He wishes!...Actually, Republicans, and the White House in particular, are ahead of the Demogogues on a bunch of domestic issues -- at least those that most people give priority to: tax cuts, education, even Social Security reform. The Dems are left with nothing to offer but their tired old hatred and race-baiting. I'm reading LINCOLN'S VIRTUES by William Lee Miller, and he wrote at one point, "moralistic older Whigs objected to the Jacksonians [i.e., the Democrats]...making unabashed appeals to class and region..." Some things never change, and the Democrats have been the party of divisiveness and emotional appeals since Old Hickory.
I think you're right. The pendulum swings and the party's stances on issues adjusts to where the pendulum is at each moment. The Republicans have always been the common sense party when the pendulum swings too wide. The Democrats have always been the unvirtuous party taking advantage of the victims of the pendulum when it's at it's widest points, and usually, like you said, in a divisive and even deceitful way. From blacks being victims of Democrats in the mid 1800s to the productive class being victims of Democrats today, The Democratic Party hasn't changed much from when they supported the private ownership of people based on the circumstances of their birth alone.
Actually, Republicans, and the White House in particular, are ahead of the Demogogues on a bunch of domestic issues -- at least those that most people give priority to: tax cuts, education, even Social Security reform. The Dems are left with nothing to offer but their tired old hatred and race-baiting. I'm reading LINCOLN'S VIRTUES by William Lee Miller, and he wrote at one point, "moralistic older Whigs objected to the Jacksonians [i.e., the Democrats]...making unabashed appeals to class and region..." Some things never change, and the Democrats have been the party of divisiveness and emotional appeals since Old Hickory.
Good point! The dims are finding it VERY difficult to derive a political calculus to counter Bush's popularity, which arises from a well-spring that they cannot readily comprehend: high moral values. And, like the colonial conflict between the original liberals (conservatives) and the original fascists (Jacksonian Democrats)shows, human nature doesn't change. In the modern conflict, however, desceptive labeling is part of the game.