The "even your hero agreed with us" argument

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Is something that I've noticed on both sides used to make a point.

Liberals: "Even Reagan supported gun control!" (Never mind that it was for law and order and a arguably racist reasons to disarm the black panthers.)

Conservatives: "Even FDR was against public sector unions!"

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Even Hillary voted Goldwater!!!

[Boston Bread]

Gun control today isn't proposed for law and order?
And that time's blank panther boogeyman could be easily replaced by muslims.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Also, nonsense like "JFK would be a Republican today!" and "Eisenhower would be a Democrat today!"

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Gun control today isn't proposed for law and order?
And that time's blank panther boogeyman could be easily replaced by muslims.

Maybe if OWS had brought guns to Zucotti Park and there were Muslim gun clubs the GOP would be coming out in favor of gun control.

[publicunofficial]

This is particularly egregious when the Hero in question died a long time ago, and their quotes are used to debate an issue that has evolved greatly since then.

[7,052,770]

The anti-abortion women's groups appropriation of Susan B. Anthony is particularly bad.

[DrScholl]

"Obama opposes gay marriage" too was a common one, but his change on the issue put an end to that one. As it turns out, he was never really opposed in the first place.

[The_Doctor]

Actually I could see Eisenhower as a Democrat. He wasn't particularly beholden to the Republican Party in the first place. He was floated as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 1948 and 1952. His administration actually led to the rise of grassroots conservatives organizing against what they saw as the eastern Republican establishment. This was despite the fact Eisenhower was supposedly in agreement with Senator Bob Taft on non foreign policy issues. 

Eisenhower ran a fairly centrist to liberal administration. He kept the New Deal and expanded it in some areas. He also did the interstate highway system.

[The_Doctor]

Actually, the irony is that Eisenhower wound up being a massive conservative on foreign policy, in the sense he was a very strong internationalist conservative. His dedication to fighting communism was to the point he happily tossed leftist governments left and right. Not that it worked out that well. But there is that irony.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The biggest one is obviously Nixon and single-payer healthcare. Although thankfully Nixon isn't anybody's hero (aside from Cathcon ).

[Brittain33]

JFK cutting income tax rates from 90% to 70% when the deficit was minimal is the canonical example.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

The biggest one is obviously Nixon and single-payer healthcare. Although thankfully Nixon isn't anybody's hero (aside from Cathcon ).

I recall being the one that didn't agree with your naive assertion that Nixon was preferable to Reagan. Nixon's crimes in office were beyond ideology and drastically affected America's economy, world position, and so on. Despite my statements on this, you seem fixated on the idea that a member of this forum, an epicenter of social awkwardness and backwards thinking, would find a somewhat sympathetic character in the strange, warped mind of Richard Nixon.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The biggest one is obviously Nixon and single-payer healthcare. Although thankfully Nixon isn't anybody's hero (aside from Cathcon ).

I recall being the one that didn't agree with your naive assertion that Nixon was preferable to Reagan. Nixon's crimes in office were beyond ideology and drastically affected America's economy, world position, and so on. Despite my statements on this, you seem fixated on the idea that a member of this forum, an epicenter of social awkwardness and backwards thinking, would find a somewhat sympathetic character in the strange, warped mind of Richard Nixon.

Maybe I'm confusing you with someone else, but I'm pretty sure there's at least one blue avatar who is a Nixon fan.

Also, keep in mind that "preferable to Reagan" is a very relative assertion for me.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The biggest one is obviously Nixon and single-payer healthcare. Although thankfully Nixon isn't anybody's hero (aside from Cathcon ).

I recall being the one that didn't agree with your naive assertion that Nixon was preferable to Reagan. Nixon's crimes in office were beyond ideology and drastically affected America's economy, world position, and so on. Despite my statements on this, you seem fixated on the idea that a member of this forum, an epicenter of social awkwardness and backwards thinking, would find a somewhat sympathetic character in the strange, warped mind of Richard Nixon.

Maybe I'm confusing you with someone else, but I'm pretty sure there's at least one blue avatar who is a Nixon fan.

That would be me.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Oh yeah right, now I remember. Sorry for the mistake.

[Indy Texas]

The biggest one is obviously Nixon and single-payer healthcare. Although thankfully Nixon isn't anybody's hero (aside from Cathcon ).

Nixon only wanted single-payer healthcare so that the pinko Dems wouldn't complain too much if he decided to nuke Cambodia or suspend the 1976 presidential election so he could be president for life or something.

