In American politics, a Conservative Democrat is a Democratic Party member with conservative political views. Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Politics of the United States takes place in a framework of a presidential republic... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... American conservatism is a constellation of political ideologies within the United States under the blanket heading of conservative. ...

21st century Conservative Democrats are similar to liberal Republican counterparts, in that both became political minorities after their respective political parties underwent a major political realignment which began to gain speed in 1964. Prior to 1964, both parties had their liberal, moderate, and conservative wings, each of them equally influential in both parties, with the Democratic Party being more associated with populist positions and the Republican Party adopting a more laissez-faire role; President Franklin D. Roosevelt had proposed a realignment of the parties in the 1940s, though the trends which brought it about did not accelerate until two decades later. During this period, conservative Democrats formed the Democratic half of the conservative coalition. After 1964, the conservative wing assumed a greater presence in the Republican Party, although it did not become the mainstay of the party until the nomination of Ronald Reagan in 1980. The Democratic Party retained moderate and conservative wings through the 1970s with the help of urban machine politics. This political realignment was mostly complete by 1980. After 1980, the Republicans became a mostly right-wing party, with conservative leaders such as Sam Brownback and Wayne Allard, while the Democrats became a mostly left-wing party, with liberal leaders such as Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown. However, both parties have a notable centrist wing, with moderates such as Joseph Lieberman in the Democratic Party and Lincoln Chafee in the Republican Party. The 21st century is the present century of the Anno Domini (common) era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... American liberalism—that is, liberalism in the United States of America—is a broad political and philosophical mindset, favoring individual liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty, whether they come from established religion, from government regulation, from the existing class structure, or from multi-national corporations. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... Realignment occurs in sports when a league decides to change which teams are in which divisions, usually by creating new divisions. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Look up Populism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... FDR redirects here. ... The Conservative coalition was a coalition in American politics bringing together Republicans (most of whom were conservatives) and the minority of conservative Democrats, most of them from the South. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ... The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John B. Anderson. ... In this 1899 cartoon from Puck, all of New York City politics revolves around boss Richard Croker A political machine is an unofficial system of a political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, behind-the-scenes control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. ... Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is the senior United States senator from the U.S. state of Kansas. ... Alan Wayne Allard (born December 2, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Republican Party. ... Edward Moore Ted Kennedy (born February 22, 1932) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. ... For the whistleblower, see Gerald W. Brown. ... Joseph Isadore Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is a Jewish-American Democratic politician and a current U.S. senator from Connecticut. ...

Since 1994, conservative Democrats have been organized in the House of Representatives as the Blue Dog Democrats. Another coalition of moderate Democrats within the United States Senate is the Democratic Leadership Council, which promotes center-right^{[1] [2]} social/cultural positions on political issues and neo-liberal fiscal issues. The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Blue Dog Democrats are social and economic conservatives and moderates in the United States Democratic Party. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal      The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The term center-right has two distinct meanings in politics: Center-right can be used to describe a moderately right-wing political party. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Cultural conservatism is conservatism with respect to culture. ... The term neoliberalism is used to describe a political-economic philosophy that had major implications for government policies beginning in the 1970s – and increasingly prominent since 1980 – that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by...

History

Conservative views and factions within the Democratic Party have a long history, and still exert an influence on the party today:

1800-1860: From Jefferson to Jackson to the Civil War

The election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 marked the first electoral victory of the Democratic-Republican Party over the Federalist Party. Jefferson ran on a platform in support of small landholders and decentralized government, against the Federalist platform which supported a coalition of big business and big government. The Federalist Party disappeared shortly after. Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as the Republican Party (not related to the present-day Republican Party) in 1792, was the dominant political party in the United States from 1800 until the 1820s, when it split into competing factions, one of which became the... The label Federalist refers to two major groups in the history of the United States of America: (1. ...

