Ah the vagaries of politics... This is wild...

[nadinbrzezinski]

Well the early plank of the GOP was pro labor, yes you read right. They were for the ten hour day, and the right to homestead. In other words the modern tea baggers would not consider them propper Republicans. I guess next time a righty reminds me this is the Party of Lincoln I will remind them to... Go back to the Party of Lincoln.

[Dr Morbius]

1. By today's standards, Mr. Lincoln was quite progressive.

In fact, we could see the Civil War as a battle of ideologies, for it was. The south was inherently conservative. The Democratic party was the party of conservatism, the party opposing change, the party insisting on taking advantage of cheap (slave) labor. The dynamic has changed; the Republican party sold out to the RR companies starting in the late 1870's, and by the turn of the century neither party was particularly progressive. 'Twas FDR, and later the Civil Rights Act, that completed the shift so now the political left is (somewhat) represented by the Democratic party, and Republicans are conservative. Originally, though, the Republican party was the party which looked out for minorities and labor and stood in favor of infrastructure investments and all the stuff we now expect Democrats to do... but are generally disappointed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. And we might actually be seeing this

switcharoo... why I point this out.

The parties and their ideologies are not set in stone.

[galileoreloaded]

3. Agree.

Rommel, who was a pretty smart fella but on the wrong side of just about everything, once said "Mortal danger is an effective antidote to fixed ideas"