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The Switcheroos of the Two Parties
American Thinker ^ | 26 Oct, 2022 | Victor Davis Hanson

Posted on 10/27/2022 6:39:52 AM PDT by MtnClimber

The party of old left-wing progressives has become one of rich regressives. And once country-club Republicans are becoming a party of middle-class populists.

Our two parties have both changed, and that explains why one will win, and one lose in the midterm elections.

The old Democrats have faded away after being overwhelmed by radicals and socialists.

Moderates who once embraced Bill Clinton’s opportunistic “third way” are now either irrelevant or nonexistent.

Once considered too wacky and socialist to be taken seriously, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the performance-art “squad,” the radicals of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and her hard progressive wing are today’s Democratic Party kingpins.

The alienating radicals of Antifa and Black Lives Matter often serve as the new party’s shock troops on the streets. They opportunistically appear to push the party to embrace no-bail laws, defunding the police, and the destruction of the fossil fuel industry.

Since none of those positions poll even close to 50 percent with the public, the Democrats routinely either slur their opponents as racists, nativists, and climate denialists or obsess on another Trump psychodrama distraction from the Russia collusion hoax to the Mar-a-Lago raid.

What “blue dog” centrists are left in the Democratic Party either keep mum or, like Tulsi Gabbard, flee in disgust.

Donald Trump also recalibrated the Republican Party and helped to turn it into a nationalist-populist movement that would rather win rudely than lose politely. The MAGA agenda pushed Jacksonian deterrence rather than unpopular nation-building abroad. It finally focused on fair rather than just free trade. Republicans now unite in demanding only legal immigration and promoting domestic investment rather than globalist outsourcing and offshoring.

In response, many of the old Bush-Romney country-club wing left in disgust. Others licked their wounds as fanatical NeverTrump something or others.

(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: corruption; hh2; vdh
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To: ClearCase_guy

I heard that BS at every discussion that was allowed to touch on real subjects over Thanksgiving dinner, or get togethers with family.

Between Reagan and Trump, the parties “fat cats” got old and were replaced by truly vile “fat cats”. In the manner of Soros, they began to manipulate events instead of governing.

That has always been wrong. We don’t need a new stinking, lousy vision. Our country already has a mission statement, and it really needs no improvement. When it does, there is a process called AMENDMENTS. Nobody in positions of power wants to travel that route. It is too conservative, and requires trusting of “every day people”. They can’t have people who drink black coffee, and beer have a say.


41 posted on 10/27/2022 9:38:53 AM PDT by Glad2bnuts ("None of the people I know who didn't take take the Jab regrets their decision" ZERO)
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To: texas booster

Add me to the list please.


42 posted on 10/27/2022 9:41:58 AM PDT by Glad2bnuts ("None of the people I know who didn't take take the Jab regrets their decision" ZERO)
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To: Jim Noble

explain


43 posted on 10/27/2022 9:44:41 AM PDT by Glad2bnuts ("None of the people I know who didn't take take the Jab regrets their decision" ZERO)
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To: Boogieman
Then you’d better figure out a way to either slash entitlement spending or start popping out twice as many kiddies real fast.

BS. At 350+ million STOP ALL IMMIGRATION.

44 posted on 10/27/2022 9:52:16 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

A very inciteful and reasoned reply to this post. I have rarely seen its like.

The FR was filled with sound reasoning like you just put forward, I hope there will be more of it.


45 posted on 10/27/2022 10:02:14 AM PDT by Glad2bnuts ("None of the people I know who didn't take take the Jab regrets their decision" ZERO)
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To: pepsi_junkie

B.S. to this comment.


46 posted on 10/27/2022 10:37:13 AM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds ("The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." M. Thatcher )
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To: central_va

Citing a raw population total is meaningless when you’re talking about entitlement programs. How many are elderly? How many are of working age? How many are disabled? How many are lifelong loafers who will never have gainful employment or pay taxes? Those are the more relevant questions. Those and “what is the birthrate?” of course.


47 posted on 10/27/2022 10:50:22 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Boogieman

The low IQ mongrels being imported legally and illegally are not going to save us. Get it? When the baby boomers die off the govt will run surpluses for a LONG time.


48 posted on 10/27/2022 10:53:23 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: central_va

“The low IQ mongrels being imported legally and illegally are not going to save us. Get it?”

Who says they have to be “low IQ mongrels”? There are plenty of non-”low IQ mongrels” who we could allow to immigrate.

“When the baby boomers die off the govt will run surpluses for a LONG time.”

The younger baby boomers haven’t even hit 60 yet and the entitlement programs will be unsustainable long before they die. So punting this problem off to the next generation is no longer an option.


49 posted on 10/27/2022 10:56:07 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: MtnClimber

Donald John Trump is the one responsible for that transformation.


50 posted on 10/27/2022 10:58:03 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: ClearCase_guy
Re: the parties 'switching'. I saw a great article a couple of years ago that completely demolishes this entire argument. Wish I had kept a copy. It absolutely did NOT happen. Democrats have always been racist degenerates.
51 posted on 10/27/2022 11:40:10 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: MtnClimber; Codeflier; lucky american; ClearCase_guy; dead; pepsi_junkie; yefragetuwrabrumuy; ...
In the 1860s, the Republican party was wealthy, liberal and located in the Liberal parts of the nation such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, etc.

They believed in using government policy to aid industry in creating wealth. This policy was called "Mercantilism" and it was advocated by Henry Clay, who was the leader of the Republicans in the 1850s. He was Lincoln's political mentor when Lincoln was in congress.

