Commentary
On Sunday, approximately 1,500 people attended a ceremony honoring former President Ronald Reagan in Simi Valley, Calif. Former first lady Nancy Reagan was there, and she laid a wreath at her husband’s tomb, located on the grounds of the Reagan Presidential Library.
The former president’s stature has grown over time, and his name has been uttered at strategic moments by politicians both Republican and Democratic. The reason is simple: President Ronald Reagan was and is a well-liked, extremely popular American president.
Republican candidates and politicians in the last few years often mention Reagan to associate themselves with his legacy, and appeal to the Party’s conservative base—its real power. More often than not the gesture falls short, as one’s actions and principles over time demonstrate conservative values. The principles Reagan embraced and espoused in speeches confirm him as a conservative’s conservative.
President Obama’s mention of the former leader attempts to evoke the spirit of Reagan’s rallying cry of 1980–81, during a time of economic crisis.
One notable difference is that Reagan placed emphasis on the individual; on removing the obstacle of expansive, intrusive government. As quoted in his Jan. 20, 1981, inauguration speech:
“It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.”
This contradicts the philosophy and agenda of the present administration, a proponent of expanding government spending and entitlement programs to create solutions.
An abundance of media commentary over the last few days, especially by more left-leaning columnists, shares a common theme that Reagan was a pragmatist, not an ideologue; that he raised taxes as well as cut them.
I have to wonder what he would have done with a Republican-controlled Congress.
Another curious assertion by some in the media is that Reagan the pragmatist would have distanced himself from the Tea Party movement.
Reagan’s own words eerily echo the very principles that have sparked the Tea Party movement, and its beyond-party populist message of reigning in expansive government.
In October 1964, Reagan gave a Goldwater endorsement speech where he spoke of “a rendezvous with destiny.” He admits to being a lifelong Democrat, but saw it fit to cross the isle, as “the issues confronting us cross party lines.”
Right off the bat, Reagan warns of the burden of over taxation, out of control spending, and the fact that the government has “raised our debt limit three times in the last 12 months.”
Often referring to the Founding Fathers, Reagan’s themes of limited government and individual liberty, echoed throughout his political life, were prevalent. “A government can’t control the economy without controlling people,” Reagan stated, adding “When a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose.
In the environment of the Cold War, Reagan warned of the threat of communism and communist thought, spelling out fundamental differences between the antithetical forms of government. He contrasted the self-governing American republic, having “no other source of power except the sovereign people,” with communist/socialist ideals, describing them as “a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol [who] can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”
These quotes illustrate fundamental principles of American conservatism; a conservatism that crosses party lines (as it did during Reagan’s presidency) and is currently being reasserted.
It is steeped in optimism, and faith in the American people themselves taking charge of their lives and solving problems—unimpeded by government.
[email protected]
The former president’s stature has grown over time, and his name has been uttered at strategic moments by politicians both Republican and Democratic. The reason is simple: President Ronald Reagan was and is a well-liked, extremely popular American president.
Republican candidates and politicians in the last few years often mention Reagan to associate themselves with his legacy, and appeal to the Party’s conservative base—its real power. More often than not the gesture falls short, as one’s actions and principles over time demonstrate conservative values. The principles Reagan embraced and espoused in speeches confirm him as a conservative’s conservative.
President Obama’s mention of the former leader attempts to evoke the spirit of Reagan’s rallying cry of 1980–81, during a time of economic crisis.
One notable difference is that Reagan placed emphasis on the individual; on removing the obstacle of expansive, intrusive government. As quoted in his Jan. 20, 1981, inauguration speech:
“It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.”
This contradicts the philosophy and agenda of the present administration, a proponent of expanding government spending and entitlement programs to create solutions.
An abundance of media commentary over the last few days, especially by more left-leaning columnists, shares a common theme that Reagan was a pragmatist, not an ideologue; that he raised taxes as well as cut them.
I have to wonder what he would have done with a Republican-controlled Congress.
Tea Party
Another curious assertion by some in the media is that Reagan the pragmatist would have distanced himself from the Tea Party movement.
Reagan’s own words eerily echo the very principles that have sparked the Tea Party movement, and its beyond-party populist message of reigning in expansive government.
In October 1964, Reagan gave a Goldwater endorsement speech where he spoke of “a rendezvous with destiny.” He admits to being a lifelong Democrat, but saw it fit to cross the isle, as “the issues confronting us cross party lines.”
Right off the bat, Reagan warns of the burden of over taxation, out of control spending, and the fact that the government has “raised our debt limit three times in the last 12 months.”
Often referring to the Founding Fathers, Reagan’s themes of limited government and individual liberty, echoed throughout his political life, were prevalent. “A government can’t control the economy without controlling people,” Reagan stated, adding “When a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose.
In the environment of the Cold War, Reagan warned of the threat of communism and communist thought, spelling out fundamental differences between the antithetical forms of government. He contrasted the self-governing American republic, having “no other source of power except the sovereign people,” with communist/socialist ideals, describing them as “a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol [who] can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”
These quotes illustrate fundamental principles of American conservatism; a conservatism that crosses party lines (as it did during Reagan’s presidency) and is currently being reasserted.
It is steeped in optimism, and faith in the American people themselves taking charge of their lives and solving problems—unimpeded by government.
[email protected]
