'The Reagan Doctrine is dead'

For 36 years, Ronald Reagan was, hands down, the most influential figure in the Republican Party. The era of Reagan Republicans started with his landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and continued long after his death at 93 on June 5, 2004.

But with his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump's Patrick Buchanan-influenced "America First" ideology and his mixture of hyper-nationalism, isolationism and protectionism gave the GOP a radical makeover.

In an article published on February 19, the Daily Beast's Riley Rogerson emphasizes that being a "Reagan Republican" is now a major liability in the Trumpified GOP.

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Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Illinois), who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, told the Daily Beast, "It's not my father's Republican Party. My father's Republican Party was pro-trade, pro-military, and pro-business. You knew where they stood on this, not the least of which was the foundation, the Reagan Doctrine — that we will forever stand with our allies against Soviet aggression…. The Reagan Doctrine is dead."

Rogerson observes that House Republicans' reluctance to give military aid to Ukraine underscores the decline of Reagan's influence in the Republican Party.

"With the help of media personalities like former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Ukraine aid has become a highly charged political lightning rod," Rogerson explains. "Conservatives argue that any funding for Ukraine would be better spent domestically — never mind that the vast majority of Ukraine aid goes to U.S. defense companies rebuilding Pentagon weapon stockpiles."

Rogerson adds, "The Republican critics of Ukraine aid are so substantial that, in September, 93 GOP lawmakers supported an amendment, led by conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), to prohibit security aid to Ukraine. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has even vowed to introduce a motion to remove the speaker if he puts Ukraine aid on the floor for a vote."

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The Beast reporter notes that "fierce foreign aid hawks" like former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), both outspoken Trump critics, are now gone from the House.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told the Beast, "I'm kind of a Reagan guy. And I always ask, 'What would Reagan do?'.... If we abandon our allies in Ukraine — like we did in Afghanistan — and surrender to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and allow him to take over Ukraine, he'll go into Moldova, Georgia."

McCaul continued, "He'll threaten the Baltics. And where are we then?.... It's kind of like 1939."

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Read the Daily Beast's full article at this link (subscription required).