Not Your Daddy’s Republican Party

[Valin]

PJ Media:

Rick Moran

6/15/12

 

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush came in for an avalanche of criticism from conservatives for saying that Ronald Reagan and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, “would have a hard time” getting nominated in today’s Republican Party.

 

Speaking to reporters and editors at Bloomberg News on Monday, Bush said:

 

(Snip)

 

For his trouble, Jeb has now been branded a RINO, having angered that perpetually outraged faction of right wingers whose self-appointed duties include keeping party members on the straight and narrow — and unthinking path — of “true” conservatism. This, despite the fact that many of these same Guardians of the Sacred Chalice of Orthodoxy were begging Jeb to run for president just a few months ago and save them from the scourge of Romneyism.

 

(Snip)

 

 

Guardians of the Sacred Chalice of Orthodoxy.

[Saltbag]

Good luck, Jeb. /wave

 

Glad you're not in Virginia.

[pollyannaish]

I have to say this brings up an interesting question that has been tumbling around in my mind the last few years.

 

Could Ronald Reagan be elected today? And if so, would he be a good present in our current times?

 

I often wonder if this Reagan fixation isn't simply a longing for a different time, with different threats and different social problems. It is a refusal to see the world the way it is now and instead believing it is the same as it was then...but with less capable people. I don't think that is the case. I think it is a completely different world with completely different threats and that changes everything. EVERYTHING.

[Valin]

@pollyannaish

 

I LOVE RR and watching his speeches gives me the whole lump in the throat thing, but That was then, this is now. Could Calvin Coolidge one of my hero's get nominated in 1980?

Remember it's been 25 years since he left the WH so that means if you are under 40 you probably don't remember his presidency. I think to many put their ideas of what a Conservative is on him.

[Saltbag]

I was 14 when Reagan was elected, but I have listened to so many of his speeches in the last years. People just don't talk like Reagan anymore. They might try and emulate him, but they fail because they don't have his sincerity and passion for America. It is a different world, but when you have that passion for America, I think the change in the threats our country faces would be better met with his perspective than under the current administration.

 

In short, I think he would be elected today, and would be the right answer.

 

To your point, Valin, I probably do put my view of Reagan Conservativism largely through reading and media and less through experience. I do put Reagan as my symbol for President.

[pollyannaish]

My perspective reflects elements of both @Saltbag's and @Valin's.

 

It seems to me that what is missing in our candidates today is the passion and love of this country...AND it's people. Our politicians have been chopped into sound bites and in order to win, have to campaign in a way that fragments their messages. They must provide "relevance" to the populace in everything they do. So rather than focusing on the broad themes, they focus on a million little things that mean something to a million little individuals. This will continue to separate us...and I believe we haven't seen anything yet. In a crisis, it pits us one against another, instead of coming together and we are headed for an even bigger crisis.

 

This form of campaigning has been around forever, but the difference is that it was all siloed. You didn't hear about it. The 24/7 news cycle, the plethoria of citizen journalists, the fact we communicate regularly with people all over the world means we hear it all. It makes all politicians seem completely disingenuous. Every ad, every thought, every turn of phrase is user tested and polled and targeted..but every person hears every message. So the decisions are based on the numbers, the analytics. The money and focus changes from bringing us together, to making sure we hear what we want to hear.

 

Obama is a master at this. But I think that Romney's team is actually even better and smarter at this...partially because Romney is not a huge ideologue. Being an ideologue like Obama tends to cause one to not hear the heartfelt beliefs of others. We all tend to bulldoze those who don't agree with us if we feel too stridently about things.

 

In the last election, no one really knew what Obama was about. Months before he was even on the radar, he was out talking in those microissues all over the place. And especially in the swing states. Once he was the nominee, he backed off and began speaking in the broad language that Reagan used. Hope, change, getting along, the greatness of the American people. And like @Valin says about RWR now, people projected what they wanted on to him. Their hopes and dreams. He does not have the luxury of obscurity this time...and those same tactics make him seem extremely unstable. You add that to a record of failure and he is in trouble.

 

 

It is his fault because of his unwillingness to take a Reaganesque (or for that matter even a Clintonian or W) approach to governing and subsequently campaigning. Unwillingness to be everybody's president.

 

So, would Reagan get elected today? It's hard to say. We don't know every little thing he told people in every state. We don't know the personal stuff. We don't know how he would deal with the microanalytics approach to running for office. And we don't know if a message like his would actually get through, or if he would be torn down 24/7 just like the Romney's and the Bushes and the Clinton's and even the Obamas.

 

We need to quit looking for another Reagan and start looking for someone who is uniquely suited to the challenges of today. I actually think Romney may be better than we expect. I think he is more principled and smarter than people think. And he may be more aware of the challenges of today's President's than we might think. He's been very capable so far in effectively doing what it takes to become President. I

 

He may not be the next Reagan...but maybe he will be the first Romney...and not the next Obama.

 

And for that I think we can be grateful. Other than that, we'll have to just trust, but verify.

[Valin]

@pollyannaish

 

My perspective reflects elements of both Saltbag's and Valin's.

 

NO! You must agree with me 100% of the time!!!

We must purge The Party of all unreliable elements! Let the Show Trials Begin!