After the crushing defeat of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election, conservative Republicans regrouped. The track record for conservatives was dismal. Since the Democrats won a majority of the House of Representatives in the 1954 elections, Republicans were stuck having to compromise on anything that reached a congressional conference committee.
How could they win the presidency, a majority in both houses of congress, and a majority of seats on the federal bench? They decided that it would take money and a synchronized "public relations" effort to win the hearts and minds of Americans.
Conservative billionaires decided to pony up the cash. They included:
- Harry Bradley of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
- Joseph Coors, Colorado Beer magnate
- Fred Koch (and his two sons) of Koch Industries in Kansas
- Richard Mellon Scaife, heir to Mellon bank and oil fortune
- William Simon, who would become treasury secretary under Richard Nixon.
- H. Lamar Hunt and his son, Nelson Bunker Hunt, Texas oil fortune.
Former conservative journalist David Brock has documented the scope of their strategy and efforts in the book, Republican Noise Machine.
Their exuberance over the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 would be short lived.
First, he had to cope with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
Then, Nixon's presidency would go down in flames, leaving the moderate Gerald Ford in charge. Ford would lose the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter. But it was Carter's presidency that would give new hope to conservative Republicans
Think about the mood of America in 1979. Americans had suffered through the traumas of 1968, the "stag-flation" of the Nixon years, the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew and eventually Nixon, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, runaway interest rates on borrowing, both a coup and a hostage crisis in Iran with Americans being held hostage in the U.S. Embassy.
Americans were disillusioned - especially the approximately 76-million baby boomers, ranging in age from 14 to 34. And conservative Republicans were poised to re-educate the baby-boomers in what was "important" in life.
Tomorrow, Part 2. The GOP Sells Out.
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Comments: 24
Horsebleep, buddy.
Our Founding Fathers lived by the ideals of promoting the common welfare as opposed to the Republican ideal of promoting corporate welfare.
And they benefited from a tax system that allowed them to deduct all those expenses on their corporate tax returns.
And the word is "principles" not principals. And as far as the Constitution--well it suffered more at the hands of Bush/Cheney than almost any other President, except for maybe Nixon--another stellar Republican President. Care to comment on his principles?
Make that "crap on" and you'll come closer to the truth. Bush/Cheney did everything they could to eviscerate the document.
Is there anything in your comment that relates to this post? Or did you just want to spout your neo-conservative talking points?
Considering that you do not seem to have a clue as to what is in the Constitution, here is a link:
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
Why don't you read it sometime.
As far as Bush "stepping on the constitution"..... who here had their rights violated? Where in the constitution does it say that if I make more money than an alcoholic, a politician has the right to encourage the alcoholic to vote for him to make me pay more taxes as if I am part of the reason that they are a bum? It's democrat ideology 101 and the ideology you support Bob.
I am not a big fan of Bush and the only thing that eases my pain from Obama being the dumbest president since Carter is that McCain didn't get elected. THAT would hurt even worse.
Carla thank you for correcting my spelling.
It simply did not relate to the post.
You are jumping to a conclusion of where I'm going with this series and decided to jump in here and change the subject.
Stagflation came into being under Carter, not Nixon. Nixon had good old fashioned government inspired inflation instead.
I recommend you read the following article:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0
The only thing that comment does is reveal your bias. States Rights translates to the GOP boogieman ???? seriously,next there will come a time you'll look back to when you remember the Constitution as the obstacle to the socialist utopia.
Your series basically adds up to a liberal Democrats cliffnoted version of history. CommonDreams.org is proof of this...they are a Progressive(far left) site. They pretend to be non-partisan ? please....who's fooling who ?
George W. Bush 2000 On The Issues
Budget/Use Of The Surplus
Bush's Campaign Lies
The federal government is expected to run a surplus of nearly $5 trillion during the next ten years. Governor Bush has proposed a balanced economic program that will use the surplus to prepare for the future, dedicating: half to saving Social Security by establishing personal retirement accounts and reducing the debt held by the public; one-quarter for pro-growth tax cuts; and the remainder to reform education, strengthen Medicare, and support other priorities. As President, Governor Bush will bring taxes down from their record high level and pay the debt down to a historically low level.
Governor Bush’s Approach
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Lock-box one-half of the surplus for strengthening Social Security by establishing personal retirement accounts and paying down the public debt: Within a decade, the massive Baby Boom generation will be eligible for Social Security.
Governor Bush has proposed a bold framework to save Social Security, rather than simply passing the burden to the next generation.
He will set aside over half of the surplus to strengthen Social Security through personal retirement accounts and debt reduction.
Personal accounts are the best way to guarantee that the Social Security surplus is not used for other purposes.
Governor Bush will also pay down a record amount of the debt held by the public, which will fall to the lowest level since the Great Depression (as a share of the economy).
Both debt reduction and personal accounts will improve the economy by increasing national savings and investment.
Reserve over one-quarter of the surplus for broad-based tax cuts: Governor Bush knows that hard-working Americans, not Washington, created the surplus.
He will return about a quarter of the surplus directly to the people who pay the bills.
As President Reagan demonstrated two decades ago, lower tax rates are the key to raising the standard of living for all Americans.
A sound tax plan is the best insurance policy against an economic downturn.
Reserve substantial funds for other priorities: Governor Bush will use the remainder of the surplus for other important priorities like defense, Medicare, education, and the environment.
Governor Bush’s Surplus Proposal
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Use of the Surplus: Governor Bush
2001-2010
Baseline Surplus - $4.6 trillion
Reserve for Social Security (personal accounts & debt reduction) - $2.4 trillion - 52%
Broad Tax Cuts - $1.3 trillion - 28%
Other Priorities & Additional Debt Reduction* - $0.9 trillion - 20%
*includes savings of $0.2 trillion from government reform
Texas Record
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Fiscal Discipline
Under Governor Bush, state budget surpluses have increased from $333 million to a high of $3.5 billion.
Governor Bush cut the growth of state spending to its lowest rate in 40 years. When adjusted for inflation and population, state spending will increase only 3.6 percent between 1994-1995 and the end of the 2000-2001 biennium.
Tax Cuts
Governor Bush has advocated and delivered the two largest tax cuts in Texas history: $1 billion in 1997 and $2 billion in 1999.
Under Governor Bush, Texas has the 3rd lowest state tax burden in the country.
.......................................................................................................................
All these promises from Bush turned out to be crapola!
I appreciate the historical timeline of events that led us to where we are today.