In 1993 the Liberals took over the Democrats nationwide on social issues. Up until then they were more Big Tent, especially in the South. Ever since then they have become quite Purist about their Liberal views without tolerance for diverse opinions. However, this purity approach of theirs offended the Dem conservatives, especially in the South. And we saw numerous Dems switch sides.
Tip O’Neill often equipped how all politics was local. That is because his Big Tent of Dems in the House during his decade as speaker was genuinely full of conservatives, moderates, and Liberals.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Dems controlled the US Senate for 24 years straight from 1957 to 1981.
Yesterday I visited the Dallas Sixth Floor Museum with a friend visiting from out of town. The purpose of JFK’s Texas trip in Nov 1963 well illustrates the BIG tent challenges that the Dems faced in the South. Texas had been super close for Kennedy vs Nixon in 1960 and there was an open rift between the Conservatives led by the Texas Governor and US Senator Yarborough & Liberals. Kennedy’s goal was to heal the rift & this involved parades everywhere he went. They did this in Fort Worth earlier in the day and then in Dallas with that parade where he then got shot & killed. Back then the Liberal Dems were still trying to keep the Big Tent together. But the Liberals still expected to control the party agenda and they did.
By 1993 they were emboldened to go overboard. By then the New Deal coalition that had brought them all together had it’s memories faded away. And the key for the GOP to take the South was to have southern leaders and make their agenda national. It worked.
Since then the Dems have a theme of 3 words to describe their approach - Power & UltraLiberal & Purity. There is no room for diversity of thinking. Everyone must be aligned to the agenda. And they are obsessed with getting power.
Tje Comservative Coalition held power in the House from 1938 to 1965.
Yep, they drove out the moderates and conservatives. Established purity tests and dumped those who didn’t follow the line.