Eisenhower was a leftist socialist commie? By todays Republican Party standards, yes.

This must see explanation from Rachel Maddow detailing the Republican Party's move to the right, from 1950 to now, is jaw dropping. I don't know how she came up with this stuff, but it is amazing, and startling to think Pres. Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower would be considered far left now with the following platform in 1956:
Expand Social Security, broaden coverage in unemployment insurance, give voting rights to the District of 
Columbia, balance the budget with taxes on the wealthy, extend the protection of the minimum wage, improve job safety, and provide equal pay for equal work regardless of sex. 
That was the Republican platform...once. There's more: