Republicans become more moderate and pragmatic after Reagan. POD(s)?

Keep the cold war going. Prior to 1988, the key issue was whether you were a hawk or for detente. Many of the other issues were peripheral.

Moving beyond that, have the FCC retain the fairness doctrine. Rush got going, or got big, almost immediately thereafter.

The one thing working against this though is the culture wars. Roe v. Wade is hard to avoid, if not specifically that case then in some form. And its near impossible to avoid many of the other social changes that occurred post 1960. Even without a mouthpiece provided by the FCC, it is still going to radicalize a certain portion of the population.
 
Maybe Ronnie doesn't get Alzheimer's. And he can remain more of a avuncular figure.

And just maybe we sidestep the 1991 Persian Gulf war. Pre-war most of the international community was in favor of sanctions. My own country the U.S. and the UK were the two main countries in favor of a military solution. And once we had put troops in Saudi for defensive purposes in Sept. '90, that made war rather probable. It would have taken skillful leadership plus a fair amount of good luck to avoid it.
 
Probably this. A big win right after Reagan might de-mystify some of the aspects about him.

By 1988, there were no myths about Reagan. People were done with him - Iran Contra, massive budget deficits and a new economic malaise (or perception of) following the market crash in 1987. He was rehabbed with lil Bush's election and his death in '04.
 
'Brown-Bag It,' Reagan Advises 3-Martini Men
June 07, 1985 | Associated Press


http://articles.latimes.com/1985-06-07/news/mn-15972_1_president-reagan

WASHINGTON — President Reagan had a suggestion today for corporate executives who think his tax plan cuts too deeply into exemptions for "three-martini" business lunches: "Why not brown-bag it once in a while?"

"Why not find smarter ways to put our money to work than investing so heavily in executive lunches?" Reagan asked at a meeting with economics writers invited to a White House briefing on his plan.

"It just doesn't seem right for a wage earner carrying his tuna fish sandwich to work to subsidize exorbitant business lunches at luxury restaurants," Reagan said.
Were there other ways Ronnie was an economic populist? And I think the answer is probably yes.
 

TinyTartar

Banned
Avoid the revolution of '94.

It was this moment that brought anti-government rhetoric far into the mainstream of the Conservative movement on a consistent basis. Rush Limbaugh and radio had an impact on this, but really, its overstated. Rush has his listeners, as does Michael Savage, but they don't decide elections.

The Republican Party post Bush I was fractured because everything that they had put their trust in had failed them, as Bush lost and had raised taxes. He was persona non grata after that, and his son arguably suffered from the name if anything, despite the lack of ideological similarity between the two (Bush II was a true believer in the Evangelical movement and was not hard bitten and weathered by the Cold War that induced doubt but rather was dictated by certainty and the gut). I didn't vote for Bush in the 2000 primary because I thought he was too inexperienced, but ideologically, I liked him, and still do, by the way.

'94 legitimized insurgent Conservatism in a way that Sunshine and Positivity Reagan never managed to. The Republican Party today has its rational voices but they have been discredited time and again by the success of the less rational in midterm elections.
 
I remember Reagan being pretty popular in '88.

And for most people, the big texture items in the '88 election was that Bush wasn't going to raise taxes and Dukakis was (even though that wasn't strictly true), and that Dukakis was a lousy debater.

Some people thought Reagan was getting old or getting senile. That is, they still liked the parts they liked and used this as an excuse to write off the parts they didn't.
 
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