Andrew Jackson marked the beginning of the Democratic Party as it is known today. The Democratic-Republican Party split during the Jackson administration, with the opposition to Jackson becoming the short-lived National Republican Party and later the Whig Party; Jackson's supporters dropped the "Republican" part of the name and became the Democratic Party. Andrew Jackson is notable as the first U.S. President to be elected from the frontier rather than from the East Coast. For other uses, see Andrew Jackson (disambiguation). ... -1... The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. ... A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary, or of a different nature. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ...

The Democratic Party split along regional lines for the first time in 1860, over slavery. This split between southern and northern factions led to a brand new party, the Republican Party (created in 1854 from the remnants of the by-then-defunct Whig Party and the American Party) and its candidate Abraham Lincoln being elected. The Civil War followed shortly thereafter. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Know-Nothing movement was a nativist American political movement of the 1850s. ... For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

1876-1932: The 'Solid South'

See main article: Solid South. The phrase Solid South describes the electoral support of the Southern United States for Democratic Party candidates for almost a century after the Reconstruction era, 1876-1964. ...

Solid South describes the reliable electoral support of the U.S. Southern states for Democratic Party candidates for almost a century after the Reconstruction era. Except for 1928, when Catholic candidate Al Smith ran on the Democratic ticket, Democrats won heavily in the South in every Presidential election from 1876 until 1948 (and even in 1928, the divided South provided most of Smith's electoral votes). The Democratic dominance originated in many Southerners' animosity towards the Republican Party's role in the Civil War and Reconstruction. For other uses, see Reconstruction (disambiguation). ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Alfred Emanuel Al Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was Governor of New York, and Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928. ... The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and intense presidential elections in American history. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ...

1874-1896: The rise of agrarian populism

The United States Populist Party, United States Greenback Party, and the Agrarianism movement are often cited as the first truly left-wing political movements within the United States. Nonetheless, while they emphasized economic issues that were radical by the political standards of the time, they are relatively conservative by today's standards. Historian Richard Hofstadter has taken the view that the Populist and Agrarian movements were essentially right-wing and reactionary movements, left-wing economic issues notwithstanding. The Populist Party was a short-lived political party in late 19th century in the United States. ... The Greenback Party (Greenback-Labor Party) was an American political party that was active between 1874 and 1884. ... Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916 - October 24, 1970) was an American historian and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... Reactionary (or reactionist) is a political epithet, generally used as a pejorative, originally applied in the context of the French Revolution to counter-revolutionaries who wished to restore the real or imagined conditions of the monarchical Ancien Régime. ...

Because of the political dominance of one party or the other in many states, the real political races during this period would often be within the party primary. Indeed, in many southern states, there was hardly any Republican Party at all, and the serious candidates of both the conservative and liberal kind were all Democrats. For example, in the southern states the race might be between a populist left-wing Democrat and a conservative Democrat in the primary, while in regions of the country such as the Midwest or New England in which the Republican Party was dominant, the race might be decided in the primary between a progressive Republican and a conservative Republican. Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ...

In 1896, William Jennings Bryan won the Democratic Party nomination by adopting many of the Populist Party's proposals as his own. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, statesman, and politician. ...

1932-1948: FDR and the New Deal coalition

See main article: New Deal coalition. The New Deal coalition was the alignment of interest groups and voting blocks who supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until approximately 1966, which made the Democratic Party the majority party during the Fifth Party System. ...

The 1932 election brought about a major realignment in political party affiliation, and is widely considered to be a realigning election. Franklin D. Roosevelt was able to forge a coalition of labor unions, liberals, African Americans, and southern whites. These disparate voting blocs together formed a broad majority and handed the Democrats seven victories out of nine presidential elections to come, as well as control of both houses of Congress during much of this time. In many ways, it was the American civil rights movement that ultimately heralded the demise of the coalition. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Realigning election or realignment are terms from political history and political science describing a dramatic change in politics. ... FDR redirects here. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... The term white people (also whites or white race) has been defined as being a member of a group or race characterized by light pigmentation of the skin and to a human group having light-colored skin, especially of European ancestry. ... The civil rights movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to all citizens of United States. ...

