I would vote Republican if...

[tecelote]

Our country has been driven to the right so hard for so long, 1956 Republicans are to the left of today's Democrats.

[Gothmog]

1. The world and the GOP has really changed since this poste

[unblock]

2. well at least some things never change:

they still think 66,000,000 employed is plenty!

[liberal N proud]

3. You will never see a republican with those values again

[IHateTheGOP]

4. How sad indeed.

[Stellar]

5. Let vote for Ike in 56!

IKE'S TOP
5
PRESIDENTIAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(arguably)

5. He Sponsored and Signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1957.
This was the first civil rights bill since Reconstruction. Much to Eisenhower's dismay, Congress amended the bill and critically weakened its effectiveness.

4. He Sponsored and Signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.
This gave birth to America's interstate highway system. Eisenhower worked hard to get the bill passed and it was his favorite piece of legislation.

3. He Balanced the Budget, Not Just Once, But Three Times.
Despite much pressure to do otherwise, he also refused to cut taxes and raise defense spending. His fiscal policy contributed to the prosperity of the 1950's.

2. He Ended the Korean War.He alone had the prestige to persuade Americans to accept a negotiated peace and convince the Chinese that failure to reach an agreement would lead to dire consequences. Eisenhower considered this to be his greatest presidential accomplishment.

AND EISENHOWER'S NO.1 ACCOMPLISHMENT AS PRESIDENT:

1. He Kept America at Peace.
Eisenhower was confronted with major Cold War crises every year he was in office: Korea, Vietnam, Formosa, Suez, Hungary, Berlin, and the U-2. While more than once America seemed on the brink of war and those around him clamored to drop the Bomb, Eisenhower always kept a level head. He dealt calmly and rationally with each situation, always finding a solution that avoided war without diminishing America's prestige.

IKE'S TOP 5 PRESIDENTIAL FAILURES
(debatedly)

5. He Failed to Improve the Plight of the American Farmer.
4. He Failed to Moderate the Republican Party.
3. He Failed to Provide Leadership in Civil Rights.
2. He Failed to Denounce Senator Joseph McCarthy.
1. He Failed to Defuse the Cold War.

Read failures at link.
http://www.nps.gov/features/eise/jrranger/5accomp2X.htm

[wolfie001]

11. Don't forget the CIA sponsored overthrows of various freely elected governments!

Iran and Central America. Maybe the Caribbean too? He had a nice demeanor but he'd stop at nothing to let the CIA murder and torture perceived threats from, again, freely elected leaders from other countries. United Fruit Company/Chiquita Brands International? Scary fuckers!

[Stellar]

15. I was a kid and my mom and dad were still here...

and you come alone to remind me that life wasn't all peaches and cream.

[wolfie001]

17. Oh my, now I'm sad.

I was born when Ike was still in the WH so I feel your pain.

[Stellar]

20. Ah that's OK...

I just like that warm fuzzy feeling that I get when I think of the 50's.

[cascadiance]

31. Eisenhower left the groundwork for starting the war in Vietnam...

... when he started support of the South Vietnamese state in many ways that confronted the communist regime of Ho Chi Minh from establishing a communist regime over all of Vietnam at the time. He certainly didn't do a lot of the massive and damaging escalation that subsequent presidents did, but the seeds were planted then. Not sure how he felt about what happened then and what happened later in hindsight.

Eisenhower certainly has been in many other respects far better than many even current corporate Democratic presidents in preserving and strongly supporting what traditionally Democrats have been supporting social security and warning us about the coming corruption of the military industrial complex in his day...





I'd strongly consider voting for a Republican like him today.

[Dawgs]

6. Just sent to an older republican co-worker that hates unions.

My only comment was 'Interesting poster from 1956'.

Looking forward to his response.

[Eric J in MN]

22. Let us know what he says NT

NT

[Dawgs]

25. Confusing response cause he listens to Rush every day,is a racist, and blames Unions for everything.

SO PROUD OF YOU !!

YOU HAVE FINALLY REALIZED THAT YOUNG REPUBLICANS WERE NOT BAD PEOPLE / I WAS ONE BUT, NOW I AM INDEPENDENT

REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN HIJACKED / NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PROGRESSIVES

THANKS FOR SENDING

[mikeysnot]

26. NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PROGRESSIVES?????

sounds like he is in denial....

