Friday, October 12, 2007

The Long Reagan Shadow

I haven't fleshed out my thoughts fully on this, so consider this a precursor to a future, longer post. I am convinced that one of the biggest things the Republican party has to overcome right now is the long shadow, legend, and myth of Ronald Reagan. Long shadow because Reagan truly was a historic leader. Legend because he was proven right on much of his doctrine during his post presidency. Myth because, in retrospect, many of us have chosen to forget that he wasn't perfectly conservative. As a result, all Republicans today are judged against a yard stick that they cannot realistically live up to, and when they don't, it sends we present day conservatives into fits of rage and despondency.

Update
I should have read this first. Jonah Goldberg fleshes out some of my thoughts on this for me.

No comments: