Would Reagan be a part of the Tea Party today?

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

No, of course not.

[ElectionsGuy]

Probably not, but who knows.

[7,052,770]

He wouldn't be a Republican at all. He doesn't meet the litmus test:

• Gave all "illegal immigrants" amnesty
• Ran up huge deficits
• Didn't really care about abortion until he had to near the end of his presidency
• More pro-gay in the 1970s than most Republicans are in 2014 (torpedoed the ban of gay teachers in public schools, which most Republican states would probably pass today)
• Made peace with our biggest enemy
• Set tax rates in the 30s when he could have gotten them lower

This list could go on and on. The guy couldn't win a Republican primary anywhere. It's a shame that he lost his mind and then died, because he really could have steered the Republican Party in a saner direction.

Why the Tea Party fanatics run their campaigns today on "I'm a Reagan Republican!!!!1" makes no sense. Either they are completely ignorant of history or think everyone else is.

[TNF]

Yes, given that he was a bumbling idiot

[GaussLaw]

He wouldn't be a Republican at all. He doesn't meet the litmus test:

• Gave all "illegal immigrants" amnesty
• Ran up huge deficits
• Didn't really care about abortion until he had to near the end of his presidency
• More pro-gay in the 1970s than most Republicans are in 2014 (torpedoed the ban of gay teachers in public schools, which most Republican states would probably pass today)
• Made peace with our biggest enemy
• Set tax rates in the 30s when he could have gotten them lower

This list could go on and on. The guy couldn't win a Republican primary anywhere. It's a shame that he lost his mind and then died, because he really could have steered the Republican Party in a saner direction.

Why the Tea Party fanatics run their campaigns today on "I'm a Reagan Republican!!!!1" makes no sense. Either they are completely ignorant of history or think everyone else is.

Conservatives blame the Reagan deficits on "the Democratic Congress!!!!!!", same with Bush's, some of which were also quite large. 

I really don't see a gay teacher ban getting passed in red states now.  Certainly not in Missouri. 
I think Reagan would be a Republican today, but not necessarily a tea partier.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Rhetoric-wise he matches up with them, more or less.

[H. Ross Peron]

No, he'd be a very conservative Republican but still be getting flack for being a "RINO".

[SWE]

Yes, he'd happily move to the right to please the Tea party

[Meursault]

Yes. But not initially.

Reagan had a consistent history of moving rightwards to appease new conservative groups. He signed the most liberal therapeutic abortion bill in American history as Governor of California, then declared himself 'pro-life' later, when the Religious Right materialized.

[Maxwell]

Forget his record, Campaign Ronald Reagan was the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party, and that's all that matters.

[Person Man]

Forget his record, Campaign Ronald Reagan was the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party, and that's all that matters.

[Phony Moderate]

Reagan was Ted Cruz of the 1980s.

[GaussLaw]

Also, the tea party has never had full governmental control.  If they did, then we could compare records.

It's a lot easier to hate government of all forms when you're the minority party.

[MATTROSE94]

He wouldn't be a Republican at all. He doesn't meet the litmus test:

• Gave all "illegal immigrants" amnesty
• Ran up huge deficits
• Didn't really care about abortion until he had to near the end of his presidency
• More pro-gay in the 1970s than most Republicans are in 2014 (torpedoed the ban of gay teachers in public schools, which most Republican states would probably pass today)
• Made peace with our biggest enemy
• Set tax rates in the 30s when he could have gotten them lower

This list could go on and on. The guy couldn't win a Republican primary anywhere. It's a shame that he lost his mind and then died, because he really could have steered the Republican Party in a saner direction.

Why the Tea Party fanatics run their campaigns today on "I'm a Reagan Republican!!!!1" makes no sense. Either they are completely ignorant of history or think everyone else is.

Pretty much this. I can see Ronald Reagan either being a Jon Huntsman-type Republican or a conservative Democrat today.

[Mr. Illini]

The idea that he would be a Tea Partier is ridiculous and the idea that he would be a Democrat is even more ridiculous. His policies were certainly to the right of modern Democrats and many Republicans, but were not as populist and racist as the Tea Party's. He would be like a Marco Rubio or Scott Walker, IMO, in that he would be considered a conservative who doesn't get along well with either the moderates or the Tea Party.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Reagan had few real opinions of his own, and much like how he shilled products in the 50's, he was the figurehead for the real men in power during the 1980's.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Probably not, because he probably couldn't stand their ideological purity.  That's ironic because so many Tea Partiers and conservative purists invoke him to push their agenda.  Reagan said that half a loaf of bread was better than none at all, and that the person who agrees with you 80% of the time isn't your enemy for the other 20%.  (Not to mention his infamous "Eleventh Commandment.")  This is the exact opposite sentiment of most Tea Partiers, who believe that anyone who isn't with them on any single issue is against them.

