And I can't argue with this:

I am so stealing that line!

laughed out loud at this one.

... the GOPigs spit in these heroes' freedom-fighting faces.

he certainly embraced the Southern Strategy when it benefited him, thosugh he was always careful to maintain a sanitary distance from the culuture warriors (and blame The Left whenever possible).

The title of your post is completely accurate. He helped create this monster, and now he's shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that these Dogs of War he helped create are, in fact, eating the face of Democracy.

Last edited Thu Apr 25, 2024, 11:02 AM - Edit history (1)

They got ahold of it and knew every point Carter was going to make. The big moment came when Carter directly pointed to something (I forgot the point and it’s been swept away by “history “) to which Reagan couldn’t have a response to. They crafted Ronnie response as “Well, there you go again” in a demeaning “I’m the adult here” kind of way. The press must’ve been prepped for that response because they ate it up. It’s still lauded as a great debate moment.

Will, years later, tried to claim he didn’t do it because Mr. Fancy Conservative Intellectual now. Young Republican writers (York, Coulter, Goldberg, etc.) in the 90’s wrote almost required articles to re-write Will’s history. It was like each one’s assigned term paper.

and when Reagan ran for reelection in the first debate he tried it again and this time Mondale flattened him by reminding everyone of when he said it and that Carter had been dead right as to what he would do as Reagan had indeed cut both programs.

Isn’t it odd how that part seems to be left out of clips?

In every image that I can recall of him, he was always leaning to the right.

Always a pompous ass spouting conservative lies each week on Brinkley's excellent show. I will never forget his ridiculous defense that the Republicans were not all racists. Bill Maher was the guest commentator and delivered the line that I still use to this day. "Not all Republicans are racists, but all racists are Republicans." Will looked like he had just eaten a bug.

According to the no true Scotsman rule, today's Republicans are not true Republicans because they are not motivated by the correct kind of conservative thought.

His op-eds are in my local paper, and he's not at all happy about what has happened to his party.
He's best described as a Reagan Republican.

What separates Reagan from Trump is personality and what was possible given the political and media climate of the time. Reagan was reportedly making deals with Iran during the election, though it has never been definitively proven. His administration sold Iran missiles, even though they were a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" and funneled money illegally to Right Wing death squads in Central America, trained, also illegally by the US. People went down for those crimes but Bill Barr and GHW Bush tidied up the mess and most of the actors got away with their illegal acts.

Conservatism holds that there is a "natural hierarchy" in society that should be upheld by law. It is an inherently unequal philosophy and if left to its own progression, will lead to authoritarianism. If you just give it a bit of thought, how can it not? Conservatism as a political ideology was born out of the defense of the concept of Monarchy. During the American and French Revolutions, aristocrats were trying to make the case, if not directly for hereditary monarchy and aristocracy, for the structures that supported it. Conservatism, though different in different countries, has never strayed from the belief that certain people are just naturally "better" than others and those better people deserved to make the rules and reap the rewards of society relative to their importance.

Reagan was a trained actor. He was good at making pitches and sounding folksy. He wasn't a particularly talented actor like say Sir Lawrence Olivier, or Cary Grant, etc... but he was a talented pitchman. Trump is simply a narcissistic failson, who had he not been born into wealth, would likely have ended up in prison, or dead for his penchant toward illicit activity. Make no mistake however, Nixon's actions lead to Reagan, which lead to W Bush, which led to Trump and the stated of Conservatism and the GOP today. Trump isn't an aberration, he is what happens to right wing ideology sooner or later. You see the same with Orban in Hungary, Le Penn in France, Meloni (the actual fascist) in Italy, and Putin in Russia. These are right wing leaders.

I firmly believe that the selection of rabidly unhinged and low-brow Sarah Palin as the GOP's VP candidate in '08 was critical in leading voters to their comfort in voting for Trump 8 years later.

"...might yet predominate."

Fake journalist George Will hit the nail on the head re 112 GOP members who voted against military aid for Ukraine.

Basket of deplorables was perfect.

Opposed to the expansion of the Russian Empire. Which means, he's a dying breed in the new GOP.

George Will-you-go-the-fuck-away