Here are some choice observations by Ron Reagan, Jr., son of President Reagan and Nancy Reagan, on George W. Bush, the Bush Administration, and the current state of the Republican Party. Courtesy of Salon magazine (bolding added for emphasis):
The Bush people have no right to speak for my father, particularly because of the position he's in now. Yes, some of the current policies are an extension of the '80s. But the overall thrust of this administration is not my father's -- these people are overly reaching, overly aggressive, overly secretive, and just plain corrupt. I don't trust these people.
Ouch! But wait, there's more.
The big elephant sitting in the corner is that George W. Bush is simply unqualified for the job... What's his accomplishment? That he's no longer an obnoxious drunk?
Really, really ouch! But wait, there's more.
My father had decades of experience in public life. He was president of his union, he campaigned for presidential candidates, he served two terms as governor of California -- and that was not a ceremonial office as it is in Texas. And he had already run for president, against Ford in '76, nearly unseating the sitting president in his own party. He knew where he was coming from, he had spent years thinking and speaking about his views. He didn't have to ask Dick Cheney what he thought.Sure, he wasn't a technocrat like Clinton. But my father was a man -- that's the difference between him and Bush. To paraphrase Jack Palance, my father crapped bigger ones than George Bush.
There's a lot more in the Salon article, but I'll close with Ron Reagan's comments about his mother, the Bush Administration, and the Republican Party as it now stands:
Reagan says his mother shares his "distrust of some of these [Bush] people. She gets that they're trouble in all kinds of ways. She doesn't like their religious fervor, their aggression."Reagan says his family feels particularly alienated from the Republican Party over its opposition to embryonic stem cell research, which could have significant benefit for Alzheimer patients like his father. "Now ignorance is one thing, ignorance can be cured. But many of the Republican leaders opposing this research know better, people like [Senate Majority Leader] Bill Frist, who's a doctor, for God's sake. People like him are blocking it to pander to the 20 percent of their base who are mouth-breathers. And that's unconscionable -- there are lives at stake here. Stem cell research can revolutionize medicine, more than anything since antibiotics."
Ouch, ouch, ouch!!! Hey Dick (Wadhams) and George (Allen), are you SURE you want to fight over who's closer to the Reagan family? Aren't you guys with the "mouth breathers?" Ha.
P.S. By the way, Salon notes that "Ron Jr. reportedly had the closest relations with his parents and he remains close with his mother, Nancy Reagan..." So, if anyone should know how his mother thinks, it's Ron Jr.
Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign. The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.
Who can do this for us, for Jim Webb, for truth, justice and the American way?
I have a suggestion, but before I make it . . .
What are yours?
Thanks!
Steve
What you need to do is, somehow (but how???), get the family to withdraw their objections... Like I said before, if you could get Nancy to *see* the ad, so she can make her mind up based on evidence, not on biased hearsay, then we're in clover. Otherwise... I don't know... I think even people who do watch the ad (and some won't; that's what TiVos are for)will be in two minds. They may be puzzled as to *why* she objected, but they'll remember she had.
Lowell, the Dicks and the Georges aren't fighting about who's closer to the Reagan family or even about whose ideology is closer to Reagan's; I don't think they've ever said anything like that. You're doing exactly what Repubs are doing; you set up a straw man and shoot him down. That's both: unworthy of us (Dems) and belittling to your audience here, on RK; you're assuming we won't see through that.
You want to "sell" that to the "outside", OK (though I still don't like it). But, as my Mother used to say: whoever you lie to, don't ever lie to yourself, even if it's only a small lie.
I doubt either Allen or Webb were close *to the family* (as is suggested in the original posting). Nor is Webb setting himself up as an "heir", even in the ideological sense; if anything, he presents himself as an admirer (of at least some of Reagan's policies, if not all).
English may be my second language but I have a lot of respect for Language (any) and how it's used (possibly because that was my field of study). The "sticks and stones" adage is a big, d....d lie :) Repubs know that very well and use it to their advantage all the time. Doesn't mean we have to, also.
Jim Webb has *loads* to offer us, his steadfast honesty being one of the things on offer. There's no need to gilt the lily (or muddy the waters) in presenting him to us. IMO
Everyday I look, we surge ahead.
I can only thank GOD for helping our campaign bring truth to people.
And to thank everyone who is working hard to bring truth to this campaign for change.
Keep Fighting like hell until November 7th!
A lot of eyes are on Ohio. Strickland is running 20% ahead of Blackwell. If Blackwell wins it will be obvious that the vote was flipped. Hacking is alive and well in Ohio and Mr. Blackwell keeps the memory cards of the machines in his office.
We all need to start thinking a lot more about the fact that many of the people who own the voting machines have criminal records and have strong ties to the Repubs and the Fundies.
Did you know that the guy who wrote the code for Diebold, Jeffrey Dean, is a convicted felon? He was convicted of 23 felony counts using a computer to commit fraud. I think he is a Senior Vice President of ES&S now or of whatever the company is being called these days.
Oh yeah, and Abramoff was a lobbyist for the voting machine companies, until they got him for taking money from the Indian Tribes.