"Ever since FDR managed to dig the country out of the Depression"

Sorry, WWII brought the US out of the Depression, not FDR. While the nation recovered slightly on a couple of occassions, each time it did another recession came along and wiped out much of the progress. At the beginning of WWII US unemployment was still 16%. The New Deal treated some of the symptoms, but otherwise it was an abject failure.

There have been some significant changes in the welfare state and the decline in domestic socialism over the years, but that was a logical correction to problems in the system that were perfectly obvious beyond the bumper-stickers, T-shirt messages, and 30 second sound bites, too. Mostly I see that both sides of the isle cater are the same. They cater to different special interest groups to be sure (well, unless there're contributions to accept), but special interests all the same. All you're describing is a one sided view that ignores the contribution that the other side has made willingly and whole heartedly to where we are today. It's called politics as usual.