These liberal big government policies promoted "protectionism" to allow large industries to have trade advantages against their European counterparts, and the asserted effort was to help build up domestic industry by levying taxes on imported products.

The Democrat party was distrustful of big government and big business. They regarded Alexander Hamilton's "Bank of the US" to be a threat, and Andrew Jackson temporarily destroyed that bank. (Today known as "the Fed.") The Democrats wanted small government, low taxes, and they mostly lived in the areas that are regarded as "conservative" today.

The Republicans wanted big government, big government projects, protectionism, social change, and every other idea that is currently regarded as "liberal."

The Republicans continued to be the wealthy Liberal party of the Northeast up until the early decades of the 20th century. The Roosevelts, were a wealthy, big government Republican family, and that is why Teddy was a Republican. Franklin Deleanor became a Democrat because of his father's association with Grover Cleveland. Roosevelt served in the Wilson administration as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

When Roosevelt ran for President, he offered to do a lot for the poor. Socialism/Communism was a big thing in the 1920s and 1930s, and Roosevelt was borrowing socialist ideas to appeal to a nation suffering from the Depression.

Blacks, who since 1868 had voted exclusively for Big Government Republican Liberals, became interested in Roosevelt's ideas to help the poor, because many of them were poor. Roosevelt started a large migration of Blacks from the Republican party to the Democrat party.

The Republicans at this time were still the party of big business, wealth, and the use of government power to promote industry, but the Democrat's appeal to the poor allowed them to win the white house and thereby set policy. Of course Roosevelt took the nation in the direction of Socialism.

By the late 1950s, the liberal Republican party was trying to figure out a way to gain power. They realized that Democrat vote suppression was costing them about 10 million potential votes. If they could somehow stop that, they could win the majority and gain power.

They created the 24th amendment. By banning the payment of taxes as a prerequisite for voting, they felt they would gain majorities in the Congress and also win majorities for the Presidency. The liberal Republicans pushed the 24th amendment, and got it passed in 1963.

LBJ was president at this time, and though he was a horrible obnoxious person, he was very astute politically. As soon as he saw there would be 10 million new voters created by the 24th amendment, he immediately set out to grab that voting bloc.

He proposed the "Great Society" program. Also called the "War on Poverty." He correctly understood that if he could bribe these new voters with government money, he could win a majority for his party. In other words, he set out to steal all those votes away from the Republicans who created them.

And it worked. It worked perfectly. By 1974, the majority of black voters had switched from Republican to Democrat, and this has continued ever since to the point where now 95% of the black vote usually goes to the Democrat.

The areas of the country that used to be primarily Liberal Republicans, are now Liberal Democrats, and the areas of the country that used to be primarily conservative Democrats are now Conservative Republicans.

Ronald Reagan did a lot in convincing Southern Democrats to change their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

The names have all changed, but the Demographics are still the same as they have always been, going all the way back to the 1800s.

Liberal Northerners in Boston are still Liberal Northerners and still living in Boston.

I would like to go into more details about what happened when and why, but it would take a lot more typing than I feel like doing at the moment.

But "the parties switched" is true enough depending upon how you mean it.

52 posted on 10/27/2022 11:42:03 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: zeugma
Re: the parties 'switching'. I saw a great article a couple of years ago that completely demolishes this entire argument. Wish I had kept a copy.

Wish you did too. It's probably that argument which was put out by Dnish Dsouza which is full of holes.

The political ideologies of both parties have swapped places. The Republicans used to be the big government liberals who were insistent on social change, and the Democrats used to be the party of small government conservatives who resisted social changes.

Boston was Liberal in 1860, and Boston is still Liberal today. The Liberal parts of the nation in 1860 are still Liberal today, and the Conservative parts in 1860 are still Conservative today, with the exception of Richmond because the Influence of DC permeates everything in that area of the country.

53 posted on 10/27/2022 11:46:40 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Glad2bnuts
inciteful

I do not believe this word means what you seem to think it does, unless your post was sarcasm. Perhaps you were looking for 'insightful'?

54 posted on 10/27/2022 11:50:02 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

Interesting - thanks for the ping.


55 posted on 10/27/2022 1:13:19 PM PDT by GOPJ (Joe's infrastructure bill - 20 Million$ heated sidewalk in Berlin New Hampshire only project started)
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To: rlmorel

Yes, thanks. I made it a while ago. Occasionally update it to catch the latest repetitive liberal buzzwords.


56 posted on 10/27/2022 2:35:13 PM PDT by dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_vFiUUcBkc)
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To: Boogieman
Who says they have to be “low IQ mongrels”? There are plenty of non-”low IQ mongrels” who we could allow to immigrate to undercut wages of our STEM workers.

NO THANKS.

57 posted on 10/27/2022 2:53:36 PM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: zeugma

Ooops, it was a mind faht.


58 posted on 10/27/2022 4:07:41 PM PDT by Glad2bnuts ("None of the people I know who didn't take take the Jab regrets their decision" ZERO)
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To: Glad2bnuts
Ooops, it was a mind faht.

No worries. It's exactly the kind of thing I do all the time. I thought if it was sarcasm, it was really subtle.

59 posted on 10/27/2022 6:04:19 PM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: dead

I really like it-made me grin, and these days, that counts for something!


60 posted on 10/27/2022 7:51:38 PM PDT by rlmorel (Nolnah's Razor: Never attribute to incompetence that which is adequately explained by malice.)
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