Neo-liberals Show Their Muscles & Their Colors

During his time in office, Ronald Reagan RAISED taxes some thirteen times. How he got away with this is something for future biographers to ponder. He was, verbally, the champion of low taxes, of the “less government is better” wing of the Republican Party.
For one thing, his final ante in the Cold War poker game in which he forced the Soviets to fold and leave the game cost money. So he had an excuse that could pass at least some form of muster with conservative Republicans.
Over the duration of the Cold War, conservative (Neo-liberal/small government) Republicans had come to accept the idea that intercontinental ballistic missiles changed the international equation. Isolationism was no longer practical. This time, unlike World War II, there really was an enemy out there who could damage us at home.
On top of that there was the question of domestic subversion. To the conservative, the Nazis weren’t so awfully bad. They at least allowed the well-to-do to keep their goodies. The Communists threatened to take them all away. Most affluent Americans would allow you to spend almost any amount of tax money to prevent Reds from coming to power—just as the wealthy did in Germany.
This made Reagan’s derelictions forgivable. Along with the fact that he TRULY had a Teflon coating—not only to shield him from his political enemies but from the outrage of his political allies. Like Eisenhower, Reagan had a grin that could turn away all wrath.
So Reagan could preach tax cuts, raise taxes and survive politically. George H.W. Bush was not so lucky. He preached tax cuts, promised no tax raises—and then found himself in the midst of a recession. He also had a war breaking out in Kuwait (wars do cost money, you know). Bush was confronted with a dilemma.
At the 1988 convention he had promised “no new taxes—read my lips”. In 1990 he was confronted with a (then) large deficit and inadequate revenues. The Democrats (who controlled Congress) insisted on raising taxes. Republicans insisted on cutting spending (programs).
Bush, who was by no means a “small government” Neo-liberal, agreed with the Democratic point of view more than he did the Republicans (after all he had accused Reagan of being guilty of “voodoo economics” in the primary season of 1980).
He agreed to higher taxes. Outraged conservative Republicans (whose ultimate goal was to starve government into loosing heft) never forgave him. Even when he won his war in Kuwait inside of one hundred hours—with few casualties—he did not gain forgiveness.
Election time in 1992 came and the Democrats put up Bill Clinton, a man who talked like a moderate and promised to reduce federal welfare expenditures (which he did). Bush didn’t seem to sense until the votes were counted that he was a dead man walking.
The Christians who had backed Reagan so fervently had no reason to love Bush. The secular conservatives who had felt betrayed by Bush’s failure to keep his 1988 promise on taxes didn’t kill themselves to re-elect Bush either. People were so frustrated that 19% turned to independent candidate Ross Perot. Clinton won with 43% of the vote to Bush’s 38%.
Conservative, Neo-liberal, Republicans lost the White House, but since 1980 they had gained the power to punish those who opposed them—as Bill Clinton would learn two years into his own presidency. More later.