Mullings: An American Cyber-column By Rich Galen

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The Soft Insolence of Insincere Compliments

Wednesday June 9, 2004

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From Palm Beach, Florida
Tennessee Bankers Association

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Democrats are falling all over themselves getting in front of cameras to claim their life-long loyalty to, and love for Ronald Wilson Reagan.

The general approach is something like this:

Ronald Reagan was a different kind of conservative; a good conservative. He was the kind of conservative who could and would reach out to Democrats to do what was best for America.

Two things: First, the implication is that the current crop of conservatives led by one George Walker Bush are different from Ronald W. Reagan because they don't and won't reach out across the aisle to include Democrats in formulating programs which give something to each.

This is the modern equivalent of "I knew Ronald Reagan; Ronald Reagan was a friend of mine; you're no Ronald Reagan."

Second, this kumbaya rewriting of American history by Democrats is, in the immortal words of Sherman Potter, "Horse hockey."

Reagan reached out, but the Democratic Congressional leadership slapped Reagan's hand away. In fact, when Ronald Reagan was President, Congressional Democrats did everything they could to thwart anything Reagan was attempting to accomplish.

As an example: In the election of 1980 Reagan swept the GOP to control of the US Senate, but not the US House. As the Congress opened in 1981, there were 242 Democrats and only 192 Republicans (with one independent).

Students of American political history know that generally speaking when one side in the House has a voting advantage of FIFTY votes, that side prevails.

However, Reagan built a working majority of largely Southern Democrats to get his economic plans through the House.

There was this Congressman - this DEMOCRATIC Congressman from Texas who was on the House Budget Committee. When President Reagan reached out across the aisle with his offer of a tax cut for all Americans this DEMOCRATIC Congressman from Texas, reached back and, legislatively, took Reagan's hand.

The Democratic leadership in the House led by the jovial, convivial, can't-we-all-just-be-friends Speaker Tip O'Neill stripped this DEMOCRATIC Congressman of his seat on the House Budget Committee for punishment.

What? Nasty, spiteful politics being played by the Democrats? By jolly, good natured old Tip O'Neill? Can't be.

Can it?

The DEMOCRATIC Congressman in question was Phil Gramm from Texas. In one of the great acts of political courage in modern times, Gramm didn't just walk across the center aisle and take a seat on the Republican side of the House.

Gramm resigned from Congress creating an open seat. A special election was called in which Gramm ran as a Republican saying that inasmuch as the voters had elected him as a Democrat, it was up to them to let it be known if they wanted him as a Republican, as well.

They did.

Gramm, of course, went on to be a powerful member of the US Senate - as a Republican - but the Democrats never forgave him for supporting President Reagan, much less for switching parties.

What the Democrats are doing - with their insincere compliments of President Reagan - is attempting to head off the obvious positive comparisons between Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush: The Elite Left laughed at Reagan's portrayal of the Soviet Union as "the evil empire" and his charming, but politically irrational idea that we could actually win the Cold War.

The political offspring of those same people refuse to accept the Bush doctrine that by aggressively going after terrorists - where ever they are - and by aggressively attacking nations who harbor them - who ever they are - we can win this war as well.

If they can somehow get it into the public's mind that President Reagan was their all-time favorite Republican President because he was somehow easier to get along with than these hard-liners around President Bush, they can make the case that President Bush will not - cannot - be as successful.

In the immortal words of Sherman Potter, "Monkey muffins.

On the Secret Decoder Ring today: A quick explanation of the "you're no Ronald Reagan" line; a brief bio of Tip O'Neill, an amusing Mullfoto of the day; and a truly frightening Catchy Caption of the Day.

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