If we are
going to compare President Reagan to modern conservatives then let's at least
try to do it correctly and honestly.
Today I saw yet
another writer claim that Ronald Reagan would be considered a Republican in
name only (RINO) by today's conservatives. And I don't just see Democrats using
that comment to bash modern conservatives and "prove" how far to the
right we've moved but also "establishment" Republicans. Worse than
comparing apples and oranges though, it is literally comparing fruits and
vegetables.
In 1980
Ronald Reagan campaigned on amnesty for illegal aliens, something that gives
modern conservatives conniption fits. But here's the thing; amnesty, to my
knowledge, had not been tried before 1980 and there were far fewer illegal
aliens in the country. Additionally, Reagan wanted strong border controls in
conjunction with amnesty.
Now,
however, amnesty has been tried and is not only a proven failure but actually
exacerbated the problem; conservatives were lied to about border security by
the political establishment; there are far more illegal aliens in our country
including drug gangs and other criminals and the world is a far more dangerous
place than 1980 with modern terrorism. So, there are legitimate reasons we
conservatives have "evolved" on the issue of amnesty and I personally
believe President Reagan would have evolved as well.
So, what
else has changed since the days of Reagan? Democrats have changed - they have
become far more extremist, radical, openly socialist and anti-American and, as
I always say, Newton's third law of motion is my first law of politics; for
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Remember,
Reagan was not politically static, having once been a rabid anti-Republican
Democrat who aggressively campaigned for Harry Truman. So I believe he too
would have moved even further right in response to the extreme leftward shift
of modern Democrats. That's what made him become Republican in the first place!
President
Reagan was able to "reach across the political aisle" and compromise
in a bipartisan manner, settling for 80% of what he wanted because Democrats
were not as dangerously radical in his day. So while we are comparing Reagan to
modern conservatives let's not forget to compare Democrat Speaker of the House Tip
O'Neill or Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan with modern Democrat
leaders such as Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
Can you
imagine Ronald Reagan reaching across the political divide to work with a
Democrat hell-bent on "fundamentally transforming" America from a
capitalist nation with a healthy respect for individual liberty and unalienable
rights to a more socialist - collectivist - nation where the citizens just sit
down, shut up and do what we're told by Washington? I can't.
Let us also
remember something else; as Reagan was reaching across the aisle and working
with Democrats in a bipartisan manner, there were at least 8 government
shutdowns during his administration. That's right, let's correctly remember the
past and the Reagan Administration. So let's compare with clear eyes when
modern conservatives bash Mitch McConnell and John Boehner for not effectively
fighting against Obama's fundamental transformation and literally disarming
Congress.
I never
heard him say it, but I believe Reagan knew America arrived where she was in
1980 through incremental "change" pushed by Democrats and it was only
through incremental "change" that she would get back on solid constitutional
footing. I believe he thought we had more time to return to our roots and that
his incremental change back to our constitutional principles and philosophies
would survive after he left office and that future politicians, and the people,
would actually expound on what he started. But, they didn't - we didn't - and
things have become exponentially more perilous.
Modern
conservatives know we no longer have the same luxury of time Reagan had - the
hour is late for American freedom and liberty. Modern Democrats, our
opposition, are not the Democrats of our fathers and the situation is far more
dangerous now than in Reagan's day. What worked in WW I did not work in WW II
and what worked politically in the 1980s will not work now.
If you are
going to compare Ronald Reagan with modern conservatives then let's do it
honestly and correctly.
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