Why is John Boehner trying to destroy the America he grew up in?

There’s been quite a few posts like this springing up around the Web the last few days, but as usual it’s Greg Sargent who pieces them together into a narrative.

Clipped from voices.washingtonpost.com

Ever since John Boehner accused Dems last week of “snuffing out the America that I grew up in,” people around the Web have taking stabs at defining the America of Boehner’s youth.

  • The Republican Party platform of 1956 called for “broadened coverage in unemployment insurance” and “better health protection for all our people.” It vowed to “continue vigorously to support the United Nations.”

It pledged support for “progressive programs” to expand workers’ rights. It vowed an immigration policy that ensured that America would remain a “haven for oppresssed peoples.”

  • The Republican Party platform of 1960 hailed the GOP’s success in extending unemployment insurance. The GOP counted as an achievement its efforts to raise the Federal minimum wage.

The platform hailed expanded Social Security coverage and pledged an aggressive Federal effort to help those struggling with health care costs (in those pre-Medicare days, the primary focus was on the elderly). It pledged to continue robust Federal intervention to preserve the environment.

But as Mike Tomasky notes, the Republican Party of Boehner’s youth was fairly moderate and embraced Big Government spending — a far cry from today’s GOP. Contemporary conservatism was merely a gleam in Bill Buckley’s eye. If this is what Boehner is nostalgic for, that would be news indeed…