Why I Am a Reagan Conservative

217 Pages·2006·0.54 MB·English

by  Michael K. Deaver

also by michael k. deaver
Behind the Scenes
A Different Drummer: My 30 Years with Ronald Reagan
Nancy: A Portrait ofMy Years with Nancy Reagan
WHY I AM A
REAGAN
CONSERVATIVE
★
• •
E D I T E D B Y
Michael K. Deaver
To Ronald Reagan, who changed
all of our lives
contents
INTRODUCTION viii
ROBERT L. BARTLEY 1
Being Conservative Gives You a Grip on Reality
ROBERT D. NOVAK 7
Government: Problem or Solution?
BOB DOLE 9
A Legacy of Values, Not Just a Label
MICHAEL BARONE 13
Detroit
WILLIAM H. FRIST, M.D. 19
Self-Reliance
MARTIN ANDERSON 23
A Ringing Melody of Ideas
DAVID A. KEENE 27
The Founders Had It Right
MICHAEL MEDVED 31
Conservatism: It Works for Me
RICK SANTORUM 37
Building on What Is Good for America
contents
TRENT LOTT 39
The Government Closest to the People
EDWIN MEESE III 41
A Just and Prosperous Society
J.C. WATTS, JR. 47
Remembering Ronald Reagan
BILL OWENS 51
Optimism
JON KYL 53
Sorting Out Conflict
HENRY J. HYDE 57
The Importance of Transcendent Moral Values
G. GORDON ROBERT LIDDY 61
Keeping Your Dream
JIM DEMINT 63
The Struggle for Freedom
P. J. O’ROURKE 69
The Shocking Convictions and Astonishing Grabbiness of the Left
PHIL GRAMM 75
Effort and Determinism
CHRISTOPHER COX 79
Classic Ideas Worth Conserving
LORD DOUGLAS HURD 83
Different Soils Bearing Conservatism
PAUL M. WEYRICH 85
Eternal Truths
GROVER NORQUIST 87
America Is Freedom
FRANK FAHRENKOPF 91
The Making of a Conservative
CRAIG THOMAS 95
The Constitution’s Groundwork
v
contents
JAY NORDLINGER 97
I’m a Reaganite
ROBERT LIVINGSTON 101
The Marks of a Conservative
SUZANNE FIELDS, PH.D. 103
From Cultural Liberal to Cultural Conservative
EDWIN J. FEULNER, PH.D. 107
What Conservatism Is Not
DONALD J. DEVINE, PH.D. 111
All Other Political Philosophies Have Failed
PETER BRIMELOW 117
How Can Man Die Better?
KEN MEHLMAN 125
I Believe in Freedom
CHUCK HAGEL 129
A Philosophy of Governance
KATHERINE HARRIS 131
Limited Government and Unlimited Prosperity
ORRIN G. HATCH 133
Restoring Essential Values Through the Reagan Revolution
MONA CHAREN 137
Inculcating Nobility
REED IRVINE 141
Free Choice Versus Maudlin Sentimentality
ADAM H. PUTNAM 145
The Greatest Nation with a Greater Promise
JACK OLIVER 149
Defining Success for Ourselves
ZACH WAMP 151
The Cornerstones of a Healthy Society
PAUL RYAN 157
Government Does Not Know Best
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contents
THOMAS A. SCHATZ 159
The Importance of Fiscal Conservatism
MICHAEL K. DEAVER 161
A Reagan Man
PETE SESSIONS 165
Beauty and Fulfillment
DARRELL ISSA 171
The Pillars of Our Nation
WALTER B. JONES 173
Restoring the Principles of Our Past
DR. MARVIN OLASKY 175
God Is Wiser Than Me
SCOTT MCINNIS 179
Common Sense
ROBERTA COMBS 181
Historic Judeo-Christian Principles
JO ANN EMERSON 183
Strong Values
MICHAEL C. BURGESS, M.D. 185
The Power of the Individual
DAVID VITTER 187
Individual Freedom
TODD TIAHRT 189
Take a Right Turn: My Conversion from a Democrat to a
Conservative Republican
ROB SIMMONS 195
The Freedom to Do What Is Right
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 201
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CREDITS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
vii
introduction
In early 2004, the New York Times created a small stir by
quietly assigning an experienced reporter to a new assign-
ment: cover conservatives. Bill Keller, the Times’ executive
editor, appeared to be in a slight bind. After all, does the
Timeshave a reporter working the “liberal” beat?
Regardless of intent, I think Big Media has finally owned
up to the fact that conservatives are here to stay. The current
political landscape is not some residue from the Reagan
Revolution; it is the result of a generational sea change that
will not dissipate anytime soon, despite the best efforts of
Al Franken and Company.
When I first became active in the conservative movement
of the Republican Party, we were considered a “fringe
group,” made up largely of westerners who were separated
by far more than miles from the eastern GOP establish-
ment.
introduction
I find myself bemused when today’s liberals bemoan the
rise of conservative medium outlets, identifying the usual
suspects: Fox News, Wall Street Journal editorial writers, the
Washington Times, Rush, and Sean Hannity.
They either forget—or chose to overlook—that liberal
views dominated nearly every major institution for a good
part of the century. From the think tanks to the National
Council of Churches to the Democrat-dominated congres-
sional committees to the newsrooms to the halls of acade-
mia, liberal views were the norm. National Public Radio’s
idea of a “balanced political dialogue” was—and still is—a
pair of Democrats and a reporter from the Washington Post.
Anybody to the right of Everett Dirksen was considered a
menace or a lunatic.
Then a guy named Reagan came along.
The national week of mourning for Ronald Reagan rein-
forced the fact that conservatism, as we know it today,
would not enjoy its majority status in American politics if
not for him. Thirty-five million people tuned into the state
funeral at the National Cathedral and the interment at the
Reagan Library, more than had watched the final game of
the NBA play-offs.
Reagan’s impact on the American political scene is only
rivaled by that of FDR in the twentieth century. Today the
White House and both sides of Congress are in conservative
hands. A majority of state legislatures are Republican. The
majority of the Supreme Court is right of center.
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