Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Page 7
AFFAIRS OF STATE (Column)
A True Reagan Memorial: Continuing His Revolution
By DAVID KLINE
During last week’s memorial services for President Ronald Reagan, my mind kept returning to a day in late 1994 when I interviewed James Rogan, then an assemblyman representing the Glendale area.
Rogan, who would go on to become a central figure in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, sat in his Capitol office surrounded by political memorabilia. The office was a museum, with buttons and stickers and figurines from candidates of all walks of life, dating back to long before either of us was born. The focal point of the collection was a huge photo of Reagan in a 10-gallon hat, autographed by the Gipper himself.
Why, I asked, did Reagan dominate the office of a former Democrat, a self-described illegitimate son of a single mother who once survived on welfare and food stamps? Wasn’t Reagan vilified by people in these circumstances?
Yes, Rogan acknowledged, Reagan had been unpopular in the Democratic circles he had traveled in as a young man. But as time went on, Rogan said, something changed:
“I stopped laughing at Ronald Reagan and started listening to him.”
The Great Communicator had done it again. His straightforward and persuasive explanations of how Americans could make life better for themselves and their country had converted another skeptic.
Along with the many who, like Rogan, switched parties, there were the Reagan Democrats, numerous enough to get their own label and be courted by all candidates.
And then there were those in the younger generations who were too young to vote, but who came of age politically with Reagan as their mentor.
Reagan’s major achievements have been discussed quite thoroughly since his death, especially his leadership which helped the United States win the Cold War. And there was his leadership on tax cuts which stimulated the economy and took the country from inflation to a huge economic boom. And his leadership in treating women equally when making appointments to the Supreme Court.
He was an eloquent man whose moving letters to his wife belie rumors of a lack of intelligence. He was an honorable man who, former aide Mike Deaver writes in “A Different Drummer,” always kept his suit jacket on in the Oval Office out of respect for the institution of the presidency. He was a giving man who publicized his battle with Alzheimer’s disease knowing that the attention would help others with the disease.
While some of his actions over the years didn’t fit the textbook definition of conservatism, his overall message, his core belief was that protecting freedom is the most important work of government.
He protected freedom by tearing down walls of oppression abroad, by lowering taxes and by attempting to reduce government intrusion domestically. More importantly, he challenged us to free ourselves from dependence on government and to build our own shining city on a hill.
Reagan inspired people like Rogan to re-examine what they thought they knew about government and society. He inspired people like Arnold Schwarzenegger to become leaders themselves.
He inspired people like this columnist to continue believing in individual responsibility and limited government even when surrounded by educators who preached the Big Government mantra every chance they got.
Now that Reagan is free from the shackles of Alzheimer’s disease, now that he, like the American astronauts he famously eulogized, has “slipped the surly bonds of Earth,” those of us who remember him fondly should do more than just visit his resting place to pay our respects.
The best memorial to the 40th president will be to continue where he left off, to support those who walk in his footsteps and to remember that the Reagan Revolution was not confined to one eight-year span, but lives on in all who truly listened to what Ronald Wilson Reagan had to say.
©2004, Capitol News Service