Which Current Politicians Would be the Opposite Party if it was 50 Years Ago?

[Free Bird]

I bring this up because it is so hard to fathom Shelby or Cochran being Democrats, but then you remember how radically the parties have shifted.

[RFayette]

Jeff Sessions for sure - his protectionist positions on trade and immigration would have made him very much a good conservative Dixiecrat back in the day.



Other Republicans who would've been Democrats back then:
-Roger Wicker
-Richard Shelby
-Johnny Isakson

The Deep South politicians in general fit this bill nicely.


Democrats who would've been Republicans:
-Jeanne Shaheen (given the Republicanism of the state until recentlyu)
-Chris Murphy?

[TNF]

2016 candidates

Lincoln Chafee - Republican
Hillary Clinton - Republican
Martin O'Malley - Democratic
Bernie Sanders - Socialist
Jim Webb - Democratic
Jeb Bush - Republican
Ben Carson - Republican
Chris Christie - Republican
Ted Cruz - Democratic
Carly Fiorina - Republican
Jim Gilmore - Republican
Lindsey Graham - Democratic
Mike Huckabee - Democratic
Bobby Jindal - Democratic
John Kasich - Democratic
George Pataki - Democratic
Rand Paul - Republican
Rick Perry - Democratic
Marco Rubio - Republican
Rick Santorum - Democratic
Donald Trump - Republican
Scott Walker - Republican

Pretty much all the white ethnic+Southern politicians would be Democrats

[pbrower2a]

Fifty years ago? Such is in the wake of the LBJ landslide over Barry Goldwater. Landslides typically show how bad a politician was in fitting mass sensibilities.

This illustration is between the Eisenhower and Obama elections, 52 to 60 years apart:


The definitive moderate Republican may have been Dwight Eisenhower, and I have heard plenty of Democrats praise the Eisenhower Presidency. He went along with Supreme Court rulings that outlawed segregationist practices, stayed clear of the McCarthy bandwagon, and let McCarthy implode.

 
gray -- did not vote in 1952 or 1956
white -- Eisenhower twice, Obama twice
deep blue -- Republican all four elections
light blue -- Republican all but 2008 (I assume that greater Omaha went for Ike twice)
light green -- Eisenhower once, Stevenson once, Obama never
dark green -- Stevenson twice, Obama never
pink -- Stevenson twice, Obama once

No state voted Democratic all four times, so no state is in deep red.

Basically add the states in which ranching is bigger business than farming, and one gets an Eisenhower-style win for Barack Obama in 2008.

Try a 42-to-46-year gap between Carter and Obama.


Carter 1976, Obama 2008/2012   

Carter 1976, Obama twice  red
Carter 1976, Obama once pink
Carter 1976, Obama never yellow
Ford 1976, Obama twice white
Ford 1976, Obama once light blue
Ford 1976, Obama never blue

....As you can see, Carter lost a raft of states (among them California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine) that Democratic nominees for President have not lost after 1988, and some states (Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and New Mexico) that Democrats have not LOST in Presidential wins. On the other side, Carter was the last Democrat to win Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, or Texas.

................


States generally went with partisan affiliation more than anything else in 1976 in an election in which Carter and Ford were not so far apart in ideology. Republicans had much better chances to win statewide office in states that Carter lost in 1976 but that Obama won in 2008 in 1976 than in 2008... and Democrats still had much better chances to win statewide elections in 1976 in states that Carter won but that Obama eventually lost in 2008.

In the 1970s, partisan identity of elected officials was largely by opportunity and not ideology. In 2010 and later, opportunity and ideology are together.     

[Famous Mortimer]

Lincoln Chafee - He was a Republican 10 years ago so he'd be a Republican 50 years ago
Hillary Clinton - From Arkansas, Democrat
Martin O'Malley - Democrat
Bernie Sanders - Independent/Democrat like now, although if you go like 70 years back, he might have been a Republican
Jim Webb - From Virginia, Democrat
Jeb Bush - Republican but more openly liberal like his granddad
Ben Carson - Democrat, perhaps a left leaning independent like he was 5 years ago
Chris Christie - Same as today, moderate-ish NE Republican
Ted Cruz - Republican. Possibly the type of Democrat who heads the John Birch Society or runs for the American Independent Party nomination and no Democrat takes seriously
Carly Fiorina - Businesswoman so same as today, Republican
Jim Gilmore - Could go either way, could see as a Democrat or leading irrelevant Virginia Republican Party against more conservative Democrats
Lindsey Graham - Same as Gilmore
Mike Huckabee - Definitely Democrat
Bobby Jindal - Probable Democrat for same reasons as Huckabee
John Kasich - Republican
George Pataki - Same as today, Rockefeller Republican
Rand Paul - Republican/fringe George Wallace Democrat
Rick Perry - Was actually a Democrat as late as the 80s
Marco Rubio - Republican, Cuba
Rick Santorum - Probable Democrat
Donald Trump - Flip flopping every 2 years, just like now
Scott Walker - Joseph McCarthy supporting Republican

