newright

     The elections of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and then again in 1984, and George Bush in 1988 exhibited the influence of a recently powerful political movement in American politics: The New Right. "The New Right comprised an unstable but potent alliance of wealthy Americans, corporate leaders, evangelicals, Catholic ethnics, and white blue collar workers" (Boyer, 415). Although this group would seem unlikely and very diverse, all members shared "an antipathy to intrusive federal regulations and cultural trends that threatened 'traditional values'" (Boyer 415). This coalition, in support of the Republican Party, took a solid stand against any policy that favored minorities, welfare recipients, feminists, homosexuals, and others who seemed to seek preferential treatment.
     These beliefs helped to shape the Republican platform in the election of 1980. This
platform "attacked abortion and the equal rights amendment" (Boyer 401). It also promoted Cold War militance, praised 'family values' and the free enterprise system, and held the apparently contradictory economic. Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan campaigned saying, "We must balance the budget, reduce taxes, and restore our defenses" (Reagan, Major Problems, 455).
     The scope and breadth of the effects of the New Right on America were huge. These effects included the largest peace time military build-up in American history, a three trillion dollar national debt, a suffering lower and middle class, economic policies that damaged the poor and middle class, and a rampant distortion of American values that lead to scandal and unhealthy greed.
     When Reagan was elected the Republicans were worried about a post-Vietnam decline in American military might. This caused Reagan to launch "the largest military expansion in peacetime history" (Boyer, 407). Military spending in 1980 was $158.52 billion in 1980. That amount grew by between 10 and 20 billion dollars per year until it reached its 1987 zenith of $241.21 billion. (Murphy, Major Problems, 503). Although in the later years this number was fed by the build-up of nuclear stockpiles in competition with Russia, Reagan also had an enthusiasm for reactivating battleships as a symbol of might. "These dinosaurs had little utility in an era of missiles, nuclear submarines, and communications satellites that could easily track them; nevertheless, Reaganites nostalgia for the glory days of World War II, when battleships had symbolized U.S. power, ignored such arguments" (Boyer, 407). The fact that government elites were able to take these actions while ignoring the economic effects on domestic considerations is a symptom of a shift of attention from the masses, as in the New Deal, to the upper classes. "This power shift, in turn, has produced a policy realignment most apparent in the alteration of both the pre-tax distribution of income and the after-tax distribution of income. In both cases, the distribution has become increasingly regressive" (Edsall, Major Problems, 467) and therefore bad for all but the rich.
     This is not indicative of a healthy economy which had money to spare. Indeed,
"Washington borrowed billions each year merely to pay interest on the ever rising $3 trillion national debt, straining the credit market and threatening to push up interest rates and bring back recession" (Boyer, 416). This was not a threat that the administration was unfamiliar with. "The 'Reagan recession' of 1981-82 produced painfully high jobless rates" (Boyer, 406). But, the GOP had not learned all the necessary lessons.
     By 1990, this time under new President Bush who had been Reagan's Vice President, there was again recession. "As usual, the recession hit the poor most severely, but it also brought bad news for the middle class and exacerbated a long term economic erosion" (Boyer, 441) which
had been occurring under the previous Republican administration and caused median household income to come down while "the average family's total tax burden remained about the same or rose slightly in these years" (Boyer, 406). This does not resemble the major tax cuts that had been promised by the Reagan administration.
     The major tax cuts had never been intended to help the majority of Americans. Reagan's ideas for tax cuts had come from the economist Arthur Laffer, author of the Laffer Curve. The idea was that reduced taxes would "jump-start the economy as consumers spent their windfall and as businesses invested in new plants and technology. The resulting boom would increase tax revenues even at lower rates" (Boyer, 403). This policy, technically called "supply-side economics" was also called "trickle-down economics" because the idea was that "if the rich get richer, the benefits will seep down to the rest of society" (Boyer, 404). However, "Most economists viewed Laffer's simplistic theory as wishful thinking" (Boyer, 404). But, the administration did still go ahead the theories of trickle-down economics and, "The major beneficiaries of this policy realignment are the affluent, while those in the bottom half of the income distribution, particularly those whose lives are the most economically marginal, have reaped the fewest rewards or have experienced declines in their standard of living" (Edsall, Major Problems, 465).
     Failure of these financial good times to trickle-down caused great difficulty for anybody that did not begin the 1980s rich. "Beneath the booming prosperity of the Reagan years, several
social problems festered" (Boyer, 405). The architects of economic policies in this era
effectively "overlooked the plight of lower-income Americans and urban minorities, as
well as displaced industrial workers and even struggling members of the middle class"
