Quote:
Originally posted by hoosier
The assassination of John F. Kennedy on Nov._22, 1963, marked the end of an American political era: the age of confident liberalism.
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I disagree with that. The percentage if Americans who identified themselves as Liberals reached its peak under LBJ at 50%. I would argue that American "Liberalism," which is really a misnomer as its really social-democracy, was crippled by Watergate.
The Nixon administration, Watergate and Vietnam aside, was the last administration that had a credibly ambitious social agenda. On the table were market mechanisms to ensure that all Americans had housing and health insurance.
One of the great ironys of American History is that Nixon's push for universal health coverage was killed by Sen. Ted Kennedy, because it was not completely government run . Those who know Sen. Kennedy say that he now regerts this because it was the last time that there was a realistic opportunity to provide all Americans with health coverage.
On the surface, it would seem that Watergate should have weakened the Republican Party. What it did do was help weaken American's trust in government. This, by extension, helped strengthen the Republican Party.
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