Talk Elections

I left Reagan out, of course.

I say Roosevelt, he was a socially-oriented progressive.  In other words, a border-line socialist.

I guess TR was the most liberal *for his time*.  Nixon was the most liberal ever, though not all that liberal for his time.

Nixon was fairly liberal, but not to the level that TR was, in my mind.

It has to be Teddy ;)

Yes, Teddy. Definitely.

80% think it's teddy so far.

Nobody mentions Eisenhower.
(I voted Roosevelt too, but Ike would be second.)
Hoover and Taft might also be mentioned as at least not purely conservative.

Reagan isn't the only one you left out btw. Not that I'd advocate Harding or Coolidge as liberal.

But liberal in a good way, in that circumstance!

TR- a great environmentalist, which I like.  Plus like truman he was boss, buck stopped with him too.

Got some great TR books, I should dig them out and get you guys the titles, very very good ones.

Are you an environmentalist, JR? :o

I love the word flabberghasted, it's just so cool... :)

Yes, that's the case with most words... ;)

Ehhh...no comment... :(

I don't think Gustaf watch Seinfeld, Mr. Fresh

Not regularly, no. I would like to, but it's seldom on at a good time.

I voted for Nixon. How in the hell can anyone vote for Teddy Roosevelt as a liberal??? His foreign policy was wayyyy to the right wing which more than offset his fascination with the environment and his anti-big business credentials. Teddy as a liberal??? Not with that expansionist foreign policy.

You do now that Republicans were anti-interventionist and isolationists for great parts of hte last century, and that the whole aggressive neo-conservatism is largly a product of 9/11?

I'm kind of lost...

Gustaf,

I am using the modern definition of "Liberal" which is very different than the historical defintion of the word. And under the modern definition, TR is not a liberal.

As for the "isolationist" statement you made, you are partially correct. The Republican Party was isolationist from the post-Teddy Roosevelt era into World War II.

However, if you think an aggressive foreign policy is strictly a post 9/11 invention of neo-conservatives, then I guess you missed Ronald Reagan's 8 years in office or the Presidency of the first George Bush. Or I guess you missed dedicated Cold Warriors like Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford...not to mention Kennedy who may as well have been a Republican and probably would be if he were alive today.

I doubt a Kennedy would ever be a Republican...

On the issue at hand, I said for great parts, not constantly. Most American wars have been started by Democratic presidents, unless I'm mistaken. Nixon made friends with the Chinese, so I wouldn't call him aggressive. That every Cold War president worked against the Soviets is a natural fact and doesn't have much to do with aggressiveness. Bush did lead the First Gulf War, that's true, but it was a limited war, fought to protect American oil interests, not a sign of a coherent foreign policy. GWB took a clear stand against nation building before 9/11.

Kennedy would still be a democrat to this day.

Hello Jerry..
Hello....newman...

I have nothing to add...besides,  should probably start to watch Seinfeld... ;)

Yes, you should.  Seinfeld is the undisputed number one sitcom in TV history.  Here are my top five:

1. Seinfeld
2. I Love Lucy
3. All in the Family
4. Sanford + Son
5. The Honeymooners

Sanford and Son is up there not because of the quality of the show, but because how groundbreaking it was for black television.

I wasn't going on my opinion, I was going with a combination of public opinion and the impact of the show.

I saw a documentary about Lucy Ball once.

Is that sarcasm?  The interracial thing sure sounds like it.

I'll take that as a yes.

Nixon was no conservative at all.

I don't understand why the left hated him so.  In his years in office he ushed far more liberal programs than Clinton or Carter ever did.

I voted Teddy Roosevelt.

Eisenhower is number 2, because there was that courageous antirasist act in Arkansas in 1957.

Liberals hate Nixon, because he continued futile war in Vietnam.

Definitely Teddy Roosevelt.

I'd say Ford.

TR's runnin' away with this one, and rightfully so.

