What if Ronald Reagan’s Presidency Never Really Ended?

[Perknose]

Anti-Trump Republicans revere Ronald Reagan as Trump’s opposite—yet in critical ways Reagan may have been his forerunner.
^^^ New Yorker paywall link to an utterly fascinating (to me) review of a book by a prominent British conservative and former Reagan admirer Max Boot on how Reagan paved the way for T-Rump, and the startling similarities between them.

The article begins:

"For many people, the 2016 election was a catastrophe. For Max Boot, it was a betrayal. He’d been a movement conservative: a loud voice for the Iraq War, an editor of The Weekly Standard, and an adviser to the campaigns of John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Marco Rubio. Boot took heart when Republicans initially closed ranks against Donald Trump’s candidacy. Trump is “a madman who must be stopped,” Bobby Jindal said. “The man is utterly amoral,” Ted Cruz agreed. Rubio called him “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the Presidency.” For Rick Perry, he was “a cancer on conservatism.” Then, one by one, they all endorsed him, and he won.

Trump’s election shook Boot’s world view. Was this what Republicanism was about? Had Boot been deluded the whole time? "

I was a paid, full time political activist during the Reagan years. It was utterly frustrating trying to get people who supported him to see that his policies were hurting them.

 

[HomerJS]

Anti-Trump Republicans revere Ronald Reagan as Trump’s opposite—yet in critical ways Reagan may have been his forerunner.
^^^ New Yorker paywall link to an utterly fascinating (to me) review of a book by a prominent British conservative and former Reagan admirer Max Boot on how Reagan paved the way for T-Rump, and the startling similarities between them.

The article begins:

"For many people, the 2016 election was a catastrophe. For Max Boot, it was a betrayal. He’d been a movement conservative: a loud voice for the Iraq War, an editor of The Weekly Standard, and an adviser to the campaigns of John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Marco Rubio. Boot took heart when Republicans initially closed ranks against Donald Trump’s candidacy. Trump is “a madman who must be stopped,” Bobby Jindal said. “The man is utterly amoral,” Ted Cruz agreed. Rubio called him “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the Presidency.” For Rick Perry, he was “a cancer on conservatism.” Then, one by one, they all endorsed him, and he won.

Trump’s election shook Boot’s world view. Was this what Republicanism was about? Had Boot been deluded the whole time? "

I was a paid, full time political activist during the Reagan years. It was utterly frustrating trying to get people who supported him to see that his policies were hurting them.

Marco Rubio and Ted. Run are equally vile as Trump. They did a complete 180 and as Trump is at his hateful racist worst they just like @ Greenman are all in his camp. At least some Republicans saw the light early and spoke out early

Mitt Romney
Liz Cheney
Cassidy Hutchinson (#1 profile in courage)

The list of Republicans who are now finally speaking out is growing. I hope the o es still praising Trump burn in the ash heap of history

 

[Indus]

Didn't Reagan move the party away from Eisenhower era.. I've heard many people say they are/ were Eisenhower Republicans but are now homeless in the 80's and 90's.

It's interesting how never Trumpers think they can take the GOP back to pre-trump days/ era. IMHO it isn't happening and they should make their peace with it. Atleast they're being welcomed by some dems but it's interesting if they were Republicans before because of strong on crime/ strong on constitution or strong on destroying Roe.

The ones who hated Roe are definitely Trumpers for life now.

 

[KMFJD]

i'm still waiting for the trickle down that politicians have been promising since Saint Reagan(PBUH) was elected

 

[uallas5]

i'm still waiting for the trickle down that politicians have been promising since Saint Reagan(PBUH) was elected

Trickle Down - the Laffer economists way of pissing on people and telling them it's raining.

 

[nickqt]

This isn't Year 4 of Trumpism.

It's Year 40 of the Reagan Revolution.

Ronald Reagan was the pivot that got us to where we are right now.

Me 4 years ago.

 

[trenchfoot]

Anti-Trump Republicans revere Ronald Reagan as Trump’s opposite—yet in critical ways Reagan may have been his forerunner.
^^^ New Yorker paywall link to an utterly fascinating (to me) review of a book by a prominent British conservative and former Reagan admirer Max Boot on how Reagan paved the way for T-Rump, and the startling similarities between them.

The article begins:

"For many people, the 2016 election was a catastrophe. For Max Boot, it was a betrayal. He’d been a movement conservative: a loud voice for the Iraq War, an editor of The Weekly Standard, and an adviser to the campaigns of John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Marco Rubio. Boot took heart when Republicans initially closed ranks against Donald Trump’s candidacy. Trump is “a madman who must be stopped,” Bobby Jindal said. “The man is utterly amoral,” Ted Cruz agreed. Rubio called him “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the Presidency.” For Rick Perry, he was “a cancer on conservatism.” Then, one by one, they all endorsed him, and he won.

