quote:


We are proud of and shall continue our far-reaching and sound advances in matters of basic human needs—expansion of social security—broadened coverage in unemployment insurance —improved housing—and better health protection for all our people. We are determined that our government remain warmly responsive to the urgent social and economic problems of our people. To these beliefs we commit ourselves as we present this record and declare our goals for the future.

We support this and his further offer of United States participation in an international fund for economic development financed from the savings brought by true disarmament. We approve his determined resistance to disarmament without effective inspection.

We shall continue vigorously to support the United Nations.

We also propose:

Legislation to enable closer Federal scrutiny of mergers which have a significant or potential monopolistic connotations;

Procedural changes in the antitrust laws to facilitate their enforcement;

Continuance of the vigorous SEC policies which are providing maximum protection to the investor and maximum opportunity for the financing of small business without costly red tape.

Under the Republican Administration, as our country has prospered, so have its people. This is as it should be, for as President Eisenhower said: "Labor is the United States. The men and women, who with their minds, their hearts and hands, create the wealth that is shared in this country—they are America."

The record of performance of the Republican Administration on behalf of our working men and women goes still further. The Federal minimum wage has been raised for more than 2 million workers. Social Security has been extended to an additional 10 million workers and the benefits raised for 6 1/2 million. The protection of unemployment insurance has been brought to 4 million additional workers. There have been increased workmen's compensation benefits for longshoremen and harbor workers, increased retirement benefits for railroad employees, and wage increases and improved welfare and pension plans for federal employees.

Stimulate improved job safety of our workers, through assistance to the States, employees and employers;

Continue and further perfect its programs of assistance to the millions of workers with special employment problems, such as older workers, handicapped workers, members of minority groups, and migratory workers;

Republican action created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare as the first new Federal department in 40 years, to raise the continuing consideration of these problems for the first time to the highest council of Government, the President's Cabinet.

quote:


The Democratic Party affirms that world peace is a primary objective of human society. Peace is more than a suspension of shooting while frenzied and fearful nations stockpile armaments of annihilation.

We in America need to make our peaceful purpose clear beyond dispute in every corner of the world—yet Secretary Dulles brags of "brinks of war." We need a foreign policy which rises above jockeying for partisan position or advantage—yet, not in memory has there been so little bipartisanship in the administration of our policies, so little candor in their Presentation to our people, so much pretending that things are better than they are.

The Democratic Party believes that "waging peace" is a monumental task to be performed honestly, forthrightly, with dedication and consistent effort.

The way to lasting peace is to forego bluster and bluff, to regain steadiness of purpose, to join again in faithful concert with the community of free nations, to look realistically at the challenging circumstances which confront us, to face them candidly and imaginatively, and to return to the Democratic policy of peace through strength.

We believe that, in the cause of peace, America must support the efforts of underdeveloped countries on a cooperative basis to organize their own resources and to increase their own economic productivity, so that they may enjoy the higher living standards which science and modern industry make possible. We will give renewed strength to programs of economic and technical assistance. We support a multilateral approach to these programs, where-ever possible, so that burdens are shared and resources pooled among all the economically developed countries with the capital and skills to help in this great task.

The Republican tax policy has joined hands in an unholy alliance with the hard-money policy. Fantastic misrepresentation of the Government's budgetary position has been used to deny tax relief to low- and middle-income families, while tax concessions and handouts have been generously sprinkled among potential campaign contributors to Republican coffers.

We pledge ourselves to equitable tax revisions and monetary policies designed to combine economic progress with economic justice. We condemn the Republican use of our revenue and money systems to benefit the few at the expense of the vast majority of our people;

We pledge ourselves to work toward the reduction and elimination of poverty in America;

We pledge ourselves to full parity of income and living standards for agriculture; to strike off the shackles which the Taft-Hartley law has unjustly imposed on labor; and to foster the more rapid growth of legitimate business enterprise by rounding this growth upon the expanding consuming power of the people;

We pledge ourselves to the restoration of truly competitive conditions in American industry. Affirmative action within the framework of American tradition will be taken to curb corporate mergers that would contribute to the growth of economic concentration.

The Democratic Party believes that America can and must adopt measures to assure every citizen an opportunity for a full, healthy and happy life. To this end, we pledge ourselves to the expansion and improvement of the great social welfare programs inaugurated under Democratic Administrations.

We shall continue to work for a stronger unemployment insurance system, with broader coverage and increased benefits consistent with rising earnings. We shall also work for the establishment of a floor to assure minimum level and duration of benefits, and fair eligibility rules.

