>Is it the case that the Dems have simply followed where the
>Republicans have led?
Kinda. The U.S. elite started moving seriously to the right in the mid-1970s, as profit rates fell, wildcat strikes rose, and bond returns were persistently negative. The Republican party shed its northeastern and midwestern moderate base for a hard-right southern and western base (and the southerners left the DP for the RP). I'm not sure foreigners, and even a few American leftists, appreciate what a toxically reactionary and ruthless formation the RP is.
And for all those who complain about how far right the DP has moved - yeah, if your base of comparison is 1972. But no, not if your base is 1952. What's really moved right in U.S. politics is the RP.
Doug