Is this the most ideologically diverse primary season ever in US history?

[Blue3]

Is this the most ideologically diverse primary season ever in US history?
(among the major candidates of the major parties, that is)


We have a self-described Socialist.


We have a Fascist in all-but-name.


Both are major candidates in the two major parties, and really exciting the base of each party.


To have just one of these things going on right now would be huge news. But both?

[tpfkaw]

Nope, I'd have to give the nod to 1972, by far.

[Broken System]

Putting aside the biases in the post, yes, this is a very diverse primary season. I don't have enough knowledge of the historical elections to be able to crown it most diverse ever.

On the GOP side, there has been a lot of clashing between nearly every candidate due to ideological differences. Heck, we've even heard conservative Rick Santorum be the only candidate to propose a stable, progressively growing minimum wage plan.

On the Dem side, not so much. They are different in name, but fundamentally the same. They haven't bothered to challenge each other's ideas, and they usually agree with each other on everything for the most part. They have cut out the most "rebellious" members of the debate stage, but even those options weren't dramatically different. Maybe Atlasers will start to call me obsessed because I keep bringing him up, but I think Rocky De La Fuente deserves a spot on the Dem debate stage. To my knowledge, he's made every primary ballot thus far and his opinions are dramatically different.

[Asian Nazi]

Lol

The Democrats are all essentially the same.  The Republicans aren't much more diverse, either.  We have Trump (Trump), Trump Lite (Cruz), and then a dozen flavors of establishment or irrelevant.

[Blue3]

I'm talking about both parties combined. The whole ranger from Trump to Sanders.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Trump: fascist right-wing populist
Jeb: Establishment hack
Graham: Total warmonger
Pataki: Irrelevant Republican moderate
Carson: Social conservative
Paul: Sort of a paleocon like his dad, but not really
Hillary: 3rd way hawk
Bernie: Liberal

[Asian Nazi]

I'm talking about both parties combined. The whole ranger from Trump to Sanders.

No even the parties aren't that far apart on most issues.  We live in an area with quite a bit of partisan polarization (low levels of bipartisan legislation passing in Congress compared to historical numbers) but very little in the way of ideological polarization (the parties vote increasingly as blocs, but their actual positions on these issues aren't actually that far apart from each other most of the time).

[Blue3]

I'm talking about both parties combined. The whole ranger from Trump to Sanders.

No even the parties aren't that far apart on most issues.  We live in an area with quite a bit of partisan polarization (low levels of bipartisan legislation passing in Congress compared to historical numbers) but very little in the way of ideological polarization (the parties vote increasingly as blocs, but their actual positions on these issues aren't actually that far apart from each other most of the time).

It could be more diverse,  ideologically. I'm not arguing with that.

But when was the last time it was this ideologically diverse??

[Asian Nazi]

I'm talking about both parties combined. The whole ranger from Trump to Sanders.

No even the parties aren't that far apart on most issues.  We live in an area with quite a bit of partisan polarization (low levels of bipartisan legislation passing in Congress compared to historical numbers) but very little in the way of ideological polarization (the parties vote increasingly as blocs, but their actual positions on these issues aren't actually that far apart from each other most of the time).

It could be more diverse,  ideologically. I'm not arguing with that.

But when was the last time it was this ideologically diverse??

1992?  Jerry Brown was probably about as out there ideologically as Trump is.  Aside from Trump this cycle really isn't any different from any of the other ones I lived through.  2008 and 2012 were pretty much the same on the Republican side as 2016 sans Trump and Obama is pretty much the same mold as Clinton/Sanders/O'Malley ideologically.

[Lord of the Dome]

Nope, I'd have to give the nod to 1972, by far.

[Lief 🗽]

1972 had wallace running against mcgovern... in the same party!