Wow, that’s an extremely well written and insightful piece, Ron. It took me back in time, and made me reflect on my political formative years.
Maybe the fact that I am watching “Rocky Horror Picture Show” for probably the 50th time, (and still enjoying it immensely), helped take me back too.
I’ll be pulling the “R” lever as well next week. Up until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t so sure about that. If I get a chance a little later, maybe I’ll try to explain how I came to this point. It is a road quite different than yours…
Jams beat me to it. I was thinking the same thing. That is an extremely well written and insightful article Ron.
Here in San Antonio we elect judges and for that there are a few I know personally and will go Democrat. I am voting Republican on many things but will write in some as well. I would like to pull the straight lever on Republican but statewide I can not.
The WOT and Border issues is all to serious and I am reading everything I can get my hands on for these two issues. FWIW
Good article!
(I like it when Dean's writer's just come out &write the things they feel and why. There is a fine group here.)
Excellent essay. It mirrors some of my own experience. Although I must admit that the aftermath of Watergate did influence me enough to cause me to register as an Independent in 1977 when I turned old enough to vote. I remained an Independent until Bill Clinton was elected, which finally spurred me to register as a Republican, but I had become a Conservative long before that. Among the things that led me down the conservative path were my reading of the National Review, Ayn Rand and Winston Churchill.
Jimmy Carter was such an unmitigated disaster as a President that I found I could not vote for him in 1980. But I was swayed by the media's portrayal of Ronald Reagan as a dottering neanderthal, and I voted for John Anderson. I will be ashamed of that for the rest of my life. By 1984 I was an ardent admirer of Ronald Reagan and voted enthusiastically for his reelection. I have voted Republican every Presidential election since.
I have never been a big fan of either of our Bush Presidents. George W. Bush is admirable for many qualities, but he has let me down in two areas. First he has not been a conservative by any stretch of the imagination. Second, he has not been a leader of the Republican Party in any area beyond fund raising and campaigning. He has no heir, and shows no inclination towards anointing one.
I also have been very disappointed in his ability to communicate directly to the American people. He has been President too long to continue to use the "aw shucks" mantle of the newly elected. He, or his handlers, should know by now how to use the bully pulpit to fend off his detractors and bolster his initiatives. This is his greatest failing, and it is a true failing, not merely a flaw that can be overcome in other areas. For six years he has allowed the Democrats to paint him as a liar, a crook and a thief. He has allowed a minority in both houses of Congress to outmaneuver him on a multitude of issues.
His saving grace, and the reason I still support him, is his recognition of the stakes of the battle we are in with terrorists. I will also credit him with an intuitive understanding of how to deal with the economy, although I am concerned that we are living on borrowed time in some ways.
I can't really compare Reagan to GW Bush and have the comparison end favorably. I think it is best simply to say that GW Bush is head and shoulders above Al "the internal combustion engine is the greatest threat to mankind" Gore, and John "Our military is stupid, lazy and reminiscent of the army of Ghengis Khan" Kerry.
But that is damning with faint praise.
I hope the Republicans have another Reagan waiting in the wings. I think we're going to need one.
Well, Sean, if it's any comfort you were a good 20 years ahead of me. My voting record in presidential elections:
1980: Anderson
1984: Mondale
1988: Dukakis
1992: Clinton (mea culpa)
1996: Clinton (mea culpa, but I'd a'voted for Kemp if he'd got the nomination)
2000: Harry Browne
2004: Bush
I'd love to see a limited-government, strong-defense conservative file for 2008 (a Reaganite, the nearest thing to a muscular minarchist the GOP is likely to offer), but I haven't identified one among those mentioned to date.
Maybe the fact that I am watching “Rocky Horror Picture Show” for probably the 50th time, (and still enjoying it immensely), helped take me back too.
I’ll be pulling the “R” lever as well next week. Up until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t so sure about that. If I get a chance a little later, maybe I’ll try to explain how I came to this point. It is a road quite different than yours…
Here in San Antonio we elect judges and for that there are a few I know personally and will go Democrat. I am voting Republican on many things but will write in some as well. I would like to pull the straight lever on Republican but statewide I can not.
The WOT and Border issues is all to serious and I am reading everything I can get my hands on for these two issues. FWIW
Good article!
(I like it when Dean's writer's just come out &write the things they feel and why. There is a fine group here.)
Excellent essay. It mirrors some of my own experience. Although I must admit that the aftermath of Watergate did influence me enough to cause me to register as an Independent in 1977 when I turned old enough to vote. I remained an Independent until Bill Clinton was elected, which finally spurred me to register as a Republican, but I had become a Conservative long before that. Among the things that led me down the conservative path were my reading of the National Review, Ayn Rand and Winston Churchill.
Jimmy Carter was such an unmitigated disaster as a President that I found I could not vote for him in 1980. But I was swayed by the media's portrayal of Ronald Reagan as a dottering neanderthal, and I voted for John Anderson. I will be ashamed of that for the rest of my life. By 1984 I was an ardent admirer of Ronald Reagan and voted enthusiastically for his reelection. I have voted Republican every Presidential election since.
I have never been a big fan of either of our Bush Presidents. George W. Bush is admirable for many qualities, but he has let me down in two areas. First he has not been a conservative by any stretch of the imagination. Second, he has not been a leader of the Republican Party in any area beyond fund raising and campaigning. He has no heir, and shows no inclination towards anointing one.
I also have been very disappointed in his ability to communicate directly to the American people. He has been President too long to continue to use the "aw shucks" mantle of the newly elected. He, or his handlers, should know by now how to use the bully pulpit to fend off his detractors and bolster his initiatives. This is his greatest failing, and it is a true failing, not merely a flaw that can be overcome in other areas. For six years he has allowed the Democrats to paint him as a liar, a crook and a thief. He has allowed a minority in both houses of Congress to outmaneuver him on a multitude of issues.
His saving grace, and the reason I still support him, is his recognition of the stakes of the battle we are in with terrorists. I will also credit him with an intuitive understanding of how to deal with the economy, although I am concerned that we are living on borrowed time in some ways.
I can't really compare Reagan to GW Bush and have the comparison end favorably. I think it is best simply to say that GW Bush is head and shoulders above Al "the internal combustion engine is the greatest threat to mankind" Gore, and John "Our military is stupid, lazy and reminiscent of the army of Ghengis Khan" Kerry.
But that is damning with faint praise.
I hope the Republicans have another Reagan waiting in the wings. I think we're going to need one.
1980: Anderson
1984: Mondale
1988: Dukakis
1992: Clinton (mea culpa)
1996: Clinton (mea culpa, but I'd a'voted for Kemp if he'd got the nomination)
2000: Harry Browne
2004: Bush
I'd love to see a limited-government, strong-defense conservative file for 2008 (a Reaganite, the nearest thing to a muscular minarchist the GOP is likely to offer), but I haven't identified one among those mentioned to date.