There's a feud within the GOP that has tongues and fingers wagging. The opposing sides: the fans, defenders, and true believers in Ronald Reagan's conservative legacy and their equally fervent counterparts who've enlisted in the populist ranks of Donald Trump.
It's the sort of feud that doesn't have ripples much beyond those most directly involved. But that doesn't mean it's not entertaining – and perhaps even enlightening for the rest of to watch.
As Politico's David Siders reported from an event at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California:
For at least some members of the [Reagan Foundation] board, the adviser told me, Trump “drives them nuts.”
“The legacy of Reagan, fair or unfair, right or wrong, was ‘shining city on a hill' — upbeat and positive and have a beer with Tip O'Neill,” the adviser said. “And Trump is Voldemort. He was the opposite. He wanted to burn everything to the ground, attack people.”
It's that choice, as much as any policy distinction between candidates, that Republicans are making in the run-up to 2024. It's the tension between a sunnier brand of conservatism and the more menacing, grievance-fueled politics of Trump. It's the difference between a former president who, upon announcing his Alzheimer's diagnosis, wrote, “I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead,” and a former president who has cast his election as the “final battle” to reclaim a country that is “rigged, crooked, and evil.”
A splash of entertainment coupled with a profound difference in outlook. It's easy to paint the Reagan side as old fogies clinging to their fading memories and long-lost glory. America and the world have changed and there's no room for Reagan worship in these profoundly troubled times.
It's equally easy to paint the Trump troops as little more than an unprincipled, unthinking, uncontrollable mob. And much worse, they, like their leader, have demonstrated a profound and disturbing contempt for the institutions and foundations of government.
The energy and excitement sits firmly on the Trump side these days. The GOP will have to ride that crazy horse towards the burning barn throughout the current election cycle. As for What's left of the Reagan legacy…like every president before him, it will shrink to the confines of the library housing his papers and artifacts. It will be kept alive here and there in books, articles, and conferences. But a living, breathing presence on the campaign trail?
That's gone and done. The GOP has had its time for choosing, and – given the current state of the campaign – made its decision.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
Agreed Norman, Reagan was a force in his own way, and it worked. These are sadly more bitter, unfettered times. As you pointed out, Pres. Reagan said “I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead,” but as Fuller penned, ” It’s always darkest before the dawn” and that appears to reflect our current situation! And today a different approach is warranted to preserve our Republic !
The only way for MAGA to succeed is to stomp the modern day Democrat and RINO parties back into the dirt from whence they have evolved.
Today’s American citizens understand that. Today’s lame-stream ‘flying monkey’ media don’t.