The Working Class Republican

"In this sure to be controversial book in the vein of The Forgotten Man, a political analyst argues that conservative icon Ronald Reagan was not an enemy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal, but his true heir and the popular program's ultimate savior. Conventional political wisdom views the two most consequential presidents of the twentieth-century--FDR and Ronald Reagan--as ideological opposites. FDR is hailed as the champion of big-government progressivism manifested in the New Deal. Reagan is seen as the crusader for conservatism dedicated to small government and free markets. But Henry Olsen argues that this assumption is wrong. In The Working Class Republican, Olsen contends that the historical record clearly shows that Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal itself were more conservative than either Democrats or Republicans believe, and that Ronald Reagan was more progressive than most contemporary Republicans understand. Olsen cuts through political mythology to set the record straight, revealing how Reagan--a longtime Democrat until FDR's successors lost his vision in the 1960s--saw himself as FDR's natural heir, carrying forward the basic promises of the New Deal: that every American deserves comfort, dignity, and respect provided they work to the best of their ability. Olsen corrects faulty assumptions driving today's politics. Conservative Republican political victories over the last thirty years have not been a rejection of the New Deal's promises, he demonstrates, but rather a representation of the electorate's desire for their success--which Americans see as fulfilling the vision of the nation's founding. For the good of all citizens and the GOP, he implores Republicans to once again become a party of "FDR Conservatives"--To rediscover and support the basic elements of FDR (and Reagan's) vision"-- "For 30 years the GOP has wrapped itself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan, winning national elections by appealing to free trade, low taxes and small government. Yet today the old Reagan coalition is falling apart, while its ideology has been rejected by the Republican base in favor of the nativist appeals of Donald Trump. Where should the party turn next? Ironically, answers political scientist Henry Olsen, to Reagan himself. Not the Reagan of conservative mythology, but the real Reagan - Reagan the fan of FDR and the supporter and ultimate savior of the New Deal. Reagan began his political career as a proud New Deal Democrat and an admirer of

שנה

2017

שפה

English

הוצאה

Broadside Books

מהדורות

2

עמודים

368

ISBN

9780062475268

מקור הנתונים: Wikidata