Topic 12: Conservative Resurgence and Reagan Revolution

Conservative Critiques of the Great Society

conservatives argued that is was problematic on 4 issues

1. Grew size of gov astronomically: 2 fold

   1. Too big: created many agencies, departments, + bureaus

   2. Too expensive: required lots of $

2. Grew the scope of the government

   1. Involved gov in many of areas of our lives: education system, consumer goods, environment

3. Got gov involved in morality: on problematic issues

   1. Gov shapes/decides Americans’ moral standards and behavior (don't be racist, wear seatbelt!) Ex: no prayer in school makes secularism default, ex: direct relief payments for not earning enough under Lyndon Johnson incentivizing lazy + made it possible to be a single mother 

4. Made ppl look to gov to give freedom + solve their problems

   1. Developed default response of citizens to look to gov for solutions limiting self-reliance and 

Election of 1968

important date: Hubert Humphrey v Richard Nixon

• Worst year in Vietnam War -> draft most ppl, most deadly, least public support (Martin Luther + Kennedy)

• Democrats: Hubert Humphrey (overall unappealing)

  • Johnson decides not to run for reelection

  • Humphrey was Johnson’s VP: not a great choice, tied to administration no one likes, 0 charism, overall unappealing

  • Looks like Robert F. Kennedy is nominee (who was seen as more liberal, more youthful)

    • Kennedy was assassinated during the primary campaign

• Republicans: Richard Nixon (overall unappealing)

  • Had been Vice Prez under Eisenhower

  • Ran for President in 1960, but was defeated by JFK who was looking good vs Nixon whos a downer + no makeup and sickly

  • But not tied to Johnson administration (Vietnam war peril)

Nixon Campaign Strat

Silent Majority + Southern Strategy

• Nixon ran for and won presidency by: 2 main ways

  • Young liberal students protesting Vietnam -> make their party look so bad kids don't vote

1. Appealing to what he called the “silent majority” -> white, middle class, did not oppose the Vietnam War, did not support gov spending = got nothing from Johnson administration (loss = sent kids to war + paying for social security)

   1. Great Society benefited minority Americans @ cost of many

2. The Southern Strategy

• “Covertly” appealing to “light racist” to racism/pro-segregation (for the not openly white supremacists) 

  • “Law and order” envision white authority figures against black criminals 

= “dog whistle politics” only racist pick up on white authority

• Has caused problems throughout history bc there are always racist groups and parties want to appeal to both sides

Nixons Strat to Undo Great Society

-> started by Nixon and has become strategy of other conservatives -> reduce size and scope of gov

• (Is less concerned w/ gov shaping of morality -> doesn’t come up til 1980s)

•  Sees that gov have been conditioned to look to gov to solve their problems = best way to reduce role of gov is to “poke holes” in gov’s role in our lives while maintaining the overall appearance that the gov is responding to ppls needs

  • Framework of house remains but nothing inside

• Repeal: agencies ppl don’t rely on yet/won’t miss

  • Ex: Abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity, established to manage war on poverty

  • Ex: Eliminate community Development Block Grant Programs

• Hollow-Out: agencies that ppl like/rely on by placing ppl in power who don’t support it

  • Ex: Housing and Urban Development Secretary George Romney called the Administration programs “a 100 bil-dollar mistake” therefore doesn’t carry things out or carries them out minimally

  • Ex: Anne Gorsuch at EPA -> job was to oversee policies designed to reduce pollution -> she works to scale back on aim -> cuts budget, relaxes regulations, cuts employees (to Regan = efficiency, to critic = undermines mission of agency)

• Underfund: agencies so they can’t do anything -> Enact massive budget cuts to Great Society programs

  • Ex: cut in half section 8 subsidies & freeze 

• Some new deal programs remain bc ppl like them (social security)

Election of 1972

• 1974: Nixon Resigns (R)

• Democratic National Committee -> has meetings at Watergate Hotel

  • Nixon Administration decides to support two ppl to break into hotel room -> to plant hidden microphones and recording devices to get opponents' thing

  • Nixon orders to destroy tapes (destroying criminal offenses), stop investigation of him by telling his administration to refuse, and if they say no they r fired (feds)

  • (since prez has been expanded) -> only as private citizen (trump could do this now and be fine)

• Criminal investigation + Congress starts working on impeachment (which would have to be approved by Senate) -> Nixon decides to resign before facing impeachment

After Nixons Resignation

• VP Gerald Ford (R) 1974-1976 assumes the office for Nixon’s second term (doesn't do anything significant) -> 1976 he runs for reelection and he fails

• Jimmy Carter (D) 1976-1980 wins over Gerald Ford -> not depressed -> malaise speech -> boring (mourning)

• Ronald Regan (R) 1980-1988 (80s) transformational: wins over Jimmy Carter (morning) Successful actor =

Ronald Reagan

• 1980-1988 (80s) transformational: wins over Jimmy Carter (mourning v morning) Successful actor =

  • President of the Screen Actors Guild (liberal) = major labor union (worked to root out alleged communist influence within Hollywood) during Red Scare (works w/ Joseph McCarthy pointing out ppl he thinks r communists in 50s

  • Interpersonal information

  • Elected governor of Cali in 1966

  • As a prez Regean pursued policies that reflected his belief in personal freedom, laissez-faire economics, and anti-commu

The New Conservative Coalition “The New Right”

Adding new group to Republicans voting pool

• Who voted for Republicans 

  • Traditional pro-business Republicans

  • Southerners

    • Officially done w/ democrats

  • “Regan Democrats” silent majority

    • White, middle class, professionals

    • Bc republicans has been successful in labeling democrat as supporting minority

  • New Group Regan Adds: Conservative Evangelical (spread and promote religion, literal interpet bible) Christians

    • Opposed to a lot of modernization, evolution, gender, tech -> no praying in school, subsidization 

    • Leave the Democratic party after the Democrats support the “rights revolution” of 1960s and 1970s

    • Ironic since in the election of 1980 Regan ran against Carter who was evangelical Christian -> befriends radio preachers, televangelists, books, and major followers = who tell ppl that they r his spiritual advisors

Reagans Vision

• R’s new vision (“make America great again”) -> Regan’s restorer of American Values, Johnson is the destroyer

  • Parallels to FDR: Benefits all, provide solutions to economic problems

  • How: stay out bc gov is the problem (for Roosevelt gov IS the solution)

Solution: individual liberty (not isolation like Hoover -> figure it out urself)

• Rather empowering “You all have the ability to do this”

  • Restoration of the Founding Ethos (what was stated in const) + fed gov can only do what the ppl approve

  • Restore core Christian morals (appeals to evangelists) like Johnson but johnson had wrong morals 

    • Proposed prayer in schools

    • Rejects equal rights amendment (written in legal equality between men and women -> supported by democrats + prominent repub)

    • Starting war on drugs -> anti-drug education (fear-based) + intense policing

  • Reganomics

Reganomics

• (Supply-Side Economics or Trickle-Down Economics): a theory derived by conservative economics and U of Chicago, they advocate for fewer taxes on wealthy which stimulates economy and trickles down (buy stuff, hire more ppl, employs everyone)

  • Cuts taxes on wealthy: 90% - 30s -> still here now

  • Raises taxes on poorer Americans

  • Equality (everyone treated the same) vs equity (same opp)

    • 30% taxes is diff for wealthy wage than poor