Roosevelt's successful program for alleviating the Great Depression, collectively known as the New Deal, emphasized only economic issues, and thus was compatible with the views of those who supported the New Deal programs but were otherwise conservative. This included the Southern Democrats, who were an important part of FDR's New Deal coalition. The Great Depression was a dramatic, worldwide economic downturn beginning in some countries as early as 1928. ... The New Deal was the title President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to the series of programs he initiated between 1933 and 1938 with the goal of providing relief, recovery, and reform (3 Rs) to the people and economy of the United States during the Great Depression. ... Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the U.S. South. ...

Political anomalies during the Great Depression

See main articles: Share Our Wealth, Charles Coughlin, Francis Townsend, EPIC movement, and Critics of the New Deal. Share Our Wealth was a movement begun during the Great Depression by Huey Long, governor and later senator from Louisiana. ... Father Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin (October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979) was a Canadian-born Roman Catholic priest at Royal Oak, Michigans National Shrine of the Little Flower Church. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Short for End Poverty in California, EPIC was an effort for then well-known muckraking writer and former Socialist Upton Sinclair to implement Socialist reforms through Californias Democratic Party during the Great Depression by recruiting supporters into the party and then securing that partys nomination for Governor of... During his presidency from 1933 to 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt established a series of programs which he called the New Deal. ...

During the Roosevelt administration, several radical populist proposals which went beyond what Roosevelt was willing to advocate gained in popularity. It is notable that all four of the main promoters of these proposals, Charles Coughlin, Huey Long, Francis Townsend, and Upton Sinclair, were originally strong New Deal supporters but turned against Roosevelt because they believed the New Deal programs didn't go far enough. Like the New Deal programs, these populist proposals were based entirely on single economic reforms, but did not take a position on any other issue and were therefore compatible with those holding otherwise conservative views. Some historians today believe that the primary base of support for the proposals of Coughlin, Long, Townsend, and Sinclair was conservative middle class whites who saw their economic status slipping away during the Depression. Look up Populism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Huey Pierce Long, Jr. ... Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ...

A different source of conservative Democratic dissent against the New Deal came from a group of journalists who considered themselves classical liberals and Democrats of the old school, and were opposed to big government programs on principle; these included Albert Jay Nock and John T. Flynn, whose views later became influential in the libertarian movement. Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... Albert Jay Nock (October 13, 1870 or 1872 - August 19, 1945) was an influential American libertarian author, educational theorist, and social critic of the early and middle 20th century. ... John T. Flynn John Thomas Flynn (October 25, 1882-1964) was a U.S. journalist. ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ...

1946-1964: The Vital Center and the End of Ideology

Following World War II, a political position took hold within both major parties in which centrism was held to be the ideal political orientation, allowing for moderate liberal and conservative wings in both parties, but not for ultraliberal or ultraconservative wings. Rigid ideology was held to be bad; ideologies even further left or right than those were extremism and outside of the realm of acceptable social discourse. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

This position is closely associated with authors such as Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (The Vital Center), Daniel Bell (The End of Ideology), Eric Hoffer (The True Believer), and Richard Hofstadter. While not a conservative ideology per se within the Democratic Party, this viewpoint was a centrist ideology which held the party back from adopting positions considered too liberal during the postwar period. Leftist critics argue that this viewpoint incorrectly or unfairly lumped in movements for social justice on the left with extremism of the right as both being equally extreme, and reinforced the rise of McCarthyism during the Cold War. Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. ... Daniel Bell Daniel Bell (born 10 May 1919) is a sociologist and professor emeritus at Harvard University. ... Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American social writer. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A 1947 comic book published by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society warning of the dangers of a Communist takeover. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Conversely, it also held the party to increasing commitment to ending segregationism and Jim Crow, and disengaging itself from its segregationist wing, held to be too far right for the new centrist consensus. This led to a conservative backlash by southern Democrats during the same period:

1948-1968: Segregationist backlash

See main articles: Dixiecrat, T. Coleman Andrews, Harry F. Byrd, George Wallace, and American Independent Party. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Thomas Coleman Andrews (February 19, 1899 - October 15, 1983) was an accountant and a candidate for President of the United States. ... Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. ... George Corley Wallace, Jr. ... The American Independent Party is a California political party. ...

