I know Michael has way too much class to ever even intimate an opinion publicly, but has anyone else ever offered a reason?
There is a lot of deep psychology behind the Reagan children. They were Hollywood brats. They wanted to be actors and ballerinas.
Patty changed her last name, and Ron insists on going by Ron, not Ronald. They both have lived under the giant shadow of their parents. It makes a lot of sense that they would try in vain to find their own ways in life - supporting Democrats, posing naked, joining the ballet.
Michael on the otherhand is the opposite psychologically. He was the odd man out, the outsider looking in. He desperately sought his father's approval, always trying to prove his rightful place in the family that adopted him.
What disturbs me now is not Ron Jr's anti-Reagan liberalism as usual, but the fact that suddenly now, after decades of being ashamed to be a Reagan, and running away from any connection to his father, Ron Jr. is now using him and his death it to advance an agenda that Reagan would have never approved of. Ron jr. is attempting to use the father he despised as a weapon against his father's friends and allies.
Since you asked.....My opinion is that Nancy was a very needy woman and required a vast amount of attention and love to the point of being in competition with her own children. The children learned very early that they could not win, therefore, if they were in direct opposition to their father, they could at least, gain attention and control of their lives. His father and mother have been back in the news recently and he has become more vocal, aggressive and public, which speaks to how he has learned to direct attention towards his own person. I think we would find that throughout Reagan's career, his son's actions coincided with major news coverage of his mother and father. Betcha!