.....Sincerity is everything. If you can fake that, youve got it made.
It's a very clever rebuttal. It depends on folks not knowing Reagan's record on taxes while governor of California.
Yes he did raise taxes. He was a budget balancer in those days. But he later said that it was a mistake. He said "everytime I raised taxes to cut the deficit the Dems would use it as an excuse to increase spending".
That was before Arthur Laffer and 'supply side' economics came onto the scene.
Reagan then became a 'supply sider' and embreaced tax rate cuts. Which is were Thompson stands.