Article says that Reagan was a proponent of granting amnesty to illegal aliens.
The Reagan coillition hasn’t done squat of late. Time to burn the muffer down.
They talk like the Reagan coalition survived past Reagan.
Best article of the summer. This guy gets it.
Located in the Reagan coalition and silent majority have been populists who are not ideologically consistent, and apparently see no need to be logically consistent.
They are often low information and emotional while the ideological are intellectual.
The media and ideological candidates have focused on ideological issues and ignored the fact that most people do not vote based on ideology.
Most people vote based on:
who is their friend and seems friendly.
who is the enemy of my enemy.
who is the alpha male.
Not really.
Cruz is the only real conservative running.
Trump may not be philosophically conservative but he is philosophically American. That’s more than can be said of The Cheap Labor Express candidates
¡Yeb!
Grahamnesty
La Raza Rick Perry
Kasich
Huckster
Pataki
NJFatBoy
Gilmore
Fiorina
Trump is a throwback to the good old days when America controlled the process and called the shots. We can, and should, get there again.
What Reagan coalition?
If Trump is nominated he won’t be nominated as a conservative (because he isn’t) but out of desperation for someone who can fight. Cruz is the only candidate close to Reagan but he isn’t polling well. It seems many prefer the mouth over the brain
The American people are so fed up they are willing to go with the guy who looks like he's going to fight — They haven't looked into policy just who has the most fire in the belly
I’m not a herding animal and can’t be bothered with the alpha male.
Where exactly is this rare “Reaganism” in the house and senate?
We have not seen Reaganism, since Reagan.
Reagan was Reagan, Trump is Trump. I would be very, very happy with a President Trump who did 3-4 of the main things he said he would do---seal the border, build up the military, smash ISIS, demand fairer trade deals with our trading partners. (I'm a free trade guy, but it is not free trade if your "partner" won't let your products on shelves).
Freddoso did a final edit of my book, "A Patriot's History of the United States." He's a bright guy, but a total Trump hater, as are most of the "Conservatives" at NRO and on Twitter.
Like Steyn said, they constantly bash certain guys (like Trump) for not being "conservative enough," yet the guys that they say we need to follow-McConnell and Boehner and Bush---are the ultimate of NON-conservatism. Enough with the purity tests. Let's get someone in who actually achieves some things---in this case, things I happen to agree with.
Reagan coalition=Tea Party
Burn, baby burn.
Burn that mother down.
# Under Reagan the debt increased by 187% or 2.87 times.
# Under Bush I the debt increased by 56% or 1.56 times
# Under Bush-43 the debt increased by 86% or 1.86 times
# The last 3 Republican presidents (Reagan and the two Bushes) increased the national debt by 2.87 * 1.56 * 1.86 = 8.3 times
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np
Will Trump do any worse? I have my doubts. Balancing budgets is burned in the brain cells of a successful businessman.
Going forward it's an important question? How can that be when the question is based on a false premise?
Reagan was a PRINCIPLED Conservative. That is indisputable.
Donald Trump is not.
That's not a slam or insult towards Trump, it's just a statement of fact.
Now, is Trump appealing to the same voting block that Reagan used to? YES. Why is that? Easy: After nearly 7 years of Obama tearing this country apart at its seams, American's are desperate for someone to come along and tell us that we can be great again. In that respect, it's 1979-1980 all over again.
Trump is the ONLY CANDIDATE voicing that. He's also the only candidate giving voice to the things that are frankly pissing American's off.
That doesn't make Trump into Reagan or even a Conservative.
It does make Trump a very smart campaigner who understands how to brand his message and make it resonate. That's exactly what Trump's doing. Just look at how he says things today vs. 30 days ago. He's refining himself.
Whoa...hold on. WHAT Reagan coalition???
That coaltion was formed by the times we had just lived through, by Reagan the man and his vision, his love of freedom and in reaction to Carter. It lasted from the first election of Reagan and probably helped elect George, the First. The election of Clinton was the end of it and it’s never returned.
Further, Freddoso implies many/most/some of Trump’s support is coming from white supremacists and anti-Semitism. He treats the current immigration mess rather casually and I for one, resent the hell out of both ideas. We are not against LEGAL immigrants coming to America to become Americans. At least I’m not. I dont know anyone who is. And then he tells us people like me...are virulently anti-free trade and anti-Semitic. What bs. Complete bs.
I’m not even a Trump supporter and this piece just infuriates me.
I used to think Freddoso was a very bright fellow. Not so sure.