Harry Reid is a National Treasure
In case you didn’t notice, Harry Reid endorsed his fellow Mormon John Huntsman yesterday for the Republican nomination for the Presidency. The former Governor of Utah – who, in announcing his candidacy for the Presidency, could not find a thing to criticize in Barack Obama – is the very model of what Democrats consider “a responsible Republican.” If you go back to the 1930s, when the New Deal was riding high, the Democrats emphasized the need for a “responsible” opposition. What they had in mind was an opposition that did not oppose the direction in which they were leading the country but that got on board and helped with constructive criticism so that the programs underpinning the administrative entitlements state then emerging could be tweaked where they were incoherent and counter-productive.
For the most part, the Democrats have gotten exactly what they wanted. They could not afford to say so at the time, but Herbert Hoover – who laid the foundations for the New Deal with full support from a Republican Congress – was just the sort of Republican that they had in mind. The Republican nominees in 1936, 1940, 1944, and 1948 -- Alf Landon, Wendell Wilkie, and Thomas E. Dewey (twice) – were cut from the same cloth as Hoover, and the same can be said of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, George Bush père and George Bush fils. Nixon was the perfect me-too Republican. He was the man – not Lyndon Baines Johnson – who brought us affirmative action, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Huntsman would be a worthy successor to these men, and his nomination would end any possibility that the Republican Party might re-emerge, as it did briefly under Ronald Reagan, as a genuine opposition – “irresponsible,” from the perspective of Progressives, because it is intent on rolling back the administrative entitlements state and not on merely making the machinery hum.
Reid, who is a Mormon, was critical yesterday of the other Mormon in the Republican race. Of Mitt Romney, he said, “I think the frontrunner in the Republican stakes now, here is a man who doesn’t know who he is. . . . We modeled our [healthcare] bill to a large degree about what he did in Massachusetts. Now he is trying to run from that. If someone doesn't know who they are they shouldn't be president of the United States.”
The reason that I regard Reid as a natural treasure is that he is apt to say what is on his mind, and what he does say (once you work your way through his syntax) is almost always revealing. I suspect, however, that it isn’t so much that Romney does not know who he is. It is that he is pretending to be someone other than the RINO he really is.
Do you remember the Romney of 2008? He was the man who staked his claim to the Republican nomination on his achievement with regard to health care in Massachusetts. He did not say, then, that a national program modeled on his great achievement would be unconstitutional. That claim – however true it may be – was invented in 2011 for the purpose of allowing him to tout Romneycare as a wonder while repudiating Obamacare. The real difference between Huntsman and Romney is that Huntsman really is the man he pretends to be.
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Comments:
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
I don't think a candidate, in the general election, needs a single-issue strength as much as one does to distinguish themselves in a primary. Granted, you'd want a candidate's perceived expertise to be on the biggest issue (like Romney and the economy). However, there are a lot of other factors that go into electability.
Huntsman is the only candidate in the field to have both foreign and domestic experience, and has qualities that will easily appeal to the middle. If one is to argue the merits of his conservatism/ what issues he stands for decisively, I think there is a harder case to be made - hopefully one he will make in the upcoming months. But in terms of electability, he seems to possess clear strengths.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Richard Young
Prof. Rahe do you know Romney personally? How did you gain an insight into him so profound as to be able to say with confidence that he is pretending? Jun 22 at 2:22pm
No, Richard, I do not know him personally. But I can judge him by his actions, and it is pretty obvious that politically he is a chameleon. When he ran for the Senate against Ted Kennedy, he denounced Reagan and asserted that every woman has a right to an abortion. When he ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008, he sang a different tune. In 2008, he was going to bring his experience with healthcare in Massachusetts to bear on our national problem. Now he tells us that he is proud of Romneycare but that duplicating it on the national level is unconstitutional. Funny thing, he said no such thing in 2008. As a candidate, Romney will be whatever you want him to be.
