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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Conservative Values: Low And Lax

Old-fashioned values may count when conservatives appear on the stump, but once conservatives are in office the only old-fashioned situation they care to revive is an economic regimen of low wages and lax regulations.
—    Thomas Frank
From his book: “What’s The Matter With Kansas?“
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What It Is All About

People getting their fundamental interests wrong is what American political life is all about.
—     Thomas Frank
From his book: “What’s The Matter With Kansas?“
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