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JFK: Democrat or Republican? | 5 Minute Video

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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.
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Script:

He was one of America’s most popular presidents — handsome, charismatic, a war hero. He believed a strong military was the best guarantor of peace; he explained that cutting taxes was the best way to grow the economy; he firmly opposed racial quotas, and was horrified by the idea of unrestricted abortions.

Can you name him?

Here’s one more clue: He was not a Republican. The answer is: John F. Kennedy.

When he was elected president in 1960, Kennedy’s views were considered mainstream in the Democratic Party. But while the Kennedy name is still revered by the Democrats today, the policies he espoused are not.

Ronald Reagan, America’s 40th president, who was a Democrat much of his life, famously said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.”

So, if Kennedy were alive now, which party would he belong to? It’s impossible to know, of course. But we can compare his political positions to those of today’s Democratic Party.

On race:

JFK disliked the idea of using racial preferences and quotas to make up for historic racism and discrimination. Today, affirmative action is Democratic Party orthodoxy, but Kennedy thought such policies were counterproductive.
“I don’t think we can undo the past,” Kennedy said. “We have to do the best we can now…I don’t think quotas are a good idea…We are too mixed, this society of ours, to begin to divide ourselves on the basis of race or color.”

On taxes:

Kennedy was an ardent proponent of across-the-board tax cuts, believing that more cash in the hands of all Americans, including the so-called wealthy, and a lighter footprint from the IRS would grow the economy. “A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits,” Kennedy said in an address to the nation shortly before his death. “Every taxpayer and his family will have more money left over after taxes for a new car, a new home, new conveniences, education and investment. Every businessman can keep a higher percentage of his profits in his cash register or put it to work expanding or improving his business.”

On foreign policy:

Kennedy was very firm about his red lines. When the Soviet Union built missile sites in Cuba, leading to what is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy threatened a decisive military response. The Soviet Union backed down. JFK believed, as Ronald Reagan did, in peace through strength, not strength through peace. In his inaugural address, Kennedy made the case for a strong U.S. military. He saw this as the only way to deter America’s enemies. “Only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt,” he said, “can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.”

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30 Comments

  2. Well, to be fair, based on his political views, if Abraham Lincoln was alive today, he wouldn’t be be a conservative. He would belong to the other party. But PragerU will probably ignore that as they’re nothing more than conservative propaganda.

  9. PragerU: “The left and the right have both continued to shift further left with time so JFK would likely be a Republican by today’s standards.”

    Also PragerU: “The Democratic Party of 1865 and the Democratic Party of modern day are one and the same”

  12. JFK was what would be considered a conservative today. A "classic liberal" back in the day. I was a Democrat that voted for Reagan twice. Biden's Senate Judiciary Committee antics pushed me away from the Dems for good.

  14. Several things worth mentioning. Many of Kennedy's views were considered to be both cautionary and necessary for the safery of the average citizen due to the unrest of his times :

    1. Kennedy was in full support of Civil Rights laws. He unequivocally believed in "equal opportunity" for all Americans. Unfortunately, Kennedy was assassinated before he could see newer Civil Rights laws come into reality and effect. Those laws likely would have been passed during Kennedy's second term, had he been re-elected.

    2. Kennedy was a Congressman and President during the height of the Cold War. So his views on guns and the 2nd Amendment were pretty common, and very cautionary in concerns to the the spread of global Communism, a monolithic government form of slavery, the Soviet Union, and the very real threat of invasion and World War.

    3. Despire being raised Catholic, Kennedy was very aware he was elected President in a predominantly Protestant nation. He was also a WWII veteran. His children, including Patrick who he and Jackie lost, were all born during the post war Baby Boom. His views on abortion were more moderate than the more conservative views of his time. Had he lived another decade, Kennedy's views on abortion probably would have shifted toward the consensus view of the federal courts.

  16. My dad knows JFK’s nephew. His name is Robert Kennedy Jr. and he wants to run for president as a democrat but since he is an advocate of small government and is a vaccine skeptic, Trump supporters want him to run as Trump’s vice president.

  21. BOTH Republicans and Democrats, in the day of JFK, had both liberal and conservative wings.

    It was probably easier to find compromise in the days of Ike and JFK, because the leadership of the two parties needed to find compromise to get into their jobs. (Exception: civil rights. It took LBJ to get the Civil Rights Act passed..)
    Today, the parties are too polarized

  24. RFK junior has the same values as his father and uncle , let’s hope he can unseat Biden , he is our last hope for an undivided America. Trump and Biden are too polarizing, if you ask me they are exactly what our enemies want in the White House. Divide and conquer and simple minded people on both sides of the aisle are helping them out. It’s the spoiled brats in this country that want everything their way and only their way that are destroying this country .