All three Democratic presidential losses in the Eighties were caused by centrism.

[Armstead]

88. This isn't the 60's or the 70's

There was a lot of social,economic/political fallout from the turmoil of the 60's and 70's that made it difficult for liberals/progressives to be heard back then.

A lot of it boiled down simply to the resentment that social conservatives had against "them long-haired, draft card burning dirty hippies," and "them lazy shiftless welfare queens (i.e. minorities)." And the fact tat the economy had gotten bogged down.

The GOP tapped into that resentment, and also came up with great marketing of CONservatism as the remedy for the economy, which caused many average people to support the party that is directly opposed to their economic interest.

Them days are gone. The residue is still obviously there and remains powerful. But in a larger sense, the Democrats ought to quit worrying about being identified with dirty communistic hippies, and actually start standing for TRUE PROGRESSIVE/LIBERAL POPULISM instead of continuing to try to be GOP lite.