The proclamation by President Harry S. Truman and Senator Hubert Humphrey of support for a Negro civil rights plank in the Democratic Party platform of 1948 led to a walkout of 35 delegates from Mississippi and Alabama. These southern delegations nominated their own "States Rights Democratic Party" (aka Dixiecrat) nominees with Senator Strom Thurmond leading the ticket (Thurmond would later switch in 1964 to the Republicans). The Dixiecrats held their convention in Birmingham, Alabama, where they nominated Thurmond for president and Fielding L. Wright, governor of Mississippi, for vice president. Dixiecrat leaders worked to have Thurmond-Wright declared the "official" Democratic Party ticket in Southern states. They succeeded in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina; in other states, they were forced to run as a third-party ticket. Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as Vice President, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. ... Negro is a racial term applied to black people. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... James Strom Thurmond (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator representing that state. ... Nickname: Location in Jefferson County in the state of Alabama Coordinates: , Country United States State Alabama County Jefferson, Shelby Government  - Mayor Bernard Kincaid (D) Area  - City  151. ... Fielding Lewis Wright (May 16, 1895 – May 4, 1956) was a Democratic politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1944 to 1946, then as Governor after the incumbent, Thomas L. Bailey, died in office in 1946. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude...

Similar breakaway Southern Democratic candidates running on states rights and segregationist platforms would continue in 1956 (T. Coleman Andrews), and 1960 (Harry F. Byrd). None would be as successful as the American Independent Party campaign of George Wallace, the Democratic governor of Alabama, in 1968. Wallace had briefly run in the Democratic primaries of 1964 against Lyndon Johnson, but dropped out of the race early. In 1968, he formed the new American Independent Party and received 13.5% of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes, carrying several southern states. The AIP would run Presidential candidates in several other elections including conservative Southern Democrats (Lester Maddox in 1976 and John Rarick in 1980), but none of them did nearly as well as Wallace. The AIP was upstaged by the newly-adopted Southern Strategy of the Republican Party after 1968. The Republicans sought to exploit the racial divisions that the Democratic leadership had left behind. In American politics and constitutional law, states rights are guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, (i. ... Racial segregation is a kind of formalized or institutionalized discrimination on the basis of race, characterized by the races separation from each other. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The American Independent Party is a California political party. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ... Lester Garfield Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American Democratic Party politician who was governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. ... The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. ... John Richard Rarick (born January 29, 1924 in Waterford, Indiana)) is a lawyer, former Congressman, and former Presidential candidate. ... The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John B. Anderson. ... In American politics, the Southern strategy refers to the focus of the Republican party on winning U.S. Presidential elections by securing the electoral votes of the U.S. Southern states. ...

1976-1980: Jimmy Carter

See main article: Jimmy Carter James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ...

When Jimmy Carter entered the Democratic Party Presidential primaries in 1976, he at first was considered to have little chance against nationally better-known politicians. However, the Watergate scandal was still fresh in the voters' minds, and so his position as an outsider distant from Washington, D.C. became an asset. He ran an effective campaign, did well in debates, and won his party's nomination and then the election, receiving 50.1% of the popular vote. The centerpiece of his campaign platform was government reorganization. Carter was the first candidate from the Deep South to be elected president since Antebellum. The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. ... The Watergate scandal was a 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at a Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. by members of Richard Nixons administration and the resulting cover-up which led to the resignation of the President. ... Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: , Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - D.C. Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2... Antebellum is a Latin word meaning before war(ante means before and bellum is war). ...

