I was just a wink in my daddy’s eye in 1980.
On this day 30 years ago, I was a 13 months old, Ronald Reagan was reelected in one of the great landslides, I’m sure it was called very early, shortly after 8 eastern perhaps, he lost only DC, and by a scant margin, the home state of his foe, he’d have carried it if he tried.
But oh what a lonely landslide the 2nd one was was, we lost 2 net in the Senate (with Al Gore easily taking Baker’s open seat) and in the House, though I’m told Reagan carried 370(!) Congressional districts, only 181 of them elected Republicans (less than half!!! and 1 Republican was elected in a Mondale district, Bill Green in Manhattan).
We could end up with as many as 250 House seats this January, Ronnie wasn’t old enough to vote the last time there were more (270 elected in 1928). Gotta think he’s smiling somewhere.
I was 10 watching the ‘84 returns (probably on NBC), rooting for Fritz and Titz. I was so convinced (thanks to my biased Commie Granny, the media and the like) that Mondale was gonna romp. When he lost in a landslide, that was like a well-deserved slap across the face. Although my conversion wouldn’t occur for 2 more years, it did begin to cause me to reassess reality, something for which the left refuses to do. Of course, my excuse was that I was a child. Any grown-up that subscribes to that mindset has no excuse.
I remember being woken up by the ranting of my useless as*hole of a father trying to argue with both my mother and the TV that Carter won. It was probably 6:30-ish AM; don’t think he was bombed yet. Must have been hungover.
But it was a great day, even for a little kid.
I hope I have to piss the next time I go to the cemetery...
I helped re-elect him. My second Presidential election.
Reagan was also my FIRST Presidential election, and I am honored and privileged to have been able to be a part of electing the American Man who set the bar for what a President SHOULD be.
And this past Tuesday was a giant American middle finger to the current _resident... who most assuredly is NOT anything comparable.
As for “smiling somewhere”... he’ll smile IF McConnell and Boehner show a set of testicles. Because Ronaldus Magnus, were he here, would tell them both: either Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell out of the way.
If they can’t or are too afraid to get it done, then we need Ted Cruz as Senate Majority Leader, and Trey Gowdy as House Speaker.