Sen. Cotton can't square the circle between Reagan and Trump

The Week

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton gave a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Monday night in an attempt to get himself anointed as Donald Trump's successor. Cotton's remarks were noteworthy for establishing him as a master of obfuscation who will go to almost comical lengths to paper over the party's many disagreements and contradictions.

One way to describe the fissures in the GOP is to compare Reagan and Trump. The first person was a confident defender of democratic ideals who took a strong stand against the Soviet Union and championed immigration, free trade, and limited government at home. The second was a big fan of dictators, denigrating NATO, and favoring closed borders and protectionist policies.

Cotton claimed that Reagan and Trump are members of the American populist tradition that dates back to Andrew Jackson. According to Cotton, this tradition is known for proudly and unapologetically defending America's interests in the world and the interests of ordinary Americans against corrupt economic and political elites.

Cotton set himself up as the true successor of the Jacksonian tradition by calling out the biggest mistake made by each of his predecessors. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 should never have been signed by Reagan, he claimed. The First Step Act, which passed the Senate with 87 votes, was Trump's greatest error. Cotton was one of 12 Republicans who opposed the bill. It was praised for its efforts to reform criminal law, sentencing guidelines, and federal prison policy to make them more fair and reduce the inmate population.

Cotton believes that the current surge in violent crime can be traced to this law, which supposedly encouraged the hiring of progressive prosecutors who do not prosecute criminals. The law resulted in a drop in the prison population by more than 400,000 inmates in 2020.

Combine this rant with other passages of the speech, calling for Anthony Fauci to be fired and for our kids to be exposed to extremists.

If that is what Tom Cotton wants the Republican Party to stand for, he can try to make it a reality and ride it all the way to the Oval Office. He should admit that this vision has nothing to do with Reagan and everything to do with Cotton's attempt to join the Jacksonian tradition. Anything else is deliberate mystification.

He has the vision, but won't make it to the promised land.
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