Posted on 08/07/2015 6:48:28 PM PDT by TangibleDisgust
Taken together, in his two races as the GOP nominee Reagan won a total of 1014 electoral votes to 62 for the two Democrats Carter and Mondale.
What does this say about the state of the GOP as all these presidential candidates take the debate stage tonight in Cleveland?
Among other things, it says that the party of “bold colors” that a triumphant Reagan left in the hands of the GOP Establishment has been, if you will, Bushized. Remade from the winning party of Reagan into a moderate GOP/Establishment-run party of what Reagan disdained as “pale pastels.” Perpetually timid, endlessly bungling of presidential elections, the 2012 version producing a so-called “autopsy” report that called for even more of what makes the party of GOP moderates a record-setting loser. At the congressional level its leadership campaigns in the style of Reagan’s bold colors — yet once elected governs in the style of Bush-style caution, all too willing to find an excuse not to confront its opposition on issues until the mythical “next time” — a myth because in fact the “next time” never arrives.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Compassionate conservatism was/is just an increase in the speed limit along the road to socialism.
Reagan would recoil in disgust at Trump’s support of Single-Payer Healthcare.
That would be enough for him to completely walk away from Trump.
Trump is no Reagan for sure, but... he’s no wilting flower either.
to the extent that he refuses to “go along to get along”, then he’s a breath of fresh air in this election cycle. i wouldn’t want to see him as the nominee, but we do need to break the hold the “Bushies” have on the GOP machinery. the past 25 years have been tough ones to live through as a conservative. ever since GHWBush reneged on his “no new taxes” pledge, the GOP has been circling the drain.
But in his bestselling book, Art of the Deal, published at the conclusion of the Reagan presidency, Trump cited Reagan as an example of someone who could “con people” but couldn’t “deliver the goods.” Trump said Reagan was “so smooth” that he “won over the American people.” But at the conclusion of his presidency, “people are beginning to question whether there is anything beneath that smile,” Trump wrote
Another great article by Jeffery Lord. As usual, he’s spot on. Thanks for posting.
The Bushes have been an absolute disaster. I once posted on FR that G. W. Bush’s presidency was a failure (even with the White House and both houses of Congress, he was a bigger spender than Clinton, etc.) and some Bush fan girl tried to lambast me. The Republican party now stands for nothing.
Trump’s value is during the primaries. he has enough money of his own to control his own fate. i do not want him to be the nominee... but i do want him to force the wimps in the GOP to actually take a stand on something during the primaries. i would like to see Fiorina, Walker, Cruz, Carson, etc. overcome the JEB/Hillary wing of the party and to do that, we need Trump to continue harassing JEB.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.