Tuesday, May 20, 2008

"Rabblerousers and hatemongers, members of the New Left who are really unwashed members of the old right, practicing storm trooper tactics."

Governor Ronald Reagan doesn't mind telling us what he really thinks of student protesters.

By the way: NYT, do you think you could spell his name right more than 75% of the time — now that he seems to be running for President?

THE YEAR THAT BLOG FORGOT IS: 1968

6 comments:

Paddy O said...

a denunciation of college rioters as frauds

We need more of this from our politicians.

Reagan was forthright.

It's a refreshing quality.

Fred Thompson has that quality, it seemed. Just called people out rather than wilt under pressure.
Only Thompson had all the forthrightness but none of the charisma of Reagan.

McCain, for all his straight talk, doesn't seem altogether as forthright. Nor does he have the charisma of Reagan. But he's not running against Reagan, he's running against artificial charisma and no forthrightness.

George M. Spencer said...

"Nixon came within a whisker of losing the 1968 nomination to Reagan, who having encountered no serious competition from Nixon, emerged as the conservative movement's champion. Reagan's bid for the 1968 nomination is widely forgotten.... Nixon prevailed only because conservatives, who controlled the convention as thoroughly as they had controlled its predecessor in 1964, were split. "

Basically, we got Nixon because Strom Thurmond swayed Southern delegates at the convention.

Thanks, Strom!

From a review of the book "Richard Nixon & the Quest for a New Majority" by Wm. Rusher.

LutherM said...

Let's see - May 1968 - MLK Jr. has been murdered, the Viet Nam war is still going on, and draftees, rather than volunteers, are being killed in a war Johnson has finally decided that we lack the will and ability to win.
So students are protesting - and Ronnie talks to Southern Republican politicians about how reprehensible are these protests.
In the words of Bob Dylan, the students are ceasing to be "Only A Pawn In Their Game"
Bobby Kennedy, who is running for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, has some plans to reconcile the competing groups in the United States.

We can't look ahead, because we would see the Russian tanks in Prague, the murder of Bobby, the Chicago cops beating the kids outside the Democratic Convention, more troops killed in 'Nam - and the nation left with the choice of Johnson's V.P., or Nixon, or George C. Wallace - and we might seriously entertain a permanent vacation in Australia.

ANN - at least you picked an article on someone destined to live a long time.

Paddy O said...

Thanks, Strom!

It would have been nice if Nixon had been a better Nixon, but I think we got the right men for the right times.

Reagan finally got the office right when a man of his personality and style was most effective.

Reagan having to wait another 12 years was good for him, and good for everyone overall.

Hazy Dave said...

Do they spell it "Governor Ray-Gun"? (I seem to recall that witticism from the Woodstock album...) At least they were successful in the headline and first paragraph.

Ann Althouse said...

The spelled it Regan. Probably said "ree-gan" — as many people did in those days.