Bob Dole, who ran on the Republican presidential ticket in 1996 and served as a Kansas senator for nearly 30 years, said that he didn’t believe he would fit in today’s GOP in a Fox News Sunday interview.
“I doubt it,” Dole said about his chances of being embraced by the party in this day and age. “Reagan wouldn’t have made it, certainly Nixon wouldn’t have made it, because he had ideas. We might have made it, but I doubt it.”
Dole, a former majority leader, last appeared on the Senate floor in December in the hopes that his appearance would compel Republicans to authorize a United Nations treaty banning discrimination against people with disabilities. His former colleagues waited until the 89-year-old left the chamber before voting down the agreement, arguing that the resolution would infringe upon American sovereignty.
Dole criticized that degree of obstructionism Sunday.
“It seems almost unreal that we can’t get together on a budget or legislation,” he said.
The WWII veteran added that the party is suffering from a lack of leadership.
“They ought to put a sign on the National Committee doors that says ‘Closed for repairs,’ until New Year’s Day next year,” he said. “And spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas.”
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