In fact, Reagan would probably be called a "RINO" by most conservatives today and could only win a GOP nomination with a split in the conservative vote (ala Dole, McCain, & Romney.)  He had a much more interventionist policy than many Tea Party politicians (like Rand Paul) and didn't accuse his opponents of being Marxists; plus, as Governor of California, he raised taxes and legalized abortion.

[Maxwell]

The idea that he would be a Tea Partier is ridiculous and the idea that he would be a Democrat is even more ridiculous. His policies were certainly to the right of modern Democrats and many Republicans, but were not as populist and racist as the Tea Party's. He would be like a Marco Rubio or Scott Walker, IMO, in that he would be considered a conservative who doesn't get along well with either the moderates or the Tea Party.

How is it ridiculous to think he would be a Tea Partier? He was the Tea Party before the Tea Party came to be. He was the guy who tried to defeat President Gerald Ford from the right for crying out loud. Some Democrats point to a lot of things Reagan did (like talking about "welfare queens") as a sort of racial dog whistle, and it only set the stage for what would come to be.

Again, forget his record. A lot of guys who run under a super conservative banner eventually moderate when put in a position of power. That's just what happens.

[AggregateDemand]

No, but he would be using them to further his platform of counterfactual conservatism.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Reagan certainly showed a willingness to sign liberal legislation during his time as Governor while also maintaining his stance as a leader of his party's right-wing. After all, he was his party's conservative candidate two years into his governorship and then two years after he left office. The Therapeutic Abortion Act is, in my opinion, a bad example given that the bill was passed in order to allow for abortions related to health reasons and it was a matter of the bill's language that made abortion effectively broadly legal. Disregarding that, he did sign environmental legislation while Governor and restored funding for universities after tax increases were able to fill in the state's deficit. Despite all these, he somehow was able to maintain the loyalty of right-wing activists in 1968, 1976, and 1980. Given that, I think he would be able to pull the same balancing act in today's world; using conservative grassroots support (and of course some money from larger donors) for political support and governing in a more creative manner.

[Miles]

Yes, of course.

[Mr. Illini]

Yes, of course.

Chicago woman *wink*wink*

[Never]

The idea that he would be a Tea Partier is ridiculous and the idea that he would be a Democrat is even more ridiculous. His policies were certainly to the right of modern Democrats and many Republicans, but were not as populist and racist as the Tea Party's. He would be like a Marco Rubio or Scott Walker, IMO, in that he would be considered a conservative who doesn't get along well with either the moderates or the Tea Party.

I agree with all of this. It's pretty telling how much Nancy Reagan likes Rubio that if Ronald were still alive, he would probably have similar views.

[Rockefeller GOP]

It's epically overrated to suggest dead politicians would be in different parties today for three reasons:

1) Time and time again, history has shown that motive is more important to parties than method - if big government/interventionism into the economy is good for corporations (protective tariff from Lincoln days all the way through Hoover), then Republicans will support it.  If small government/less regulation is good for corporations (post-WWII economy all the way until now), Republicans will support it.  Neither party has ever been tied to big or small government SIMPLY for the sake of supporting big or small government at a fundamental level.

2) The VAST majority of politicians who serve into their later years in life never switch parties, even if their parties radically change.  So, it's a little bold to ever make that claim (unless, of course, you buy into the overly simplistic notion that the parties have done complete 180s since the Civil War Era, but I reject that storybook version of history).

3) Most importantly, THE ISSUES ARE DIFFERENT.  The early parties argued over tariffs, slavery, the gold standard, expansion West, etc.  As we all know, none of that is relevant today.  And frankly, I think it's very irresponsible to take anecdotal quotes on long-since-resolved issues and try to assign liberal or conservative labels to dead politicians.

I believe Reagan would be exactly like other older, retired Republicans now: he'd proudly remain in the GOP, he'd criticize Tea Partiers who weren't willing to compromise and he'd point out how Republicans need to be a big tent party or perish.