1 of 25

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

way ahead of us, and I am embarrassed to admit it; but it's true.

I am and always will be a conservative, in the old definition. Reagan made me not a Republican and Clinton made me a Democrat. I never worshiped at the feet of Ronald Reagan like so many of my friends. I did appreciate his management style, of assigning jobs to competent people, then going for a nap and allow them do what they do best. I could see the damage that his economic policies were doing to the nation then, though. My friends all loved what was happening, but it is a short term way of providing economic prosperity.

The strength of this nation is the middle-class worker, and letting financial prosperity trickle down to them, while borrowing to pay the nation's bills, is a formula for eventual disaster. There are two ways to increase prosperity of a nation. Pull it up from the top, or push it up from the bottom. Reaganomics and Bushanomics are to pull it up from the top; but like a balloon-full of water, it shrinks in the middle when pulled upward.

Clinton believed in pushing upward from the bottom, and I now believe he was right. As you push form the bottom, as with minimum wage, the bottom moves upward, the middle expands, and eventually, the top moves upward, pushed by a strong middle class.

There is only one way to properly manage finances, however. Pay your bills, and stay within your budget. I heard someone, recently, say, "Give me a trillion dollar line of credit and I'll show you how to appear prosperous, for a long time, but eventually, the bills will have to be paid." I can't say it any better.

To be a Republican, I had to have my conscience surgically removed, toward the end of the Reagan era. I chose to keep mine, and now vote Democratic, because we do have a responsibility to care for others. It is our job as citizens of the richest nation in the world. How long we will be rich, I don't know, at the rate we are going. We must provide a universal health care delivery system to everyone, even the people we don't like and wish were dead, because it is right, and it is prudent. It costs too much to do it the way we are doing it, now.

We lost our right to dissent along the way, also, but are regaining it, now. I'm glad. I hated being called a traitor when I criticized our nation's policies. If there is any good reason to live in a democratic society, it is the right to dissent, and it was almost taken from me.

I said that I didn't care for Reagan's ideas, but I would go back to them in a second, if it were possible. They were much better than our current administrations policies.

I believe in democracy, not from some flag-waving, patriotic nonsense, but from experience. The best thing about our democracy is that the people have a chance to make a mistake, and then vote to correct it. We will return to fiscal sanity, a social conscience, and freedom soon, I believe.

I am still a conservative, and always will be. Come to my meeting this week, if you want. We discuss the good old days of sanity, equality, responsibility, and freedom.

Learn more about this author, Will Kester.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about What happened to the Reagan Republican??
We want to hear your view. Write now!