He locates this takeover by secularists and social liberals in the 1972 McGovern Commission, which had been formed to reform the party's nominating process after the 1968 [[Chicago]] convention, but instead became the vehicle for wealthy secular professionals to gain a foothold in the party. These secular activists alienated the party's old [[working class]] base of Northern Catholics and Southern Protestants, based especially in the [[Rust Belt]] and [[Appalachia]], with their social agenda. | He locates this takeover by secularists and social liberals in the 1972 McGovern Commission, which had been formed to reform the party's nominating process after the 1968 [[Chicago]] convention, but instead became the vehicle for wealthy secular professionals to gain a foothold in the party. These secular activists alienated the party's old [[working class]] base of Northern Catholics and Southern Protestants, based especially in the [[Rust Belt]] and [[Appalachia]], with their social agenda. |