A Numbskull By Any Other Name...

...is still a numbskull.

A famous Indiana Republican, whom I shall not name due to the fact that I can't think of a better name for him than 'numbskull,' has stated that the GOP needs to 'get over' Reagan.

What a complete imbecile.

Reagan is responsible for launching the conservative revolution in this country which probably saved the Republic from tyranny from within and Communism from without. And by the sheer force of his personality and the success of his policies we enjoyed conservative majorities in the U.S. Congress for over 20 years.

But numbskulls within the GOP hate the Reagan legacy, and the sooner they can get people to 'get over it' the quicker they can continue to push the country toward the failed policies of 'moderate' Rockefeller and Jerry Ford-style Republicans who colluded with Democrats in bringing the nation to the brink of ruin.

I remember well the days before Reagan in the GOP. Failure was their legacy. They could never manage to get enough Republicans elected to stop the overwhelming Democratic majorities in Congress, which means the Democrats were veto-proof. And they had trouble electing (and keeping) Presidents, i.e. Nixon and Ford.

Reagan proved that the conservative message, when delivered by effective communicators, is a winning message. When Reagan won in 1980 he swept TEN conservative GOP Senators into office with him.

Why do some within the GOP hate such success?

The answer is not far to find. They HATE the message behind the success.

And if the imbecilic 'gentleman' from Indiana is so loathe to remember and revere the Reagan message, then perhaps he should join the other Party where he'll find plenty of friendly company.

GOP, Bush to Blame for Splintered Reagan Coalition

The GOP has successfully splintered the Reagan Coalition by embracing candidates who in no way represent Reagan conservatism. Make no mistake, the Coalition is still there; it's just that there is no candidate who embraces ALL of its precepts.

To a great degree the blame for this deplorable turn of events can be laid directly at the feet of George W. Bush, who claimed the principles of Reagan conservatism but who governed as a neo-con who made some terribly awful decisions.

Thus, we blundered through the first few years in Iraq until General Petraeus took the helm. The BAFTE has continued its assault on gun owners and gun retailers unabated. Judges have been appointed to the bench who have run slipshod over the rights of property owners in favor of a highly skewed and lopsided view of 'eminent domain.'

And then, let's not forget Bush's most despicable transgression of all--his absolute, stubborn refusal to do anything at all about illegal aliens, protecting the border, and removing incentives for illegals to come here in the first place.

In many ways he has been worse than Bill Clinton on this issue, and that is saying a mouthful.

The ONLY two vestiges from the Reagan era that Bush has kept intact are the support for the pro-life position and the view that tax cuts are good for the American people and the economy.

This has opened the door for those candidates who are even further to the Left than Bush, such as Guiliani, McCain, Romney, Huckabee.

Even Ron Paul fails the Reagan Coalition test due to his dangerous, and frankly, frightening views on U.S. foreign policy, terrorism, and the War in Iraq.

Thus, here we are stuck with a bunch of charlatans who only give lip service to the Reagan legacy. Only Fred Thompson could truthfully lay claim to the Reagan mantle.

But the GOP and their major contributors apparently have decided they had rather have 'moderate' Republicans who all now claim to be conservative, rather than a true, conservative heavy-weight who had delineated in great detail his views on the issues, including those the others will not dare touch.

The fact that the GOP is now poised to give its approval to a big-government neo-con (this is all that's left of the viable candidates), while rejecting Fred Thompson, is almost unforgivable.

And for this we can point to the failure of President George W. Bush to keep the Reagan Coalition together, moving in the same direction.

Part of the Reagan Legacy--A Piece of the Wall

Washington, DC (TLS). For millions of Americans born after the last world war, and yet old enough to remember much of the 2nd half of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan is THE quintessential American President by whom all others are judged.

As for me, NO ONE has even come close to Reagan's greatness.

But then, I am not exactly totally unbiased in this assessment. I began working for Reagan's ascendancy to the White House in the early 1970s--when most people still knew him only as the former Governor of California and a former Hollywood actor.

I joined Young Americans for Freedom, an organization that William F. Buckley founded at least a decade earlier, but by the time I came around the organization had two distinct purposes: one, to promote conservative values among America's college students, and two, to elect Ronald Wilson Reagan to the White House.

I have written at length in past posts concerning Reagan. Yet I never cease to be amazed and dazzled by the manner in which his legacy continues to live on.

The Reagan Library has an artifact that is a lasting legacy to the Reagan Presidency. It is a piece of the Berlin Wall. I still remember to this day my eyes filling up with tears as Reagan stood at that Wall--a symbol of oppression, murder, Communism, anti-freedom--and demanding, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!'

Cap'n Bob and the Damsel have written a moving testimonial of a trip they made to the Reagan Library and seeing that piece of the Wall, which by the way, DID, indeed, come down.

Be sure to click on the link and read it. You will find a picture of that piece of the Wall, and you will also find the full text of Reagan's history-making speech at the Berlin Wall.

Read all about it here:
http://capnbob.us/blog/2007/06/12/a-piece-of-the-wall/