What Reagan Really Cared About

The leaders of the [conservative] backlash may talk Christ, but they walk corporate.  Values may “matter most” to voters, but they always take a backseat to the needs of money once the elections are won.  This is a basic earmark of the phenomenon, absolutely consistent across its decades-long history.  Abortion is never halted.  Affirmative action is never abolished.  The culture industry is never forced to clean up its act.  Even the greatest culture warrior of them all was a notorious cop-out once it came time to deliver.  “Reagan made himself the champion of ‘traditional values,’ but there is no evidence he regarded their restoration as a high priority,” wrote Christopher Lasch, one of the most astute analysts of the backlash sensibility.  “What he really cared about was the revival of the unregulated capitalism of the twenties:  the repeal of the New Deal.”
—    Thomas Frank
From his book:  “What’s The Matter With Kansas?“
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On This Day In:
2021	I Think They Mean It
	An Endless Stream
2020	ITF (365) – Update
	Word Up!
	My Fear: A Second More Tyrannous Term
2019	Reality And Imperfection
	Day 8: One Stone
2018	Pity The Nation (Part 1)
	Day 41: Hiccup Or End Of Days?
2017	Sharp-Edged Beauty
2016	Start, Keep, Finish
2015	Lifetime Friends
2014	Acknowledgement
2013	Longevity, Tenacity and Diversity
2012	What Reagan Really Cared About
2011	Seeming Sane (Or Not)

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