President Reagan was not a relevant figure to voters in their 20s and early 30s, the youngest member of Congress said Tuesday.
Reagan was more of a historical figure than a contemporary, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) asserted, placing himself squarely within a debate over whether the GOP needs to move beyond talking about the conservative giant.
“For someone in their twenties and even in their thirties, [Reagan] was not a relevant figure as we were growing up because he’s in the history,” Schock said during an appearance on Fox News. “And we have to be a party about the future. Our message has to be about the future and how our policies are best for the future of our country.”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) raised eyebrows this weekend when he said at a meeting of Republicans in Arlington, Va. that the GOP needed to stop pining for the days of Reagan. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), meanwhile, seemed to reject that notion, arguing that the revitalization of the Republican Party isn’t a matter of whether or not the party stops talking about the former president.
“I’m the first Generation Y member of Congress, which means I was born after Ronald Reagan became president,” Schock explained. “Ronald Reagan is a great figure in our party.”