Ronald Reagan was a Democrat until he was 50. A union leader who revered Franklin D. Roosevelt, he became more conservative as his party was becoming more liberal.
Frustrated with higher taxes, increasing regulation, and what he saw as an anti-business bias, Reagan became a Republican.
Later, he would say, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.”
In the 1980s, that message resonated with “Reagan Democrats.” Theirs had become the party of amnesty, abortion, welfare rights, subsidies and secularism.
Today, some moderate Republicans and even traditional conservatives feel the same way — that their party is leaving them.
One of the central tenets of conservative belief is that individualism which is not tempered by respect for traditional morality and concern for the common good is an unhealthy thing — for the individual and society. But that idea is rejected by those who prefer the philosophy of Ron Paul to that of the Apostle Paul.
True conservatives don’t easily throw caution to the wind. They think that if it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change. But the new breed doesn’t mind wagering everything on risky schemes. Privatizing Social Security, abolishing foreign aid, replacing the graduated income tax with a national sales tax, legalizing dangerous drugs and prostitution and turning federal regulation of coal mining over to local governments are just some of the extreme ideas they’ve advocated in recent years.
Yet they have the audacity to call President Obama’s agenda radical?
On Memorial Day weekend, there was a lot of media attention on the 2012 presidential race, especially who’s in and who’s out.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who was the best hope for evangelical conservatives, is out. That’s a shame because he was as critical of Wall Street as Washington — and that plays well on Main Street.
Donald Trump also dropped out, which is a relief. The real estate mogul and reality TV star isn’t a capitalist sage, he’s a one-man freak show. Anyone who believes that the president of the United States isn’t an American shouldn’t vote, much less run for office.
One who did throw his hat into the ring is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
His candidacy imploded at the start because he criticized Congressman Paul Ryan’s draconian budget. He also suggested subsidies for people to purchase private health insurance.
That’s really a Republican idea that predates ObamaCare by two decades. Ironically, it’s also what Ryan wants to do with Medicare.
Another irony is that Massachusetts’ health reform plan, which was a model for ObamaCare, is former Gov. Mitt Romney’s signature achievement, but he can’t run on it.
It shows how far to the right the Republican Party has moved when you consider that Gingrich, the leader of the last rightist revolution, is no longer seen as a true believer by the Young Turks.
Several establishment conservatives could be good choices, but they’re not running. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is out, Florida’s Jeb Bush is playing hard to get, and past favorites like Nebraska’s Chuck Hagel aren’t even mentioned.
If Republicans want to win, they should nominate someone who can attract centrist Democrats and independents as well as regular Republicans. Romney would be a good choice, but I like his cousin, Jon Huntsman.
His resume is impressive. He has been a business executive, a governor, and has foreign policy expertise, most recently as Obama’s ambassador to China. But that paints him as a turncoat to partisans.
Also, Huntsman, who is the same age as Obama, has generational appeal.
What the hard right doesn’t understand is that it won’t win by appealing only to the base.
This is a center-right country. With the exception of Reagan, no doctrinaire conservative has won the office since Calvin Coolidge. And Reagan would be considered almost a moderate by today’s standards.
Democrats lost the 2010 election after winning big in 2006 and 2008 because they lost independents and the elderly. Republicans won’t keep those swing segments if they scorn bipartisan compromise and take a hard line on Medicare and Social Security.
At a Memorial Day party, an uncle whom I respect although I often don’t agree with him, said he didn’t think the Republicans had anyone who could “beat Obama.”
He may be right. Any president is unpopular during a recession (remember Reagan was in 1982). But this liberal president has governed as a centrist, and he has a good record. He and his party prevented a financial meltdown. He saved General Motors from collapse. And he kept his promise that if he found Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan, he would send U.S. troops in to kill him.
If Obama keeps to the center, working with both parties to reduce the debt, revive the economy and maintain the tough defense policy that is basically a continuation of President George W. Bush’s, he may defy the odds and win.
If the Republican Party nominates a fringe candidate like Sarah Palin or Rick Perry, it will cause moderates and Main Street conservatives to feel the party has left them, and they’ll walk away. And they’ll lose.
That’s the lesson Republicans should learn from Reagan’s midlife conversion.
