Old Presidents' Parties Today

[Free Bird]

I've been thinking. Yeah, Lincoln would probably be a Democrat today. Kennedy would probably be at least a moderate Republican today. So what else? What presidents of past time would have a different party affiliation and what would it be? I'm thinking:

Lincoln: Democrat
Kennedy: Republican
Teddy "badass" Roosevelt: Democrat

I am not familiar with the more obscure presidents besides just names. What else is there?

[SPC]

I would dispute all three posthumous party switches. Republicans today are just as devoted to crony capitalism as they were in the 1860s (albeit not necessarily for railroads anymore), so I doubt Lincoln would switch. Likewise, John McCain is arguably the intellectual descendant of Theodore Roosevelt. I see no reason to believe the older Kennedy would be a Republican when his brother was a staunch Democrat as recently as four years ago.

[free my dawg]

We really have no idea of telling today, but all I know is that JFK would never be a Republican.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

I would dispute all three posthumous party switches. Republicans today are just as devoted to crony capitalism as they were in the 1860s (albeit not necessarily for railroads anymore), so I doubt Lincoln would switch. Likewise, John McCain is arguably the intellectual descendant of Theodore Roosevelt. I see no reason to believe the older Kennedy would be a Republican when his brother was a staunch Democrat as recently as four years ago.

Have you read the Progressive Party 1912 platform? Do you think John McCain would endorse that?

[SPC]

I would dispute all three posthumous party switches. Republicans today are just as devoted to crony capitalism as they were in the 1860s (albeit not necessarily for railroads anymore), so I doubt Lincoln would switch. Likewise, John McCain is arguably the intellectual descendant of Theodore Roosevelt. I see no reason to believe the older Kennedy would be a Republican when his brother was a staunch Democrat as recently as four years ago.

Have you read the Progressive Party 1912 platform? Do you think John McCain would endorse that?

The only part that looks inconsistent with a contemporary Republican is national health insurance, and surely the extreme bellicosity compensates for that.

[H. Ross Peron]

Not doing any President before the 20th Century

T. Roosevelt: Democratic
Taft: Republican
Wilson: Democratic
Harding: Republican
Coolidge: Republican
Hoover: Republican
FDR: Democratic
Truman: Democratic
Eisenhower: Democratic or Independent
JFK: Democratic
LBJ: Democratic
Nixon: Democratic
Ford: Democratic
After Carter would be the same 

[Maxwell]

Not doing any President before the 20th Century

T. Roosevelt: Democratic
Taft: Republican
Wilson: Democratic
Harding: Republican
Coolidge: Republican
Hoover: Republican
FDR: Democratic
Truman: Democratic
Eisenhower: Democratic or Independent
JFK: Democratic
LBJ: Democratic
Nixon: Democratic
Ford: Democratic
After Carter would be the same 

Um... what? Nixon almost certainly would not be a Democrat.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

I would dispute all three posthumous party switches. Republicans today are just as devoted to crony capitalism as they were in the 1860s (albeit not necessarily for railroads anymore), so I doubt Lincoln would switch. Likewise, John McCain is arguably the intellectual descendant of Theodore Roosevelt. I see no reason to believe the older Kennedy would be a Republican when his brother was a staunch Democrat as recently as four years ago.

Have you read the Progressive Party 1912 platform? Do you think John McCain would endorse that?

The only part that looks inconsistent with a contemporary Republican is national health insurance, and surely the extreme bellicosity compensates for that.

And the trust-busting, and the campaign finance regulations.

[IceSpear]

Wow, I'm legitimately surprised a Republican acknowledged that Lincoln would be a Democrat today.

[Deus Naturae]

And the trust-busting, and the campaign finance regulations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCain-Feingold

I seriously doubt McCain opposes anti-trust legislation.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Wow, I'm legitimately surprised a Republican acknowledged that Lincoln would be a Democrat today.

Libertarian, so it doesn't count.

[Free Bird]

We really have no idea of telling today, but all I know is that JFK would never be a Republican.

All I'm saying is that could it have been different based on TODAYS party philosophies.

[Yank2133]

Kennedy would be a Democrat and he may have moved further towards the left as he got he older. Bobby and Teddy had similar ideology to JFK in the early 60's and look where they were by 1968.

[King]

JFK would not be a Republican. Only the 19th Century Democratic Presidents would flip that way.

[Yank2133]

The only one I can see switching out of the modern presidents is maybe Ike and that is a big if.

