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06/28/2010

Political geekery FAIL

by Jeremy Hooper

Maggie Gallagher rounds out a new blog post by saying this about a pro-equality Republican:

"Charlie Baker, best of luck, but to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, Scott Brown is a friend of ours, and you are no Scott Brown."
WaPo's favorite new Republican [NOM]

Only problem for Mags? Well, that's she's as wrong about this paraphrase as she is the idea that gay people are less fit for equality than their heterosexual peers, or that conservatives who claim gays want "pedophilia, prostitution, and polygamy" are smart political allies! Because in actuality (which is about 50 miles left of Maggie's usual starting point), this uber-popular piece of modern political lexicon doesn't stem from the jellybean-scented lips of Reagan -- it instead comes from a remark that Democratic Veep candidate Lloyd Bentsen made to Republican opponent Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice presidential debate. This was the exchange:

Sen. Quayle: ...I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be preparedScreen Shot 2010-06-29 At 2.40.25 Pm-1 to deal with the people in the Bush administration, if that unfortunate event would ever occur.

Moderator: Senator?

Sen. Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy. (loud cheers and applause.)

Sure, four years later, Reagan jokingly reframed the line for the 1992 Republican National Convention...

"This fellow they've nominated claims he's the new Thomas Jefferson," Mr. Reagan said. "Well, let me tell you something. I knew Thomas Jefferson. He was a friend of mine. And Governor, you're no Thomas Jefferson." Mr. Reagan was playfully alluding to a barb Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas hurled at Dan Quayle in a Vice-Presidential debate in 1988. [NYT, 8/18/92]

...but by this point, as the above NYT writer notes, Reagan himself was simply embracing the pop culture role that the quip had taken on. Its root lies with Bentsen.

But then again, Maggie also tries to put the word "victim" in the mouths of the citizens who go to polls to tyrannically roll back their neighbors' civil rights. In terms of misappropriations, at least this latest one is only missing appropriateness on a cultural literacy level, not a soul-crushingly discriminatory one!

**

*Oh, and MG, before you get further revisionist ideas: No, Anita Bryant is not widely seen as a sympathetic figure.

*Oh, and as others have pointed out in this post's comments section: It's not just that her quoting is anachronistic. She also may be overstating the friendliness that her cause will find in Scott Brown.

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