Another Ronald Reagan? Of course not. There'll never be another Ronald Reagan.
But then, we know at what point Ronald Reagan became Ronald Reagan.
And this weekend in Iowa may be the moment in time back at which we look as the point when Scott Walker became Scott Walker:
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's rousing speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday has early speculation favoring his "go big and go bold" call to Republicans.
Walker received multiple standing ovations during his speech, with news outlets reporting that the crowd was more receptive to him than to other potential GOP 2016 hopefuls including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
"If you’re not afraid to go big and go bold, you can actually get results," Walker told the enthusiastic crowd.
Funny, but I could have sworn that somebody in these parts was talking up a Scott Walker presidential candidacy over a year ago. What was that guy's name again? I'll have to look it up.
There's simply nothing not to like about the man. Executive experience, an amicable relationship with the GOP "establishment," a Washington "outsider," a proven track record of conservative policy accomplishments, Tea Party fighting street cred, and when he says things like "If you're not afraid to go big and go bold, you can actually get results," you listen, because he's actually, well, "Walk"ed that walk.
He even displayed some, dare I say it, Reaganesque traits:
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said Walker is a "proven vote-getter" after he survived a recall election, then was re-elected to a second term in 2014. "I think he will relate well [in Iowa]," Time quoted him as saying.
Walker highlighted his conservative bonafides on abortion and immigration, among other subjects, but he also sees himself as having a better ability to reach voters outside the conservative base.
"Walker was relatable, humorous, substantive, and more fiery than the crowd expected," Matt Strawn, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, told Bloomberg.
As I always say, my Tea Party friends, politics is about more than just "Fight! Fight! Fight!" It's about winning elections, without which the rest of our cause is pointless. And winning elections means winning the votes of more than just the people in our particular sociocultural "bubble". It means reaching out, grabbing, and reeling in our direction people who don't care about politics, know nothing about public policy, aren't ideologues, are ignorant, but can be attracted by a candidate who is real, who is authentic, and who is, above all, optimistic and can-do. Most people don't know what it takes to make the trains run on time, but they do want them to run. Scott Walker has been making Wisconsin's trains run on time against all attempts by the Left to disrupt them for the past four years, while at the same time neither shaming people for, nor haranguing people to, rid(e)(ing) them. It's not that he isn't a "scary" conservative, but that he's a likable conservative who is eminently salable as being "on your side". And remember, a derivative of that sappy sentiment is most, if not all, of why the 51% chose Barack Obama (again) over Mitt Romney two years ago.
But that will matter little if TPers don't figure out that they need to unite behind a single candidate that can actually win. Which makes this quote a bright ray of hope:
Council Bluffs Tea Party activist Lenny Scaletta was impressed with Walker's words about his humble beginnings in Iowa, the son of a minister and secretary who had to work his way through college flipping hamburgers at McDonald's.
"I'd want to talk to him, but from what he's said and his passion and his work history I'd definitely support him," Scaletta said told Bloomberg. "If it was between him, Mitt Romney, and Jeb Bush, by all means I'd be behind Scott Walker 100%."
If I'm wrong and 2012 wasn't America's Rubicon of dissolution and destruction - and I hope and pray I am - then might I suggest that 2016 is all the more precisely that "windmill" of no return. And that being the case, we should most definitely, after cycle after cycle of Bushes and Doles and McCains and Romneys, etc., etc. etc., not look this "gift Gipper" in the mouth. Because we won't get another.
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