By Donald Sassano
In Homeland Security Guest Contributor
All conservatives should immediately read Lou Cannon’s definitive biography of Ronald Reagan. Although I look forward to spending time with the second volume devoted to his presidency and foreign-policy, Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power provides a well-rounded measure of the man wholly absent from today’s Republican circles and the conservative media circus that encumbers it.
The major take away is Governor Reagan was indeed a man of ideas (but not details), and above all a pragmatic politician who wanted to succeed. He was therefore willing to work with those he disagreed with, and was often content to settle for half a loaf. How unlike today’s Republicans! Given that background, here are five reasons why candidate Ronald Reagan, patron saint of the hard right, could never survive today’s conservative litmus test.
- Ronald Reagan belonged to a labor union. As a matter of fact he ultimately ran a union — the Screen Actors Guild – one of the nation’s most visible labor organizations. Both as member and ultimately its president, Reagan fought on behalf of motion picture employees much the way union leaders do in grittier industries — autos, steel, and service workers, for example. He sought better working conditions and a greater share of the profits. He was not averse to threaten work stoppages. Collective bargaining, strikes, worker security. Hardly bragging rights among today’s Republicans.
- Reagan had NO business experience. The conservative icon was always quick to celebrate America’s risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit, and rightly so. But from boyhood lifeguard to pitch man for General Electric to Governor and ultimately President, he was an employee. The only thing he “ran” was his career, a labor organization (see above) and two vast governmental bureaucracies. If forced to share a debate platform with the Bachmann’s, Cain’s, and Palin’s prevalent in today’s Republican Party, he’d be road kill.
- Reagan’s first decision upon assuming the Governor’s office in 1967 was to raise taxes. According to Canon “no amount of budget reductions, even if they had been politically palatable, could balance California’s budget in 1967. The cornerstone of Governor Reagan’s economic program was not the ballyhooed budget reductions [of campaign rhetoric] but a sweeping tax package four times larger than the previous record California tax increase obtained by Governor Brown in 1959. Reagan’s proposal had the distinction of being the largest tax hike ever proposed by any governor in the history of the United States”. The tab amounted to $1 billion — real money even in 1967 dollars. Of course, we all know President Reagan consistently stood for lower taxes and went on to significantly reduce marginal rates (and then raise them many times under the guise of “tax reform”). But when faced with the necessity of delivering a balanced budget as mandated by California law, he did so without worrying too much about “iron clad” principles. More politician than saint, he also took pains to remind Californians early and often that the budget crisis, and the necessity for tax hikes, were caused by his Democratic predecessor.
- Reagan supported abortion rights. In 1967 a bill was introduced in California’s legislature seeking to liberalize the state’s abortion law which only permitted the procedure to save the life of the mother. Then, sides were drawn based more or less on religious belief. Conservatives were not reflexively pro-life, as is the case today. Many believed government had a duty to stay out of both “boardroom and bedroom”. Reagan also faced the headwinds of rapidly changing attitudes among California voters, a majority of whom, including Catholics, favored liberalization. Initially, Reagan expressed support, possibly because no one expected the bill to emerge from committee. When it subsequently landed on his desk he agonized over possible compromises between “morality and logic” but ultimately signed. The result: in 1967, prior to its enactment, there were 518 legal abortions in California. From 1967 to 1980, 1.5 million abortions were performed.
- One of Reagan’s campaign promises was to “clean up the mess” within California’s State University system. He faced a two track problem. In addition to having to deal with violent campus unrest as Vietnam raged, Reagan vowed to impose financial discipline within the celebrated system. Like the overall state budget, spending had ballooned and a budget shortfall ensued. Hard choices regarding the imposition of tuition for in-state students were required. According to Cannon, Reagan began “by laying down a marker” that consisted of steep tuition increases coupled with severe spending cutbacks. Eventually, the two were delinked. The proposed tuition was then reduced. Finally, it was abandoned altogether in favor of comparatively innocuous fees imposed by University Regents at their discretion, not the Governor. The bottom line: spending on education during Reagan’s two terms rose 136 percent, considerably more than the overall state budget.
Money quote: “The genius of Reagan as a politician was that his reach almost always exceeded his grasp, and that he didn’t seem to mind. He typically sought more, often much more, than was obtainable, then settled for the best deal he could get.” Why do conservatives then and now ignore his pragmatism? According to William F. Buckley, Reagan had the gift and good fortune of being “essentially undoubted”.
Contrast the Reagan modus operandi with that of McConnell, Behner, and the rest of the crew, all of whom consistently disdain bipartisan problem-solving, practicality, and any measure of flexibility. I continue to argue that on a wide range of issues, President Obama is more Reagan-like, more “conservative” if you will, than any of today’s Republicans.
About the Author
Donald Sassano is a businessman with strong interests in Middle Eastern politics, U.S. Grand Strategy, and political theory. He completed his Master’s Degree in International Relations and Conflict Resolution with a concentration in Comparative and Security Issues at American Military University in 2013.
When he’s not reading and writing about foreign affairs, he works at commercial real estate to the extent necessary to keep a roof over his head. He resides with his wife Denise near Lake Erie in Rocky River, Ohio.
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