Yes I did, but history of words means little (except maybe to people like William Safire). It’s how the term is being used in today’s political context that matters. Indeed, the word “republican” and “democratic” have taken on whole new meanings once they became the names of political parties. And even political parties morph - remember, it was the Republicans (under Lincoln) who freed the slaves, and as a result blacks used to be solidly Republican (and Republicans couldn’t get elected in the southern states for nearly 100 years). But today blacks are something like 95% Democrats, and the south is solidly Republican. Indeed, the Republican Party I knew as a kid no longer exists - there used to be such a thing as a “moderate Republican,” but they are nearly extinct. So politics change, and words change with it.
Anyway, I appreciate your comments. No doubt you remember that the definition of a neocon was discussed in another thread:
[What does neoconservative mean? Thoughtful discussion please
Perhaps I should have titled this thread “Republicans are not Libertarians.” My bad.
And as a footnote, symbols change too. The swastika was an Indian Buddhist symbol, but Hitler gave it a whole new meaning.
cheers,
DB