Was Eisenhower a conservative?

[A18]

?

[PBrunsel]

No, he said he was head of the "modern Republicanism", which was the moderate wing of the Republican Party. Also Ike did not want Goldwater as the Democratic nominee, he supported the last second candidacy of Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton.

[phk]

You mean 'Goldwater as the Republican nominee"

[Beet]

Eisenhower was more aggressively courted by the Democrats to challenge Harry Truman in 1948.

[A18]

Eisenhower was more aggressively courted by the Democrats to challenge Harry Truman in 1948.

Was he a Republican or a Democrat at that time?

[DaleC76]

Ike was a lifelong Republican, although it was not widely known at the time.  Truman himself even offered to step down and run as Eisenhower's VP in 1948 if he wanted.  Ike turned him down because at the time he didn't want to get into politics.

[PBrunsel]

Ike was a lifelong Republican, although it was not widely known at the time.  Truman himself even offered to step down and run as Eisenhower's VP in 1948 if he wanted.  Ike turned him down because at the time he didn't want to get into politics.

There is some argument about that facts validity, but still an interesting idea.

In 1948 Senator Claude Pepper of Florida attempted to sway Democrats to support Eisenhower at the Convention in Philidalphia, but Ike said, "I do not want any office whether it be dogcather or Grand Hig Supreme King of the Universe!"

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

His son was a Republican for over 50 years, but he switched and voted for Kerry.

[J. J.]

His son was a Republican for over 50 years, but he switched and voted for Kerry.

And?  Zel Miller was Democrat for over 50 years, delived the keynote at the 1992 DNC, but supported Bush, who won.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower 4/16/

I think that answers the question.

[Lunar]

Yet Ike did not stop producing rockets or warships.

Makes you think that he was simply noting the cruel fate that makes military buildup so necessary.

[WalterMitty]

His son was a Republican for over 50 years, but he switched and voted for Kerry.

isnt one of franklin roosevelt's grandsons a republican?

[minionofmidas]

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower 4/16/

I think that answers the question.

Not really. There's a similar Nixon quote.
But there's lots of bleeding heart Eisenhower quotes, so I voted no.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower 4/16/

I think that answers the question.

Not really. There's a similar Nixon quote.
But there's lots of bleeding heart Eisenhower quotes, so I voted no.

Nixon wasn't really a conservative either, at least not by today's standards, although he did bring a few ultra-right wing nutjobs to light (Rehnquist, Bork, Liddy...)

[CARLHAYDEN]

As the late Russell Kirk once noted when they asked him if Dwight David Eisenhower was a conservative, he replied something to the effect:

'Eisenhower's a golfer.'

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Conservatism as we know it today (the Buckley-Goldwater-Reagan kind) really didn't exist in the early 50's so it's difficult to apply that label to him.

In today's political and ideological terms, he would almost certainly fit into the "moderate Republican" category as those beliefs existed in 1952 as they continue today.   He campaigned on lower taxes and basic principles of fiscal responsibility that we still supposedly hold dear.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Conservatism as we know it today (the Buckley-Goldwater-Reagan kind) really didn't exist in the early 50's so it's difficult to apply that label to him.

In today's political and ideological terms, he would almost certainly fit into the "moderate Republican" category as those beliefs existed in 1952 as they continue today.   He campaigned on lower taxes and basic principles of fiscal responsibility that we still supposedly hold dear.

There were still people opposed to the new deal, which did not include Ike.

[J. J.]

Conservatism as we know it today (the Buckley-Goldwater-Reagan kind) really didn't exist in the early 50's so it's difficult to apply that label to him.

In today's political and ideological terms, he would almost certainly fit into the "moderate Republican" category as those beliefs existed in 1952 as they continue today.   He campaigned on lower taxes and basic principles of fiscal responsibility that we still supposedly hold dear.

There were still people opposed to the new deal, which did not include Ike.

The "New Deal" was the "Dead Deal" by 1940 (probably closer to 1938).  The only big item was Social Security. 

[minionofmidas]

Ever heard of the Wagner and Taft-Hartley acts?

[J. J.]

Ever heard of the Wagner and Taft-Hartley acts?

We are still talking about a much more minor aspect of the "New Deal" and Taft-Hartley was enacted 4 years before Eisenhower was elected.

[David S]

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower 4/16/

I think that answers the question.

Just a guess but I think Ike was quite happy to have the guns, the warships and the rockets on D-Day.