Reply #27: There is a huge difference with this argument, however. [View All]

[Drunken Irishman]

The Democratic Party of the 60s was actually far more liberal than the current Democratic Party. Remember, it was still very tied to the New Deal and Kennedy, whether he admitted it or not, was a New Deal Democrat. Nearly every Democrat back then, outside the libertarians in the west, were FDR Democrats.

The Republican Party under Lincoln is not even the same as the Republican Party today. But to be fair, neither of the major parties are similar to their 1860s counterparts. The issues back then were so far and away different from today, that you really don't get a clear idea of where he would fit.

Kennedy, though? He's still pretty close to the modern part of the modern Democratic Party.