He is a born-again Christian and a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. While the Republican Party began to pursue a strategy of wooing born-again Christians as a voting bloc after 1980, led by activists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, in 1976, 56% of the evangelical Christian vote went to Carter. He combined conservative fiscal and social policies with more moderate views on peace and ecology, making for a rare combination in the history of American Presidents. Born again is a term used originally and mainly in Christianity, where it is associated with salvation, conversion and spiritual rebirth. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based cooperative ministry agency serving Baptist churches around the world. ... This article is about Jerry Falwell, Sr. ... Marion Gordon Pat Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is a televangelist from the United States. ... Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ... A peace dove, widely known as a symbol for peace, featuring an olive branch in the doves beak. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Carter's electoral sweep of the southern states in 1976 (except Virginia) was the first time a Democrat (excluding the third-party campaigns of George Wallace and Harry Byrd) had swept the South since 1956, and would not be repeated again. In 1992 and 1996, Bill Clinton would win some southern states, but otherwise the South turned solidly Republican after 1976. The United States presidential elections of 1992 featured a three-way battle between Republican George Bush, the incumbent President; Democrat Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas; and independent candidate Ross Perot, a Texas businessman. ... Presidential electoral votes. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

1980-1988: The Boll Weevils of the Reagan era

See main article: Boll weevil (politics). Boll weevils was an American political term used in the mid- and late-20th century to describe conservative Southern Democrats. ...

After 1968, with desegregation a settled issue, the Republicans began a strategy of trying to win conservative Southerners away from the Democrats and into the Republican Party. Nonetheless, a bloc of conservative Democrats, mostly Southerners, remained in the United States Congress throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These included Democratic House members as conservative as Larry McDonald, who was also a leader in the John Birch Society. During the administration of Ronald Reagan, the term "boll weevils" was applied to this bloc of conservative Democrats, who consistently voted in favor of tax cuts, increases in military spending, and deregulation favored by the Reagan administration. Desegregation is the process of ending racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Lawrence Patton Larry McDonald (April 1, 1935 – September 1, 1983) was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the sixth congressional district of Georgia. ... The John Birch Society is a conservative American exceptionalist organization founded in 1958 to fight what it saw as growing threats to the Constitution of the United States, especially a suspected communist infiltration of the United States government, and to support free enterprise. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ...

Boll weevils was sometimes used as a political epithet by Democratic Party leaders, implying that the boll weevils were unreliable on key votes or not team players. Most of the boll weevils eventually retired from office, or in the case of some such as Senators Phil Gramm and Richard Shelby, switched parties and joined the Republicans. Since 1988 the term boll weevils has fallen out of favor. William Philip Phil Gramm (born July 8, 1942, in Fort Benning, Georgia) served as a Democratic Congressman (1978–1983), a Republican Congressman (1983–1985) and a Republican Senator from Texas (1985–2002). ... Richard Craig Dick Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American politician. ...

