Tear down this icon: Why the GOP has to get over Ronald Reagan

By Jennifer Rubin,

Apr 25, 2013 04:00 PM EDT  The Washington Post

The unfailing reverence on the American right for Ronald Reagan is understandable. He was the only exemplar of modern conservatism to win the White House, and unlike liberal icons such as Roosevelt or Johnson or Obama, he presided over an economic boom and became beloved by voters not normally drawn to his party. No wonder that Reagan, long before his death in 2004, attained mythical status in the conservative movement and the Republican Party.

But that myth has become a burden for the modern GOP. It has bound Reagan’s followers on the right to policies and positions that were time-specific. The old guard has become convinced that Reagan’s solutions to the problems of his time were the essence of conservatism — not simply conservative ideas appropriate for that era…..To Read More….

My Take - So....let's see if I understand this correctly.  Jenny thinks that the solid traditional values espoused by Reagan are passe and the Republican's need to become .....Democrats?  Since they would be abandoning Reagan's values I would have to assume that means they would be "valueless"?  As for John McCain being a bitter Reaganite.....he isn't a Reaganite, he is now and has always been a left wing Rockefeller Republican.  We really do need clarity.  

However, I am impressed with her concern for conservatives and their relationship with the Republican party.  It just isn't of any value.  Harry Truman was told he needs to run more like the Republicans in his run for the Presidentency.  Harry said that if the people had a choice between a Republican and a Republican they would choose a Republican every time.  It works both ways.