Posted on 04/25/2017 2:54:24 PM PDT by Kaslin
Politically, the Democratic Party is the home of progressivism, or liberalism. At least today’s Democratic Party. JFK, a Democrat from fifty years ago, would be politically to the right of many current Republicans. Compared to today’s Democrats, JFK would be in Trump territory.
Conventional wisdom views the media as the public relations arm of the Democratic Party. Commonly referred to as “Democrat party operatives with bylines,” big media trumpets the progressives' message 24-7, from the nation’s major newspapers, network news shows, and most cable outlets, with a few exceptions, such as at Fox News. But where is the mothership of progressivism? The media, or the Democratic Party? Or is it something larger?
Rush Limbaugh, self-described as “the big voice on the right,” recently revised his thinking on Democrats and the media. His new view is that, “the Democrats are an arm of the media, not that the media is an arm of the Democrats.” Not just a chicken-and-egg argument, but an actual reversal of the conventional wisdom. “The foundational base of the progressive movement is in the nationwide media,” according to Rush.
This makes sense as politicians are a bit like dogs, cozying up to whoever is offering them a piece of meat. In the case of politicians, the meat is money, position and power. What better way to advance one’s political career than to be booked on friendly Sunday talk shows with Chuck Todd or George Stephanopoulos, or be the subject of a flattering puff piece in the Washington Post? Buck the media and kiss your political career goodbye, at least if you are a Democrat. How many Democrats publicly opposed the progressive Obama agenda, whether on Obamacare, the Iran nuke deal, or his far left judicial nominations?
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
A few years ago there was a book written that posed the theory that the Democrat party “snapped” when President Kennedy was killed. From then on a faction in the party came to believe that America was “wrong”. Also seeing civil rights protesters being beaten on the Evening News along with the muddle of the early Vietnam War helped to confirm their ideas about America being “wrong”.
This faction grew in size but was not the dominate faction in the 1968 Democrat Convention. Even though they lost they were able to push through the “McGovern Rules” so that by the time of the 1972 convention they were a dominating power within the Party.
By then the parties slowly changed from being basically regional “political clubs” in which there “was not a dime’s worth of difference between them” to today’s more national in scope and coherent parties. That is why there are very few “liberal Republicans” and “conservative Democrats” in the political sense of say from 1910-1950.
Those who could not make it as a used car salesman
Rush is correct.
About as succinct as I’ve seen anywhere. Right on target.
Blacks comprise 14% of the US population. About 13% are democrats. One third of the country are democrats, independents, republicans, etc. Thus that 13% of the US population constitutes nearly 38% of the DNC. Put another way, Ted Kennedy could rely on 45% of the DNC to put forward his wing of the party’s presidential candidate. Ted was “THE” power broker during his time as the Lion of the Senate (puke).
Same folks who control Paul Ryan?
Cue the “Church Lady”: SATAN!
What are at least three issues (other than civil rights) on which the majority of republican and democrat elected officials disagreed between 1950 & ‘70?
1964-1970 Great Society-War on Poverty stands out as the single biggest disagreement on issues.
1965-66 saw the creation of Medicare-Medicaid. I don’t remember many Republicans putting much focus on it. They pretty much let the Democrats do it and went along with it. I was in Vietnam 66-67 so maybe I missed it.
Go-Along-To-Get-Along was big in the 50s and 60s.
In the early 50s A vocal minority of Democrats smeared “McCarthyism”. But Southern Democrats were anti-Communist if it meant big military bases in their district. And Most Western Democrats were Scoop Jackson anti-Communist Democrats more for the big Defense contracts than for the military bases. So there was not much disagreement on anti-Communism and Foreign Policy.
In 1959-60 Kissinger wrote a book that basically said we should not try to defeat Communism... We should try to co-exist peacefully and avoid MAD-Mutually Assured Destruction. Most Republicans and Democrats accepted that as gospel that could not be questioned. It wasn’t until Reagan in ‘76 that is was questioned... and of course Reagan’s policies were totally contrary to Kissinger doctrine.
So during the 50s and 60s “Me Too Republicans” and “Go Along to Get Along Republicans” made for little difference between the parties.
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