# What did Reagan do that wouldn't please Republicans today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 18, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695 "2015-09-18T19:02:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/1 "2015-09-18T19:02:51Z")
After hearing Wednesday’s homage to Reagan, it seemed that a lot of the people on stage ignored a lot of the things Reagan did that Republicans today would find anathema. Such as? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/2 "2015-09-18T19:04:11Z")
Selling arms to Iran? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/3 "2015-09-18T19:07:27Z")
Here’s a start: [http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2014/02/06/3258121/reasons-tea-party-hated-ronald-reagan/](http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2014/02/06/3258121/reasons-tea-party-hated-ronald-reagan/) > **[5 Reasons Ronald Reagan Couldn’t Make It In Today’s GOP](https://www.nationalmemo.com/5-reasons-ronald-reagan-couldnt-make-it-in-todays-gop)** > > Former Senate Majority Leader and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole slammed the state of the Republican Party over the weekend, telling Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that the GOP should be “closed for repairs” and lamenting that some of... ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/4 "2015-09-18T19:07:43Z")
[Giving weapons and money to nun murderers?](http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/21/opinion/l-no-credible-doubt-that-contras-murdered-nuns-133990.html) [Smuggling cocaine?](https://oig.justice.gov/special/9712/ch01p1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/5 "2015-09-18T19:16:17Z")
[Fraternizing with Muslims?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan#/media/File:MuhammadAliundRonaldReagan.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/6 "2015-09-18T19:43:29Z")
Since this is about politics, let’s move to Great Debates. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/7 "2015-09-18T20:01:04Z")
Boy, liberals sure do loooooove dead conservatives, don’t they? When Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were alive, liberals called them trigger happy maniacs, racists, bigots and fascists. Now that the’re safely dead, liberals pretend they always admired Goldwater and Reagan, who were such rational, reasonable guys- not like the right wing maniacs the GOP always nominates these days(Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole…). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/8 "2015-09-18T20:09:36Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Boy, liberals sure do loooooove dead conservatives, don’t they? You said it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/9 "2015-09-18T20:11:09Z")
Negotiating peace treaties with our enemies in pursuit of Nuclear détente. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/10 "2015-09-18T20:13:39Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Boy, liberals sure do loooooove dead conservatives, don’t they? > > When Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were alive, liberals called them trigger happy maniacs, racists, bigots and fascists. Now that the’re safely dead, liberals pretend they always admired Goldwater and Reagan, who were such rational, reasonable guys- not like the right wing maniacs the GOP always nominates these days(Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole…). Where did you get that? In my experience, liberals just like to point out that the Reagan conservatives love to idolize probably wouldn’t be considered all that conservative nowadays. Nothing about looooooove. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/11 "2015-09-18T20:13:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Boy, liberals sure do loooooove dead conservatives, don’t they? > > When Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were alive, liberals called them trigger happy maniacs, racists, bigots and fascists. Now that the’re safely dead, liberals pretend they always admired Goldwater and Reagan, who were such rational, reasonable guys- not like the right wing maniacs the GOP always nominates these days(Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole…). Naaaaah! We hated many of their policies when they were alive. The irony is that, even so, many of their policies would make them unelectable to their adherents and admirers today, because they’re too “liberal”. Some of these things are things that liberals actually somewhat agree with (although they’d probably push them farther than Regan or Goldwater proposed), but there’s still plenty of stuff they supported that we didn’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/12 "2015-09-18T20:14:28Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Boy, liberals sure do loooooove dead conservatives, don’t they? > > When Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were alive, liberals called them trigger happy maniacs, racists, bigots and fascists. Now that the’re safely dead, liberals pretend they always admired Goldwater and Reagan, who were such rational, reasonable guys- not like the right wing maniacs the GOP always nominates these days(Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole…). Not at all. You don’t see any “liberals” saying Goldwater and Reagan were right. They’re just pointing out that contemporary conservatives who do claim these people as their role models aren’t really following their example. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/13 "2015-09-18T20:25:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Naaaaah! > > We hated many of their policies when they were alive. The irony is that, even so, many of their policies would make them unelectable to their adherents and admirers today, because they’re too “liberal”. Some of these things are things that liberals actually somewhat agree with (although they’d probably push them farther than Regan or Goldwater proposed), but there’s still plenty of stuff they supported that we didn’t like. In a word: baloney. The GOP selected lifelong liberal Mitt Romney last time out. Please don’t try to tell me the party has shifted to the far right. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/14 "2015-09-18T20:26:54Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Now that the’re safely dead, liberals pretend they always admired Goldwater and Reagan, who were such rational, reasonable guys- not like the right wing maniacs the GOP always nominates these days(Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole…). Can you give us some examples of liberals who expressed general admiration of the _policies_ espoused by Reagan and Goldwater? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/15 "2015-09-18T20:28:07Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > In a word: baloney. > > The GOP selected lifelong liberal Mitt Romney last time out. Please don’t try to tell me the party has shifted to the far right. Is this a joke? Simply the fact that you identify Mitt Romney as a liberal shows how far right the party has shifted. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/16 "2015-09-18T20:36:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not at all. You don’t see any “liberals” saying Goldwater and Reagan were right. They’re just pointing out that contemporary conservatives who do claim these people as their role models aren’t really following their example. Back in those days there was more support for some policies and not others. On both sides, not just liberals. I don’t remember much liberal opposition to negotiating with the Soviet Union. I don’t remember much opposition to saving Social Security. Plenty of opposition to lots of other things, though. Reagan spoke as an ideologue but acted as a pragmatist (like in raising taxes.) Republicans today seem to reject pragmatism. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/17 "2015-09-18T20:40:53Z")
Works both ways… Many of the things John F Kennedy did would be anathema to the current dems. Not a fair comparison to compare politicians of one era to politicians of another. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/18 "2015-09-18T20:57:15Z")
The GOP has moved so far right that it’s collective cock has a right handed bend in it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/19 "2015-09-18T21:03:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Is this a joke? Simply the fact that you identify Mitt Romney as a liberal shows how far right the party has shifted. This is nothing less than absurd. EVERY Democrat now supports gay marriage, a position even George McGovern in his prime would never have supported. Please do not try to pretend it’s the Republicans who have shifted. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695/20 "2015-09-18T21:04:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Is this a joke? Simply the fact that you identify Mitt Romney as a liberal shows how far right the party has shifted. Romney was pro-abortion and established socialized medicine as governor of Massachusetts. What would YOU call that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-reagan-do-that-wouldnt-please-republicans-today/731695.md?page=2)