The Old Democratic Party

Internet Monk has a fascinating review of Garrison Keillor's Homegrown Democrat. Here is what I would have posted had I been able to login:

My struggle with the Democratic Party has been its unwillingness – especially since Watergate – to make room for conservatives. It used to be that one could be socially conservative, strong on defense and moderate economically – believing in the welfare state and policies that support working Americans. That kind of Democrat is virtually gone. One of my heroes is Harry S Truman. If the Democratic Party could move back to that way of thinking, it would dominate national politics for another generation or two.