Reply #14: Where the left went off the track.

[jos]

After 1964, the right didn't run away and hide. They kept at it, resulting in Reagan's election in 1980. After 1972, too many "progressive" Democrats became totally defensive. Even after the Watergate victories in the '74 congressional elections, the left remained disorganized. Many of the victors in that election, such as Jerry Brown and Gary Hart, were the forerunners of the DLC, with their "small is beautiful" philosophy. In the '76 election, several progressive Democrats ran, such as Bayh, Harris, Udall and Church, ran. But they cancelled each other out and allowed a DLC-type Democrat, Jimmy Carter, to win. Had they united behind one candidate, they would have won the nomination and perhaps the election. Even had they lost, with inflation and the oil crisis in the late 70s, 1980 would have been a year in which a true progressive Democrat would have won easily. Instead, we got Ronald Reagan.:nuke: