Hearing Ronald Reagan’s voice – the Republican that still stands above criticism to most Republicans – articulate goals and principles utterly foreign to today’s conservatives shocks us as indicative of just how far the nation has fallen! Reagan was an extreme conservative in his day and scared the liberals sh*tless with his policies and programs. Yet while the Democrats have maddeningly kept their middle ground, mainstream Republicanism has run so far rightward that Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are now seen as “RINOS” by most MAGA-heads. People like Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley are seen as mainstream.

Reagan’s words plant him solidly in the Democratic party’s message, at least to the extent that he isn’t furious with society and trying to stamp out immigration or divide people. (Yes, we are aware that his policies were infuriatingly biased, against people of color, our LGTBQ friends, that Reagan was a hypocrite whose words don’t match his policies, etc. but there is still something here that is intolerable to the Right). This ad isn’t for Democrats, it’s for Republicans that voted for Trump.

This challenge gets right up in the face of Republicans with a video montage that appears to be diametrically opposed to Reagan’s message. It forces them to ask themselves whether this country is what they want (with all the video from Trump America) or whether they want the same society that Reagan talked about (with evolution in race relations and LGTBQ issues, among others)

If we set aside Reagan’s horrific policies and just look at the ad itself, it looks utterly devastating if run on Fox News, which is the only place a Republican group against Trump would even consider running it.

We love this and want more of it. Whoever wants to help depose Trump is an ally, however temporary.

This ad is devastating. Not politically, although it is that, especially for Reagan Republicans. The Republican Party is unrecognizable. It’s not too late to save the country from that fate, but everyone must vote. https://t.co/ze4b6ioJEn

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 7, 2020

Wow!

Many people are pointing out that Reagan’s words didn’t match his deeds. We totally agree. But the ad isn’t geared to us, to make us join the GOP, it is geared toward people that think they are mainstream Republicans but are just cultists. In that sense, the ad is devastatingly effective.

The anti-Trump GOP'ers, these folks and Lincoln Project, are not messing around.

— Brian Parks (@Bparks3000) July 7, 2020

This one really shows who the GOP are today.

— jennamarie (@jennamarie) July 7, 2020

This should be on a loop all day every day until November

— Debs (@Debsbla) July 7, 2020

There must be at least some Republicans who will be moved by this and recognize that if they ever want to see a "great" America again, they're going to have to completely remake the GOP, from the ground up, or the stink of corruption and partisanship will never go away.

— masked proftheatre at home 😷🧶🎭🌊🗽 (@proftheatre) July 7, 2020

Exactly.

****

Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom