So Elizabeth Warren was a Republican up until 1995.

[Whiskeytide]

159. That's fair enough...

..., and she should explain where her head was in the 80s. But you must understand that what you're saying is, essentially, a purity test. And while I have no problem with thoroughly vetting any candidate who is looking to assume a leadership role with the party, I also don't have a problem with people changing their minds about important issues.

Ronnie was, in my view, the worst president ever elected to office in this country. But Friedman's economic models were wildly popular in the 80s following the economic nightmare the country suffered in the late 70s, and a lot of people saw some kind of logic (superficial though it was) in the trickle-down BS that everyone seemed to be touting at the time. It was a first class sales job, and the American people ate it up. Smart people - across all classes - thought it was a great policy. They were wrong, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean they were evil.

AIDS was horrific. Reagan should be vilified for his policies and non-policies concerning the epidemic. But -tragically - it WAS off the radar for the vast majority of Americans. It was just as slick a sales job. If you were on the streets, you knew that. But people who got their information from the box in their living room really didn't. I was in school at the time, but I really had no idea what Reagan was doing or not doing in response to AIDS. I didn't learn that until years later.

I actually supported Reagan in 1980. I had not been happy with Carter for several stupid reasons (my world view at 15-18 was pretty limited). Now, of course, I think Carter was the best thing we could have had during those tough times, and I know Reagan was a slick salesman who did more to destroy this country than I would have thought possible.

I just can't fault Warren for getting to the same place I did, even if she went a different route, may have been in a better position to know better, or even may have understood what she was doing then and (hopefully) has regrets. But whether she's "figured it out" or "had a change of heart" - either way she's walking the walk now, and I appreciate it. We need all the help we can get!

Now, if I see some lizard eyelids blinking horizontally, all bets are off.