Posted on 06/19/2004 9:10:33 PM PDT by ETERNAL WARMING
Saturday, June 19, 2004 6:08 p.m. EDT Ron Jr.: Nancy Won't Address GOP Convention -- Unless Bush Caves
Former first son Ronald Reagan, Jr., said Friday that former first lady Nancy Reagan would consider addressing the GOP convention this September if President Bush drops his opposition to stem cell research.
Asked if his mother would consider such a deal, Reagan told NBC "Dateline" host Chris Matthews:
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"If [President Bush] said, 'OK, I'm going to change my mind now. I've seen the light, you know, Nancy has - has shown me the light and I'm going to change my mind on - on stem-cell research, and would you please come to the convention and address it,' under those circumstances she might." Reagan, Jr. acknowledged the possibility of a stem cell-convention speech deal after saying initially that he didn't want to speculate on the prospect.
He also claimed that the former first lady was prepared to confront Bush over stem cell research if "that's what it took."
"If that's what it took, yeah, sure," he told Matthews. "She's doing what she thinks is right, and she doesn't care who's standing in her way."
The Reagan son blasted Bush as well on the Iraq war, saying he thought the president "had used religion to make his case for a lot of things . . . including Iraq."
Without citing any evidence, the presidential son also complained that Bush was trading on his father's legacy to justify the war, telling Matthews, "This is their administration; this is their war. If they can't stand on their on two feet, well, they're no Ronald Reagans, that's for sure."
Though Ron Jr. has seemed to laud his father's legacy since his death two weeks ago, the presidential son used to feel differently. During his father's presidency he made clear he opposed many of his administration's major policies.
"He's never been in lockstep with his father or his father's legacy," presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg last Sunday. Likewise, he's never been much of a fan of President Bush.
"What's his accomplishment?," Ron Jr. asked about George Bush during a stint as a political commentator during the 2000 campaign. "That he's no longer an obnoxious drunk?"
Ron, Jr. is a shameless individual. He has none of the class that was in his father. As for Nancy, she should know better.
we don't want Nancy there. we don't need to turn Reagan's death into our own Wellstone funeral event at the convention. the funeral and the events for Reagan went very well, something that was well deserved for him. Let him rest in peace now.
Well, Ron, not everyone can be ballerinas or dog show hosts.
The utter arrogance of Ron Junior, in thinking that George W. Bush would think that the marginal gain from a speech by Mrs. Reagan would outweigh Bush betraying his own promises.
Ron Jr. is a loose cannon speaking for himself, while Nancy is grieving her loss. I expect Michael Reagan to tear his brother a new one on Monday.
Ron, Jr. finally getting the attention he never got from his Father. It's really very sad.
Nancy Reagan informed the RNC early in the year that she would not be available for the Convention.
And Bush does not need Nancy Reagan to have a successful convention, or to be elected.
Look, Tinkerbell---don't bet your tutu on Dubya abandoning his principles!
You're only on these lib shows because of who your father was. Matthews and all the others have you on so that you can put down the Pres. and republicans. That is your claim to fame. Creep!
There. I feel better now.
Bingo!
Will Lady Bird Johnson be addressing the Democrat National Convention?
I think a lot of people would have been willing to cut him a lot of slack as a grieving son. But now that he's using the attention and sympathy he got from a nation to bash the president and push political positions that his father never held, that good will is now gone.
That is Ron's real beef with W, and his father: their faith. He is seething with hatred and resentment.
Literally, or figuratively. He's a prick.
I was hoping for some class and dignity from Junior. I was disappointed. I don't care who it is, using someone's funeral, especially a loved one's, as a soapbox is ghoulish and reprehensible.
...Ronald Reagan Jr. A good reason for a law against nepotism...
Nancy Reagan would add nothing to the convention. Only
a fraction of it will be covered by the networks, and
we need every minute of that time to be used effectively.
Bush should take her "no" for an answer.
An appeal for stem-cell research from a rich socialite
who cannot see beyond her own experience (and the prestige
of science) should be given no more weight than the same
comments from Daschle, Kennedy, Specter, et al. Just because she was heroic in one dimension of her life doesn't mean she deserves a special voice in the national conversation about this fundamental moral issue. Her only expertise is concerning the terrible last years of Ronald Reagan -- something we're all well aware of.
Ron is a Baby Boom liberal with unresolved parental issues.
He has even less claim to our ear than his mother.
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