Mar '11
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Hmm...if this were a Cook County election, and the Machine was worried about a primary candidate named "Mitt Romney" that somehow managed to avoid having his filing successfully challenged, the slate would include someone (or several someones) who closely matched his profile in order to split the vote of his constituency. Oh, and if possible, they would be named "Matt Romney" or "Mitt Rumley" or whatever they can find.
It is a good thing that the Obama administration is far too ethical to engage in such shabby tactics.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Percival: Hmm...if this were a Cook County election, and the Machine was worried about a primary candidate named "Mitt Romney" that somehow managed to avoid having his filing successfully challenged, the slate would include someone (or several someones) who closely matched his profile in order to split the vote of his constituency. Oh, and if possible, they would be named "Matt Romney" or "Mitt Rumley" or whatever they can find.
It is a good thing that the Obama administration is far too ethical to engage in such shabby tactics. · Jun 22 at 3:42pm
If we were not barred from airing conspiracy theories on Ricochet, I would speculate that there is a method to this madness -- that Governor Huntsman intends to run for the nomination, be repudiated by his party, and switch sides with an appeal to high principle and replace Joe Biden as the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee. But, of course, I cannot even suggest such a possibility. No, no no, not I!
Mar '11
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Paul A. Rahe
Richard Young
Prof. Rahe do you know Romney personally? How did you gain an insight into him so profound as to be able to say with confidence that he is pretending? Jun 22 at 2:22pm
No, Richard, I do not know him personally. But I can judge him by his actions, and it is pretty obvious that politically he is a chameleon. When he ran for the Senate against Ted Kennedy, he denounced Reagan and asserted that every woman has a right to an abortion. When he ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008, he sang a different tune. In 2008, he was going to bring his experience with healthcare in Massachusetts to bear on our national problem. Now he tells us that he is proud of Romneycare but that duplicating it on the national level is unconstitutional. Funny thing, he said no such thing in 2008. As a candidate, Romney will be whatever you want him to be. · Jun 22 at 3:15pm
What I would love is an actual link to these statements you refer to because I remember them more nuanced and less cut and dry than you characterize them.
Nov '10
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Paul A. Rahe
It is that he is pretending to be someone other than the RINO he really is.
Prof Rahe, I share your doubts about Romney, but would you reconsider the RINO tag? Romney of 2008 was endorsed by NR in 2007. Go back and read that endorsement: Romney For President. Does NR have a track record of endorsing RINOs? And heath care was supposed to be a Romney plus: "He knows that not every feature of the health-care plan he enacted in Massachusetts should be replicated nationally, but he can also speak with more authority than any of the other Republican candidates about this pressing issue." If Lowry et. al, felt that way in 2007, how can we blame Mitt for saying the same thing in 2011? We don't have to agree, but he is not crazy (or dishonest) to be saying it.
I disagreed with that endorsement back in 2007 and said so to members of the board, and I'm an anyone-but-Romney Republican in this cycle. But shouldn't there be a distinction between Republicans we won't support for POTUS and RINOs?
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
John Ammirati
Paul A. Rahe
Prof Rahe, I share your doubts about Romney, but would you reconsider the RINO tag? Romney of 2008 was endorsed by NR in 2007. Go back and read that endorsement: Romney For President. Does NR have a track record of endorsing RINOs? And heath care was supposed to be a Romney plus: "He knows that not every feature of the health-care plan he enacted in Massachusetts should be replicated nationally, but he can also speak with more authority than any of the other Republican candidates about this pressing issue." If Lowry et. al, felt that way in 2007, how can we blame Mitt for saying the same thing in 2011? We don't have to agree, but he is not crazy (or dishonest) to be saying it.· Jun 22 at 4:22pm
We can blame Rich Lowry and the rest in 2007, and soon thereafter they blamed themselves.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Richard Young
Paul A. Rahe
Richard Young
Jun 22 at 2:22pm
It is pretty obvious that politically he is a chameleon. When he ran for the Senate against Ted Kennedy, he denounced Reagan and asserted that every woman has a right to an abortion. When he ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008, he sang a different tune. In 2008, he was going to bring his experience with healthcare in Massachusetts to bear on our national problem. Now he tells us that he is proud of Romneycare but that duplicating it on the national level is unconstitutional. Funny thing, he said no such thing in 2008. As a candidate, Romney will be whatever you want him to be. · Jun 22 at 3:15pm
What I would love is an actual link to these statements you refer to because I remember them more nuanced and less cut and dry than you characterize them. · Jun 22 at 4:17pm
Richard, this is not hard to find. A short time ago, Peter Robinson put up a video of Romney denouncing Reagan and embracing abortion. His defense of Romneycare right now is easily found.
