I’m talking more about perception of Reagan if there had been an internet and weblogs a quarter-century ago. Even back then, Richard Viguerie was ready to write Reagan out of the conservative movement because of his tax increase and other actions he saw as a betrayal of conservatives.

Viguerie was a lone voice in the wilderness in the 1980s wanting to do that. But with a website and blog linkings, Reagan’s agreement to hike taxes would have drawn far more fire and made his support a little less solid — not down to the levels of shaky support McCain or Bush have seen, but there would have been a lot more spur-of-the-moment online sniping over thinks like tax hikes or the O’Connor or Kennedy nominations to the Supreme Court.

If the Internet and weblogs had been around in 1980, Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have been Ronald Reagan to a lot of people who now say they’re the hardest of hard-core Reaganites.

Reagan would still have been Reagan. The public just would have been better informed. You left out the biggest tax increase in history signed by Reagan- TEFRA.

Reagan had to compromise on some things to achieve conservative ends. McCain starts out compromising to shiv conservatives in the back because he hates them. He will never get my vote.

Larraby on March 12, 2008 at 12:13 PM

You’re making the assumption that McCain is an intelligent person instead of the bitter old man that he is. But, then you did say in the beginning, maybe…

If the Internet and weblogs had been around in 1980, Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have been Ronald Reagan to a lot of people who now say they’re the hardest of hard-core Reaganites.

Valiant

Most conservatives are relevant. It’s the all-or-nothing conservatives who are irrelevant.
Reagan raised taxes & gave us real amnesty. Did you support him?

McCain is proving that conservatives are irrelevant in the GOP. However, he’ll need us in November which is why he will lose.

You’re forgetting about the $850,000 out of court settlement B.J. had to pay Paula Jones.

Buy Danish on March 12, 2008 at 9:54 AM

Aw, come on, BD. Billy Jeff gets that much for a speech to a second-tier industry group.

Nice interview with Michelle here. Ordinarily I don’t bother linking news clips since most of them discuss issues we’ve already hashed out in the blogosphere, but this is a good few minutes in which MM gets two good questions: I…….

fogw on March 12, 2008 at 9:32 AM

Don’t forget the cost of the cigars.

It’s a loser for Hillary when it is revealed that Bill is Client #8.

gridlock2 on March 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM

One would have to wonder how the remaining clients (#1 thru #8)are going about closing out their respective accounts when the may very well be monitored or in fact frozen.

Hillary to Bill: “Bill, how come that waiter is cutting my credit card in half?” Bill—- “I don’t have the slightest idea, there’s pleanty in that account. In fact, I made a healthy deposit just last week”

The joke going around is that Bill Clinton is Client #1-8.
And I heard that stand up comedian Nick Dipaulo is using a joke that says he hopes Obama is elected because he likes the idea of a black guy giving him change for once.