Comment E-mail Print

Page 2 of 2

"The only Republican worth voting for in my lifetime was Ronald Reagan," he said.

That man reflects the essence of the 1984 presidential election, when Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale in the biggest rout in the history of presidential politics. His statement about Reagan is a statement about the condition of politics in this country. When given the choice to vote liberal or conservative, the American people will vote conservative. When given the choice to vote liberal or liberal-lite, they will choose the real thing every time.

Generally, young voters are "branded" with the emotion of the first vote they cast for president. The generation the elected Franklin D. Roosevelt four times became Democrats for the rest of their lives.

Many who came of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s supported Ronald Reagan and became lifelong Republicans, thereby propelling GOP candidates into the White House in five of the last eight elections.

But last year's presidential election probably has placed liberal Democrats in the majority for a generation. Barack Obama is a skilled communicator who will not be easily removed from office. Like FDR before him, he is already saying that the problems created by his predecessor will take "years" to "fix."

Thank God for presidential term limits.

---

Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speechwriter and policy advisor to conservative candidates, elected officials and public policy organizations. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet web sites, including Human Events Online and GOPUSA.com, where he is a senior writer and state editor. Readers may e-mail him at dougpatton@cox.net.

--------------------

Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

>> Back -- Page 1 2

++ Discuss this topic in The Forum

Current rating: 4.9 out of 5.0 (9 total votes)