Burnt Orange Report

Ronald Reagan

By Byron LaMasters

I was six years old when Ronald Reagan's second term ended, so on a personal level, I don't have any connection to Ronald Reagan than of the occasional news about his fight with Alzheimer's Disease. Nor do I have much affinity for his politics or ideology as I have studied them in history class, government class or on my own time. Having said that, I can respect the way that Reagan played the political game. I can respect Reagan as a man. And I respect his ability to comunicate an optimistic message to the American people in good times and bad. While I never would have voted for the man, Ronald Reagan helped give America the confidence in itself again, that we lost throughout Vietnam, Watergate and the Iran hostage crisis. In many ways 2004 is similar to 1980, and John Kerry subtly makes those observations in his press release on Saturday:

“Now, his own journey has ended-a long and storied trip that spanned most of the American century-and shaped one of the greatest victories of freedom. Today in the face of new challenges, his example reminds us that we must move forward with optimism and resolve. He was our oldest president, but he made America young again.

Will Bush benefit or be hurt by the Reagan nostalgia that is sure to ensue in the following days and weeks? I don't know. Surely, some conservatives will be motivated to rally to Bush and the conservative movement. Others, may decide to think about it a little longer. Is George W. Bush really the compassionate conservative in the Reagan tradition that he says he is? George Strong takes a careful look:

On a woman's right to choose President Reagan talked the conservative line but did not do much to try and outlaw abortion. As Governor of California he even signed a bill permitting abortions. As Lou Cannon said in his book on Reagan "Reagan was not as obsessive about anti-abortion legislation as he often seemed. Early in his California governorship he had signed a permissive abortion bill that has resulted in more than a million abortions. Afterward, he inaccurately blamed this outcome on doctors, saying that they had deliberately misinterpreted the law. When Reagan ran for president, he won backing from pro-life forces by advocating a constitutional amendment that would have prohibited all abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother. Reagan's stand was partly a product of political calculation, as was his tactic after he was elected of addressing the annual pro-life rally held in Washington by telephone so that he would not be seen with the leaders of the movement on the evening news. While I do not doubt Reagan's sincerity in advocating an anti-abortion amendment, he invested few political resources toward obtaining this goal"

Contrast that with our current President and you might conclude that George W. Bush is much more conservative. From his first action in the White House President Bush has been strongly anti-choice. Too bad he does not just talk the right's game.

And on Gay rights I seem to remember that President Reagan refused to take an anti-gay stand. He told his staff that he had many homosexual friends in the "picture business". Cannon in his book The role of a Lifetime, said "Reagan's presidency coincided with the emergence of the AIDS epidemic. Reagan's response to this epidemic was halting and ineffective. In the critical years of 1984 and 1985, according to his White House physician Dr. John Hutton, Reagan thought of AIDS as though "it was measles and would go away." What changed Reagan's view was the death in October 1985 of his friend Rock Hudson".

On gun control he was mostly silent. On women he appointed the first Woman Supreme Count Justice. Reagan changed the Supreme Court. He appointed the first woman to the high court, Sandra Day O'Connor, fulfilling a pledge he had made during a low point of his 1980 presidential campaign. Reagan's strategists came up with the idea of putting a woman on the Supreme Court". And of course Justice O'Connor is now the swing vote on the court on many social issues. Thanks to Mr. Reagan/

According to Cannon "Reagan did not devote much energy to other aspects of his so-called "social agenda." Some of the items, such as his call for a constitutional amendment to restore prayer in schools, were never more than throwaway lines intended to comfort the Religious Right."

Today the Religious Right are in control of many of our Federal agencies and they make every effort to force their positions on Federal Government policy.

I never voted for Reagan, but I did like him as a man and respected him as a man who was our President.

I believe the most conservative President in the history of our country is the current one in the White House, George W. Bush and his compassion as a conservative seems have faded between Austin Texas and Washington D.C.

Reagan almost comes across as a moderate when compared to George W. Bush. His only major failing on social issues that in my opinion, will permanently tarnish his record was his complete failure to address HIV/AIDS in a serious way until it was too late. On almost every other social issue, he was successful in placating the religious right without coming across as a moralizing preacher to most Americans. Rather than focusing on social issues, Ronald Reagan helped us win the Cold War in a way that united the world to embrace freedom, capitolism and democracy. While the Soviet Union was falling under its own weight, and I believe that its collapse was inevitable, Reagan had a lot to do with expediating the process. Even though liberals can fairly criticize Reagan on some foreign policy adventures (Iran Contra, supporting Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war, and funding right-wing dictators in Latin America), Reagan's overarching achievement is leading us to victory in the Cold War. That will be his enduring legacy, and for that he'll be remembered not just by the conservative movement, but by all Americans.

Posted by Byron LaMasters at June 7, 2004 09:13 PM | TrackBack