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The funny thing about the Republican Party. It was always the liberal party from its birth.

The first conservative Republican nominated was Goldwater, by a whisker. The first (and only) conservative Republican President was Reagan.

Republicans were always the liberals until recently.

Calvin Coolidge was the last limited government, fiscal conservative before Reagan IMHO. Remember, it was Harding and Coolidge that dealt with the market collapse in the early 20’s by letting the market right itself....unlike Wonder Boy Hoover ( Coolidge's nickname )who introduced New Deal type Federal intervention that turned slow down adjustment into the Great Depression....but I digress !

“The funny thing about the Republican Party. It was always the liberal party from its birth”

Rather than going down that road of definitions, have the republicans ever been the more conservative candidate than the democrat presidential candidate?

Republicans were always the liberals until recently.

Southrons tend to believe that their big spending, income tax supporting Dixiecrats were "conservative." Sorry, but McKinley, Taft, Grant, Roosevelt (relatively speaking), and Lodge, etc. were more conservative than Wilson, Bryant, FDR et al. It was the Dems who pushed for Fiat Money, the income tax and "justice for the working man."

The GOP had a liberal NEern wing and a conservative western/midwestern wing that were united against the national welfare state of FDR. Dems have been a socialist/populist party since Grover Cleveland (the LAST conservative Dem President).

“The funny thing about the Republican Party. It was always the liberal party from its birth.

The first conservative Republican nominated was Goldwater, by a whisker. The first (and only) conservative Republican President was Reagan.

Republicans were always the liberals until recently.”

The one consistent difference is the Republican party has been the party of individual rights. It has always been the position of the Republicans that expansion of the government presents a threat to individual rights, so the Republicans have consistently been against government expanstion.

Even Teddy Roosevelt’s (the most “liberal” Republican) reforms were rooted in protecting the individual. Breaking up monopolies and regulation of industry all have their roots in protecting individual rights and making sure no single entity becomes too big to threaten anyone’s individual rights.

Liberal vs. Conservative is not the correct historical lens to view the Republican party. Individual rights vs. govermental power is the correct lens.