Much as I hate to say it out loud Dems aren't right every single time and Repubs aren't wrong every single time.
A legitimate debate of major issues only serves to educate the electorate and we don't have that now. True, it's because of GOP recalcitrance but in any event we don't have that debate.

and Jim Jeffords, etc

And we definitely need at least 2 sane parties that aren't controlled or heavily influenced by corporate interests and the 1%.

than the current crop of psychopaths and corporatists that are in power.

personally

He was a good man and a good President. No one is perfect, and neither is either party. We need a choice between "corporate oriented" and "corporate oriented, batshit crazy".

Once upon a time they had some dignitude & honor. But not any more. All they do now is carp and crap on America, Americans, and American values.

the New Right took over the GOP 1980-94 (heck, back in 1976 they treated Reagan as some sort of joke--and they dumped on him in 1988)

after 1994 the Dems' policy was "yesterday's Republican policy is ours tomorrow's, and since tomorrow's GOP will attack us no matter what we can claim that it's because we're so darn liburl&quot : that's brought everything skidding rightwards: a solid 70-90% of Americans want gun control, no war, environmental and labor protection, high-speed rail, and don't think gays are recruiting us to establish death camps for the Christians--yet only 10-5% of Congresspeople will openly admit to all that

we were far better off when the republican party was home to people like this. Legitimate public policy debate needs intelligent discourse. What we now have as a substitute is vitriolic and hateful rhetoric based upon emotion and base prejudice substituting for one side of this discourse. It holds back societal progress. Republicans like this have largely dropped from public life. Some have sought refuge in the democratic party. Some have withdrawn from politics. Some still serve in discretionary governmental positions-usually in democratic administrations. There is still a small number that serve in local government. But people like this were once prominent leaders of political discussion and they have been purged from the republican party. Its entertaining when put on display at events like CPAC, but it is a corrosive development for our society.

There once was such a thing as republican environmentalists and it wasn't the punch line to a joke.

He and his late wife Helen were just wonderful people. He still is of course. He is more Dem than R nowadays. In '04 wrote a big Op-Ed in our regional paper endorsing John Kerry. That election was such a highly charged thing...

But yes, they are slowly dying off. Soon there will be no one who is lucid with an R after their name.

Julie

at all left in the Republican Party.

Vermont's only statewide elected republican, Lt Gov Scott isn't too bad but he's nowhere close to having the stature of Milliken. And sadly, there used to be a sizable number of these folks.