I was looking over the RNC autopsy from 2012-2013. What a difference four years makes. Republicans were all but written-off after what seemed like a winnable race for Mitt Romney. Then came 2014 and the GOP wipe-out all over the country and in the US Senate particularly.
The RNC "autopsy" actually–foolishly–concluded that caving on immigration and pandering to minorities would make the difference. They even thought that moving left on cultural issues like "gay marriage" would give the Republican Party an aura of "inclusiveness."
What about the Democratic Party? Have they demonstrated any capacity to welcome differences of opinion? Do they even care about the fundamental values of our Judeo-Christian culture?
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| Ronald Reagan, Official Portrait |
Still, was there anything of note worth considering in the RNC report?
One of the most accurate and effective ideas related to the near-fanatical obsession of presidential candidate with President Ronald Reagan. Of course, there is a lot to like about The Gipper, which the Republican phalanx of activists should work hard to reflect:
- He was an outsider
- He connected well with everyday people.
- He cared about their everyday concerns
- He was not afraid to fight
- He showed strength
- He possessed moral acumen, and was not afraid to call evil what it was.
- He was a great communicator
We do not need another Ronald Reagan, as much was we need to seek out candidates who possess those qualities listed above.
But Reagan is dead, and the conservative phalanx in this country needs to do more than just look to the past and say Ronald Reagan 1,000 times. I still remember one of the most contentious debates in 2011, when every candidate on the podium announced that they followed Ronald Reagan's advice and tried to find some kind of hagiographic connection with the former President: "I shook his hand?" or "He wrote me a letter!" or "I appeared in a photo with him once."
It's time to move on, people!
Now we have Donald Trump. Donald Trump racked up those characteristics and so much more.
He is very much an outsider. He was not a politician in any traditional or recorded sense. Oprah Winfrey asked him if he was thinking about running for President … in 1988. He toyed with the idea for the 2000 election, but did not run. After all, he was a Reform Party candidate at the time.
He connects will with everyday people. I saw videos of Donald Trump talking with employees in his hotels He put himself in their shoes and did their work, He was really impressed with how hard they worked. The employees were shocked and moved out how much he cared about their daily tasks.
He didn't hide nor apologize for his wealth, either. He did respect the work of laborers and tradesmen, though. That's important.
Reagan treaded more softly on immigration, which had not broadened into the serious issue which it has become today. He signed off on amnesty in 1986. Trump promised to build the wall which never came up when at the end of the Reagan Administration. Reagan slowed the growth of government, but Trump is already taking a battle ax to spending and bureaucracy.
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| President Trump (Avatar) |
Reagan cut taxes, but did nothing about the massive spending and debt. Trump and his Republican Congress will have no choice this time. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are overburdened. There are more retirees than workers, and the Baby Boomers are getting older but living longer.
While Reagan fought against international communism, Trump must face Islamic Terrorism, in which the rogue fatalists kill themselves in order to destroy as many of their opponents as possible. They have no moral equivalence or self-imposed set of limitations.
Trump has already rescinded the ban on taxpayer dollars for international abortions. He has signed off on the construction of the Dakota and Keystone pipelines. He has negotiated personally with corporations and large firms. He is restoring American prestige after two failed terms from a confirmed anti-American liberal fascist.
Ronald Reagan had to clean up the mess after only one term of the Peanut Farmer from Georgia.
Trump has a coalition of conservative agenda items to advance, and has done more in one week than Obama did in eight years. Trump has undone more of Obama's petty legacy than Reagan did of Carter's failed one term in one week, too.