[pbrower2a]

Barack Obama would probably be a Republican, as the Chicago machine would have no use for him.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Moderate GOPer to Dem
Ronald Reagan Conservative Dem
Phil Gramms Conservative Dem

[Rockefeller GOP]

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Moderate GOPer to Dem
Ronald Reagan Conservative Dem
Phil Gramms Conservative Dem

Ronald Reagan literally was a Republican fifty years ago, LOL.

Anyway, these answers would have a lot less to do with candidates' ideologies and a whole lot more to do with where they're from, IMO.  In the Deep South fifty years ago, you HAD to be a Democrat to be elected.  It was pointless to be a Republican.

[RFayette]

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Moderate GOPer to Dem
Ronald Reagan Conservative Dem
Phil Gramms Conservative Dem

Ronald Reagan literally was a Republican fifty years ago, LOL.

Anyway, these answers would have a lot less to do with candidates' ideologies and a whole lot more to do with where they're from, IMO.  In the Deep South fifty years ago, you HAD to be a Democrat to be elected.  It was pointless to be a Republican.

.

Indeed.  It makes me wonder what Atlas would have been like back then....I suspect it would lean left but the partisan split would be more even.

[Bigby]

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Moderate GOPer to Dem
Ronald Reagan Conservative Dem
Phil Gramms Conservative Dem

Ronald Reagan literally was a Republican fifty years ago, LOL.

Anyway, these answers would have a lot less to do with candidates' ideologies and a whole lot more to do with where they're from, IMO.  In the Deep South fifty years ago, you HAD to be a Democrat to be elected.  It was pointless to be a Republican.

.

Indeed.  It makes me wonder what Atlas would have been like back then....I suspect it would lean left but the partisan split would be more even.

I'd be a very lonely Southerner if I had hindsight, as I'd support most of the GOP even before the 50's and 60's. That would depend on if I was able to be as educated back then, since the South was far less developed.

[Clark Kent]

If I'd been alive throughout all of American history with my current views (relative to the times), I'd pretty much always have been a Republican since 1854 onwards, after being a Federalist from 1789 to 1824, a National Republican from 1825 to 1833, a Whig from 1833 to 1848, and a Free Soiler from 1848 to 1854.

Also, I highly doubt that Rand Paul would be a George Wallace Democrat. They're practically opposites politically.

[RFayette]

If I'd been alive throughout all of American history with my current views (relative to the times), I'd pretty much always have been a Republican since 1854 onwards, after being a Federalist from 1789 to 1824, a National Republican from 1825 to 1833, a Whig from 1833 to 1848, and a Free Soiler from 1848 to 1854.

Also, I highly doubt that Rand Paul would be a George Wallace Democrat. They're practically opposites politically.

Yeah.  Rand praised the KYGOP in an interview for its work fighting against lynching back in the day.  I too would have been a Republican for pretty much the party's whole history, though definitely in the conservative wing.

[Indy Texas]

Lincoln Chafee - He was a Republican 10 years ago so he'd be a Republican 50 years ago
Hillary Clinton - From Arkansas, Democrat Illinois-born social liberal, fiscal moderate -> Republican
Martin O'Malley - Democrat
Bernie Sanders - Independent/Democrat like now, although if you go like 70 years back, he might have been a Republican
Jim Webb - From Virginia, Democrat
Jeb Bush - Republican but more openly liberal like his granddad
Ben Carson - Democrat, perhaps a left leaning independent like he was 5 years ago
Chris Christie - Same as today, moderate-ish NE Republican
Ted Cruz - Republican. Possibly the type of Democrat who heads the John Birch Society or runs for the American Independent Party nomination and no Democrat takes seriously
Carly Fiorina - Businesswoman so same as today, Republican
Jim Gilmore - Could go either way, could see as a Democrat or leading irrelevant Virginia Republican Party against more conservative Democrats
Lindsey Graham - Same as Gilmore Hawkish boll weevil Democrat who's BFFs with Scoop Jackson
Mike Huckabee - Definitely Democrat
Bobby Jindal - Probable Democrat for same reasons as Huckabee I have a feeling the LA GOP would be more accepting of a brown person than the LA Democratic Party of 1965
John Kasich - Republican
George Pataki - Same as today, Rockefeller Republican
Rand Paul - Republican/fringe George Wallace Democrat
Rick Perry - Was actually a Democrat as late as the 80s
Marco Rubio - Republican, Cuba
Rick Santorum - Probable Democrat
Donald Trump - Flip flopping every 2 years, just like now
Scott Walker - Joseph McCarthy supporting Republican

