You are correct. There were many patriotic Democrats in those days, particularly in the South & West (McCarren). Although to be fair, Walters was from Pennsylvania.
The Democratic Party has since morphed into something far closer to the British Labour Party, than anything American.
As an additional comment, we have many Republicans, today, who are arguably to the Left of the Leftwing of the Democratic Party in 1952. Whether that is their actual inclination or a reflection of their fear of offending the Academic/Media complex is not relevant to the question of whether such deserve the respect of any rational man or women.
Consider a pro-Trump piece from the campaign, which addresses some of the underlying issues: "Whom We Are".