Political anomalies during the 1980s and 1990s

In 1980, a political unknown named Lyndon LaRouche entered the New Hampshire Democratic Primary and polled 2% of the vote, coming in fourth place. He and his political movement were largely ignored until 1984, when he became something of a curiosity by paying for half-hour political ads proclaiming Walter Mondale a Soviet agent, and 1986, when two followers of his won upset victories in Democratic primaries for statewide races in Illinois. After the media began to pay attention, LaRouche was promptly labeled an ultraconservative Democrat by some, and a nut by others, primarily due to the overlap of some of his views with those of the Reagan administration. Others disputed the label and noted LaRouche's background as a Marxist/Trotskyist during the 1960s, the cultish nature of his movement, conspiracism in his analysis, and alliances with the anti-Semitic Willis Carto. After a closer look it appeared that LaRouche was anything but a conservative Democrat, and the media began to refer to him as a radical and an extremist rather than a conservative. The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John B. Anderson. ... Lyndon LaRouche at a news conference in Paris in February 2006. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,359 sq mi (24,239 km²)  - Width 68 miles (110 km)  - Length 190 miles (305 km)  - % water 3. ... The LaRouche Movement is an international political and cultural movement which promotes Lyndon LaRouche and his ideas, including a number of conspiracy theories, which some critics consider antisemitic. ... Walter Frederick Fritz Mondale (born January 5, 1928) is an American politician and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (largely established by former Vice President Hubert Humphrey). ... Soviet redirects here. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Conservatism is any of several historically-related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... This article does not discuss cult in its original sense of religious practice; for that usage see Cult (religious practice). ... A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Willis Allison Carto (born July 17, 1926 in Indiana) is a longtime figure on the far right wing of American politics. ...

The brief rise and terminal fall of LaRouche aside, some Democratic leaders during the 1980s did turn toward conservative views, albeit very different from the previous incarnations of southern Democrats. In 1988, Joe Lieberman defeated Republican U.S. Senate incumbent Lowell Weicker of Connecticut by running to the right of Weicker and receiving the endorsements of the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association. Colorado governor Richard Lamm and former Minnesota Senator and Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy both took up immigration reduction as an issue. Lamm wrote a fictional novel, 1988, about a third party Presidential candidate and former Democrat running as a progressive conservative, and Lamm himself would go on to unsuccessfully seek the nomination of the Reform Party in 1996. McCarthy began to give speeches in the late 1980s naming the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Election Commission as the three biggest threats to liberty in the United States. Joseph Isadore Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is an American politician from Connecticut. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Largest metro area Hartford Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,543[2] sq mi (14,356 km²)  - Width 70 miles (113 km)  - Length 110 miles (177 km)  - % water 12. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and personal protection firearm rights... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Richard Douglas Dick Lamm (born August 3, 1935 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American politician and lawyer. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Eugene Joseph Gene McCarthy (March 29, 1916 – December 10, 2005) was an American politician and a longtime member of the U.S. Congress. ... Immigration reduction refers to movements active within the United States that advocate a reduction in the amount of immigration allowed into the United States or other countries. ... The Reform Party of the United States of America (abbreviated Reform Party USA or RPUSA) is a political party in the United States, founded by Ross Perot in 1995 under the belief that Americans were disillusioned with the state of politics--as being corrupt and unable to deal with vital... Presidential electoral votes. ... Seal of the Internal Revenue Service Tax rates around the world Tax revenue as % of GDP Part of the Taxation series        “IRS” redirects here. ... The FCCs official seal. ... The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency created in 1975 by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance legislation in the United States. ...

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., known during the 1950s and 1960s as a champion of "Vital Center" ideology and the policies of Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy, wrote a 1992 book, The Disuniting of America critical of multiculturalism. Jerry Brown, meanwhile, would adopt the flat tax as a core issue during the 1992 Democratic primaries. Bill Clinton, the winner of the 1992 Democratic nomination, ran as a New Democrat and a member of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, distancing himself from the party's liberal wing. Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as Vice President, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, Kennedy, John Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, or JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of the United States. ... The multicultural national representation of the countries of origin at the student union of San Francisco City College. ... For the whistleblower, see Gerald W. Brown. ... A flat tax, also called a proportional tax, is a system that taxes all entities in a class (typically either citizens or corporations) at the same rate (as a proportion on income), as opposed to a graduated, or progressive, scheme. ... The United States presidential elections of 1992 featured a three-way battle between Republican George Bush, the incumbent President; Democrat Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas; and independent candidate Ross Perot, a Texas businessman. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... For the Canadian New Democratic Party, see New Democratic Party. ...

