Is Reagan our authority in all things?

Because Ronald Reagan attempted to use Michigan’s open primary rules to his advantage in 1976, does that mean that any criticism of open primaries is invalid? See David B.’s latest comment.

- end of initial entry -

N. writes:

I am so tired of the idol-worship of Reagan. He was a flawed man who did some useful things, and some harmful things (the Dept. of Education was to be done away with but that did not happen, the 1986 amnesty of illegals still haunts us, and so forth).

Reagan-worship is to conservatives as FDR worship was to liberals in the 50’s, 60’s, and into the 70’s. Unfortunately, it’s far easier just to chant “Reagan did this!” than it is to think about issues or problems.

The time is long past for conservatives to give up the worship of Reagan.

LA replies:

While I agree that the worship of Reagan stunts conservatives’ thinking and effectiveness, I would also say that if you tell conservatives that Reagan was nothing but a “flawed man who did some useful things,” you are not going to get far with them. He had greatness, you need to acknowledge that if you want them to listen to you about his limitations.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 01, 2012 12:43 PM | Send