Osler's Razor

As I have explained before here, I have had to eat some crow regarding Ronald Reagan. When he was president (and I was pretty young), I really was not a fan. I thought he wasn't very smart, that he provoked war, and that his ideas were wrong. Looking back, much of my view was wrong. He was smart, and his letters reveal that. He avoided war successfully, in a way his Republican successors did not. Finally, I came to embrace the view he seemed to hold most dear, which is that a small federal government is best.

That said, I am baffled by the cult of Reagan that has cropped up. It seems that modern Republicans think he was flatly anti-spending, anti-immigrant, that he always cut taxes, and that he never did anything with Democrats. All of this is wrong. Reagan accomplished some great things, but each one he did by violating at least one of those maxims. In short, Reagan was deeply pragmatic, and this was one key to his success. He actually accomplished things through legislation, something few modern Republicans can claim (unless belittling Democrats or less-conservative Republicans counts as an accomplishment).

Let's explore the reality and myth:

Myth: Reagan always cut taxes.
Truth: Ronald Reagan did initiate the biggest tax cut in history, and we are probably all better off for that. However, he also signed the biggest tax INCREASE in history (in 1982), and it was necessary at the time to avoid creating deficits. He also raised taxes significantly in 1983 (a gas tax and payroll tax) and 1984 (by cutting deductions).

Myth: Reagan was against big-government spending.
Truth: Ronald Reagan's biggest accomplishment in many minds was the decline of the Soviet Union as a threat to our security. However, he used one primary tool to do this: big-government spending. He spent so much on the military that the Soviets overextended themselves. It worked, it may have been brilliant, but it was nothing less than spending huge amounts of tax dollars to accomplish a goal.

Myth: Reagan created a smaller federal government and restrained debt.
Truth: President Reagan pledged to eliminate two federal cabinet positions (with the associated bureaucracies), but instead added one (for Veterans Affairs). The national debt tripled in his terms, and the US went from being the the world's largest creditor to the biggest debtor.

Myth: Reagan was aggressive in the use of force abroad.
Truth: While President Reagan TALKED a lot about being willing to use force, he did not actually do it. There were no real wars under his watch, despite the increase in arms. Most notably, when the U.S. embassy and then a Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed by terrorists, he did not react at all-- in fact, he pulled out of that area, acknowledging that retribution would not be worth the cost in civilian life.

Myth: Reagan was tough on illegal immigrants.
Truth: In fact, Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in 1986. Amnesty. Go figure.

Ronald Reagan, sadly, is becoming an icon that does not represent the admirable and pragmatic man he was. Heck, the people who idolize him now would view parts of his record (huge spending increases, amnesty for illegal immigrants, adding cabinet positions, pulling out when we are attacked) as the worst kind of liberalism.

The more I learn, the more I admire Ronald Reagan. It saddens me that he did not live out his belief in smaller government, but I do see a worthwhile pragmatism in what he did. However, the Reagan who actually existed does not seem to be the person held up by the contemporary right, and that is doubly sad, because there is probably more to admire in the truth about Reagan than there is in the myth. The truth is full and human and complex and redemptive, if we choose to see it clearly.