Later this week, the GOP presidential candidates will stride on to the debate stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California and all proclaim undying fealty to the former president and conservative demi-god, while each claiming that only he is the true keeper of the Reagan legacy.
But how does Ronald Reagan himself compare to those who hope to occupy the White House in the shadow of his greatness?
Today the Center for American Progress Action Fund will release a new reportthat makes a detailed case that the GOP presidential candidates are all well to the right of Reagan, and actually represent a break from core aspects of his approach to the presidency. The report may be one of the most comprehensive efforts yet to spell out this argument in an issue-by-issue fashion. Among the report’s assertions:
1) Ronald Reagan repeatedly raised taxes, including on the rich, and closed loopholes that benefited the wealthy. While it’s true that Reagan’s tax cuts were a lot larger than his tax hikes, the fact that he did repeatedly raise them does contrast with what we know of the plans from today’s GOP candidates, some of whom have already signed Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge. And while it’s true that the tax plans offered by Bush and Marco Rubio include some middle class tax relief, they also give the wealthy a big tax cut, and it’s hard to imagine any of the GOP candidates calling for any tax hikes, even on the highest earners (with the astonishing exception of Donald Trump).
2) Reagan signed immigration reform that included a path to legalization for nearly three million undocumented immigrants. The report digs up a quote in which Reagan appeared to express support for “amnesty for those who have put down roots and who have lived here even though some time back they may have entered illegally.” By contrast, of today’s GOP candidates, only Jeb Bush appears to be genuinely open to a path to legal status that would not require some sort of undefined state of absolute border security to be attained first.
3) The report argues that Reagan actually grew government, noting that spending went up on his watch — including deficit spending. (The report also argues that contrary to common wisdom, non-defense spending also went up substantially.) It also notes that many of the GOP presidential candidates have come out for a balanced budget amendment, which would probably require deep and destructive cuts to government.
4) Ronald Reagan advocated for the Brady law, which established a federal gun background check system. It’s hard to imagine today’s GOP presidential candidates backing the creation of a reform such as Brady; indeed, virtually all Republicans in the Senate opposed the bill to close the background check system’s loopholes. Jeb Bush has said he doesn’t envision any federal role in gun laws (though his campaign subsequently clarified that he doesn’t support any new federal laws). It might be worth asking the candidates whether they support repealing the current background check system that Reagan advocated for.
The report concludes:
Reagan was able to mix pragmatism with conservatism. And at critical moments on critical issues, Reagan took positions that are anathema to the leaders of today’s Republican Party — advancing sensible immigration reform, supporting pollution control, curbing nuclear arms, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, and advocating gun background checks….a closer look at President Reagan’s record and the positions of the current crop of GOP candidates reveals…how far to the right of Reaganthey and the Republican party have moved.
The Hillary Clinton campaign has been relying on the Center for American Progress’ blueprints as a guide to its own proposals and pronouncements, so it wouldn’t be surprising if we hear the above argument about Republicans and Reagan a lot more in coming days.
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