Randy Patrick is the managing editor of The Winchester Sun.
Frustrated with higher taxes, increasing regulation, and what he saw as an anti-business bias, Reagan became a Republican.
Later, he would say, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.”
In the 1980s, that message resonated with “Reagan Democrats.” Theirs had become the party of amnesty, abortion, welfare rights, subsidies and secularism.
Today, some moderate Republicans and even traditional conservatives feel the same way — that their party is leaving them.
One of the central tenets of conservative belief is that individualism which is not tempered by respect for traditional morality and concern for the common good is an unhealthy thing — for the individual and society. But that idea is rejected by those who prefer the philosophy of Ron Paul to that of the Apostle Paul.
True conservatives don’t easily throw caution to the wind. They think that if it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change. But the new breed doesn’t mind wagering everything on risky schemes. Privatizing Social Security, abolishing foreign aid, replacing the graduated income tax with a national sales tax, legalizing dangerous drugs and prostitution and turning federal regulation of coal mining over to local governments are just some of the extreme ideas they’ve advocated in recent years.
Yet they have the audacity to call President Obama’s agenda radical?
On Memorial Day weekend, there was a lot of media attention on the 2012 presidential race, especially who’s in and who’s out.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who was the best hope for evangelical conservatives, is out. That’s a shame because he was as critical of Wall Street as Washington — and that plays well on Main Street.
Donald Trump also dropped out, which is a relief. The real estate mogul and reality TV star isn’t a capitalist sage, he’s a one-man freak show. Anyone who believes that the president of the United States isn’t an American shouldn’t vote, much less run for office.
One who did throw his hat into the ring is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
His candidacy imploded at the start because he criticized Congressman Paul Ryan’s draconian budget. He also suggested subsidies for people to purchase private health insurance.
That’s really a Republican idea that predates ObamaCare by two decades. Ironically, it’s also what Ryan wants to do with Medicare.
Another irony is that Massachusetts’ health reform plan, which was a model for ObamaCare, is former Gov. Mitt Romney’s signature achievement, but he can’t run on it.
It shows how far to the right the Republican Party has moved when you consider that Gingrich, the leader of the last rightist revolution, is no longer seen as a true believer by the Young Turks.
Several establishment conservatives could be good choices, but they’re not running. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is out, Florida’s Jeb Bush is playing hard to get, and past favorites like Nebraska’s Chuck Hagel aren’t even mentioned.
If Republicans want to win, they should nominate someone who can attract centrist Democrats and independents as well as regular Republicans. Romney would be a good choice, but I like his cousin, Jon Huntsman.
His resume is impressive. He has been a business executive, a governor, and has foreign policy expertise, most recently as Obama’s ambassador to China. But that paints him as a turncoat to partisans.
Also, Huntsman, who is the same age as Obama, has generational appeal.
What the hard right doesn’t understand is that it won’t win by appealing only to the base.
This is a center-right country. With the exception of Reagan, no doctrinaire conservative has won the office since Calvin Coolidge. And Reagan would be considered almost a moderate by today’s standards.
Democrats lost the 2010 election after winning big in 2006 and 2008 because they lost independents and the elderly. Republicans won’t keep those swing segments if they scorn bipartisan compromise and take a hard line on Medicare and Social Security.
At a Memorial Day party, an uncle whom I respect although I often don’t agree with him, said he didn’t think the Republicans had anyone who could “beat Obama.”
He may be right. Any president is unpopular during a recession (remember Reagan was in 1982). But this liberal president has governed as a centrist, and he has a good record. He and his party prevented a financial meltdown. He saved General Motors from collapse. And he kept his promise that if he found Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan, he would send U.S. troops in to kill him.
If Obama keeps to the center, working with both parties to reduce the debt, revive the economy and maintain the tough defense policy that is basically a continuation of President George W. Bush’s, he may defy the odds and win.
If the Republican Party nominates a fringe candidate like Sarah Palin or Rick Perry, it will cause moderates and Main Street conservatives to feel the party has left them, and they’ll walk away. And they’ll lose.
That’s the lesson Republicans should learn from Reagan’s midlife conversion.
Randy Patrick is the managing editor of The Winchester Sun.
