# Are there examples of prominent social conservatives who became more liberal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119 "2017-06-29T05:26:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/1 "2017-06-29T05:26:41Z")
In the US, are there any prominent historical figures who were outspokenly socially conservative (i.e. anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-secular, anti-diversity) who over time or through some event became much more liberal? ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/2 "2017-06-29T05:33:02Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > In the US, are there any prominent historical figures who were outspokenly socially conservative (i.e. anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-secular, anti-diversity) who over time or through some event became much more liberal? I doubt 1980 George H.W. Bush would have attended a same-sex marriage. But [2013 George H.W. Bush did](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2013/09/25/george-h-w-bush-is-witness-at-same-sex-marriage-in-maine/). ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/3 "2017-06-29T05:34:28Z")
Did Dick Cheney ever become more liberal on gay issues after his daughter Mary married a woman? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/4 "2017-06-29T05:46:46Z")
[George Wallace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wallace) leaps to mind. In 1963 he’s proclaiming “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” and physically standing in doorways to prevent black students entering. Twenty years later he’s apologising for segregation, repudiating his own former stance, and appointing record numbers of black candidates to public appointments in his State, including cabinet appointments. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/5 "2017-06-29T06:11:12Z")
Jimmy Carter was a conservative when he was elected president but is now perceived to be a liberal. This is mostly due to a shift in the “Overton Window” which has slid the definition of the center quite a bit to the right in the past 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/6 "2017-06-29T06:13:48Z")
Wallace had been pro civil rights before he became a segregationist. It was probably political. The Anglo-Irish Duke of Wellington pushing through Catholic Emancipation is an earlier example. Disraeli and the Third Reform Act. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/7 "2017-06-29T06:17:18Z")
Oh and then there’s Robert Byrd. Long story short: Dude went from KKK member to Democratic senator. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/8 "2017-06-29T07:06:02Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > Oh and then there’s Robert Byrd. > > Long story short: Dude went from KKK member to Democratic senator. Byrd was a “Democratic Senator” starting in 1959. That did not mean the same thing as “Democratic Senator” means in 2017-- a Democratic Senator could be quite conservative at that time. For example, he filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The notable thing about Byrd is that he did not switch to the Republican party in the 60s like some conservative Democrats (often knows as Dixiecrats). Byrd went from KKK member to conservative Democratic Senator to not so conservative Democratic Senator. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/9 "2017-06-29T07:42:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Byrd was a “Democratic Senator” starting in 1959. That did not mean the same thing as “Democratic Senator” means in 2017-- a Democratic Senator could be quite conservative at that time. For example, he filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The notable thing about Byrd is that he did not switch to the Republican party in the 60s like some conservative Democrats (often knows as Dixiecrats). > > Byrd went from KKK member to conservative Democratic Senator to not so conservative Democratic Senator. Quite a few Southern Senators were progressive on most issues, except race. Fulbright comes to mind. This reminds me of an anecdote I once read, about I think Storm Thurmond. He was in his office dictatingt to an aide some statement oppsoing one of th Civil Rights Acts and pro segregation. Once that was done, the aide recalled they moved to the next item on the agenda. A letter to some Government body which had denied some World War 1 veteren Constituient of his, (who was black) some benefit. In the letter he made an eleoqeunt plea on behalf of his contsituient and decried the Government Body’s action which he claimed was motivated by racism. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/10 "2017-06-29T07:45:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Quite a few Southern Senators were progressive on most issues, except race. Fulbright comes to mind. And of course Byrd was from West Virginia, which technically isn’t even The South. And The South didn’t have a monopoly on racism, either. ---
**Author:** ![Marci\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marci\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marci_Al)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/11 "2017-06-29T08:02:20Z")
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, business-wise Anwar Saddat John Paul II (just on some small things) Muammar Kaddafi Thingol of Doriath. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/12 "2017-06-29T08:12:12Z")