[TNF]

Reagan - Republican / Establishment conservative
Ford - Republican / Establishment moderate
Nixon - Republican / Establishment conservative
Johnson - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Kennedy - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Eisenhower - Republican / Establishment moderate
Truman - Democrat / Blue Dog Democrat
Roosevelt - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Hoover - Republican / Establishment moderate
Coolidge - Republican / Establishment conservative
Harding - Republican / Establishment moderate
Wilson - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Taft - Republican / Establishment moderate
Roosevelt - Republican / Establishment conservative
McKinley - Republican / Establishment moderate
 

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

I honestly think the last president that would have switched today would have been Grover Cleveland. (duh)

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Reagan - Republican / Establishment conservative
Ford - Republican / Establishment moderate
Nixon - Republican / Establishment conservative
Johnson - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Kennedy - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Eisenhower - Republican / Establishment moderate
Truman - Democrat / Blue Dog Democrat
Roosevelt - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Hoover - Republican / Establishment moderate
Coolidge - Republican / Establishment conservative
Harding - Republican / Establishment moderate
Wilson - Democrat / Establishment moderate
Taft - Republican / Establishment moderate
Roosevelt - Republican / Establishment conservative
McKinley - Republican / Establishment moderate
 

Are there any pre-1897 presidents from either party you see switching? Cleveland's obvious, though I wonder what your take on Harrison and Garfield might be.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Would the Republican Party be that accepting of a man who was noted for his high spending levels and  said "I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth or shapes it into a garment will starve in the process"?

[TNF]

Are there any pre-1897 presidents from either party you see switching? Cleveland's obvious, though I wonder what your take on Harrison and Garfield might be.

Cleveland - Libertarian or Republican. Probably the former, given that most of the 'libertarian' wing of the GOP is in actuality paleoconservative and favorable to protectionism rather than embracing free trade. Cleveland would probably fit in pretty well with our modern MRAs, too, given that he didn't think that women were smart enough to exercise the franchise (curiously this seems to be a fairly consistent view from the 'classical liberals', iirc)
Harrison - Democrat, I'd say. Probably a protectionist liberal in the mold of Sherrod Brown, given his attempt at smashing Jim Crow in 1890 that unfortunately failed and his opposition to monopolies. Harrison was really our first progressive President in the modern sense, if you ask me.
Arthur - Republican, of a moderate establishment variety. The guy did after all oppose immigration restriction, but at the same time, he purged the civil service of blacks via 'Civil Service Reform'.
Hayes - Republican / Moderate establishmentarian
Grant - Democrat / Liberal establishmentarian (think Bill de Blasio or Liz Warren)
Lincoln - Democrat / Liberal establishmentarian, probably.
Buchanan - Republican / Conservative establishmentarian
Pierce - Republican / Conservative establishmentarian
Fillmore - Constitution or Tea Party Republican
Taylor - Republican / Moderate establishmentarian
Polk - Republican / Conservative establishmentarian
Tyler - Constitution or Tea Party Republican
Harrison - Republican / Moderate establishmentarian
Van Buren - Libertarian or conservative Democrat
Jackson - Democrat, probably a Blue Dog or populist Democrat
Adams - Republican / Liberal Northeastern Republican
Monroe - Democrat / Conservative Democrat
Madison - Democrat / Conservative Democrat
Jefferson - Green, left-wing Democrat, or Socialist, depending upon what period of his life we're talking about. Jefferson was always something of a political radical, he supported the Jacobins in France, etc.
Adams - Republican / Conservative establishmentarian
Washington - Republican / Conservative establishmentarian

Of course, were all these people resurrected today, probably everyone who served before 1860 would be a member of the Constitution or Libertarian Party, given how integral white supremacy was as a concept in the early Republic. 

[TDAS04]

I don't know about Rutherford B. Hayes.  He may not have been a strong lefty, but I doubt that the modern GOP would appreciate this comment by the 19th POTUS:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes#Later_life_and_death

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Cleveland and JFK would be GOP'rs today. In fact they'd be Tea Partiers. It's sad many on the left think JFK would stand with them. The guy was a fiscal hawk who believed in sound currency (unlike the left of today).

[Phony Moderate]

Cleveland and JFK would be GOP'rs today. In fact they'd be Tea Partiers. It's sad many on the left think JFK would stand with them. The guy was a fiscal hawk who believed in sound currency (unlike the left of today).

So do the Tea Party wish to invade Cuba?

[TNF]

Cleveland and JFK would be GOP'rs today. In fact they'd be Tea Partiers. It's sad many on the left think JFK would stand with them. The guy was a fiscal hawk who believed in sound currency (unlike the left of today).

JFK would definitely be a Democrat, although he'd be a moderate or conservative one, as he was in the 1960s. I agree with you that a liberal or left-wing JFK is wishful thinking on the part of today's progressives, but there's no way he'd be a Republican. I could see him as a Cuomo-Clinton type Democrat, though.

[H. Ross Peron]

Not doing any President before the 20th Century

T. Roosevelt: Democratic
Taft: Republican
Wilson: Democratic
Harding: Republican
Coolidge: Republican
Hoover: Republican
FDR: Democratic
Truman: Democratic
Eisenhower: Democratic or Independent
JFK: Democratic
LBJ: Democratic
Nixon: Democratic
Ford: Democratic
After Carter would be the same 

Um... what? Nixon almost certainly would not be a Democrat.

If he had the political views he had in the 1970s, he'd be some sort of an authoritarian Lieberman-esque Democrat. Of course were Nixon alive to-day he might "adjust" some of his views as is the case in TNF's model.