In a recent CNN interview, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski hinted that he she is considering leaving the Republican Party. Murkowski has been a long-time opponent of former President Donald Trump and is struggling with the idea of Trump leading her party. Murkowski is not the first to leave the party over a personality, and historically speaking, switching parties has even brought great reward.Murkowski, who was an avid Nikki Haley supporter, claims she is not the only Republican frustrated with the GOP’s direction in supporting a controversial candidate like Trump, but she is not considering joining the Democratic Party either. She is just as frustrated with Biden as she is with Trump, so she is considering becoming an independent.It should not be surprising that another president, Andrew Jackson, who had a large yet antagonizing personality, also caused dissatisfaction. Anyone who reads this column knows that one of the presidents I most compared to Trump was Jackson. Trump himself has drawn comparisons and showed his admiration of Jackson when he hung his portrait in the Oval Office. Like Trump, Jackson could rub people wrong, which was the case of John Tyler of Virginia.Tyler entered politics in 1816 as a representative to Congress and part of the Jeffersonian Republican Party. Like his fellow Virginians, he was a strong supporter of states’ rights and believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. In the short time that America had a one-party system (1816-1828) Tyler had become concerned with President John Quincy Adams’ nationalist policies and began supporting the Jackson wing of the party who called themselves Democratic Republicans. When Jackson broke from the Republicans, now calling himself simply a Democrat, he ran against Adams and won in 1828 with Tyler as a loyal supporter.While Tyler had always supported the Republican/Democrats, he started to find himself at odds with Jackson. While Jackson claimed he supported small government, his beliefs only seemed to apply to Congress and the courts. When it came to the power of the president, Jackson was seemingly doing more to strengthen the power of that office. During his term Jackson vetoed more bills than all the previous presidents combined and completely ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling when it came to Indian Removal. Yet what put Tyler over the top was the Nullification Crisis of 1833.Back in 1828, before Adams left office, he signed into law a high tariff that became known as ...