> [@Marci\_Al](#): > > Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, business-wise Huh?? > [@](#): > > Anwar Saddat > John Paul II (just on some small things) > Muammar Kaddafi First words in the OP: “In the US…” ---
**Author:** ![Marci\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marci\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marci_Al)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/13 "2017-06-29T08:31:25Z")
Jobs and Gates started very insular niches in the fast-growing computer industry. I suppose shedding one’s niche strategy is imperative for growth. Gates didn’t didn’t think he’s had to tangle with anti-trust issues, and the internet. Jobs used to pride himself with the fact that the Apple computer was not compatible with any other pc system. As to the next two, I was looking at the title, not the OP. Couldn’t resist putting in the last one. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/14 "2017-06-29T20:38:00Z")
I don’t know what Cheney’s stance on gay marriage was before he found out his daughter was gay, but he did afterward speak publicly about his support for it. Also, he privately told W Bush in 2004 that whatever the rest of the campaign did, he wasn’t going to come out in favor of state laws/constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Of note, though, he didn’t actually attend his (gay) daughter’s wedding. There was a prominent conservative interviewed in “The Case Against 8” who’d written a book opposing gay marriage, but over the course of filming came to change his mind. Garry Wills is a well-known historian who started as a conservative and became progressively more liberal, though I think all of his notable work was done after his “conversion.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/15 "2017-06-29T21:05:10Z")
> [@Marci\_Al](#): > > Jobs and Gates started very insular niches in the fast-growing computer industry. I suppose shedding one’s niche strategy is imperative for growth. Gates didn’t didn’t think he’s had to tangle with anti-trust issues, and the internet. Jobs used to pride himself with the fact that the Apple computer was not compatible with any other pc system. > > As to the next two, I was looking at the title, not the OP. Couldn’t resist putting in the last one. That is not really _socially_ conservative. Bill Gates grew up in Seattle and Steve Jobs in the south bay area near San Francisco. Those areas are not famous for fomenting social conservatism, and I have seen no indication that either of those men ever particularly leaned rightward. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/16 "2017-06-29T21:13:57Z")
I can’t speak for the US or modern sensibilities but Winston Churchill went from the Tories to the Liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/17 "2017-06-29T21:16:59Z")
Hugo Black of Alabama went from being a KKK member to being one of the most consistently liberal justices of the Supreme Court, including supporting all the civil rights cases (especially Brown v. Board of Education that was supposed to end school segregation). ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/18 "2017-06-29T21:35:14Z")
Keeping it tightly focused on “social conservatives” that were/are “prominent,” I’m not coming up with anything super-mindblowing. (I’ll keep trying, though: it’s an interesting question!) Millions of people changed their minds about gay marriage pretty significantly over the past 25 or so years, including lots of prominent politicians, but I don’t see those as strong answers to the OP, because changing sides on this one issue is not a wholesale conversion. One interesting minor case would be David Brock, a journalist who was pretty well-known during the early years of the Clinton administration (I believe he broke the “Troopergate” story?). His book details his political conversion: [Blinded by the Right - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinded_by_the_Right) Spoiler: he was a semi-closeted gay man during his career as a conservative. Barry Goldwater also springs to mind, but I’m not really sure how much of a “social conservative” he was in the 60s – abortion, gay rights, and secularism weren’t such huge issues back then. ---
**Author:** ![Edible\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@Edible\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edible_Hat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/19 "2017-06-29T21:43:12Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I can’t speak for the US or modern sensibilities but Winston Churchill went from the Tories to the Liberals. And then rejoined the Tories and remained in that party for the remainder of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119/20 "2017-06-29T22:16:25Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > (Snip)… > > Barry Goldwater also springs to mind, but I’m not really sure how much of a “social conservative” he was in the 60s – abortion, gay rights, and secularism weren’t such huge issues back then. I was going to post Goldwater, but I don’t think he really counts - his pro-gay rights stance apparently flowed from his libertarian anti-government ideas. He was merely consistent in his beliefs. (That said, he was pro-LGBT back before that was a safe position, especially for a Republican from Arizona. So I give him props for his integrity.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-examples-of-prominent-social-conservatives-who-became-more-liberal/790119.md?page=2)