State of the Union

A white flag flies over the White House, hoisted there by Ronald Reagan’s State of the Union address. That’s what the “populist revolutionaries” (as they call themselves) within the conservative movement think, those issues-oriented conservatives made up of a mix of right-to-lifers, anti-tax types, some libertarians, and traditional conservatives who say, “Sure, Reagan has an engaging manner and style, but we don’t like what he’s doing to us any more than we liked it when Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter did it to us.” This newer breed has split off from the Republican establishmentarians who, despite the State of the Union address, continue to say, “Look, we’ve known Ronnie Reagan for years. He’s our friend. He’s doing the best he can.”

The conservative populists will remind you that Jerry Ford put it this way: “I offer you a banner of consensus, compromise, conciliation, and cooperation.” Mr. Reagan’s theme is bipartisanship, written big, complete with copious FDR and Bernard Baruch frills, and a standing ovation for Thomas P. O’Neill for a “job-well-done” role in spawning the Social Security compromise and tax hike to which Mr. Reagan disgracefully acquiesced. This was followed by an acceptance of Jimmy Carter’s premises on arms control, a dollop of rhetorical pap to conservatives (the school prayer amendment) after which, they say, the President will doubtless sit on his hands, and an ignoble concession that the government must play an activist role in the economy of a nation built by the discipline of the free market.

JM

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John McLaughlin

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt

A white flag flies over the White House, hoisted there by Ronald Reagan’s State of the Union address. That’s what the “populist revolutionaries” (as they call themselves) within the conservative movement think, those issues-oriented conservatives made up of a mix of right-to-lifers, anti-tax types, some libertarians, and traditional conservatives who say, “Sure, Reagan has an engaging manner and style, but we don’t like what he’s doing to us any more than we liked it when Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter did it to us.” This newer breed has split off from the Republican establishmentarians who, despite the State of the Union address, continue to say, “Look, we’ve known Ronnie Reagan for years. He’s our friend. He’s doing the best he can.”

The conservative populists will remind you that Jerry Ford put it this way: “I offer you a banner of consensus, compromise, conciliation, and cooperation.” Mr. Reagan’s theme is bipartisanship, written big, complete with copious FDR and Bernard Baruch frills, and a standing ovation for Thomas P. O’Neill for a “job-well-done” role in spawning the Social Security compromise and tax hike to which Mr. Reagan disgracefully acquiesced. This was followed by an acceptance of Jimmy Carter’s premises on arms control, a dollop of rhetorical pap to conservatives (the school prayer amendment) after which, they say, the President will doubtless sit on his hands, and an ignoble concession that the government must play an activist role in the economy of a nation built by the discipline of the free market.