Liberals: The era of Reaganomics is finally over

[auditor0007]

so you are a REGAN fan right

I actually appreciated the fact that Reagan governed as a moderate in many areas. He, arguably, saved social security (and refused to privatize it). He raised taxes several times after, by his own admission, overcorrecting in 1981. From a domestic policy perspective, Reagan and Clinton were very close, save a few percentage points on the taxes of the top bracket. With strategic tariffs against Japan, he intervened in the economy and protected US car manufacturers, a move today's free market folks would never approve of.

Here is an interesting article about the difference between Reagan's extremist rhetoric and his moderate policy approach. When you look at his actual policies, and his willingness to meet Tip 1/2 way (combining revenue w/spending cuts), you see a Republican who would not survive a Koch funded primary.

As governor of California, Reagan passed the most Liberal abortion and Amnesty policies this nation has ever seen. As for family and religious values, he was a divorced man, estranged from two of his children ... and he rarely set foot in church. He didn't pivot to Evangelicals until he needed the Heartland and South to finally break the New Deal Coalition which delivered rural America (especially in the Solid South) to the Dems for 40 years.

Also, he was a HUGE deficit spender. Carter was from the old pay-as-you go America, with very moderate deficits. Reagan, on the other hand, had no problem going deeply into debt. In fact, he asked for 17 debt limit increases to fund things like his Star Wars Missile Defense Shield, not to mention all the tax breaks for his leaner/meaner corporate class that was quietly shifting production to cheaper labor markets in Communist China. But the point is: Reagan successfully fueled the economy by growing the federal workforce and spending like LBJ on steroids. By today's standard, he would be a Lieberman Democrat. He would not qualify for today's GOP. (I'm talking about the actual Reagan, not the one strategically constructed by movement conservativism so that the Right can have an FDR-like hero to rally the sheeple)

I really liked Reagan for pretty much the same reasons. While he talked as a hard core conservative, he governed as a pragmatist.