Posted on 05/15/2012 12:32:50 PM PDT by presidio9
President Obama caused a minor stir last month in a speech at the Associated Press luncheon, when he argued, "Ronald Reagan ... could not get through a Republican primary today."
This sparked some worthwhile discussion, but I've been especially struck by the number of Republicans who agree with the argument.
The Republican Party has drifted so far to the right and become so partisan in recent years that President Ronald Reagan wouldn't even want to be a part of it, former Nebraska GOP senator Chuck Hagel told The Cable.
"Reagan would be stunned by the party today," Hagel said in a long interview in his office at Georgetown University, where he now teaches. He also serves as co-chair of President Barack Obama's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
Reagan wanted to do away with nuclear weapons, raised taxes, made deals with congressional Democrats, sought compromises and consensus to fix problems, and surrounded himself with moderates as well as Republican hard-liners, Hagel noted. None of that is characterized by the current GOP leadership, he said.
Hagel added that there were similar divisions in the early 1950s between Eisenhower Republicans and GOP extremists like Joe McCarthy, but the difference is, in 2012, "the extremists are winning."
Remember, Hagel's voting record in the Senate wasn't exactly Olympia Snowe's -- this guy's a conservative from a reliably-"red" state. And yet, he believes Reagan "wouldn't identify with this party."
A few weeks ago, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) said the same thing. What's more, Mike Huckabee said a year ago, "Ronald Reagan would have a very difficult, if not impossible, time being nominated in this atmosphere of the Republican Party." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had a nearly identical take in 2010, arguing Reagan "would have a hard time getting elected
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(Excerpt) Read more at maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com ...
That's true. Reagan is far too conservative for today's Republican Party. The elite, which foamed at the mouth to defeat him in 1980, would completely ostracize him today.
They'd say Mutt Romney was 'more electable'.
Hagel was never a member of the party of Reagan. A RINO always.
Capitulation is in the air over on the dark side.
is = was.
Though, come to think of it, even deceased Ronaldus Magnus is still more conservative than Romney.
I forget, are there any Republican primaries left where only registered Republicans get to vote?
Palin, like Reagan, “made deals with congressional Democrats, sought compromises and consensus to fix problems, and surrounded himself with moderates as well as Republican hard-liners.” So why is Palin supported and the Republicans quoted in the article not supported by the grassroots of the Republican Party.
The difference is that while both Reagan and Palin were willing to make deals and compromise, they both had core beliefs and goals that they would not compromise.
In other words, compromise for Reagan and Palin is a means to a goal. To the RINOsm compromise is the goal.
Reagan wasn’t sneaky and underhanded enough for the likes of Romney.
Chuck Hagel is a goof, and operated from the Arlen Specter wing of the Capitol. It a tiny wing with locked door and soft, white padding on the walls, for the record. George Voinovich was once seen there as well, accompanied by that pair of Pine Tree State loons.
Reagan wouldn't stand a primary chance in Hell.
JFK could never be nominated by today’s Democratic Party. He was much too fiscally conservative and a strong anti-communist.
About what you can expect from PMSNBC.
The party in Reagan’s time had moderate/liberal backstabbing republicans like Packwood, Specter, Weiker, Heinz, etc. who hated conservatives and their influence. Specter said he wasn’t voting for Bork and all the others hid behind his filthy skirt.
Good riddance to people who believe in liberalism light, who vote for every appropriation increase, tax increase, and debt ceiling increase.
I’m waiting for a companion piece to be written about how extreme today’s Democrats are.
Still waiting.
Still waiting...
I’m old enough to remember a time when a significant percentage of elected Democrats loved America and hated Communism. Nowadays they’re an endangered species. The entire party has shifted so far to the left that the list of candidates endorsed by the Communist Party is pretty much indistinguishable from the list of Democrat candidates.
sour grapes
If it’s decided to create a new party that would phase out the RINO Elitist Party I’d hope it would be the Founders Party. The name says it all.
This was that LAST good US Senator from Nebraska:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._James_Exon
EVERYONE since has been First Class Squishes and RINOs!
You forget that many of the “principled conservatives” here that you mock and claim would not vote for Reagan have already done just that, they prove you ridiculously wrong by having already enthusiastically voting for him twice.
Some of us loved him so much that we went back into the military because of him, or enlisted for the first time.
Romney did not vote for him, he changed his party registration, and did not support Reagan, “principled conservative freepers” did support Reagan, and still do as Romney attacks him and his legacy.
It wasn't Reagan's Party before he was elected President either.
You and I must not have known the same Ronald Reagan.
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