At a more simplistic level, we can thank Ann Coulter (I know she is often persona non grata around here these days, but I think it is relevant) for her observation that, in the media, conservatives are painted in one of three ways:1.) Evil (examples: Nixon, Buchanan, Goldwater, Gingrich, and most likely, Cruz)
2.) Stupid (examples: Reagan, Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush)
3.) Evil and Stupid (Examples: George W. Bush, McCarthy, and most likely Trump)
Full disclosure: I voted for Perot in 1992, but if you look at my Freeper Page, you will probably see the main reason why. As for Perot himself, he may have been a crazy Texas loon, but he loved his country, no denying that. And in retrospect, I do see my vote for him as a mistake, but...like today, the alternatives aren’t great
No excuses required for voting Perot in 1992, no apologies are needed to the GOPe dopes who scapegoated Perot and blamed his voters for giving us Clinton.
The truth is that you and the rest of the 19% were far, far ahead of the curve. You voted country first without blind party loyalty. Perot was prescient with both Social Security and the NAFTA fleecing of America. That 1992 election should be seen as a retroactive IQ test today, those that still fail it, even knowing the correct answer, are doomed to continuing election defeats not to mention the death of America itself. I regret voting for Bush41 both times, and 1992 is one my biggest regrets to date.
1988 was the last best chance to easily destroy the GOPe from within because after being previously contained, they had only been asserting themselves during Reagan's 2nd term ( and pretty much controlled it by the end IMHO ) and discarding Bush right then and there would have been a strategic victory of epic proportions. Unfortunately his main opponents that I can easily recall were Pat Robertson, Pete Du Pont, Al Haig ( and after looking it up add Kemp, Dole, Laxalt, Rumsfeld, Strassen ). Thanks largely to the the media belittling them, Bush emerged as the adult in the room. Frankly I would have preferred any one of the others in hindsight. Now for my part, I guess it was loyalty to President Reagan who halfheartedly was supporting his sitting Vice-President that season.
1992 was epic because Perot, without really using the words "sell-outs" or "globalists" or "traitors" shined a spotlight on the uniparty and their plans to fleece America and pick our bones clean. This election was as perfectly predictable as 1976 with a bureaucratic GOPe figure against a quasi-conservative southerner. Add a populist pro-American patriot peeling off the sane voters, like yourself, the (D)ummycrat emerges victorious, but the uniparty would have won either way as it happens.
I sometimes try to remember what got me to pull that lever a second time for Bush. The only things that really come to mind was the apparent brilliantly executed Gulf War, and a reflexive defense of him through the "read my lips, no new taxes" broken pledge saga where he was betrayed by the majority Congressional (D)ummycrats who promised a united front for the agreement and then promptly used it to beat him senseless in the campaign.
Another dynamic that had me still respecting Bush41 that season was the Clarence Thomas episode when against all odds Bush stayed behind him against a merciless onslaught, unlike the previous Bork disaster when Reagan's helpful cabal of GOPers like Howard Baker got him to abandon him.
Then there was Bush's attempt at an "October Surprise" when video footage surfaced of Bush being fished out of the Pacific after being shot down by Jap Zeros and the pretty amazing details of that mission reminded us that at least at one point, he was not an incompetent boob. For some reason Bush's war heroics trumped the parallel stories of Perot's strong support of Vietnam POW's and vets, and pretty heroic financing of the rescue of his employees held by Iranian crazies.
One eternal mystery is the glaringly obvious difference in the 1988 and 1992 candidate Bush. The first time around *he* was on the attack, ruthlessly attacking the "liberal" Dukakis and painting him as a McGovern style (D)ummy who would release felons from prison to rape and pillage and ensure the destruction of America. During the 2nd campaign this Bush was nowhere to be found! He never uttered the word "liberal" nor attempted to paint Clinton as dangerous to our health and instead played defense rather than offense, and was routinely humiliated by the press and enemy (D)ummycrats. He apparently wasn't trying to win and this is evidence of the coalescing uniparty.
There were so many other things at play in 1992. Clinton sex scandals and sleaziness and lying ( caught on audio tape with Gennifer Flowers badmouthing our liberal leftist scum Governor Mario Cuomo as a mafioso ), Bush41 looking like a punching bag with the hapless Dan Quayle not helping things, Perot's not-so-conspiracy theories about GOPe operatives attacking him, it's no wonder that many of us left our common sense at the door. The most clairvoyant thing of all time must be Perot predicting the forthcoming giant sucking sound of jobs and money exiting the USA from NAFTA and related anti-American treaties and legislation.
I want a do-over! On second thought, I think we're getting that do-over as we speak ;-)
Still photo from the video of Bush pulled from the Pacific onto the Finback sub after being shot out of the sky.