Mythopedia

On a night when MSNBC provided a forum for a Republican presidential debate, this essay about the dumb things liberals believe about conservatives is worth a few rueful chuckles:

Myth #3: The Republican party is moving to the right. When things go wrong for liberals, as they did in last November’s elections, and politics seems especially divisive, it is never because liberals have moved out of the mainstream. There’s only one possible explanation: Republicans must be moving to the right. But in 1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected, Republicans stood for lower taxes, less federal spending, smaller deficits, less government regulation, a strong defense, free trade, limits on abortion, and First and Second Amendment rights. Sound familiar? This is the platform of today’s Republicans. The Democratic party, however, has careened far to the left. Who in 1980 could have imagined today’s federal budget of $3.6 trillion, 25 percent of GDP? Or today’s deficit of $1.3 trillion, up from just $161 billion in 2007? Or today’s national debt of $15 trillion? Or today’s defense spending below 4 percent of GDP? Or government control of health care and automobile companies and banks? Or marriage itself redefined? Who’s kidding whom here?

That's a point that can't be emphasized enough. Reagan was the most popular Republican of my lifetime, winning elections not through tactics and "Southern Strategies," but through his strong conservative message, one that could appeal to voters now, of only there was one Republican willing to run on it.