Current trend

The Conservative Democratic movement has received a recent rebirth in party structure. During the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party ran conservative Democrats for a majority of at-risk Republican seats.^[3] The Blue Dog Democrats gained nine seats during the election. ^[4] The New Democrats had support from 27 of the 40 Democratic candidates running for at-risk Republican seats. ^[5] The majority of newly elected Democratic candidates elected during the 2006 election had center-right political leanings. ^[6] Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries â€¢ Politics Portal • • The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. ... Blue Dog Democrats are social and economic conservatives and moderates in the United States Democratic Party. ... In U.S. politics, the New Democrats are an organized faction within the Democratic Party that emerged after the 1988 presidential election. ...

Conservative Democrats today

The Blue Dog Coalition and the DLC

See main articles: Blue Dog Democrats, New Democrats. Blue Dog Democrats are social and economic conservatives and moderates in the United States Democratic Party. ... In U.S. politics, the New Democrats are an organized faction within the Democratic Party that emerged after the 1988 presidential election. ...

In 1994, conservative Democrats within the U.S. House of Representatives organized themselves into the Blue Dog Democrats, in response to the Republican victories at the polls that November. The explanation was that the Blue Dogs felt the party had moved so far left that it had "choked them blue." The name is a reference to an earlier term, Yellow dog Democrat (typically, a southerner who would vote for a Democrat even if a "yellow dog" were the Democratic candidate) and also to the "blue dog" paintings of a Louisiana artist. Blue Dog Democrats are social and economic conservatives and moderates in the United States Democratic Party. ... Yellow Dog Democrats are voters in the southern region of the United States who consistently vote for Democratic candidates in the late 19th and early 21st centuries because of lingering resentment against the Republicans dating back to the Civil War and Reconstruction period. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W...

Neither the Blue Dog Coalition nor the Democratic Leadership Council are considered as conservative as the earlier Dixiecrat and Boll Weevil incarnations of conservative Democrats.

Single-issue caucuses

The Democratic Party has a number of single-issue caucuses within the party which promote a conservative position on the issues in question although they support a liberal view on other issues compatible with the Democratic platform. These include Democrats for Life of America (anti-abortion), the Democratic Freedom Caucus (libertarianism), and Amendment II Democrats (pro-gun rights) [1]. Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. ... This article is about the political organization. ... The phrase Gun politics refers to the views of different people within a particular country as to what degree of control (increased gun rights vs. ...

Zell Miller

U.S. Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat from Georgia, became increasingly critical of his party after September 11, 2001, citing disagreements with the presence of anti-war views within the party. His voting record underwent a rightward drift during this period on all issues and after 2002, Miller voted consistently with the Republicans in the Senate. Zell Bryan Miller (born February 24, 1932) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ...

This culminated in Miller giving a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention endorsing George W. Bush and denouncing his own party. Zell Miller is the author of the book A National Party No More which outlines his views. Many conservative Democrats have disavowed his actions. 2004 Republican National Convention Logo President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney accepted their partys nomination to run for second terms. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat (ISBN 0974537616) is a book by Georgia politician Zell Miller, speaking out against what he sees as the increased liberalism of his own Democratic Party. ...

Differing views of conservative Democrats

Some see conservative Democrats as usually centrist, moderate, and considered a bit more reasonable than the die-hard partisan politicians who often enter into the legislative fray. Conservative Democrats believe in social programs (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid). Some want all Americans to have health care coverage and guaranteed pensions, and are vehemently opposed to the idea of privatizing any of these institutions. They are usually religious and almost always Christian. Their ideas about marriage, abortion, and, to an extent, the death penalty, are sometimes more compatible with the Republican way of thinking. This viewpoint is supported by the Pew Research Center and their study "Beyond Red Vs. Blue" [2]. This study identifies Conservative Democrats as one of three core Democratic Party constituencies (the other two being Liberals and Disadvantaged Democrats). Conservative Democrats are distinguishable by staunch liberal views on economic issues (a populist orientation setting them apart from conservative Republicans and explaining their continued allegiance to the Democratic Party), with their moderate to conservative views on other issues: In politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes. ... Social Security in the United States is a social insurance program funded through dedicated payroll taxes called FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act). ... President Johnson signing the Medicare amendment. ... Medicaid is the US health insurance program for individuals and families with low incomes and resources. ... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... “Spouse” redirects here. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

