Ronald Reagan and the Republicans

Political Trends

1932-1968: 28/36 Years = Democratic Presidents (FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ)

1968-2008: 28/40 Years = Republican Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Papa Bush, Baby Bush)

1980 Election

1984 Election

I. The Three Parts of the Republican Party

A. Economic Conservatives & Laissez-Faire: Low Taxes, Low Govt. Spending, Reduce Welfare

B. Cultural Conservatives & the Religious Right: Anti-Abortion, Anti-Gay Rights

C. Military Conservatives & War Hawks: Aggressive Military Spending

Reagan Quotes

1. The Soviet Union is an Evil Empire, and Soviet communism is the focus of evil in the modern world.

2. Man is not free unless government is limited.

3. We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child.

4. We should measure welfare's success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.

II. The Reagan Style Unites Republicans

A. Reagan’s “Rags to Riches” Story

B. The Reagan Style

• The Language of Optimism

• The Language of the Common Man

• The Language of Laissez-Faire

III. Did Reagan’s Style Equal Substance?

A. Reagan as an Economic Conservative?• Tax Cuts But Bigger Debt

B. Reagan as a Cultural Conservative?

• Conservative Appointments to the Supreme Court

C. Reagan as a Military Conservative

– Star Wars (SDI) and the Evil Empire

Military Spending and the Collapse of the Soviet Union