patrick.net

This is probably more of a history debate more than anything. As mentioned I did grow up in the rural south where Democrats had a solid footing for generations basically because back then they were the conservative party. Now that the Republicans took over that role the area and most of the South for that matter are now Republican for the same reason: The Republican party is the conservative party.

So I've heard all kinds of reasons as to why the GOP turned as it did. It always has been the party for big business and smaller government. But by adding social conservative "Values" to its roster it became an entirely different party. Some might say this addition also diluted their core fiscal principles by tainting it with socially conservative ideals.

We had McCarthy and his popularization in using the threat of communism as a tool meant to discredit anything not in alignment with more conservative notions. So perhaps that was one of many instances that led to the party's turn from the more strictly fiscally conservative to socially conservative.

Furthermore, has the GOP become more conservative than it has in the past? Some would say so. But with the last two elections it appears the party has come to a point where a conservative flavoring might not benefit them nearly as reliably as it did in past elections. And therefore perhaps yet another turn in the party's platform.

But anyway, how, when, and why did the party of Lincoln and Roosevelt become the party of the right wing?

#politics