Writing of Jim Webb's "Ronald Reagan TV ad," Thursday’s Hotline asked the question: " ... has R. Reagan, following a rightward shift in GWB's GOP, become a fair-game mantra for both parties?"(Apparently, there is a theory being floated that the Republican Party has gotten too conservative for Ronald Reagan.)

As a Ronald Reagan fan, I am happy that he is being remembered so fondly. But the best tribute of the man is to tell the truth. And in seeking to lionize "The Great Communicator" as a moderate who was "above politics," the proponents of this theory are attempting to re-write history.

Why are the Democrats (such as Jim Webb) doing this? After years of trying to destroy Reagan's legacy, they have finally conceded his status as a great president. The public has concluded that Reagan had it right. But while Democrats can afford concede the past, they cannot afford to give up the future. So, out of necessity, they have had to develop a "two-step" strategy that acknowledges Reagan's greatness, yet undermines his disciples. The strategy goes like this:

1. Ronald Reagan was a good president, but
2. Today's GOP has become too conservative (even for Reagan)

Of course, this is folderol. (In fairness, Republicans have, on occasion, tried to do the same thing with FDR and JFK.)

So let’s set the record straight ...

First, Ronald Reagan was a partisan.

I won’t bore you with the familiar story of how he came to become a Republican. But I will point out a few things that tend to be forgotten.

... Reagan was a tireless supporter of the Republican Party.

He campaigned for Barry Goldwater, a man thought of as “ultra-conservative," in 1964. He campaigned for Richard Nixon for President, too. Even after leaving office, Reagan continued to campaign for Republicans.

Speaking at the 1992 GOP Convention, Reagan campaigned for Bush/Quayle, and criticized the Democrats, saying: "They put on quite a production in New York a few weeks ago. You might even call it slick. A stone's throw from Broadway it was, and how appropriate ... And they call me an actor."

Mocking Bill Clinton, Reagan said: " ... we see all that rhetorical smoke, billowing out from the Democrats, well ladies and gentlemen, I'd follow the example of their nominee. Don't inhale."

... Four years after leaving office, Ronald Reagan was still playing hardball -- campaigning for the Republican team. Does this sound like a man who was above partisanship?

Second, Ronald Reagan was a conservative.

He was conservative enough to challenge a moderate sitting Republican President named Gerald Ford, in 1976. It's hard to remember, but it was once thought that he was "too conservative" to be elected. Almost every conservative leader today considers him their hero.

Speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 1985, he said, "And I always see the Conservative Political Action Conference speech as my opportunity to "dance with the one that brung ya."

He was Pro-Life, Anti-Tax, and pro-military. Frankly, defending Reagan as a conservative is like defending Babe Ruth as a homerun hitter ...

Yes, Reagan might be upset at the state of the GOP, today.

But it wouldn’t be because we’re too conservative -- it would be because we have moved away from fiscal conservatism. Ronald Reagan, for example, probably wouldn’t like the GOP’s prescription drug entitlement.

In fairness, I also think Ronald Reagan would advise George W. Bush to do a better job of making friends with Congress and the DC establishment. But this isn't a matter of a difference of ideology -- it's a tactical difference.

... They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's true, "The Gipper" should be proud: The same liberals who loathed him when he was alive have given up all hope of destroying his legacy.

Since they can’t go after Regan, their only hope is to rewrite history, and "co-opt" his image.

But a true legacy isn't achieved merely by being remembered fondly -- it is in having the work of your life live on.

In a sense, it is a compliment to both Reagan and the conservatives that, in death, Reagan has achieved near universal approval. On the other hand, conservatives cannot allow his history to be rewritten any more than liberals would have allowed Republicans to claim FDR.

Standing at Abraham Lincoln’s deathbed, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton famously said: "Now he belongs to the ages."

Well, Ronald Reagan may belong to the ages, but he also belongs to the conservative movement. And we can't afford to lose him, just yet. Don't let them get away with re-writing the history of Ronald Reagan ...