President Obama: Eisenhower-Era Republican

Looks like my idea of creating a political organization called Dykes for Ike-Like Policies is a bust.  I've decided to disband the group before it gets started.  Sure, it's got a catchy, button-pushing name, but it's just not inclusive enough.  Unless we want to start calling our male President a dyke too.  I would certainly call him a feminist, since what you have between your legs does not determine whether or not you believe women should be treated equally to men.  But the word dyke really does imply vulva ownership, something our President has clearly shown he'd like to leave in the trust of women themselves.

So, the new group name will be Democrats for Ike-Like Policies, or, to keep it simple:  Democrats.

The exemplary pro-nuanced-thinking writer William Saletan argues here that Barack Obama, leader of the Democrats, is really a moderate Republican.  I'm glad someone finally agrees with me.  Many of my conservative friends don't understand that when I criticize President Obama's policies it's generally because they aren't liberal enough.  As I like to say, I'm so pinko I make men like Obama look red.

Does this mean more and more Democrats are going to start calling themselves Eisenhower-era Republicans?  More likely, moderate Republicans will continue casting off their title and renaming themselves Independents.  It's already been happening with people like Michael Bloomberg and Charlie Crist.  Then there's the late Arlen Specter, who jumped from Democrat to Republican to Democrat.  I think this trend of party switching will continue to grow.  Look, even President Einsenhower's granddaughter Susan Eisenhower has joined the movement:



"The party's moved way to the right.  The thing that was distinct about the Eisenhower administration--he was a deficit hawk--but he was very tough on military spending, but he was also a social progressive.  That wing of the party really doesn't exist anymore."  -- Susan Eisenhower, when asked if her Republican grandfather, President Eisenhower, would make it in today's Republican party.