Conservative Democratic Group (CDG)

In American politics, Conservative Democrat is a term referring to a member of the Democratic Party who holds some conservative political views. Conservative Democrats of the twenty-first century are similar to their progressive Republican counterparts, in that both became political minorities after their respective political parties underwent a major political realignment starting in 1964. Prior to 1964, both parties had their liberal, moderate, and conservative wings, each of them equally influential in both parties. During this period, conservative Democrats formed the Democratic half of the Conservative Coalition. After 1964, the conservative wing assumed a greater presence in the Republican Party, although it did not become the mainstay of the party until the nomination of Ronald Reagan in 1980. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has included both liberal and middle-of-the-road wings. This political realignment was mostly complete by 1980. After 1980, the Republicans became a mostly right-wing party, with conservative leaders such as Sam Brownback and Wayne Allard, while the Democrats became a mostly left-wing party, with liberal leaders such as Edward M. Kennedy and Jerry Brown. However, both parties have a notable centrist wing, with moderates such as Bill Clinton and Joseph Lieberman in the Democratic Party, and moderates such as Rudy Giuliani and John McCain in the Republican Party. Since 1994, conservative Democrats have been organized in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Blue Dog Democrats. Another coalition of moderate Democrats within the United States Senate is the Democratic Leadership Council, which promotes center-right[1] [2] social/cultural positions on political issues and neo-liberal fiscal issues.