Demagogue

In this column posted yesterday, Ed Meese, the U.S. attorney general under Reagan, writes:

What would Ronald Reagan do?

I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked that question, on virtually every issue imaginable.

As much as we all want clarity and certainty, I usually refrain from specific answers. That’s because it is very difficult to directly translate particular political decisions to another context, in another time.

But, seven paragraphs later, Meese is more than happy to declare what Reagan would do if he were president today:

... So here we are, 20 years later, having much the same (immigration) debate and being offered much the same deal.

What would President Reagan do? For one thing, he would not repeat the mistakes of the past, including those of his own administration. He knew that secure borders are vital, and would now insist on meeting that priority first. He would seek to strengthen the enforcement of existing immigration laws. He would employ new tools .....