This is NOT the America of 1976 or 1980.
Just because the formula Reagan stuck to eventually succeeded, does not mean that same approach is guaranteed success today. The current culture and government has an oligarchy now in firm control of society and their parties behind their ramparts.
The Mob does not allow itself to be reformed by civil means.
I like Mark’s ideas, the problem is he has no contingency for circumventing real-world institutionalized tyranny and corruption.
For a man who preaches that Washington will not allow itself to be reformed and that ‘fixing’ the federal beast will have to come from OUTSIDE the entire system - I’m baffled that his solution in this case is to once again attempt to make a liberal party, Conservative when Mississippi ought to have been instructive as to the futility of working within a corrupted party.
The Founders could not reform the tyranny of king and Parliament, why we continue to delude ourselves that we can do so is an absolute rejection of reality and yet another symptom of Normalcy Bias.
Um, so what? Are you just afraid we might not win? That's always a possibility, even if the cards look stacked in our favor, instead of against us. The very process of creating a new political movement unites people from different factions, and also brings into the fold people who weren't politically active before—contributing ideas, money, and unseen possibilities. It helps to educate everyone in the principles of government, and could bring about a general American renaissance—which we need.
What's the alternative? Wait for a better century? A different country? Let's take this one, it's got a lot going for it. God doesn't demand that we be successful every time—just faithful every time. Good will come of it in any case. (And who knows? It might work.)
The other problem is that the media has now developed an Immune Response to nip any future budding Reagans in the bud.
Used very effectively on Sarah Palin for example.