[Salon] Trump is the Barry Goldwater for Generation Z, but who is our Reagan? | Washington Examiner

[Todd Pierce <todd.e.pierce@icloud.com>]

Quote: "But if we're successful in our efforts, we'll be able to rebuild a unified movement that can win big again and again. Trump realigned the conservative cause by appealing to forgotten, blue-collar voters — just as Goldwater did when Nelson Rockefeller seemed primed to win the establishment vote. Trump is the Goldwater of our generation: an unlikely and imperfect but effective leader who has ignited a revolution. 

"This begs the necessary yet wildly exciting follow-up: Who is our Reagan?"

DeSantis? Not surprisingly, this is written by someone with these affiliations, to include Mollie Hemingway’s The Federalist, necessary to know as part of any “network analysis:" "Gabe Kaminsky (@Gabe__Kaminsky) is an intern at the Federalist. His work has also appeared in the Daily Wire, Townhall.com, the Washington Times, the American Conservative, RealClearPolitics, and other outlets."

I’ve heard it said that because a number of Republicans, including many on the new House China Committee, voted against more aid to Ukraine at one point, they were “against the war.” In plain language, “Bullshit.” That’s a meme entirely reliant upon knowing that few people will even take a second step to inquire “why.” Knowing as they do that most people, to include, perhaps especially,  well educated people, are too lazy, ignorant, or just duplicitous, to even think of that necessary next step in making any judgment. It doesn’t take much with this marvel we have called the “internet” to do a search of their explanations, which I did. And most expressed explanations as TAC favorite Mollie Hemingway does here, representing “New Right” Goldwaterism. She represents him well, recognizing the ever-present “threat” we must dedicate our resources to “fighting,” perpetually:

https://thefederalist.com/videos/hemingway-preparing-for-chinese-aggression-is-obviously-not-isolationist/

“People who are very worried about our resources that we have in this country, how much money we have, how much of our supply is being drawn down by fighting Russia and Ukraine are worried in part because they want us to be ready for what might happen with China. It is not isolationist to care about what’s happening in China and to make sure that we are well situated to be able to handle that in terms of our financial situation and our military situation,” Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway said on Fox News’ “Special Report.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-is-the-barry-goldwater-for-generation-z-but-who-is-our-reagan

Trump is the Barry Goldwater for Generation Z, but who is our Reagan?

Modern conservatism is heavily indebted to our determined and constitutionally minded 40th president: Ronald Reagan. Reagan is branded as an almost mythical symbol of conservatism in its truest form, an emblem for freedom and justice.

But we shouldn't forget that Reagan took the mantle from Barry Goldwater in advocating for ordered liberty and the pursuit of the "common good," as championed by National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. and Russell Kirk. At a time when the Republican Party was likewise promoting big government and Communism abroad was the biggest threat to western civilization, here was a soft-spoken yet confident leader standing up for American values. Here was an actor and football player with a blue-collar upbringing.

While Generation Z and millennial acquaintances of mine may argue that former President Donald Trump is the Reagan of our generation, I beg to differ. Trump is our Goldwater. Trump's victory was a pivotal moment for those like me who were still in high school in 2016.

The edgy businessman appealed to people who wouldn't even consider themselves Republicans, including myself at the time. Trump appealed to those who had been put off by the urbanized centrality of prior GOP administrations. He cut through the nonsense. He stood up to the elites, as well as their high-brow arrogance, and he won big. It was awesome.

Trump’s victory was also a much-needed shift from the Obama years.

As the media swooned over former President Barack Obama's supposed accomplishments between 2009 and 2016, conservative youth felt like outcasts. We sat in classes, seeing just how unaware many of our classmates and teachers were that the United States is not the one-sided political and social vacuum they perceived it to be. We were outcasts. But Trump gave us a voice. And so, today, many conservatives from my generation see Trump as their defining hero. I get it. Trump was a bold leader, the boldest we had ever witnessed. He did not care to care for the corporate and political establishment, those who had run the phony political game for far too long. The fundamental reckoning we are seeing play out is that many conservatives in my generation have fallen in "eternal love" with their first partner — Trump. This might sound like a somewhat ridiculous way to put it, but it is the only way I can think of.

What follows is our challenge: how to build on Trump's legacy.

I hope that we can find a 2024 or 2028 presidential nominee who channels the boldness of Trump alongside Reagan's rhetorical prudence. Such a candidate would reignite the revolution that Trump started but in a way that mitigated the negative side effects of Trump's indefensible comments. Trump's more vitriolic personal insults were unbecoming of his office. And for his supporters, they made defending our hero just a little too exhausting. We have to consider Trump's virtues alongside his vices as we look toward the conservative leaders of the future.

But if we're successful in our efforts, we'll be able to rebuild a unified movement that can win big again and again. Trump realigned the conservative cause by appealing to forgotten, blue-collar voters — just as Goldwater did when Nelson Rockefeller seemed primed to win the establishment vote. Trump is the Goldwater of our generation: an unlikely and imperfect but effective leader who has ignited a revolution.

This begs the necessary yet wildly exciting follow-up: Who is our Reagan?

Gabe Kaminsky (@Gabe__Kaminsky) is an intern at the Federalist. His work has also appeared in the Daily Wire, Townhall.com, the Washington Times, the American Conservative, RealClearPolitics, and other outlets.

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