The Myth of Ronald Reagan Lured the Working Class Into Economic Destruction

[MinM]

The Myth of Ronald Reagan Lured the Working Class Into Economic Destruction

Or make that the myth of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, as the fawning exhibition area that paints a flattering, blemish free portrait of his life unintentionally reveals, went from a childhood and small college upbringing in Illinois to a Hollywood "B" film career, to spokesperson for the GE corporation, to Death Valley Days, to the political life that led him to the White House.

The key transition, not noted as such by the library narrative, is when Reagan became the hired front man for GE, hosting a program for them but also going around the country selling the concept that the corporation is a benevolent and positive force in our lives, without any downsides.

Reagan went from a "B" movie career to an "A" career as a political salesman for corporate wealth and control of the government. In the turbulent social climate of the '60s, his wealthy backers (who regarded him as a prize race horse for a right-wing coup for the super rich and corporate welfare) watched as Reagan won the governorship and masterfully was guided in the use of wedge issues such as "Guns and God" to lure the emerging displaced middle class into voting Republican.

Aside from the "October Surprise," when Reagan negotiators allegedly convinced the Iranian mullahs to hold onto our hostages until Reagan's inauguration day (they were literally released after he was sworn in), the GOP had perfected the selling of a myth about America -- and they had the hale and hearty actor to sell the product.

The myth of "morning in America" obscured the emerging theft of jobs from the middle class by creating emotional hot buttons for rural and working class voters to gravitate toward: Their values were under attack by liberal extremists, they were repeatedly told. Only the Republicans could save the nation from further moral degradation, the myth went -- and only the GOP could guarantee victory in foreign conflicts (even if the conflicts were often unnecessary and the GOP failed to achieve "victory," however it might be defined).

Because our perceptions today are so dependent upon television as a source, how one acts as president or senator has superseded, in large part, what one does.

Ronald Reagan made many working class and rural voters proud to be Americans again, but meanwhile, behind the scenes, corporate lobbyists and Reagan's aides (who were really running the show) went about dismantling factories in places like central Pennsylvania and moving them overseas, sometimes -- literally -- in the dark of night.

It was the Republican version of "Let them eat cake." Only, in this case, it was: "Let them eat God, Guns, and Patriotism."...

[Frances]

1. Thanks for this post

[AndyTiedye]

2. How Do We Fight Something Like That?

All we can do is roll over and say "yeah, we like guns and God too". That never works.

Three decades of those kinds of attacks has all but destroyed our party.

What can we do about it?

[nashville_brook]

4. i think the most important thing is not to square off -- notice the premise of the Reagan Myth...

is that it's the baaaad liberals who are to blame for what ails us, rather than the usurping of our economic interests.

this is classic "hand in the cookie jar" behavior. it's a lie, and most rational people, when told the truth, gravitate toward the truth.

we'll see how PA plays out, but so far Obama has done well not taking the bait to divide the party along cultural lines, and the polls indicate the people aren't agreeing with the media on starting a pissing match.

what we've done wrong all these years is that we haven't had leaders willing to go a full FDR on these republican assholes. maybe we're ready for that now.

[Cresent City Kid]

3. Read "The Triumph of Politics" by David Stockman

He reveals the inner workings and madness of the whole process. He is a confessed idealogue, and you can take it with a grain or mine of salt, but he makes clear how out of touch Reagan was.

His whole economic plan(cut taxes, increase defense, cut spending) was based on flawed projections that were known to be faulty 6 months into his first term. Unfortunately, the package had been rushed through Congress by that time. Stockman knew it would lead to deficits, but didn't worry because he figured he would just keep cutting programs to make up the difference. After they knew about the impending deficits, they had choices on how to recoup, but didn't like any of them. Stockman found that: 1.Reagan wouldn't budge on tax cuts, 2.Weinberger wouldn't budge on defense increases, and 3. Congress, after cutting programs to the bone couldn't cut any more.

The same plan and results played out again with the current administration, and McCain is trying to sell us the same bill of goods.

The book, by the way is only one cent on Amazon.com.