Liberalism has nothing to do with leftwing or rightwing ideology otherwise we’d refer to the parties by Federalists and Anti-Federalists. But neither Democrats or Republicans are Anti-Federalist. In fact, they’re both pro-Federalism but they disagree on what should and shouldn’t be regulated.
Liberals love regulation, rightwing or leftwing.
Old Republicans were not liberals, that is correct, but they also stood for a unified Federal government. While today’s Republicans play up their anti-federal aspect, they still utilize national control through the party. A Republican wins a state by advocating social regulation? Several Republicans run on the same issue in each state. Enough states adopt the social regulation and the party takes the federal house and congress? They make the popular state regulation law.
This is how Democrats operated for a long time.
This is now how Republicans push liberal legislation through.
The haves, as you call them, always demand more tax breaks. That is still a demand from the government. Utilizing higher than normal tax breaks with the promise they will keep the economy stable by paying their workers the excess of their profits to them has never worked as the businesses only keep the excess profits and often spend them on riskier and riskier investments until, inevitably, they collapse and need a handout from the government to save them despite the argument that if government allowed them to not pay, they would thrive. And perhaps they do! For a time. But if the communities of those large businesses are underpaid then they reduce their spending solely on necessities that are unlikely to be inline with the risky investments… that ultimately causes commercial spending to go down and the big business to collapse and ask for a handout.
So how exactly is this not liberalism? Liberalism disguised as conservatism is the best way for liberalism to thrive.
And why it’s our country’s greatest threat.
We need regulation to set a standard but when that standard solely benefits the few, or the minority, that’s when it will eventually resort in an economic collapse. Regulation that is a standard for the majority, curtailing the rich minority, encourages an economic boon.