Thinking about the Republican Party of my childhood.

[RandySF]

When I was a kid, the person who most typified local Republican Party in suburban Detroit was the manager at my dad's bank branch. We didn't personally know him outside of our transactions, but he was a big Republican. He was a nice guy, polite and always wearing a suit. You could say he was Mr. Chamber of Commerce. He liked Ronald Reagan, but never said anything bad about Jimmy Carter. If he's still alive, I cannot imagine he would ever call President Obama a "socialist" or say that he was not an American citizen. He just had a set of beliefs about how the country and state should be governed, something natural in a democracy. I'm rambling, I but I really miss those days.

[Faygo Kid]

1. I grew up in suburban Detroit, and agree.

Already a married adult when Reagan took office, but I sure remember George Romney and his commitment to civil rights and the great Gov. Bill Milliken, who is still with us, and Elly Peterson, chair of the Michigan Republican Party who fought for the ERA. Those decent Republicans no longer exist, of course. Not even close.

[etherealtruth]

6. I grew up in metro Detroit

(I may be a few years younger than you) ... I don't specifically remember Romney .... I remember a wee bit of Milliken .... but my die hard Democrat parents greatly respected both.

Sadly, our current Republicans can out crazy anyone.

[madrchsod]

2. my childhood was ike...

my dad always said ike played a lot of golf...my dad was a fdr democrat!

[TreasonousBastard]

3. When I was a kid...

I had a grandmother with a big picture of Ike and Mamie in the living room.

Another grandmother fought the Klan in Maryland, ran for Congress as a Republican, and waved to FDR as he rode to Camp David (called something else back then) on the road past her house. During the Depression, they owned a prosperous feed and implements business and they risked their small fortune extending credit to the local farmers saying, "We're all in this together."

Rockefeller, Harriman, Lodge... all rich sonsabitches but Americans first.

It just ain't the same now.

[Mopar151]

4. We miss 'em in NH, too.

"Main Street Republicans" They were thrifty, middle of the road on social issues, and they understood things like maintainence and fairness.

[RKP5637]

5. That's the kind I grew up with too. My father was also a strong democratic

politician, and some of his best friends were republicans. They all got along for the most part. This is pure crap today, all of the divisions.

[Warpy]

7. Yes, they were mostly upper middle class, decent, and wrong

and decent people are allowed to be wrong.

The present variety are mean, narrow, bigoted, spiteful, and wrong.

They deserve to be disrespected at every opportunity.

[libinnyandia]

8. The Democrats' stands on the basic issues haven't changed much since then but the GOP

has moved so far to the right and refuse to work with the Democrats.

[Skittles]

9. I remember those days

and those days are long gone