Free Republic

During the 1980s, Ronald Reagan bestrode the political landscape like a colossus. After two Reagan landslides, the Democratic Party was on its heels, having lost one-in-four of their supporters to the popular Republican. Democrats took pains to study the so-called “Reagan Democrats” and learn what made them tick. Leading the charge was the Democratic Leadership Council, which advocated that the party abandon its Big Government, New Deal-like approach to problems and support a strong national defense and middle-class tax cuts. Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Joe Biden were among its prominent members who liked to call themselves “New Democrats.” Reagan...

When the insurrectionists invaded the office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Jan. 6 as he was hustled out into a “secure location,” they could not help but notice a large visage of Ronald Reagan displayed prominently in McCarthy’s inner sanctum. Like many Republicans, McCarthy deeply admires Reagan who cast a spell on the Republican party that lingers to this day. Decades after Reagan won the presidency in 1980 and died in 2004, Republicans often asked themselves the question, “What would Reagan do?