I think ,like most that try to homogenize Republican and Democrat, they overlook a lot of distinctions. The biggest policy victory of my life was the Republican agenda that overthrew the Soviets; that was directly in opposition to the ruling class and remained so for at least 15 years through the mid-70's up to 1990; yet the homogenizers like Ron Paul come down on the side of the ruling class, in effect. I think it's nonsense to attribute the evangelism for America, that runs throughout history, to the Progressives, as he does here, you'd have to discount John Winthrop's "Shining City on a Hill" from the 1630's, up through the founders to Reagan.
Freedom, as an idea, is a powerful liberator. Everything begins as an idea. That the universe and our place in it began as a glimmer of an idea in the mind of God.
As an idea, the vision of a "Shining City on a Hill" is extremely powerful. With this idea the people will free themselves!
During the Cold War I used to joke that instead of bombs we should drop translated copies of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, Friedman's "Free to Choose", and Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" on our enemies. Do that, that and the people, themselves, would rise up an overthrow their oppressors.
I also seriously joked that if we really wanted to win the Viet Nam War we should have parked a Navy aircraft carrier off the North Viet Nam coast and offered free passage with eventual citizenship to any North Viet Nam officer and his family who wanted it. ( Freedom is, indeed, a powerful motivator.)
(By the way...Please read my tag.)