Oh Lord, I do mean pre-Reagan. He was the catalyst for the change and huge lurch to the right. Then came Newt, who added cement to the fixture.

But Republicans in the PRE-Reagan days had folks like Chuck Percy and Everett Dirksen, among others, who were instrumental in getting important bills passed.

So we aren't remembering the times differently, we're just not keying in on the same times.

There were also of course the Barry Goldwaters and others like him in those pre-Reagan years, and the John Birch Society had friends in high Republican places, but overall there was a consensus over social security and some other things.

The Dems sort of went south with Clinton, in my view, who himself was a reaction to Reagan. So instead of answering Reagan with true opposition, Clinton kissed his ass and moved the Dems solidly into the camp of being a party for corporate interests.

I guess when you look back on it all, any signs of progression on the Dems part was very short-lived. It was a flash in the pan. A ruse to trick us all!