Edited on June 23, 2011 at 1:56amSep '10
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Paul A. Rahe
Percival: Hmm...if this were a Cook County election, and the Machine was worried about a primary candidate named "Mitt Romney" that somehow managed to avoid having his filing successfully challenged, the slate would include someone (or several someones) who closely matched his profile in order to split the vote of his constituency. Oh, and if possible, they would be named "Matt Romney" or "Mitt Rumley" or whatever they can find.
It is a good thing that the Obama administration is far too ethical to engage in such shabby tactics. · Jun 22 at 3:42pm
If we were not barred from airing conspiracy theories on Ricochet, I would speculate that there is a method to this madness -- that Governor Huntsman intends to run for the nomination, be repudiated by his party, and switch sides with an appeal to high principle and replace Joe Biden as the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee. But, of course, I cannot even suggest such a possibility. No, no no, not I! · Jun 22 at 3:54pm
Ahem.
Sep '10
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Read this blast from the past:
14 points. Ouch.
Sep '10
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Adobe Acrobat version here.
Mar '11
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Responding to my request to link to his source material Paul Rahe responds “Richard, this is not hard to find. A short time ago, Peter Robinson put up a video of Romney denouncing Reagan and embracing abortion. His defense of Romneycare right now is easily found.”
If they are so easily found then assist your readers by linking to them so that we can more readily judge the accuracy of your characterizations of his positions. That shouldn’t be too hard; you’re an academic used to citing his sources. I don’t doubt that they exist on the web but I do think you exaggerate Romney’s intent. Imagine if someone wrote the following:
"Professor Rahe always grossly mischaracterizes Romney’s positions and record using hyperbole and embellishment to distort the truth and serve some hidden agenda."
And then, when asked to cite examples the writer responds,
"Examples are easily found."
Doesn’t seem quite fair does it? I hope in the future when you say something about any candidate you back it up.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Pseudodionysius: Read this blast from the past:
14 points. Ouch. · Jun 22 at 7:54pm
Ouch, indeed! And the signatories -- including figures like Hadley Arkes, Hugh Hewitt, and Mary Ann Glendon -- make up an impressive list. Romney is much worse than I had assumed.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Richard Young:
Responding to my request to link to his source material Paul Rahe responds “Richard, this is not hard to find. A short time ago, Peter Robinson put up a video of Romney denouncing Reagan and embracing abortion. His defense of Romneycare right now is easily found.”
If they are so easily found then assist your readers by linking to them so that we can more readily judge the accuracy of your characterizations of his positions. That shouldn’t be too hard; you’re an academic used to citing his sources. I don’t doubt that they exist on the web but I do think you exaggerate Romney’s intent. Imagine if someone wrote the following:
"Professor Rahe always grossly mischaracterizes Romney’s positions and record using hyperbole and embellishment to distort the truth and serve some hidden agenda."
And then, when asked to cite examples the writer responds,
"Examples are easily found."