"Religious orientation and conservative views set this group apart from other Democratic-leaning groups on many social and political issues. Conservative Democrats' views are moderate with respect to key policy issues such as foreign policy, regulation of the environment and the role of government in providing a social safety net...Less extreme on moral beliefs than core Republican groups, but most oppose gay marriage and the acceptance of homosexuality, and support a more active role for government in protecting morality. No more conservative than the national average on other social issues such as abortion and stem-cell research. They overwhelmingly oppose The War in Iraq, and are vehemently opposed to President Bush's foreign policy as a whole. But views of America's overall foreign policy are mixed..."

According to the Pew Research Center study, Conservative Democrats are 15% of registered voters in the U.S., voted for Kerry over Bush by a 65%-14% margin in 2004, and were identified in past Pew Research Center studies as New Dealers rather than Conservative Democrats, making this group of voters the ideological heirs to FDR's New Deal coalition and the "Vital Center" ideology of the 1950s.

The term Democrats In Name Only has been applied to conservative Democrats by some on the left wing of the party. RINO stands for Republican In Name Only, a disparaging term for a member of the United States Republican Party whose words and actions are thought to be too fiscally or socially liberal. ...

Conservative endorsements of Democratic candidates

During the 2004 election, several high-profile conservative writers endorsed the Presidential campaign of John Kerry, arguing that the Bush Administration was pursuing policies which were anything but conservative. Among the most notable of these endorsements came from Andrew Sullivan and Paul Craig Roberts, while a series of editorials in Pat Buchanan's American Conservative magazine made a conservative case for several candidates, including both Kerry and Ralph Nader, but stopped short of an actual endorsement. Presidential election results map. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his fourth term of office. ... Andrew Michael Sullivan (born August 10, 1963) is a libertarian conservative author and political commentator, distinguished by his often personal style of political analysis, and pioneering achievements in the field of blog journalism. ... Paul Craig Roberts Paul Craig Roberts is an economist and a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate. ... Patrick Joseph Buchanan (born November 2, 1938) is an American politician, author, syndicated columnist, and broadcaster. ... Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney and political activist, who has promoted a wide range of issues, including consumer rights, feminism, humanitarianism, environmentalism and democratic government. ...

References

• American Conservative magazine, November 8, 2004 [3]
• Bell, Daniel: The End of Ideology (ISBN 0-674-00426-4)
• Brinkley, Alan: Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, & the Great Depression (ISBN 0-394-71628-0)
• Carter, Dan: The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics (ISBN 0-8071-2597-0)
• Frederickson, Kari: The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South (ISBN 0-8078-4910-3)
• Hofstadter, Richard: The Age of Reform (ISBN 0-394-70095-3)
• Hofstadter, Richard: The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It (ISBN 0-679-72315-3)
• McCarthy, Eugene: A Colony of the World: The United States Today (ISBN 0-7818-0236-9)
• Miller, Zell: A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat (ISBN 0-9745376-1-6)
• Perlstein, Rick: Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus (ISBN 0-8090-2858-1)
• Pew Research Center study, "Beyond Red Vs. Blue" [4]
• Schlesinger, Arthur: The Disuniting of America (ISBN 0-393-31854-0)
• Schlesinger, Arthur: The Vital Center (ISBN 0-306-80323-2)

External links

• Blue Dog Blog
• New Democrats Online
• Illinois Democrats conservative Democrats page (unofficial site)
• Right Democrat: a blog for conservative Democrats
• Liberals Vs Conservatives - non-partisan community where both sides of the fence may enter into debate