General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why I choose to be a counterproductive left wingnut. [View all]Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)they actually called WWII "Roosevelt's War."
After Democrats allowed blacks into the party in 1948, and Strom Thurmond left the party, they transitioned to the Democratic party became the Party of Civil Rights under Kennedy and Johnson.
Republicans in the 50's kicked the white supremacist John Birchers out under the leadership of Buckley. Republicans really began the transition to a Southern White Corporatist Party with Nixon's Southern Strategy. Reagan made it an art form with his happy American Populism. Since Reagan, Republicans have continued right, losing their Rockefeller Republicans in the North East. By 2009, they replaced the North Eastern center right (now they are Democrats) with the John Birch Society and its inheritor, the Tea Party. Today, a candidate with Reagan's achievements of raising taxes on the rich and giving immunity to illegal aliens would be called a Big Government Socialist by Republicans.
As Republicans drifted right, so did the Political Center of the Country and the Democratic Party.
Jimmy Carter ran as a fiscal Conservative social liberal, and was to the right of Johnson. Clinton also ran as a fiscal Conservative social liberal and with his third way folk was to the right of Cater, politically. President Obama is to the right of Clinton. His ACA is almost identical to the Bill Republicans put up in opposition to Clinton's attempt to pass health care. (The Individual Mandate was the love child of the Heritage Foundation and Republicans in Congress back in the 90's). It is Romney's Health-care bill from Mass. But it is a real beginning to moving America toward national Health care, and along with recognizing Gay Marriage and the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell, it shows to me that the Political Center has ceased to drift right and may be moving back left.
The real problem in our system is America's Imperial reach into the World Stage. It really kicked in with Truman. Though the greatest advances in Civil Rights were achieved under Johnson, they have been in slow retreat since the Johnson Administration as the US became more embroiled as a Super Power.
The Party isn't selling its soul, it is doing what Power Groups do, finding the most efficient method of staying in power. Since the Rockefeller Republicans have joined the Party, (third wave/blue dog) they have proven a powerful moneyed source with great influence. The left in this country is not dead, but it is ailing. (The Occupy Movement gave me hope of a resurgence of the left, but they were not invited into the Democratic Party and short of establishing or joining someone like he Greens their movement will be slow to make changes because it has no influence over those in power.)
The Democrats are still our best chance of getting anything done for the majority of Americans. When in power, they will pass a few small items to keep the left happy, but they will never deliver on the big things (Medicare for all). But no one should expect big things form them, and divided government will bring us close to failed state status.
Neither party will withdraw from our Imperial reach into the world so their foreign diplomacy will be different only in nuance.
It is possible that the Republicans will do a Whig and collapse. If they do, I'm betting their isolationist Corporatist Libertarian branch will emerge as the top banana after a few election cycles. It is also possible that the Tea Party Caucasus will change party to the Real Tea Party (which is basically White Supremacy/John Birch/Republic of Tea). As such, they will disappear because their appeal is too narrow in a two party system.
Oddly, the left and the Libertarian Right agree on one thing, that the US Empire must end. They don't agree on anything else, of course, but a disgusted left and disgusted libertarians who voted in protest or didn't vote at all could lead to low turnout elections where neither party has a real valid mandate to govern which will lead to even more of what we have now.