When did Democrats become the left-of-center American party?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

From its inception, the Republican Party has always been the party of pro-business and the elite. In many ways, it still is today, although the Democrats have been gaining in that demographic recently. They still drawn their base from the most wealthy Americans, while the Democrats still drawn their base from the poor and minorities.

Sure, some of the ideologies have changed, but they haven't completely flipped as many people claim. The Republican Party was always for a more free-market economic system and less government intervention. The party pushed civil rights up through the 50s before Goldwater's wing took the torch.

There are still progressives within the party, although we are a small breed. I like to think of myself as one, supporting gay rights, abortion rights, stem cell research and environmental regulations. However, the GOP's main principles are the ones that keep me in the party today: individual freedoms, pro-business policies and a small government that gives the person choices, not a mandate for the government. Today's GOP still adheres to those principles, but they are waning just a bit. The Democratic Party, however, will never adhere to them. It just isn't their ideology.