“I wish Reagan would rise from the dead and come back.” — Pat Robertson, on his television show The 700 Club, while noting President Obama “does not believe in America” and was mentored by “leftists who don’t really love this country.” Ah yes, Pat Robertson, who runs the Christian “700 Club” that of course believes in a wonderous heavenly after life, endorsing the return of Zombie Reagan, which seems somewhat blasphemous to me.
Once again, our real headlines have become the Onion. Here is a segment the Onion did a number of years ago.
Ted Cruz on moderates or the establishment (which really go hand in hand) winning the White House for the GOP:
It is amazing that the wisdom of the chattering class to the Republicans is always, always, always ‘Surrender your principles and agree with the Democrats,’ ” he told me. “That’s been true for my entire lifetime. The chattering classes have consistently said, ‘You crazy Republicans have to give up on what you believe and become more like Democrats.’ And, I would note, every time Republicans do that we lose.” Cruz then offered a short history of recent Presidential politics. Richard Nixon ran as a conservative, twice a winner; Gerald Ford, moderate, loser; Ronald Reagan, also twice a winner. “President George Herbert Walker Bush ran as a strong conservative, ran to continue the third term of Ronald Reagan, continue the Ronald Reagan revolution,” Cruz went on. “Then he raised taxes and in ’92 ran as an establishment moderate—same candidate, two very different campaigns. First one won, second one lost. In 1996, you got Bob Dole; 2000 and 2004, you have George W. Bush; 2008, John McCain; 2012, Mitt Romney. And what does the entire D.C. Republican consulting class say? ‘In 2016, we need another establishment moderate!’ Hasn’t worked in four decades. ‘But next time will be the time!’ ”
Notice how Cruz kinda skips over George W. Bush? Yeah, because George W. Bush ruins his little history lesson. George W. Bush ran as a compassionate conservative and he obfuscated any difference between him and Al Gore. That is hardly standing on conservative principles. That is catering to the moderate center. And Bush won. I know, I know, he didn’t really win, but he won. And Bush was far and away the Establishment candidate. Meanwhile, certainly McCain and Romney were Establishment candidates, but they ran conservative campaigns.
Former Secretary of State James Baker harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, echoing White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough’s comments earlier in the day, Haaretz reports.
Baker acknowledged his disappointment with “the lack of progress regarding a lasting peace,” saying that the chances for a two-state solution diminished since Netanyahu’s reelection last week. Baker further slammed Netanyahu’s “diplomatic missteps and political gamesmanship,” saying that the prime minister’s “actions have not matched his rhetoric.”
So I guess John McCain will now say former Republican Secretary of State James Baker should get over his temper tantrum.
CHICAGO MAYOR—Ogden & Fry: Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) 49, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D) 32.