Doesn’t seem quite fair does it? I hope in the future when you say something about any candidate you back it up. · Jun 23 at 5:4
Fair, Richard? I have provided plenty of links in the past. You might start here and here.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Richard Young:
I hope in the future when you say something about any candidate you back it up. · Jun 23 at 5:41am
If I were writing an academic paper, I would do just that. But, at Ricochet, I am tasked with starting a conversation; and I do not know about you -- but I do not ordinarily provide footnotes in my conversations. On Ricochet -- if I am making a point that stands in strong contrast to what is generally thought -- I sometimes add a link for the benefit of readers. When I am alluding to something generally known, I do not bother. Romney's stance vis-a-vis Reagan and abortion in the early 1990s is known. Peter Robinson posted a video that shows him at it. I later reposted it. Since you have written on this site repeatedly in defense of Romney and since you actually commented on that particular post of mine, I took it for granted that you had seen it. Let me add that your first comment on that earlier occasion was snide in the same fashion as your comments on this post.
If I am wrong on the facts, Richard, prove it.
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Paul A. Rahe
Pseudodionysius: Read this blast from the past:
14 points. Ouch. · Jun 22 at 7:54pm
Ouch, indeed! And the signatories -- including figures like Hadley Arkes, Hugh Hewitt, and Mary Ann Glendon -- make up an impressive list. Romney is much worse than I had assumed. · Jun 23 at 7:15am
Correction. I just re-read the material at the link three times. Arkes, Hewitt, and Glendon were not signatories. They are being cited in support of various propositions being advocated in the piece. The piece is set up, however, so that at first glance one would take them to be signatories.
Sep '10
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Social conservatives in Mass. have long memories of Romney's wax nose persona in action. While much of that material may not be on the web, I'm sure the folks here at Ricochet could get someone to go on the record. Maybe even on a podcast.
Mar '11
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Paul A. Rahe
Richard Young:
I hope in the future when you say something about any candidate you back it up. · Jun 23 at 5:41am
If I am wrong on the facts, Richard, prove it. · Jun 23 at 10:23am
When you commented in a previous thread that Romney's only accomplishment as governor was passage of his healthcare bill I replied with a detailed list of what I thought were quite impressive accomplishments, particularly for a Republican in a deep blue state. You then dismissed them as insignificant. I think you have a difficulty seeing anything that doesn't agree with your pre-conceived notion of who Romney is. As to being snide, I would guess, were I Mitt Romney, I could accuse you of the same. I'm sorry you take it that way but it's hard to be very respectful of statements that are so hyperbolic. It's the kind of over the top commenting I would expect from a member not a regular contributor. At least when I criticized Peter Robinson for the same when he called Romney "toast" he had the modesty to admit it was overblown.
Jun '11
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
Hi Richard,
This is an interesting exchange.
Should you ever stop from your defense of Mr. Romney and make time to bring him the critiques of him that come back from places like Ricochet or Anywhere or construction sites or America? He comes across as (and I know he may not be, he may be a glorious saint, an expert tactician, a financial wizard) as the same old, same old Republican who gives lip service to freedom but espouses Rational Administration.
As he has presented himself, Mr. Romney cannot win. America is looking for some one other than the rich guy with a perpetual tan with a perpetual suit and a perpetual perfect haircut. America is looking for authentic. Real.
This is not a slur on Mr. Romney. This is political reality. He needs to change his image if he wants to be elected. Otherwise, his clock gets cleaned. If you are close to him and want him to win, you need to have a serious conversation.
Principles wise, he will be suspect until he proves otherwise.
........waiting for Elizabeth to label me a low class, low brow...........
Mar '11
Re: Harry Reid is a National Treasure
michael kelley: This is not a slur on Mr. Romney. This is political reality. He needs to change his image if he wants to be elected. Otherwise, his clock gets cleaned. If you are close to him and want him to win, you need to have a serious conversation.
Principles wise, he will be suspect until he proves otherwise.
........waiting for Elizabeth to label me a low class, low brow........... · Jun 23 at 8:16pm
I don't know him personally. Wish I did, but I've always been impressed since he performed so amazingly here in Utah rescuing us from a failed Olympics. We'll see how he ends up. I'm much more optimistic than you are and the polls seem to be blowing in his favor. Honestly though I could be happy with quite a few of the candidates running right now so I'm not that concerned. I do like to see all of them fairly presented however.