Homosexuals in the military

[Sanjuro]

At the risk of thread drift... I have just read James Ford Rhodes' History of the Civil War, which made clear a fact I had read before- the Republican Party, under Abraham Lincoln, was seen as the Radical party, while the Democratic Party was the party of vested interests, which voted against Emancipation, increased taxes, etc...
As a non-American, I found this a little surprising. When did the parties swap ends of the political spectrum?

[natehale1971]

Originally Posted by Sanjuro

At the risk of thread drift... I have just read James Ford Rhodes' History of the Civil War, which made clear a fact I had read before- the Republican Party, under Abraham Lincoln, was seen as the Radical party, while the Democratic Party was the party of vested interests, which voted against Emancipation, increased taxes, etc...
As a non-American, I found this a little surprising. When did the parties swap ends of the political spectrum?

The Republicans have maintained their desire that everyone be seen as equals under the law since their founding... that the color of a persons skin, who they worship (or not) or who they sleep with not be what matters. That the only way to judge people is by the content of their character.

The Republicans as a whole did at one time belive in big government as the answer to all ills, but that seemed to switch to the other party during the FDR era when Progressives had been pretty much discredited by Wilson and his policies... and really got discredited with the fact that the National Socialists in Germany and the Facists in Italy had adopted their policies and methods. Unfortuatnely, people today aren't looking at where things got their start... tracked them through history and seen all the things that were associated with that passage through time, and all the blood and suffering that has come form it.

[Webstral]

My friends, we've crossed into the realm of politics once again. Whatever each of us may believe about the evils, hypocrisy, and poor personal hygiene of one party or another, this is not the place to give vent. From this post onward, I'm going to delete every following post on this thread rather than play the game of he-said, I-said, why-are-you-showing-favoritism-to-Johnny. PM each other. PM me and tell me I'm a [insert preferred derogatory here].