I'd defer to Ford on this one as well...he was a pro-choice Republican who was more of a compromise.

TRoosevelt

TR

TR without a doubt

It'd be TR, with Ike right behind him and Nixon a distant 3rd.

That makes him a liberal? :D

yes, he was a C.R.E.E.P. ;).

TR followed by Nixon.  Most conservative would be Reagan followed by GWB,  GWB is NO FDR as he would like to think of himself as!

TR

According to James Chace's new book -- "1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs -- The Election That Changed the Country" -- if Teddy hadn't split the Republicans in 1912 and had actually won the election, then the whole history of American party politics in the 20th century would have been different. The Republican party would have been the party of internationalism and social reform. The Republicans, instead of the Democrats, have led the United States to the leadership of the free world in the WWII-and-after era and the Civil Rights, industrial, and economic reforms. Blacks might have stayed with the Republicans, socialists and progressives might have joined the coalition, and the racist southern white vote would not have started shifting away from the Democrats. In 2004, the Republican party might have been the party of business, labour, environmentalists, civil rights activists, pro-choice, gay rights, internationalists, etc. The Democrats might have been the party of racists, isolationists, and religious extremists. It would have been an interesting alignment.

Business and labour could not be in the same party, as their interests are diametrically opposed.  The same could be said of business and environmentalists.

Well, politics does make strange bedfellows. Are there no real-life examples of diamentrially opposed constituencies acting as members of the same party coalition?

Hello All:

TR was probably the most liberal Republican president of the 20th century and Nixon does come in a close 2nd but, we can't forget about Eisenhower because he supported and signed the legislation that created the interstate highway system.  

Here's an interesting thought, what if Nelson Rockefeller got the nod and won the presidency in the 1970s?  He was Vice-President under Ford and one of the most liberal Republican governors that the state of NY has ever had.  

Here are some of his accomplishments:

Signing a gas-tax increase that paid for the construction of NY highway network.

Creating the SUNY (State University of NY educational system)

A number of state public works programs and signing the legislation for the construction of the World Trade Center.

Think what Nelson would have done if he got elected.

Later,

S2DM  
 

What probably would've happened is the Republican party would end up like the DLC/"Third Way" and be the party of Clinton. The Democratic party would be the party of Pat Buchanan. As opposed to the current alignment which is basically the Party of Clinton/Wellstone vs. the Party of Robertson/Norquist.

I'm quite happy that did not happen though, as I would have a tougher time being a Republican in that alignment than as a Democrat in the current in the current alignment. I didn't mind Clinton but I don't want his free trade/DLC policies being all the party has room for. It's better to have a clear enemy and at least a faction of a party you can align yourself with rather than reluctantly siding with a party you disagree with on some issues against a party you agree with on many issues but for different reasons.

Who voted for Bush? He is the worst president ever and is the most conservative thing in the history of the world! I say Theodore Roosevelt because he was the best environmental president. Bush is the worst environmental president.

Your choices are pretty good, but I would have to add Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is the funniest show on now, somewhere.

Since all my other old threads are getting bumped, I'll bump this one up too and restore the poll that once existed.

Roosevelt

I voted Roosevelt. He, Eisenhower and Lincoln were the only good presidents from the Republican party.

Roosevelt although he was great because of his imperialism!

Nixon, but Hoover was also terrible.

Teddy Roosevelt for sure.

Nelson Rockefeller would have been the most liberal Republican President had he ever become President. 

Religious conservatives ought to be opposed to the sex oriented, pro-materialist, anti-family advertising campaigns of large corpororations. Family values, anybody?

how was Nixon a liberal President?

He ended Vietnam, normalized relations with the Chinese, signed SALT I with the Soviets, oversaw the creation of landmark envoronmental legislation, instituted wage and price controls, did little to nothing to try and undo Great Society programs (in 1969, he unveiled his Family Assistance Plan, which would guarantee an annual income of $1600 for a family of four). By today's standards, Nixon's presidency was very liberal.