These Names Do Not Mean What You Think They Mean

At the new home of Megan McArdle, John Avlon sez:

The California Republican Party has a long and distinguished tradition, from Hiram Johnson to Earl Warren to Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan to Pete Wilson. It was once the quintessential big tent, though it contained plenty of ideological disagreements. Most important, it won elections, appealing right and center.

Then a quote from another deluded soul:

“In California it’s possible to find thousands of people willing to wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning, dress up in chicken suits, and wait in line all day just to watch a taping of Let’s Make a Deal, but the California GOP can’t find one termed-out state legislator, redistricted congressman, or dot-com weenie willing to run against Dianne Feinstein,” says John Phillips, a host at talk radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles.

“The same party that brought the world Dick Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Pete Wilson could now nominate a woman for statewide office who is bat-shit crazy. It’s beyond embarrassing; it’s suicidal,” Phillips adds. “The California Republican Party is officially in the Terri Schiavo stage of its life.”

Yup, Tricky Dick Nixon the paranoid, washed-up actor turned GE spokesmodel Reagan & Pete "Prop. 187" Wilson. Remember when "Pito Pete" was the great Republican Presidential Hope?