JFK: Democrat or Republican?

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PragerU

Non-profit, Self-improvement, Education, Business, History

4.7 • 6.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 January 2019

⏱️ 5 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

John F. Kennedy lowered taxes, opposed abortion, supported gun rights, and believed in a strong military. And he was a proud Democrat. But would he be one today? Author and talk show host Larry Elder explains.

Transcript

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0:00.0	He was one of America's most popular presidents,
0:03.0	Hanson, Carri's Matic, a war hero.
0:06.3	He believed the strong military was the best guarantor of peace.
0:10.0	He explained that cutting taxes was the best way to grow the economy.
0:13.9	He firmly opposed racial quotas and was horrified by the idea of unrestricted abortions.
0:20.7	Can you name him?
0:22.8	Here's one more clue.
0:24.5	He was not a Republican.
0:26.9	The answer?
0:27.9	John F. Kennedy.
0:29.9	When he was elected president in 1960,
0:32.7	Kennedy's views were considered mainstream in the Democratic Party.
0:36.8	But while the Kennedy name is still revered by the Democrats today,
0:40.6	the policies he espoused are not.
0:43.7	Ronald Reagan, America's 40th president,
0:46.6	who was a Democrat much of his life, famously said,
0:50.1	I didn't leave the Democratic Party.
0:52.4	The party left me.
0:54.3	So if Kennedy were alive now, which party would he belong to?
0:59.4	It's impossible to know, of course,
1:01.6	but we can compare his political positions to those of today's Democratic Party.
1:07.6	On race, JFK disliked the idea of using racial preferences and quotas
	...

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