"Republicans want to go home in the 1950s, and Democrats want to work there."
Within the limits of the genre, that strikes me as fair comment. The 50s were the one decade in human history when someone as dumb as Homer Simpson could support three kids in a detached home with garage. And it worked through a grand conspiracy in restraint of trade: closed markets allowed managers and labor to capture and divvy out economic rents, while we all drove crap cars.
But then it gets more complicated. Seems to me one reason for the Goldwater Revolution of the 60s was southern/western resentment against the Northeastern Establishmen t, and in particular, against unresponsive capital markets and the high costs of imports. Establishment candidates like Nelson Rockefeller and Bill Scranton were happy to play along with the dirigiste consensus. How it must have blown Goldwater’s gasket to see Henry Ford and Walter Reuther on the podium together in opposition against him.
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