"Reagan began his political career as a liberal Democrat, admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and active supporter of New Deal policies, but in the early 1950s he shifted to the right and, while remaining a Democrat, endorsed the presidential candidacies of [ 54] Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 as well as Richard Nixon in 1960.[ 54] His many His many GE speeches—which he wrote himself—were non-partisan but carried a conservative pro-business message; he was influenced by Lemuel Boulware, a senior GE executive Boulware, known for his tough stance against unions and his innovative strategies to win over workers, championed the core tenets of modern American conservatism: free[ 55] markets, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government.[ 55] E markets, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government. "
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan
A few parallels there.
Reagan changed...big time. People can...and do change their political philosophies.
>>>>>"Reagan began his political career as a liberal Democrat, admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and active supporter of New Deal policies...
True. So did Marion Morrison, aka. John Wayne. BFD!
I think it was Churchill who said: If you are not a liberal at the age of 20, you have no heart. If you are not a conservitive by the age of 40, you have no brain.
Reagan started his political change at about age 40, in 1951. Maybe as early as 1948-1949 after first meeting Nancy Reagan and later getting to know her conservative Father very well. Reagan said his first distaste for the Democratic Party agenda began with his disdain for paying 90% federal income tax rates. I'd say after Truman's 1948 election, Reagan never looked back. Btw, Reagan wanted to switch parties in 1960, but Nixon asked him to give his support to the GOP ticket as a Democrat.
Donald Trump will be 65 years old in June. What took him so long to become a conservative? You really think his political conversion at CPAC2011 was the real deal?
People need to wake up. Trump is a phony and a fraud.
Yes, Reagan changed, but by the time the Republican party was considering him for President in 1976 and 1980 he had a LONG track record of conservative credentials, political office, speeches, writings, etc. Reagan's conversion to conservatism wasn't out of convenience, or some quick shift to win some primaries to grab a nomination. Reagan talked the talk and walked the walk. Republicans knew when they nominated him not only what policies he said he'd implement, but what policies he already had implemented and championed in the past.
Trump's past is largely populist left. There is no record of conservatism thought, discussion, writings, etc. He pals around with northeastern liberals, he's best friends with folks like Chuck Schumer, hes contributed massive amounts of money to the most liberal of Democrats, hes argued for Canadian style socialized health care, etc, etc.
There is no reason to believe Trump is a conservative at this point. None. 10 years from now if he is still consistently saying conservative things, giving money to conservative causes, writing articles/books about conservative policy, etc, etc, then, and only then, it would be reasonable to start believing he has gone through a real political transformation.