Changes

The American South had a long tradition of electing conservative Democrats to office, including in Presidential elections until they broke from the Democrats in 1964 to vote for [[Barry Goldwater]], the Republican nominee.  From 1948 to the 1970s an even more conservative wing of the party, mostly from the South, was called "Dixiecrats".  The Dixiecrat wing of the party has been essentially defunct since the 1970s and many of them, such as [[Strom Thurmond]] and [[Jesse Helms]], were early converts to the [[Republican Party]], foreshadowing a long trend of conservatives leaving the Democrats and joining the Republicans that continued through the 1980s and 1990s.

The American South had a long tradition of electing conservative Democrats to office, including in Presidential elections until they broke from the Democrats in 1964 to vote for [[Barry Goldwater]], the Republican nominee.  From 1948 to the 1970s an even more conservative wing of the party, mostly from the South, was called "Dixiecrats".  The Dixiecrat wing of the party has been essentially defunct since the 1970s and many of them, such as [[Strom Thurmond]] and [[Jesse Helms]], were early converts to the [[Republican Party]], foreshadowing a long trend of conservatives leaving the Democrats and joining the Republicans that continued through the 1980s and 1990s.

Today there are several caucuses of people with conservative views in the Democratic Party.  These conservative Democrats often find themselves at odds with the liberal majority of their party.  The Blue Dog caucus in the House was organized in 1994 by conservative Democrats who believed the liberal wing of the party had "choked blue" conservative voices in the party.  There is also a [[pro-life]] caucus within the Democrats called [[Democrats for Life of America]] currently led by [[Nat Hentoff]], a pro-[[Second Amendment]] caucus called [[Amendment II Democrats]] which supports [[gun rights]], and even a minority-held position within the [[environmentalist]] and [[organzed labor]] movements opposed to further [[immigration]] into the United States on environmental or job protection grounds, although it should be noted that these voices have been all but shut out by the current leadership of those movements.

Today there are several caucuses of people with conservative views in the Democratic Party.  These conservative Democrats often find themselves at odds with the liberal majority of their party.  The Blue Dog caucus in the House was organized in 1994 by conservative Democrats who believed the liberal wing of the party had "choked blue" conservative voices in the party.  There is also a [[pro-life]] caucus within the Democrats called [[Democrats for Life of America]] currently led by [[Nat Hentoff]], a pro-[[Second Amendment]] caucus called [[Amendment II Democrats]] which supports [[gun rights]], and even a minority-held position within the [[environmentalist]] and [[organzed labor]] movements opposed to further [[immigration]] into the United States on environmental or job protection grounds, although it should be noted that these voices have been all but shut out by the current leadership of those movements.{{fact}}

The [[Democratic Leadership Caucus]] is sometimes also called "conservative" but it holds liberal views on social issues and includes such liberal luminaries as [[Bill Clinton]], [[Bill Richardson]], and [[Hillary Clinton]] among its supporters so it cannot be truly considered a conservative caucus in the party.

The [[Democratic Leadership Caucus]] is sometimes also called "conservative" but it holds liberal views on social issues and includes such liberal luminaries as [[Bill Clinton]], [[Bill Richardson]], and [[Hillary Clinton]] among its supporters so it cannot be truly considered a conservative caucus in the party.

[[Zell Miller]] is a conservative Democrat who wrote a book, ''A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat'', about his differences with the current party leadership.

[[Zell Miller]] is a conservative Democrat who wrote a book, ''A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat'', about his differences with the current party leadership.