A Stroll Down Repug Memory Sewer

I haven’t been paying much attention, but I hear that plenty of “the usual suspects” have been tossing around red meat for “the base” at the ReThuglican Denial Show this week (including the “mayor of 911” hisself, as well as a certain lady Alaskan mayor), but while all of “the faithful” are partying, I’d like to remind them of an inglorious moment about 16 years ago.

In today’s New York Times, various individuals from the Gluttonous Old Party dusted off the memory banks, as it were, and provided their remembrances of prior conventions. And I thought this one by Bay Buchanan was worth recalling…

In December 1991 my brother Pat walked away from CNN and threw his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination against President George H. W. Bush. After 10 weeks of campaigning, he won 37 percent of the vote in New Hampshire but was soon overwhelmed by the president’s huge campaign operation.

By the end of the race, Pat had some clout. He had promised his supporters he would go all the way to the convention and he intended to honor that commitment. He was willing to make a strong case for Mr. Bush against Bill Clinton, but he wanted a prime-time spot at the convention in return.

As the story goes, Pat heard from Reagan buds Jim Lake and Charlie Black (The guy gets around, doesn’t he?), and he eventually got his deal: the endorsement of Poppy Bush, and his prime-time audience for what came next…

Pat went on to deliver his now famous “culture war” speech. It is often blamed for Mr. Bush’s defeat, and Pat is accused of hijacking the convention. But the final version was sent to the White House for approval, and it received high praise from the news media and the Bush family. Oh, one other detail: A poll that concluded the night after Pat spoke gave President Bush a 10-point bump in the number of voters who strongly supported him.

So remember, Repugs, just because you decide to “kick it up a notch” in the bloviating rhetoric department for the benefit of “the base,” that doesn’t always guarantee the result you want.

Because, as we know, things didn’t go according to the plan (interesting that Clinton is Red and GHWB is blue…and at least one individual decided enough was enough).