Ronald Reagan is the “patron saint” of the Republican Party. His name is invoked more than any other human being, living or dead. All the GOP candidates want to be seen as his heir apparent.
The question is, WWRW–“Who Would Reagan Want?”
We can’t know that, but now we know who is the choice of his two sons.
Reagan’s son Michael likes John Kasich:
Ohio Governor and Republican Presidential hopeful John Kasich speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2016 at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, outside Washington, March 4, 2016.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich picked up the endorsement of Michael Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate’s campaign announced Saturday, NBC News reported.
“You see many Republicans claiming the label of ‘Reagan conservative’ but not many whose leadership truly embodies my father’s principles and spirit,” Reagan said in a statement. “Gov. John Kasich is a noteworthy exception.”
Reagan said he was proud to endorse Kasich “to continue my father’s great legacy.” He is an author, former radio host, and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.
It may seem odd that Michael would avoid Cruz, who thinks he’s “Reaganesque,” and Rubio, who is the most “Republican,” but despite our revisionist memories, Ronald Reagan was not an ideologue. He was a pragmatist, and he was a “deal maker,” not an extremist.
So that’s Michael. What about Ronald Reagan, Jr?
He’s a “Bernie man,” according to Reddit:
I like Bernie. I used to do a radio show for Air America and I would have Bernie on every week. This was before we were all ‘feeling the Bern.’ He’s always impressed me as an unusual politician, in that he just pretty much told you what he thought about something. There was no B.S. There’s a real authenticity there to him, which I think is pretty much lacking in everybody else I see on either side at this point.
Here’s a video of Ron talking about the desire for Republican candidates to emulate his father:
The video shows the candidates pandering and pretending (to the throne). Then Ron says, “Every time, these guys want to be my father. I don’t remember my father ever trying to be somebody else, and besides that, it’s kind of ridiculous. He left office over a quarter of a century ago. We don’t even know what Ronald Reagan would even be now, as a politician, twenty-five years later. So I don’t know what these people are trying to be in the first place!”
No, we don’t know “Who Would Reagan Want.” But I remember Ronald Reagan, and the former-Democrat iconoclast was not a cheater/liar, and he wasn’t a wimpy manchild. He was a straight-talker, like Donald or Bernie, and he was reasonable, like Kasich.
And, finally, take a moment to remember the woman behind RR: Nancy Reagan died on Sunday at the age of 94.
