On Oct 2, 2007, at 5:02 PM, John Thornton wrote:
> Isn't nearly all of this increase in difference due to the fact that
> there are now social issues that separate them that did not exist
> in the
> 1950's and 1960's ie. abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc?
> On economic issues, while I agree that there are substantive
> differences
> between D's and R's, that gap has closed has it not?
No. On economic issues there wasn't much difference between the parties in the 1950s and early 1960s. (Eisenhower preserved the New Deal and JFK cut taxes on the rich!) And outside the south, there was no correlation between income and party vote. Now, income correlates closely with party vote. Yes the Dems have moved to the right compared to the New Deal/Great Society days, but nothing like the Republicans have moved to the right.
I used to say very similar things to what you & Carl are saying, but reading stuff by people like Stonecash and Bartels really changed my mind.