Thanks, Al. I maintain that we had the White House for 8 years from 1981-89. Reagan, controlling only one hous of Congress, slashed it from 70 to 28% (and revenues poured in from the economic boom). After that it was 20 years of Bush Clinton. Bush 41 hiked taxes from 28 to 31%. Clinton raised them to 39.6%. Bush 43 gave back one half of the Clinton tax hike, cutting the rate to 35%, BUT ONLY TEMPORARILY (Bush 43 had control of both houses of Congress for most of his Presidency).
The Bushes (and their allies) were embarassed by Reagan as they are by Palin. They made a complete hash out of things and instead of just going away, they want to give us advice.
Palin needs to sweep them out, for good. This time choose a movement conservative, one who is reliable. No more Bushes, Romneys, Doles, etc. It has taken nearly 30 years to get over the foisting of GHW Bush onto Ronald Reagan. I am sure the Gipper would advise her, “Don’t let them sell you a bill of goods for VP this time.”
So far, Michelle Bachmann looks to me to be the only absolutely foolproof choice. There could be others, but I am leery of Pence, Ryan, Demint and most of the ones who are prominently mentioned.
Jeb Bush revealed that recently not only by his comments about the Reagan era being "over", but also in an interview he conducted with Craig Shirley for his book.
Shirley recounts that Jeb told the story of he and Reagan being at a campaign rally in North Dakota in 1980 where 8,000 rabid Reagan fans turned out to hear the Gipper. When it was Jeb's turn to talk about his father the place cleared out, leaving only about 200 to hear Bush.
The Bush family clearly has a long memory about stuff like this and what's going on with Palin and her crowds right now has got to sting.
I agree on the advice from Reagan if he were alive today. If she were to run and be nominated, the pressure from the establishment would be enormous. It would be fascinating to see what she would do. I love Bachmann, but I'm not sure two women on the ticket would be politically wise. I'd like to see someone with a strong military background. We shall see. Like you, I trust none of the other usual suspects mentioned.
The challenge to swing this party back towards the Reagan principles is a truly daunting one. Sarah Palin is the only one with a chance to pull it off.