As chairman of the McGovern–Fraser Commission in 1969–70, McGovern instituted major changes in Democratic party rules that continue to this day and, to a large degree, were ultimately adopted by the Republican Party as well, with large institutional changes taking place in both. Among those was the centralization of decisions about the nominating process at the national party level, rather than with the states. His 1972 campaign fundamentally altered how presidential primary campaigns were waged. Within the Democratic Party, power shifted from the New Deal coalition to younger, more affluent, issue-oriented activists; the women's movement and gay rights movement found a place; skepticism about military buildups and foreign interventions took hold; and the 1960s "New Politics" found its culmination in McGovern's nomination. In turn, the overwhelming defeat of McGovern in the general election led to the liberal wing of the party's being stigmatized for decades to come and a turn in the party towards centrist directions. McGovern himself recognized the mixed results of his 1972 candidacy, saying, "We made a serious effort to open the doors of the Democratic Party – and as soon as we did, half the Democrats walked out." SUNY Albany political scientist Bruce Miroff wrote in 2007 that the McGovern campaign was the last time in presidential politics that liberals had "their chance to speak of their goals with enthusiasm and their dreams with fire ... Yet almost at the instant that the insurgents successfully stormed the heights of American politics, they found themselves on the brink of one of the worst free falls on record." Half a century after McGovern's 1972 winning nomination effort, writers were making extensive comparisons between it and the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign.