Here is a story I remember from decades ago. It pertains to Nixon when he got started in politics.
He said it didn 't matter. He could be a Democrat or Republican.
Now go back in time. California was probably MORE Republican, then. Hence Nixon became a Republican.
But give Nixon credit. He was willing to confront totalitarianism; then called "communism." His democrat opponents were less willing to.
Likewise Bush today seems willing to confront islam's worst side. His opponents seem less willing.
Nixon led a fascinating life. Like him or hate him, he was "In the Arena."
I think one day Bush43 will get credit for standing strong in the face of terrorism and for advancing a tough foreign policy agenda. Likewise, Bush will also be remembered for a failed domestic policy agenda. Spending like a liberal, expanding the federal bureaucracy and promoting a liberal policy of open borders and illegal immigration, shows how far Bush and the GOP Congress have strayed from the conservative agenda.
Really? Prior to 1966 or 1967, I don't think so. Bobby Kennedy was on Joe McCarthy's staff. Kennedy and, mainly, Johnson, got us into the shooting war in Vietnam. George Kennan, the author of the containment doctrine, was a democrat.
Sure, Nixon was an anticommunist (I disagree with confronting "totalitarianism", but debates about Chile, etc., aren't for this thread). But, until Bush II, Democrats were the ones who got us into wars.
Keep in mind that Nixon was NEVER convicted of anything!
Let's not forget what got Nixon into trouble. It had nothing to do with his social liberalism. It had to do with a rat named John Dean and his failure to burn the tapes and the fact that he was, after all, a crook.