Trump’s election shook Boot’s world view. Was this what Republicanism was about? Had Boot been deluded the whole time? "

I was a paid, full time political activist during the Reagan years. It was utterly frustrating trying to get people who supported him to see that his policies were hurting them.

What Trump actually did was expose the true nature of the party's base, recruited millions of others who were kindred closet racists, homophobes, bigots, anarchists, misguided religious freaks, wandering militia looking for a cause, a lot of really really stupid ignorant gullibles and gathered them all up into the bigliest cult tent revival ever and then announced to the world how he was the only one that could bring the true patriots of the nation together like he just accomplished.

That mofo has got some balls, just too bad they're rotten to the core and smells like a skunk road kill.

 

[BoomerD]

What if Hinkley had actually killed Reagan?

 

[soulcougher73]

i'm still waiting for the trickle down that politicians have been promising since Saint Reagan(PBUH) was elected

don’t hold your breath.

 

[Moonbeam]

Conservative thinking and fear go together in that conservatives have more brain mass in the part of their brain that generates the fear response and less mass then liberals in the part of the brain that suppresses fear so that one can analyze rationally without the fear response dominating. This is a sliding scale. The greater presence of danger in an environment the more conservative the thinking becomes and the same happens with alcohol consumption. Liberalism flowered after the WW2 victory and swung back under the nuclear threat.

The bottom line is that conservatives are more fear conscious than liberals and the more fear conscious you can make the public the more likely they are to vote conservative and conservatives, while they have no idea why, are politically aware of this. They win elections by division, and the fear that divisiveness brings. United we stand, divided we fall, but you must unite the conservative way, give them all control.

People who have been trained to hate themselves fear feeling that fear. We have all been so trained. This is why the disease is hard to cure. Me, diseased? No way. That would be terrifying. and besides that's ridiculous. Only conservatives have irrational fears. Right, except at some point we all become conservatives or experience ego death when it becomes obvious there is no way out but to surrender or transcend fear by faith in the resurrection of one kind or another.

When God came to the White House in the form of Jimmy Carter, the devil went Ape shit and put Reagan in charge exclaiming, Tear down those solar water heaters, smear the unionists. God is Greed.

Of course this is only a story. Nothing like that really happened and the world does not work that way.

 

[Drach]

Trickle Down - the Laffer economists way of pissing on people and telling them it's raining.

 

[ivwshane]

Me 4 years ago.

Same here, I even created a thread about it

I've been reading and seeing an increase in the narrative that trump has replaced or killed the Republican party and the party has abandoned all its core principles, this is false.

Trump has simply exposed the GOP for what it is and what it's always been since Reagan. Trump's policies are the culmination of Republican policies, from the belief of a failed economic policy (trickle down), to tax breaks for the wealthy and big businesses. Trump's huge deficit policy are the same as they were under Reagan (and pretty much every Republican president). He's all about cutting/gutting social safety nets and big military spending. He's corrupted the office of the presidency. He courted white evangelicals. He used fear mongering just like Reagan did. Trump even parrots the same talking points Reagan did with regards to health care. They both even corrupted the office.
Hell, they both even ignored health issues.

So no, trump hasn't replaced the GOP he's simply brought it to its logical conclusion.

News Analysis: Trump stands alone at the RNC, atop a party remade in his image

Few political conventions have marked such a break from a party's history. At the RNC, Trump allowed almost no presence of past Republican leaders.

www.latimes.com

Donna Brazile: Convention shows Republican Party has died and been replaced by Trump Party

The Republican Party died a sad death Thursday night, as the party that gave America President Abraham Lincoln and ended slavery was replaced by the Trump Party.

www.foxnews.com

Ps
The articles aren't necessary other than to show examples of what people are saying.

 

[bononos]

Didn't Reagan move the party away from Eisenhower era.. I've heard many people say they are/ were Eisenhower Republicans but are now homeless in the 80's and 90's.

It's interesting how never Trumpers think they can take the GOP back to pre-trump days/ era. IMHO it isn't happening and they should make their peace with it. Atleast they're being welcomed by some dems but it's interesting if they were Republicans before because of strong on crime/ strong on constitution or strong on destroying Roe.

The ones who hated Roe are definitely Trumpers for life now.

Now ordinary conservatives are against the very things that Reagan was for - free market capitalism and overseas wars to further Pax Americana. And I don't see as many quotes from Austrian economists like Hayek any more. Its like they did a 180 but still champion Reagan as a conservative icon, strange. Trump's govt shutdowns caused an economic slowdown but I don't know it ordinary republicans actually got it in their echo chamber.