Oldstyle needs to see where he stands on labor unions, government money in education and business, foreign intervention, etc.
The term largely fell out of use by the end of the twentieth century, and has been replaced by the terms "moderate Republican" and, pejoratively, "RINO" (Republican In Name Only).[2] Rockefeller Republicans were typically moderate to center-right, vehemently rejected conservatives like Barry Goldwater and his policies, and were often, but not necessarily, culturally liberal. They espoused government and private investments in environmentalism, healthcare, and higher education as necessities for a better society and economic growth, in the tradition of Rockefeller. In general, Rockefeller Republicans opposed socialism and government ownership. They supported some regulation of business and many New Deal-style social programs . A critical element was their support for labor unions. The building trades, especially, appreciated the heavy spending on infrastructure. In turn, the unions gave these politicians enough support to overcome the anti-union rural element in the Republican Party. As the unions weakened after the 1970s, so too did the need for Republicans to cooperate with them. This transformation played into the hands of the more conservative Republicans, who did not want to collaborate with labor unions in the first place, and now no longer needed to do so carry statewide elections.[3]
In foreign policy, most wanted to use American power in cooperation with allies to fight against the spread of
communism. They wanted to help American business expand abroad.
Richard Nixon, a moderate
establishment Republican within the Party's contemporary ideological framework, but who ran against Rockefeller from the right in 1968 and was widely identified with the
cultural right of the time, nevertheless was influenced by this tradition within his party. Nixon set up the
Environmental Protection Agency, supported expanded welfare programs, imposed
wage and
price controls and in 1971 announced he was a
Keynesian.
[4] Rockefeller Republicans were most common in the Northeast and the
West Coast, with their larger liberal constituencies; they were rare in the South and Midwest.
[5]