During recent years there has developed a practice on the part of Federal agencies to delay and withhold information which is needed by Congress and the general public to make important decisions affecting their lives and destinies. We believe that this trend toward secrecy in Government should be reversed and that the Federal Government should return to its basic tradition of exchanging and promoting the freest flow of information possible in those unclassified areas where secrets involving weapons development and bona fide national security are not involved. We condemn the Eisenhower Administration for the excesses practiced in this vital area, and pledge the Democratic Party to reverse this tendency, substituting a rule of law for that of broad claims of executive privilege.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tacitus

Ok, I just posted this in another thread, but I think it deserves a tread of its own. Why? Because I am tired of the nonsense that it's the Democrats who have moved to the left since the days of Kennedy and LBJ and not the Republicans that have moved to the right.

As proof that it is most certainly the Republicans who have done the shifting -- and radically so -- here are a whole bunch of quotes directly from the 1956 Republican Party Platform: (note, this was the party that owned the Presidency at the time): (emphases mine, of course):

quote:


We are proud of and shall continue our far-reaching and sound advances in matters of basic human needs—expansion of social security—broadened coverage in unemployment insurance —improved housing—and better health protection for all our people. We are determined that our government remain warmly responsive to the urgent social and economic problems of our people. To these beliefs we commit ourselves as we present this record and declare our goals for the future.

We support this and his further offer of United States participation in an international fund for economic development financed from the savings brought by true disarmament. We approve his determined resistance to disarmament without effective inspection.

We shall continue vigorously to support the United Nations.

We also propose:

Legislation to enable closer Federal scrutiny of mergers which have a significant or potential monopolistic connotations;

Procedural changes in the antitrust laws to facilitate their enforcement;

Continuance of the vigorous SEC policies which are providing maximum protection to the investor and maximum opportunity for the financing of small business without costly red tape.

Under the Republican Administration, as our country has prospered, so have its people. This is as it should be, for as President Eisenhower said: "Labor is the United States. The men and women, who with their minds, their hearts and hands, create the wealth that is shared in this country—they are America."

The record of performance of the Republican Administration on behalf of our working men and women goes still further. The Federal minimum wage has been raised for more than 2 million workers. Social Security has been extended to an additional 10 million workers and the benefits raised for 6 1/2 million. The protection of unemployment insurance has been brought to 4 million additional workers. There have been increased workmen's compensation benefits for longshoremen and harbor workers, increased retirement benefits for railroad employees, and wage increases and improved welfare and pension plans for federal employees.

Stimulate improved job safety of our workers, through assistance to the States, employees and employers;

Continue and further perfect its programs of assistance to the millions of workers with special employment problems, such as older workers, handicapped workers, members of minority groups, and migratory workers;

Republican action created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare as the first new Federal department in 40 years, to raise the continuing consideration of these problems for the first time to the highest council of Government, the President's Cabinet.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25838

So, in 1956, the Republican Party, under the leadership of President Dwight D. Eisenhower , supported the United Nations, proudly proclaimed their expansion of federal government -- creating the Department of Health, Education and Welfare -- and proudly talked about how they had expanded Social Security and at they also increased minimum wage for millions of workers.

Were not talking about one or two minor changes here -- there are at least a dozen major policy statements that are derided as socialism by the conservatives today.

Now, let's take a look at some quotes from the 1956 Democratic Party platform:

quote:


The Democratic Party affirms that world peace is a primary objective of human society. Peace is more than a suspension of shooting while frenzied and fearful nations stockpile armaments of annihilation.

We in America need to make our peaceful purpose clear beyond dispute in every corner of the world—yet Secretary Dulles brags of "brinks of war." We need a foreign policy which rises above jockeying for partisan position or advantage—yet, not in memory has there been so little bipartisanship in the administration of our policies, so little candor in their Presentation to our people, so much pretending that things are better than they are.

The Democratic Party believes that "waging peace" is a monumental task to be performed honestly, forthrightly, with dedication and consistent effort.

The way to lasting peace is to forego bluster and bluff, to regain steadiness of purpose, to join again in faithful concert with the community of free nations, to look realistically at the challenging circumstances which confront us, to face them candidly and imaginatively, and to return to the Democratic policy of peace through strength.

We believe that, in the cause of peace, America must support the efforts of underdeveloped countries on a cooperative basis to organize their own resources and to increase their own economic productivity, so that they may enjoy the higher living standards which science and modern industry make possible. We will give renewed strength to programs of economic and technical assistance. We support a multilateral approach to these programs, where-ever possible, so that burdens are shared and resources pooled among all the economically developed countries with the capital and skills to help in this great task.

The Republican tax policy has joined hands in an unholy alliance with the hard-money policy. Fantastic misrepresentation of the Government's budgetary position has been used to deny tax relief to low- and middle-income families, while tax concessions and handouts have been generously sprinkled among potential campaign contributors to Republican coffers.

