Obama. Republican John McCain and Democrat Joe Biden had a close personal friendship across party lines, and McCain asked Biden personally to deliver a eulogy at his funeral.

This end of, “a culture of civility” seems real because of the divide among Republicans themselves– take President Donald Trump and his actions, for example, against those of McCain’s.

At a campaign rally in Missoula, Montana, for Republican Matt Rosendale, Trump said, “Democrats produce mobs, Republicans produce jobs.” His Twitter account is often famously the way he issues these comments, something new among all politics.

But on the opposite end of Republican campaigning, McCain was often seen as the “middle guy,” who got along and was well-liked by both parties. In a famous video from 2008 that circulated again after his death, he defended Obama against false claims at a campaign rally, where a woman told McCain she can’t trust Obama because he’s “an Arab,” which McCain promptly stopped.

This idea of “civility” didn’t end with Bush. This idea still hasn’t ended but is being pushed aside by our current president who deems inappropriate vocabulary and harsh claims as fair, one who doesn’t see the benefit and civility with listening and befriending those of differing political views.

If the GOP truly believed Bush’s death was the end of “a culture of civility,” instead of blindly following any candidate pushed forward simply because they’re Republican, they would push away and follow those who, whether Republican or Democrat, show the idea of civility, because these politics still exist.