>>>We don't do "left leanings" anywhere in casa KG :)
>
>They say if you're not liberal in your youth you have no heart and if you're not conservative in your dotage you have no brain. So brace yourself. ;-)
>
>Seriously though- "conservative" and "liberal" have completely different meanings in the modern US political context. After the Civil War most African Americans considered themselves Republican but by 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was opposed by Republicans, the opposite was true. Also FWIW, 88% of African Americans voted for Kerry in 2004 but only 28% called themselves liberal. Certainly opposing discrimination on the basis of race, gender, creed or origin (or bank balance?) would be considered moderate rather than liberal in most of the free world- though the current mass arrival of refugees/migrants in Europe may change some of that.
>

JR, a higher % of Republicans than Democrats voted for the Civil rights Act. The press in the U.K. in particular likes to downplay this by adjusting for region, but the fact remains that a measurably higher % of U.S. Republicans in Congress voted in favor of it.

Also...in 1980 Ronald Reagan only carried about 10% of the non-white vote, yet won in a landslide against Carter. In 1984 I believe Reagan only carried 13% of non-white vote.

I hold several specific positons that are found in the Democratic party, but I generally find card-carrying DNC people to be dishonest, as they attempt to bamboozle Americans into believing that bad ideas are somehow good. And I find many card-carrying RNC people to be "not very clever" as they foul up good ideas.

(And if you're curious, I would have voted for the Civil rights Act, absolutely)