Daniel Politi wrote:Former Senate majority leader Bob Dole doesn’t think he could make it in today’s Republican Party. And he doesn’t think he would be the only party icon who would have that problem. Republicans have changed so much over the past decade that even former president Ronald Reagan would no longer be welcome at the party. “I doubt it,” said Dole when Fox News’ Chris Wallace asked him whether “your generation as Eisenhower Republicans, moderate Republicans” could “make it in today’s Republican Party.” In fact, said Dole, “Reagan couldn’t have made it. Certainly Nixon couldn’t have made it, because he had ideas. We might have made it, but I doubt it,” reports the Hill.
Dole called on Republicans need to sit down and think carefully about the direction the party is heading, saying GOP leaders need to think of a broader plan to recover from the 2012 electoral losses. “I think they ought to put a sign on the national committee doors that says ‘Closed for repairs’ until New Year’s Day next year. Spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas,” Dole said.
Despite his harsh words, the 1996 Republican nominee for president doesn’t just blame members of his own party for the gridlock in Washington, saying that President Obama has failed to reach across the aisle, notes CNN. “I think that the president, he lacks communication skills with his own party, let alone the Republican Party,” Dole said. “I think one mistake he’s made was not getting together more with Congress early on in his first administration.”
"The great problem of any civilization is how to rejuvenate itself without rebarbarization." - Will Durant "We've kept more promises than we've even made" - Donald Trump "Of what meaning is the world without mind? The question cannot exist." - Edwin Land
MeDotOrg wrote: Despite his harsh words, the 1996 Republican nominee for president doesn’t just blame members of his own party for the gridlock in Washington,
Fantastic, brazen disingenuity (and what is called "left-wing media bias). "Gridlock" is precisely what the Founders foresaw as a major aspect of the functioning of the federal government, in a host of circumstances. Its only the Left that wants a vast, highly centralized, "active" government that spend most of its time making laws rather than governing.
The idea that there has been anything approaching "gridlock" over the past four years of essentially one-party rule shows utter disrespect for the intelligence of the author's readers.
Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father [in Heaven] and how familiar his face is to us
- President Ezra Taft Benson
I am so old that I can remember when most of the people promoting race hate were white.
I agree. The GOP is too Left wing now. For example, a Reagan administration would not have got together on the side like the Obama Administration did and pushed Common Core around the various laws that prevent centralized control of the state's public school curriculum. Many in the GOP were on board with that and it shows they, like the Democrats, don't understand what conservatism is or good for us.
Droopy wrote:Fantastic, brazen disingenuity (and what is called "left-wing media bias). "Gridlock is precisely what the Founders foresaw as a major aspect of the functioning of the federal government, in a host of circumstances. Its only the Left that wants a vast, highly centralized, "active" government that spend most of its time making laws rather than governing.
The idea that there has been anything approaching "gridlock" over the past four years of essentially one-party rule shows utter disrespect for the intelligence of the author's readers.
On the one hand you say "Gridlock is precisely what the Founders foresaw as a major aspect of the functioning of the federal government, in a host of circumstances".
But in the very next paragraph you say: "The idea that there has been anything approaching "gridlock" over the past four years of essentially one-party rule shows utter disrespect for the intelligence of the author's readers."
So gridlock is major aspect of a functioning government, but to suggest that it is occurring is to disrespect the readers. Could you please elaborate?
"The great problem of any civilization is how to rejuvenate itself without rebarbarization." - Will Durant "We've kept more promises than we've even made" - Donald Trump "Of what meaning is the world without mind? The question cannot exist." - Edwin Land
MeDotOrg wrote: On the one hand you say "Gridlock is precisely what the Founders foresaw as a major aspect of the functioning of the federal government, in a host of circumstances".
But in the very next paragraph you say: "The idea that there has been anything approaching "gridlock" over the past four years of essentially one-party rule shows utter disrespect for the intelligence of the author's readers."
So gridlock is major aspect of a functioning government, but to suggest that it is occurring is to disrespect the readers. Could you please elaborate?
Are you a masochist?
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.
MeDotOrg wrote: On the one hand you say "Gridlock is precisely what the Founders foresaw as a major aspect of the functioning of the federal government, in a host of circumstances".
But in the very next paragraph you say: "The idea that there has been anything approaching "gridlock" over the past four years of essentially one-party rule shows utter disrespect for the intelligence of the author's readers."
So gridlock is major aspect of a functioning government, but to suggest that it is occurring is to disrespect the readers. Could you please elaborate?
Are you a masochist?
It’s relatively easy to agree that only Homo sapiens can speak about things that don’t really exist, and believe six impossible things before breakfast. You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
The GOP is too Left wing now. For example, a Reagan administration would not have got together on the side like the Obama Administration did and pushed Common Core around the various laws that prevent centralized control of the state's public school curriculum.
We don't know this. There is no telling how Reagan would have responded to our modern-day hijacking of the education system by the anti-science loons on the far right.
But we do know Reagan was an avid supporter of unions. He also believed corporations should pay their fair share in taxes. He also believed the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes then than they do now. Reagan was more a Socialist than Obama could ever hope to be.
Ronald Reagan remains the modern Republican Party’s most durable hero. His memory will be hailed as The Great Uncompromiser by those who insist the GOP must never flag in its support for smaller government, lower taxes and conservative social values.
His record tells a different story.
During Reagan’s eight years in the White House, the federal payroll grew by more than 300,000 workers. Although he was a net tax cutter who slashed individual income-tax rates, Reagan raised taxes about a dozen times.
I honestly don't think you can judge how a politician would be in today's environment based on how they acted in a previous age. While Ronald Reagan wasn't a particularly smart man, he had great political instincts, which would have allowed him to adapt to the current climate.
If he were still in the GOP today, I'm sure he could play up to the tea-folk as well as anyone is doing now, and look better doing it. His biggest asset was a load of avuncular charm, which would give him success today as well. He had good looks like Romney, with an infinitely more likable personality.
The real question to me is whether he would choose to be a Republican today. I kind of doubt it.
"The DNA of fictional populations appears to be the most susceptible to extinction." - Simon Southerton
The interesting thing about Reagan is he actually trusted people. For example, he allowed some taxes to be raised assuming the Democrats in Congress would keep their promise to cut spending. Of course that didn't happen and so we're now looking for the Democrats to keep their 30 year-old promises to cut spending. Until they do, no taxes should be raised.
