DECLINE OF AMERICAN POLITICS

START OF THE DECLINE IN AMERICAN POLITICS
I'm not sure when the modern decline in American politics started.  Maybe it started with the Democrats overturning Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987* that seems to have inflamed Republicans ever since.  As a Civil Libertarian, I agreed with the Democrats, but Bork said that all the accusations against him were wrong.  I don't know, but the Democrats seemed to be right.  At any rate, perhaps that is when the decline started, but it could be when Republicans developed their southern Strategy with Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater.**

Note added June 18, 2017: A better start is with Newt Gingrich suggested by conservative David Brooks: How did all this intemperate language in politics start.  I now believe it goes back to Newt Gingrich, in the early 1980s as suggested by conservative David Brooks and forward who even published a list of combative words to use (Included in the references are several articles in addition to lists of words to use.).***   Just a few words from Gingrich's list are betray, corrupt, and hypocrisy.
http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/06/rep-scalise-shot-now-what.html

THE NEXT BIG STEP: BENGHAZI
Another BIG step in decline occurred when Mitt Romney decided to politicize Benghazi and spawned 13 investigations!  I can't forgive him for this.  Prior to this, political disagreements ended at the shores of America.  When Ronald Reagan endured two major embassy bombings (including one ambassador being killed as in Benghazi) plus the Marine Barracks disaster in  Lebanon where 241 were killed  Democrats kept mum and never tried to make political hay out of it though there was one investigation.  The Beirut embassy bombing under Reagan killed 17 people * George Bush's administration suffered maybe 13 incidents in which 4 Americans total were killed including 3 diplomats with no resulting investigations.***

Now in American politics, EVERYTHING is on the table.

REPUBLICANS USE "FULL COURT PRESS" AGAINST DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS
The next step started with the election of Bill Clinton as president where the Republicans started out of the gate with a "full court press" to destroy his presidency.  They attacked him on everything and anything, even when he fired the travel office, something he had every right to do as president.  Unfortunately, in his second term Clinton gave them some fodder with his relationship to Monica Lewinski resulting in his impeachment but not conviction.  The intensity seemed to even escalate with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency with some added racial factors.  I feel it is a triumph that Obama even was able to finish two terms without being assassinated.

REFUSAL TO TAKE UP SUPREME COURT NOMINATION
Yet another step involved the refusal of the Republican Senate to even consider the Democratic candidate for the Supreme Court - Merrick Garland.  I have to wonder if the Bork incident many years before had something to do with it.  Curiously, the Garland nomination was the opposite of the Bork nomination.  Bork would have replaced a "moderate" Democrat where "moderate" Garland would have replaced a Republican.  The Supreme Court is supposed to be non-partisan, but we all know it is the ultimate partisan body.

THE MOVE TO PHYSICALITY
During Donald Trump's run for President, he spoke of "get 'em outta here" about protesters in which they were shoved and yelled at in a Kentucky rally.****.  At an Arizona rally, a protester was punched and kicked as he was being led out of the rally.  Then there was Trump's comment at a rally in Nevada about a protester, "I'd like to punch him in the face, I tell you."  And " They's be carried out on a stretcher, folks." in the old days.****  Though Trump says the protester was throwing punches, The conservative Weekly Standard "was just over exaggerating."

I hope another step has not been taken with the physical attack by a Montana congressional candidate on a news reporter.  I heard the tape of the incident, and it was hard to hear what ticked off the congressional candidate.  I'm somewhat reassured by the candidate's lengthy apology, though I find it disturbing that some of his voters liked his his getting physical.  I'm afraid there are many militants in the Republican Party that would like to get physical.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork_Supreme_Court_nomination
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
*** http://www.snopes.com/u-s-embassy-attacks-compared/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/opinion/the-four-american-narratives.html
****http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/02/politics/donald-trump-lawsuit-incite-violence-kentucky-rally/index.html
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2016/03/20/trump-supporter-charged-with-assault-following-scuffle-at-arizona-rally/
http://www.weeklystandard.com/protester-would-be-carried-out-on-a-stretcher-in-the-old-days-trump-reminisces/article/2001211