We pledge ourselves to equitable tax revisions and monetary policies designed to combine economic progress with economic justice. We condemn the Republican use of our revenue and money systems to benefit the few at the expense of the vast majority of our people;

We pledge ourselves to work toward the reduction and elimination of poverty in America;

We pledge ourselves to full parity of income and living standards for agriculture; to strike off the shackles which the Taft-Hartley law has unjustly imposed on labor; and to foster the more rapid growth of legitimate business enterprise by rounding this growth upon the expanding consuming power of the people;

We pledge ourselves to the restoration of truly competitive conditions in American industry. Affirmative action within the framework of American tradition will be taken to curb corporate mergers that would contribute to the growth of economic concentration.

The Democratic Party believes that America can and must adopt measures to assure every citizen an opportunity for a full, healthy and happy life. To this end, we pledge ourselves to the expansion and improvement of the great social welfare programs inaugurated under Democratic Administrations.

We shall continue to work for a stronger unemployment insurance system, with broader coverage and increased benefits consistent with rising earnings. We shall also work for the establishment of a floor to assure minimum level and duration of benefits, and fair eligibility rules.

During recent years there has developed a practice on the part of Federal agencies to delay and withhold information which is needed by Congress and the general public to make important decisions affecting their lives and destinies. We believe that this trend toward secrecy in Government should be reversed and that the Federal Government should return to its basic tradition of exchanging and promoting the freest flow of information possible in those unclassified areas where secrets involving weapons development and bona fide national security are not involved. We condemn the Eisenhower Administration for the excesses practiced in this vital area, and pledge the Democratic Party to reverse this tendency, substituting a rule of law for that of broad claims of executive privilege.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29601

Having read through the whole thing, there really is little substantive difference except in the areas of energy and the environment, where obviously times have changed in the last 50 years, but the rest of the domestic Democratic party platform wouldn't be much out of place today, and certainly the foreign policy of peaceful engagement and cooperation was as much a central plank of the Democrats then as it is now for President Obama.

So, can we now give up on this nonsense that Democrats are somehow far to the left of where they were 50 years ago?

(I suspect not, but I will just have to keep pointing out that you can't rewrite history!

quote:

ORIGINAL: KaptZ

Being a independent I have always had mixed feelings about both parties. My parents were both republicans since they were young(1950s) so I picked up their growing disatisfaction with that party more than anything about the Dems. Mom and Dad definately felt that the Republican Party had drifted too far to the right as far back as Reagan. By the time Dubya was elected the second time Mom was so disgusted she had become a Democrat and joined the ACLU.

You must understand, that was like the Pope becoming a atheist.

quote:

Kennedy's platform, but what evidence do you have that he is any more right wing than Obama?

quote:

ORIGINAL: SonInMe1

quote:

Kennedy's platform, but what evidence do you have that he is any more right wing than Obama?

He proposed tax cuts for the rich.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tacitus

Some interesting comments, but I haven't seen anyone refuting the fact that the Republican Party Platform of today is much more conservative than the one I excerpted, and that many of the liberal principles at work in the Democratic Party today can be found just as easily in their 1956:

- strength abroad through peaceful cooperation
- expansion of social welfare programs
- opposition to tax cuts for the rich
- regulation of the excesses of the free market

If you want another example, just go and watch LBJ's 1964 Democratic nomination acceptance speech. If anything, it is further to the left than any policy speech Obama has given today.

Trying to cast Obama as some johnny-come-lately socialist simply doesn't wash. He's increased military spending, he's increased the number of troops in Afghanistan while maintaining the pre-existing plan in Iraq, he's maintained most, if not all, of the security powers aggregated by Bush and Cheney, and defended their use in court (except for torture, that is) and he's cut $300 billion in taxes in one year (not that conservatives ever remember that bit of the stimulus). Even the proposed health care plan includes cuts in Medicare -- a social welfare program if there ever was one -- to help pay for the overall plan.

Seriously if Obama is a socialist then I will eat my left shoe. Obama has done virtually nothing in the last year in these major areas that a real socialist would have done. A real socialist would have withdrawn more troops from Iraq, he would have cut military spending, there would have been no tax cuts in the stimulus bill, he would have shed many of the security powers Bush and Cheney aggregated to the Presidency, and there would have been a greatly expanded version of health care reform on the table. These are all things that the left of the Democratic party wanted him to do, and he's done none of them.

I can't help it if some of you can't see it, but calling Obama a socialist is to deprive the term socialism of all possible meaning. When you either have to be a fascist or a libertarian not to be a called socialist, then it's time to recalibrate the scale to something a little more sensible.

On the other hand, when you have a dozen or more bullet points from the national Republican Party platform of 50 years ago what would all be scorned and derided as socialism or even communism by the right wing conservatives of today, it's pretty easy to see which party's been doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to shifting positions along the political spectrum since that time.