Ronald Reagan

For free market enthusiasts, and conservatives, the election of Ronald Reagan to the Presidency in 1980, was the culmination of a political process that had begun sixteen years earlier, in the waning days of the Goldwater campaign. I remember the Sunday evening, October 27, 1964, when we tuned in to what was to become known as “The Speech”- a thirty-minute address to the nation. I was eighteen years old, and when it was over, I was among thousands of other young people, committed to a life long political love affair. We would become the political base of a movement that was frustrated over the next few election cycles by political events that seemed certain to deny us, our President. Our time finally arrived on November 3, 1980.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born February 6, 1911, in an apartment above a bank in Tampico, Illinois. His father, John Edward Reagan, a shoe salesman whose ancestors had come from Ireland, became the town drunk. Ronald’s mother, Nelle Wilson, whose ancestors were Scots-English, was the source of his sunny optimism. ¹

Reagan was widely viewed as a “washed out” actor, and a former governor of California, whose only appeal was to the extreme right wing faction of the Republican Party. Many saw his nomination, over George Bush, as a sure indication of failure in the general election, for the GOP. Jimmy Carter, had been elected four years earlier, and had pressured the Federal Reserve to expand the money supply – causing double-digit inflation. He imposed price controls on gasoline, which resulted in predictable shortages. Housewives sometimes sat in the family car for hours waiting to fill up. Mortgage rates were at 16%. Prime interest was over 20%. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage by the Iranian government, for over a year. There was a genuine gloom over the American spirit.

Reagan not only won, but carried all but two states, and swept the Senate to a Republican majority, as well. He supported the Federal Reserve in decreasing the money supply and inflation was reigned in. He cut taxes and domestic spending. Reagan paid a heavy political price to stick with a tough-medicine approach to getting the economy back in balance. It took more than two years, but it worked, and the American economy entered into the longest expansion since World War II.

He rebuilt our military and restored pride in the military service – with a firm commitment to a volunteer and professional military. In contrast to the “politically correct” sensibilities of the press and previous administrations, he identified the Soviet regime as an “evil empire” and his dealings with them were based on a healthy skepticism of their trustworthiness.

Through back channels, his administration coordinated with England’s Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II, to encourage and support the fledgling freedom movement in Poland. Afghan guerillas were supplied with Stinger missiles, and it seemed that the Soviet Union was on the decline.

He met with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, in a series of summits, and emerged from each with an improved American position, and was viewed as a strong negotiator. More remarkable, as he did this, he strengthened and improved the relationship between the world’s major adversaries. Years later, Gorbachev, would credit Ronald Reagan for ending the cold war.

In 1984, Reagan was easily elected to a second term, carrying all but Minnesota, over former Vice-President Mondale. A little-known fact, is that Reagan instructed his campaign not to spend any effort in Minnesota – he did not wish to embarrass Mondale with a loss in his home state. It was just one of many anecdotes, demonstrating a genuine decency that was appreciated by the Democratic leadership, and detected by the American public. He was a big man, more than just in his physical being. His love for his wife, Nancy, was as genuine as it was evident.

The man who could be comfortable in a tuxedo while attending the most exclusive social and political functions, preferred his blue jean attire as he rode horses and chopped wood on his ranch. It was not until long after his Presidency that collections of his letters and notes confirmed that he was a prolific writer, that had written most of his own speeches, and that his support of free market principles was based on a strong economic background, gained through a life-time of study.

He loved freedom. He loved life. It is hard to imagine a life more fully lived. His final class act came with his last letter to the American people, where he disclosed his affliction with Alzheimer’s disease. The long farewell had begun.

During the next ten years, his presence was removed from the American scene, and some thought that the American public had forgotten their hero. When he died, on June 5, 2004, it became evident that they hadn’t. His death sparked a renewal in America’s love and appreciation for this man. Huge crowds lined the streets as his hearse traveled to the airport for the flight from California to Washington. Enormous lines of mourners, who waited for hours, to walk past his coffin, were much more than what the planners had estimated. His funeral service was attended by world leaders, whose emotional response to his death, was a sincere tribute to the greatness of his life. Again, crowds lined the freeway as his hearse took him to his final resting place in California, at his Presidential Library, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

It is with a smug sense of “I told you so”, that I remember my personal, forty year, support of this man. To those earlier supporters of his political opponents, including Governors Brown, and Romney and Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter, and Vice-Presidents Mondale and Rockefeller, I can only say, “I have no regrets”.

I am not alone, in my yearning for the next “Reagan” to appear. During these troubled times, we need a person of his optimism, coupled with determined persistence based on sound economic principles and traditional values. While our liberal friends, celebrate the return of “Camelot”, we must remain steadfast in the memory of what Reagan really was. The press would like to remember him for his likeable personality, his sense of humor and his great ability to communicate. For those survivors of the Reagan Revolution, we must remember what it was that he communicated. While his Presidency had style and grace, it must be remembered for its substance.

Gerald Frendt, February, 2009

¹ Jim Powell, The Triumph of Liberty (New York: The Fee Press, A Division of Simon & Schuster Inc., 2000)  148.