[lbo-talk] Ronnie's very timely death

[R]

i don't believe it takes insight into conservative thought -- an oxymoron if
ever there was one -- or divisions on the right to understand the attention
span of the great american public is not what it used to be.  but count on
the mass media to keep reminding us about the halcyon days of RR.   one
thing ron did well was to play a Pollyanna fantasy for the american people.
which could account for the infatuation with his dead image during times
when america's macho self esteem and hypocritical self image as good guys
are struggling in iraq and at home.

ron was a master at conveying the B movie hollywood ending; he convinced
americans tired of dealing with grown up problems that things were just
fine, america was perfect, and they could all go back to sleep because the
good hands people were in charge of their destiny.   talk about a retreat
into childhood -- not to mention senility.

of course people will be able to see that shrub is no raygoon.  but will
that fact deter them from voting for their fantasy as they did during the
raygoon era?  what's to stop the old mantra "kerry is worse"?  that remains
to be seen.  you can bet the republicans are working on that one, provided
shrub and his pals don't continue to shoot themselves in the foot, which is
a tall order.  as usual, the right is calling the shots and controlling the
"dialog" thanks to good planning -- unmatched by anything the democrats
have -- started in the early 1970s.   if it can resurrect the 11th
commandment in memory of the great one, shrub has a chance.

R

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 7:21 AM
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Ronnie's very timely death

Carl Remick wrote:


>Above all, Reagan's death lures the troublesome paleo-conservatives
>back into the Big Tent.

Not necessarily. Reagan's political genius was in part about
finessing all these divisions within the right - traditionalist vs.
libertarian, religious vs. market, paleo- vs. neo-. (Since a lot of
people on the left don't understand these divisions, that's yet
another reason they underestimate RR's importance.) Bush can't do
that. If anything, he's opening up the fissures. After all the
misty-eyed crap clears, people will be able to see that Bush is no
Reagan.

Doug
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