Brian Goldsmith: What Palin (and Other GOP Leaders) Doesn't Get About Ronald Reagan
[Brian Goldsmith is a contributor to TheAtlantic.com. A former political producer for the CBS Evening News, he is now a student at Stanford Law School.]
Earlier this month, the media world suspended its cynicism to celebrate -- and not just to recognize -- the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth. Republican leaders went further: Newt Gingrich said the former president was "a beacon of light whose faith in the American people will continue to inspire." Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said that Reagan's "memory reminds us of the promise America carries for each of its citizens." And Sarah Palin said that "President Reagan held up a mirror to the American soul to remind us of our exceptionalism."
Reagan is venerated for good reason -- as President Obama put it, he "changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not." More than any other figure, Reagan set a tone that continues to shape national politics. "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem" -- the defining line of Reagan's first inaugural -- remains the rallying cry for two generations of conservative voters and politicians.
But here's what the hagiographies ignore: Reagan's record -- his real record -- would repel most of the social and economic conservatives who now deify him....
As president, Reagan spoke out against "the Evil Empire" and the air traffic controllers, attacked the Democratic Congress, and cut taxes dramatically in 1981 -- just as Republicans remember. But Reagan also raised taxes at least seven times. In 1982 alone, he raised taxes twice, including the largest peacetime tax increase in American history. He raised payroll taxes, gas taxes, and corporate taxes. In fact, Reagan raised taxes every year he was president but the first and the last....
Read entire article at The Atlantic
Earlier this month, the media world suspended its cynicism to celebrate -- and not just to recognize -- the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth. Republican leaders went further: Newt Gingrich said the former president was "a beacon of light whose faith in the American people will continue to inspire." Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said that Reagan's "memory reminds us of the promise America carries for each of its citizens." And Sarah Palin said that "President Reagan held up a mirror to the American soul to remind us of our exceptionalism."
Reagan is venerated for good reason -- as President Obama put it, he "changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not." More than any other figure, Reagan set a tone that continues to shape national politics. "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem" -- the defining line of Reagan's first inaugural -- remains the rallying cry for two generations of conservative voters and politicians.
But here's what the hagiographies ignore: Reagan's record -- his real record -- would repel most of the social and economic conservatives who now deify him....
As president, Reagan spoke out against "the Evil Empire" and the air traffic controllers, attacked the Democratic Congress, and cut taxes dramatically in 1981 -- just as Republicans remember. But Reagan also raised taxes at least seven times. In 1982 alone, he raised taxes twice, including the largest peacetime tax increase in American history. He raised payroll taxes, gas taxes, and corporate taxes. In fact, Reagan raised taxes every year he was president but the first and the last....