When Did the Democrats become the more liberal of the 2 parties?

[coloradodem2005]

1896? 1932?

[7th_Sephiroth]

1. lil after WW2

i think

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. When they got smart.

And compassionate.

[LoZoccolo]

3. STILL not!

There is NO DIFFERENCE except on TOKEN ISSUES of JOBS and HEALTHCARE and PERSONAL FREEDOMS and ECONOMY and FOREIGN POLICY. Not until we get a REAL liberal party will we see the DIFFERENCE!

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

_{NOTE: This post is sarcastic.}

[Celeborn Skywalker]

4. They were always more labor friendly than the repubs

as far as more socially liberal, that probably started in the early 60's.

[roguevalley]

5. they always were until money took over. They are the oldest

political party in the world.

[rwenos]

6. During Wilson's Tenure

The big innovation in the years 1913-1921 was the rise of the "fourth branch of government" -- i.e., the regulatory agencies. The Pub's were split between the liberals (Teddie Roosevelt) and the conservatives (William Howard Taft). Wilson's biggest innovator was Louis Brandeis (who ended up on the Court). Brandeis was Wilson's lead horse in the creation of executive agencies, to regulate the economy (primarily by regulating the big trusts).

Oddly, Wilson was a southerner and very unhelpful on the race issue -- really bad, racist. But that's when the Democrats began to believe the national economy could be regulated.

The Pub's struck back, holding the White House in the 1920's (an era I don't know much about)-- wasn't that Coolidge? Then Hoover was elected in 1928, beating Al Smith (whom some would call the first "liberal" Democratic presidential candidate). Hoover preferred "laissez-faire" economics (i.e., let the trusts break the labor unions). That brought on the Great Crash, and FDR was elected as the first frankly liberal President, in 1932.

That's what I remember, anyway. Any history teachers out there?

[Hippo_Tron]

7. I think it STARTED in 1896 with William Jennings Bryan

Bryan was basically a socialist in terms of economic policy. But Bryan was also a whacko christian fundie who was involved in the prosecution of a teacher whose crime was teaching evolution. Ever since Bryan democrats have trended more to the left. Woodrow Wilson was very progressive on many issues, civil rights DEFINATELY was not one of them. FDR was also very liberal on many things, respecting civil liberties certainly wasn't one of them. Truman de-segregated the military, a step in the right direction on race issues. Kennedy and Johnson did the civil rights bit but were still big hawks. I think that the democrats finally became the "liberal" party with McGovern and then Carter.

[rwenos]

8. Bryan Started the Ball Rolling in 1896

For sure, you're right. But as you say, Bryan was also a whacko Christian fundie, who was right about monetary policy but wrong about legislating morals.

Also, I don't think of Bryan being a trust-buster, but that may be my ignorance. Was he?

[kodi]

9. 1912, when roosevelt split the republican party.

from 1909-1912, taft turned his back on the progressive era achievements of roosevelt's administrations. its why roosevelt ran in 1912.

[LittleClarkie]

10. I always feel like laughing when Repubs talk about the party of Lincoln

Remembering that the Republicans were the Democrats in Lincoln's time. They believed in state rights. Sadly, the issue they used for that debate was slavery.

I know that's over simplified. But I don't know a ton about the time aside from reading the very beginnings of our local newspaper, which founded right at the beginning of both the Civil War and the election of Lincoln. I found it interesting that there were Dem newspapers and Repub newspapers back then, as if that were their reason for forming, politics.

[ChairOne]

11. Mebbe there were precursors, but it was really the Civil Rights Act /eom

[ProgressiveConn]

12. Socially Liberal?

When the Dixiecrats broke the New Deal coalition.

Check out Kari Frederickson's The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968.

[durutti]

13. 1960s.

Civil Rights did it. Before then, both parties were fairly big tents. Democrats had been more economically liberal since the 1940s or so, however.

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

14. 1948. I've a;ways heard that the liberal foundation was laid

years earlier, like around 1932, but the real realignment happened in 1948.

[theboss]

15. Which part of the party and which issue?

For most of the century, the Democrats were fighting among themselves - Southern Dems and Northern Dems. On economic matters, Southerners were more "liberal" in the modern sense as they widely backed the New Deal. In racial matters, Southern Dems were stuck in the 50s....the 1850s. In foreign policy, isolationism has always been a dominant streak of both parties.

As far as the current reallignment of the parties, it began for real in 1968 because of the Civil Rights Act and Vietnam. But it probably really didn't end until 2000 or 2004. George Will actually made a good point a few months ago that we are finally at the point were almost all "conservatives" vote Republican and all "liberals" vote for Democrats. It was still a mixed bag for a long, long time.

[Vidar]

16. Under the greatest of all presidents--FDR.