Conservatives who wouldn't make it in today's Republican Party

Richard Riis of Daily Kos compiled a list of positions taken by previous leaders that may suprise you and defy our current understanding of  "conservative," "liberal," and "patriot."   [I have edited, condensed, and added commentary to Riis' listings.]

1.   The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and self-described Christian Socialist, a movement which considered capitalism to be rooted in greed and the cause of much of the world's social inequity.   The phrase "under God," was not in the original and was only added in the 1950s during the Cold War to differentiate us from the "godless" Communists.

2.  In 1973 Roe v. Wade was decided by a bipartisan 7 to 2 vote.  Voting yes were 5 justices appointed by Republican presidents and 2 justices appointed by Democratic presidents.

3.  Ronald Reagen raised federal taxes eleven times.

4.  Barry Goldwater (who was called "Mr. Conservative" when he was the Republican candidate for president in 1964) was pro-choice, supported gay rights, and despised the "religious right."    Of course, he lost the election in a landslide to LBJ, who was the "liberal" in the race.

5.  Republican president Teddy Roosevelt expanded the federal land protected from private development from 43 million acres to 194 million acres.    Disappointed in the direction of his successor, William Howard Taft, Roosevelt ran against Taft's re-election bid on the Progressive Party ticket in 1912.   One of his platform issues was national health insurance.  Taft and Roosevelt both lost to Woodrow Wilson.

6.  Richard Nixon established the EPA and approved the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the important labor protection initiative.  He ended the Viet Nam War after initially expanding it, and he negotiated nuclear weapons controls with the Soviet Union.   He instituted wage and price controls to curb inflation.   He endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment.   His proposals for health care reform were advanced for his time, including employer mandates and expansions of Medicaid, although he leaned heavily toward using private insurance to accomplish this.    And then came Watergate .  .  .

It's unlikely that any of these "patriots" would be acceptable in today's Republican Party.    They would all be too liberal.

Ralph