Dick Armey is correct in saying that Republicans in Congress have never recovered from Bob Dole's betrayal in the 1995 government-shutdown debacle -- except that he never mentions Dole:
A few months before the victory on welfare, we lost the battle over the federal government shutdown of 1995, when we were outmaneuvered by Clinton, a masterful political operator. After that fight, too many Republicans apparently concluded that America wanted bigger government. This misreading was the first step on the road away from the Reagan legacy.
We emerged as a wounded party; we stopped trusting the public; and we internalized the wrong lesson. Right. And the GOP then nominated Bob Dole as their presidential candidate in 1996, confirming that the Republican Party wasn't serious about limited government. Bob Dole never met a tax increase he didn't like or a farm subsidy he didn't co-sponsor.
A few months before the victory on welfare, we lost the battle over the federal government shutdown of 1995, when we were outmaneuvered by Clinton, a masterful political operator. After that fight, too many Republicans apparently concluded that America wanted bigger government. This misreading was the first step on the road away from the Reagan legacy.
We emerged as a wounded party; we stopped trusting the public; and we internalized the wrong lesson. Right. And the GOP then nominated Bob Dole as their presidential candidate in 1996, confirming that the Republican Party wasn't serious about limited government. Bob Dole never met a tax increase he didn't like or a farm subsidy he didn't co-sponsor.
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