[Indy Texas]

Barack Obama would probably be a Republican, as the Chicago machine would have no use for him.

He'd basically be Edward Brooke.

[ElectionsGuy]

Most of the southern Republicans. Also, I suspect Angus King and other Northeast Democrats would be Republicans. Especially upper New England.

Clinton - Democrat
Sanders - Independent
O'Malley - Democrat
Webb - Democrat
Chafee - Republican
Bush - Republican
Walker - Republican
Trump - Democrat
Carson - Republican
Huckabee - Democrat
Cruz - Republican (too conservative for Democrats)
Rubio - Republican
Paul - Republican
Christie - Republican
Kasich - Republican
Perry - Democrat
Santorum - Democrat
Fiorina - Republican
Graham - Democrat
Jindal - Republican (see Cruz)
Pataki - Republican
Gilmore - iffy, probably Democrat

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Moderate GOPer to Dem
Ronald Reagan Conservative Dem
Phil Gramms Conservative Dem

Ronald Reagan literally was a Republican fifty years ago, LOL.

Anyway, these answers would have a lot less to do with candidates' ideologies and a whole lot more to do with where they're from, IMO.  In the Deep South fifty years ago, you HAD to be a Democrat to be elected.  It was pointless to be a Republican.

In 1965? The nation had just elected a relatively large swath of Republican Congressman in the heart of Dixie! (Sixty years would be a lot better of a yardstick)

And TNF, while I'm sure most white ethnics would be Democrats, certainly not all of them. John Volpe was an Italian-American liberal Republican!

I can see Sanders being reminiscent of leftists like Wayne Morse and being a former Republican.

[Mr. Smith]

Hillary WAS GOP 50 years ago, a Goldwater Girl even.

[Badger]

Jeff Sessions for sure - his protectionist positions on trade and immigration would have made him very much a good conservative Dixiecrat back in the day.



Other Republicans who would've been Democrats back then:
-Roger Wicker
-Richard Shelby
-Johnny Isakson

The Deep South politicians in general fit this bill nicely.


Democrats who would've been Republicans:
-Jeanne Shaheen (given the Republicanism of the state until recentlyu)
-Chris Murphy?

Richard Shelby was an actual democrat barely 20+ years ago.

[Citizen Hats]

50 years ago Hilary Clinton was literally a Goldwater Girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WycwDYlOCDw

[Jacobtm]

No Democrat today would have a place in any party 50 years ago

Pro-Gay Marriage
Pro-Transgender rights
Pro-Women in the army
Pro-Illegal immigration with no consequences

Yea these people didn't exist 50 years ago except in the halls of universities.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Bernie Sanders - Independent/Democrat like now, although if you go like 70 years back, he might have been a Republican

In 1945? A Jewish Progressive like Sanders would have been a solid FDR Democrat (if he supported either major party) at that time, and quite possibly would have endorsed Wallace in '48. Maybe if you go back one hundred years, he could have been a Teddy Roosevelt/Bob La Follette Republican, although it's at least equally likely that he would have been a member of Eugene Debs' Socialist Party.

In New York back in those days, from where Sanders hails, a number of left-wing candidates emerged as anti-Tamanny Republicans, including noted "Jewish Prorgressive" Jacob Javits.

[Thunderbird is the word]

No Democrat today would have a place in any party 50 years ago

Pro-Gay Marriage
Pro-Transgender rights
Pro-Women in the army
Pro-Illegal immigration with no consequences

Yea these people didn't exist 50 years ago except in the halls of universities.

They might still be in the Democratic Party, only with slightly different views adjusted to the times.