[Dawgs]

27. He's a racist moron that listens to Rush and Alex Jones every day.

My follow up to his email was your question.

"Why do you think the progressives have been hijacked?"

I haven't gotten a response yet.

[Dawgs]

28. Finally got his response. Should tell you everything you need to know.

BECAUSE PROGRESSIVES ARE NOTHING MORE THE COMMUNISTS/ SOCIALISTS /FASCISTS: YOU PICK YOUR POISON/

WHAT DO YOU THINK BLACK LIVES MATTER IS ??

FUNDED BY SOROS: FOR PURPOSE OF A RACIAL WAR/ WHICH HELPS NO ONE ESPECIALLY THE BLACKS/

WHAT DO YOU THINK LBGT IS ??

OBAMA’S SECTION 8 HOUSING EDICT ?

IMMIGRATION ?

[mikeysnot]

29. Soros....

the go to boogeyman when you have no idea what you are talking about.

Sounds like he needs a fox news lobotomy.

[whatthehey]

7. ...it were 1864?

[JackInGreen]

8. AGREED

I've got several conservative friends, extended family. Symptom of being ex military I suppose.
Every time I've gotten into a talk with one of their parents and the talk turns to politics I get questioned 'Are you sure you're a liberal? you sound like an Eisenhower republican'. I can't say I've ever been offended by the comparison.

[wolfie001]

9. Huntsman seemed the only sane Replug in the last 50 years.

His candidacy was an anomaly. Knuckle-draggers have an inherent bloodlust.

[Telcontar]

13. I'd vote for him in a heartbeat

An intellectual. Yet a college drop out or someone basing their campaign on name recognition will probably be the nominee.

[wolfie001]

14. Me hopes they keep that jackass Trump in the race

He's creating a total 'Replug shitstorm'! The Dems are really looking like the party of grownups!

[amuse bouche]

10. That's nice an all, but wasn't this mainly for

white men? Weren't they still anti-equality in every other way?

[wolfie001]

12. Bingo! nt

[BlueEye]

24. I mean, to be fair, in 1956 about half the Democratic Party...

The "George Wallace half" was still extraordinarily racist, segregationist, and exclusionary.

[LiberalAndProud]

30. It's more complicated than that.

Legend has it that LBJ gloated that it was a Democrat signing the civil rights act into law, as it usurped the Republican party on the issue. Between LBJ and Nixon, a realignment occurred. The Democratic party has not always been known for advocating for civil rights. Which is why there might be some truth to the claim that MLK voted Republican. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1957, after all.

[MisterP]

16. or if they repented of Reagan's revolting ways

and, hey, wait! they DID try and dump Ronnie! (remember, it wasn't until the 1994 Gingrich Revolution that they decided to basically worship him as a God: they judge Jesus Christ by his standards--and find Him badly wanting)

[Moostache]

18. I would vote for them if...

you hacked off my hand and used it to cast the vote yourself, otherwise I am NEVER voting for a modern Republican.

Eisenhower Republicans are an extinct species. They *might* be considered Blue Dogs, but even that excremental group is increasingly hard to identify.

The political landscape is a Willy Wonka-esque distortion of reality these days....poo-flinging howler monkeys getting all the attention from an increasingly worthless media and serious questions and issues withering away or being denied or ignored. It's enough to make a rational person scream in despair.

[zentrum]

19. Yes, but….

…..they were already infiltrating wolves in sheep's clothing. Less so than today, but they had a long history of opposing SS and fighting unions, The New Deal, breaking strikes, opposing worker protection, being pro-business and yet knowing how to spout the working man rhetoric.

The whole country, plus farmers, were all more left, after the Great Republican Depression. So these guys didn't dare attack the programs and policies that had ended that.

Ailes under Nixon using the media, and the Moral Majority using the Southern Strategy and religion, under Reagan, began the great shift to the overt hard right.

The history of how hard Republicans fought the New Deal is horrifying. All the above list is the result of the New Deal.

[raouldukelives]

21. Man, good thing they are so far right today.

Otherwise we'd look like Goldwater fans.

[d_legendary1]

23. I would vote for these cats if they represented those ideals

But sadly in this day and age they represent the ideals of the rich and powerful.