I remember Nelson Rockefeller. I knew/know MANY "Rockefeller Republicans"

[Stinky The Clown]

When you grow up in Southern New England in the 50s and 60s, you become very familiar with this breed of republican. Chris Shays and Bill Weld sorta fit the profile, even as (relatively) young as they are. Lincoln Chaffee certainly does, as did his father. Scott Brown seems to be one, too, although I confess to knowing little about him, not having lived in New England for about 40 years.

They tried to assimilate as their party moved right. Some did. Some didn't. They weren't bad people. Most I knew/know were/are very nice, in fact. We also had a fair amount of common ground and probably still do.

The "Rockefeller Republican" label is more or less quaint. But the general political compass that guides them remains alive and well.

[mitchtv]

1. sounds like my family

John Lindsay was Mayor around then. All gone now

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. Snowe & Collins may be the last two left.

Fiscal conservatives, but social liberals.

[rufus dog]

9. someone posted and article re: Snowe & Collins are Rockefeller Repubs

And the author blew them to pieces. It is because the Rs have moved so far right that those considered far right 40 years ago are now moderate.

Scary stuff.

[depakid]

12. Those two are considerably further to the right than any Rockefeller Republican

was.

[ruggerson]

3. my grandparents were Rockefeller Republicans

they wouldn't recognize their party today.

[supernova]

4. I think my fiance is a RR

when we first met, he told me he identifies as "conservative"

*facepalm* because otherwise we were having a good time and do every day. .

Yet, he believes:

In nationalized healthcare a la an American version of the NHS. In fact a whole functioning healthy european style social safety net.

W was the stupidest prez. Ever.

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are stupid and unnecessary both strategically and for the loss of life.

Can't understand where the idea of "fiscal restraint" in the old-fashioned sense of that term went in his party.

The Quitter is a supreme embarrassment for the GOP.

I could go on, but you get the idea. I don' t know how he still thinks of himself as "conservative." I won't berate him, but I do think he's mislabeled himself now.

The more "affluent" folks here used to be RRs, you know the country club types. Haven't seen one of those in ages though.

[Jennicut]

5. I live in New England, in CT. I would say our current Governor is a Rockefeller Repub.

But there are not too many left as the Repubs kind of kicked them out. And a lot of Dems were voted in instead. And this is limited to only the New England area as ultra conservatives are not popular around here.

[Historic NY]

6. Mostly they're all dead now.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Most of the elected ones are, yes, but a lot of their followers/adherents are quite alive and well.

[paulk]

7. they're still around

nowadays they call themselves "new dems"...

I don't mean that in a sarcastic way - it is truly what is going on, imho -

as the Republican Party runs off the right wing christo fascist rails, the business wing of the party, realizing they can't win elections with some of the whackjobs the Repub's are putting out, are hedging their bets by becoming Democrats.

We've got two of them as Senators right here in Colorado - they would have fit right in to the Republican Party of Rockefeller's time.

[madinmaryland]

8. You lived in Connecticut?? I lived there from the early 80's to 2004.

You forgot to mention Lowell Weicker.

God, now you have me thinking of Ella Grasso who died shortly before I came to CT from Ohio. O'niell who followed her. Remember Toby Moffett? :rofl: I met Moffett at a bar years ago in a bar in Waterbury. Self-centered douchebag who was the precurser to the "professional left/DLC"

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Yeah, Sparkly and I, both

I'm from Bridgeport, she's from New London.

I recall Grasso from when my folks were still alive. She was a Democrat. I can't recall Moffett. How about Lowell Weiker? He was a republican Senator but an Independent governor (the repubs were moving right and he wouldn't follow).

[madinmaryland]

20. I lived in Bridgeport for a couple of years before moving to MD.

Grasso was a progressive democrat who died in the early 80's if i remember correctly. Lowell Weicker was the one that pushed the repubs in the senate to convict Nixon. He later lost to LIEberman in 88. And then ran as an independent in 90 and won. Moffett was a US rep from the Waterbury area, I think. Ran for gov in the primaries in 86 against O'niell. Pretty much tanked his career after that. I think he tried running for senator, but didn't get very far.

We lived on the north side of B-port. We were on Harmony Street, which was off of Beechmont, which was off of North Main. They used to have a Christmas tree celebration at the corner of Beechmont and Harmony. Went down a couple of times. Met Joe Ganim who finally got out of jail a few weeks ago.

[Kat45]

10. Frank Sargent, was governor of MA in the seventies

I voted for him. Back then, there were reasonable Republicans I could vote for. I think other posters on this thread are correct: as the R party moved way right, they pushed out the reasonable Rockefeller Republicans. (The current R party is run by people who used to be considered the lunatic fringe--a very scary thing.) And because of this, the successors of the Rockefeller Republicans are now Democrats who are more conservative than Democrats should be. We basically have the old two-party system all in one party (the Democratic party) and the old lunatic fringe in the other party. In politics today, the center has moved too far to the right, making it ever more difficult for progressives to actually make any progress.

Edited to add: I'm surprised to hear you say that you know some Rockefeller Republicans today; I really thought they were pretty much extinct. And I would not characterize Scott Brown as one. (I am still in MA.)

[eridani]

11. My mom was a Margaret Chase Smith Republican

She started reluctantly voting for Democrats because Reagan creeped her out.

[elleng]

13. Remembering Margaret C S,

'Smith first won a seat to the U.S. House of Representatives on June 3, 1940 to fill the vacancy caused by the untimely death of her husband who had called for her election after suffering a major heart attack,' and served thereafter in remarkable ways.

'She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either.<2> She was also the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the U.S. Presidency at a major party's convention (1964 Republican Convention, won by Barry Goldwater).<3> She was a moderate <4> Republican, included with those known as Rockefeller Republicans. When she left office, Smith had the record as the longest-serving female senator in United States history, ranking 11th in seniority among the members of the Senate, a distinction that has not been surpassed. . .

Smith was the first (and as yet only) woman chair of the Senate Republican Conference, 1967–1972.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Chase_Smith

[Stinky The Clown]

14. For a look at what the contemporary Democrats were thinking back then, follow this link

It is a thread I put up linking to the 1960 Democratic Party platform. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9061406

[Mimosa]

16. I think some of them have moved here

D.U. is not as left leaning as it was 5 years ago.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. Very true.

Same as the national party, really. The vestiges of the RockyPubs moved into the Dem party and are currently the ones in charge. Even when the RockyPubs were the other party, and even when they were far from evil, and even when we had common ground with them, they were, in fact, the opposition party. Now we're trying to find ways to sleep with them.

[AlinPA]

19. Now 90 % of republicans are teabagging, intolerant, hateful, fundamentalist, creationist,

anti-gay, anti-black, anti-Hispanic, anti-anyone not white and a bible thumping "Christian"