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2016 Republicans are invoking Ronald Reagan. They're doing it wrong.
Republicans are Reaganing again. During his presidential announcement speech last month, Ted Cruz told his Liberty University audience to try and "imagine" they were listening to Ronald Reagan back in 1979 and "he was telling us that we would cut the top marginal tax rates from 70 percent all the way down to 28 percent, that we would go from crushing stagnation to booming economic growth, to millions being lifted out of poverty and into prosperity [and] abundance."
This was not a big ask. The legacy of Ronaldus Maximus, as Rush Limbaugh calls America's 40th president, continues to thoroughly infuse the modern GOP. Like the Force, Reagan's aura surrounds and penetrates Republicans, binding the party's various wings — social conservative, business, tea party, libertarian — together. A generation after Reagan left office and a decade after his death, party politics and policy must still pass through the WWRD — "What would Reagan do?" — filter. This is especially true when it comes to taxes. Just listen to how Rand Paul recently defended his promise of "the largest tax cut in American history" on Fox News:
Good enough for the Gipper, good enough for us.
It's natural, of course, for Republicans to keep talking about Reagan, a two-term president whom the plurality of Americans consider the most successful since World War II. After the economic roller coaster of the 1970s, the 1980s began a long expansion of steady growth. Sure, Democrats kvetch about rising inequality and stagnant wages during that period. But median incomes rose by 40 percent in real terms during the 30 years after the initial Reagan tax cuts, and the economy created nearly 50 million net new jobs. If you are a Republican trying to justify deep tax cuts, the Reagan boom sure provides more persuasive evidence than the Bush bust.
This was not a big ask. The legacy of Ronaldus Maximus, as Rush Limbaugh calls America's 40th president, continues to thoroughly infuse the modern GOP. Like the Force, Reagan's aura surrounds and penetrates Republicans, binding the party's various wings — social conservative, business, tea party, libertarian — together. A generation after Reagan left office and a decade after his death, party politics and policy must still pass through the WWRD — "What would Reagan do?" — filter. This is especially true when it comes to taxes. Just listen to how Rand Paul recently defended his promise of "the largest tax cut in American history" on Fox News:
"The last president we had was Ronald Reagan that said we're going to dramatically cut tax rates. And guess what? More revenue came in, but tens of millions of jobs were created." [Rand Paul]
Good enough for the Gipper, good enough for us.
It's natural, of course, for Republicans to keep talking about Reagan, a two-term president whom the plurality of Americans consider the most successful since World War II. After the economic roller coaster of the 1970s, the 1980s began a long expansion of steady growth. Sure, Democrats kvetch about rising inequality and stagnant wages during that period. But median incomes rose by 40 percent in real terms during the 30 years after the initial Reagan tax cuts, and the economy created nearly 50 million net new jobs. If you are a Republican trying to justify deep tax cuts, the Reagan boom sure provides more persuasive evidence than the Bush bust.
More at the link.
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