[King]

I don't find anything about doing such a thing egregious.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Actually I could see Eisenhower as a Democrat. He wasn't particularly beholden to the Republican Party in the first place. He was floated as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 1948 and 1952. His administration actually led to the rise of grassroots conservatives organizing against what they saw as the eastern Republican establishment. This was despite the fact Eisenhower was supposedly in agreement with Senator Bob Taft on non foreign policy issues. 

Eisenhower ran a fairly centrist to liberal administration. He kept the New Deal and expanded it in some areas. He also did the interstate highway system.

Eisenhower was arguably the most fiscally conservative President since Coolidge.  I highly doubt he'd be a Democrat.  I'll go as far as to say that not one President of the 20th Century would be in a different party if they were alive today.

[7,052,770]

Actually I could see Eisenhower as a Democrat. He wasn't particularly beholden to the Republican Party in the first place. He was floated as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 1948 and 1952. His administration actually led to the rise of grassroots conservatives organizing against what they saw as the eastern Republican establishment. This was despite the fact Eisenhower was supposedly in agreement with Senator Bob Taft on non foreign policy issues. 

Eisenhower ran a fairly centrist to liberal administration. He kept the New Deal and expanded it in some areas. He also did the interstate highway system.

Eisenhower was arguably the most fiscally conservative President since Coolidge.  I highly doubt he'd be a Democrat.  I'll go as far as to say that not one President of the 20th Century would be in a different party if they were alive today.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Actually I could see Eisenhower as a Democrat. He wasn't particularly beholden to the Republican Party in the first place. He was floated as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 1948 and 1952. His administration actually led to the rise of grassroots conservatives organizing against what they saw as the eastern Republican establishment. This was despite the fact Eisenhower was supposedly in agreement with Senator Bob Taft on non foreign policy issues. 

Eisenhower ran a fairly centrist to liberal administration. He kept the New Deal and expanded it in some areas. He also did the interstate highway system.

Eisenhower was arguably the most fiscally conservative President since Coolidge.  I highly doubt he'd be a Democrat.  I'll go as far as to say that not one President of the 20th Century would be in a different party if they were alive today.

Don't buy it at all.

[King]

lol Eisenhower only ran as a Republican because Truman was so unpopular that he didn't want his baggage to tarnish his chances. Some Democratic higher ups even wanted Truman to step aside in '48 to nominate Eisenhower. He was an insurgent carpetbagger to a GOP that had become desperate to win the White House that would have been destroyed by right wing talk radio if the same scenario had happened today. He was not a conservative in his time or by today's standards.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

lol Eisenhower only ran as a Republican because Truman was so unpopular that he didn't want his baggage to tarnish his chances. Some Democratic higher ups even wanted Truman to step aside in '48 to nominate Eisenhower. He was an insurgent carpetbagger that would have been destroyed by right wing talk radio if the same scenario had happened today. He was not a conservative in his time or by today's standards.

Truman, in asking Eisenhower why he wouldn't run for the Democratic nomination in 1948, was responded to with "but I'm a Republican".

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

lol Eisenhower only ran as a Republican because Truman was so unpopular that he didn't want his baggage to tarnish his chances. Some Democratic higher ups even wanted Truman to step aside in '48 to nominate Eisenhower. He was an insurgent carpetbagger that would have been destroyed by right wing talk radio if the same scenario had happened today. He was not a conservative in his time or by today's standards.

Truman, in asking Eisenhower why he wouldn't run for the Democratic nomination in 1948, was responded to with "but I'm a Republican".

1. Source?

Some book called "The President's Club". I'm sure locating it via the internet is easy enough.

[King]

lol Eisenhower only ran as a Republican because Truman was so unpopular that he didn't want his baggage to tarnish his chances. Some Democratic higher ups even wanted Truman to step aside in '48 to nominate Eisenhower. He was an insurgent carpetbagger that would have been destroyed by right wing talk radio if the same scenario had happened today. He was not a conservative in his time or by today's standards.

Truman, in asking Eisenhower why he wouldn't run for the Democratic nomination in 1948, was responded to with "but I'm a Republican".

That doesn't sound correct to me. The history story I know is that Eisenhower listened to offers from both sides, in 1948 was leaning Democrat if he ran because of their grip on Congress, and didn't join the Republican Party until 1951.

I would say Eisenhower was not really Democrat, either, but he certainly wasn't much of a Republican and in today's climate, he would run as a Democrat for President because it would make the most electoral sense for him, which was his main concern.