(Boyer, 431). The 1980s were, therefore, a decade of increased homelessness and struggle
for the middle and poorer classes.
      During these economic struggles at home, a well-funded military was intervening in many places abroad. Two such interventions are the defense of Israel against Palestinian forces and the American determination of government in Nicaragua. Difficulties arose in each. Palestine Liberation Forces kidnapped 9 Americans in Beirut between 1982 and 1985; and Congress was refusing to fund contras to overthrow the administration in Nicaragua. These two administration goals, "release of the Beirut hostages and support for the contras - led to the web of misdeeds known as the Iran-contra affair" (Boyer, 417).
     In 1983 Congress had forbidden the funding or aiding the contras to overthrow the
government of Nicaragua. The President then turned to contributions from third parties
and private parties - knowing it was against the law of Congress. This money was covertly
funneled to the Contras, also in direct contradiction to what Congress had ordered. Then,
to raise more money and to gain the freedom of the hostages, the administration decided
to sell arms to Iran. But, not all members of the administration supported this. "The Secretaries of State and Defense repeatedly opposed such a sale to a government designated by the United States as a supporter of international terrorism. They called it a straight arms-for-hostages deal that was contrary to U.S. public policy. They also argued that these sales would violate the Arms Export Control Act, as well as the U.S. arms embargo against Iran. The embargo had been imposed after the taking of hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 19 79, and was continued because of the Iran-Iraq war" (Congress, Major Problems, 506). The United States was going to sell arms to one terrorist in hopes that another terrorist would release American hostages and then use profited money to illegally support the overthrow of a foreign government. Most of the hostages, however, remained in custody even after delivery of the promised tanks and missiles; and the Nicaraguan government was overthrown but at a cost of Nicaraguan lives proportionally greater "than the United States lost in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined" (Leogrande, Major Problems, 523).
     Congress should have been involved in these actions. "By statute, Congress must be
notified about each covert action" (Congress, Major Problems, 506). As far as the funding
of the contras, "the President decided - not to report the Iran initiative to Congress"
(Congress, Major Problems, 508). The administration tried hard to not let Congress know
about the contras' funding, "But it was impossible to remain silent, and inaccurate
statements followed...While the President was denying any illegality, his subordinates were
engaging in a cover-up" (Congress, Major Problems, 508). Specifically, Lieutenant
Colonel Oliver North of the U.S. Marine Corps, whose operations "had its own airplanes,
pilots, ship, and communications system" (Congress, Major Problems, 418) all funded by
the government did admit to "lying to under oath, destroying documents, and falsifying records to conceal the White House role in the arms-for-hostages and contra-diversion schemes" (Boyer, 418). American values had been so warped, however, and the truth so hidden from them, that President Reagan's popularity and memory was not ruined as President Nixon's had been for similar mistakes. Even Oliver North "remained a hero to the political Right for years after" (Boyer, 418). These events are the legacy that was passed to President Bush from President Reagan with the support of the New Right. The power of the Right was coming to an end, however. After the one term presidency of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton was elected.
     The influence of the New Right was still felt within the Clinton administration. Welfare policy of the Democrats reflected some of the individualistic and anti-government waste that the Republicans of previous administrations represented. In 1996 President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act and said, "This bill will help people to go to work so they can stop drawing a welfare check and start drawing a pay check" (Clinton, Major Problems, 461). But, its intent was still clearly to reduce, not increase, the inequality between the upper and lower incomes: "The new bill restores American's basic bargain of providing opportunity and demanding in return responsibility" (Clinton, Major Problems, 461). Therefore, the Democrats broke from the mess of elitest politics that had been left
from 12 years of Republican presidents and put forth a new set of policies and values.

WORKS CITED

Boyer, Paul. Promises to Keep: The United States since World War II. 2nd ed. Boston:
      Houghton Mifflin; 1999.

Clinton, President Bill. Remarks at the signing of the Personal Responsibility and Work
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act. August 22, 1996. Major Problems.

Edsall, Thomas Burne. "The Mobalization of American Business." Major Problems.

Griffith, Robert and Baker, Paula. Major Problems in American History Since 1945. 2nd
     ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 2001.

LeoGrande, William M. Our Own Backyard. Major Problems.

Murphy, David. Us Military Spending, 1980-1990: A Graphic. Major Problems.

Reagan, Ronald. Speech delivered before the International Business Council (Chicago,
     September 9, 1980). Major Problems

U.S. Congress. Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra
      Affair. Major Problems.

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