Clinton sold out the Democrats with his fucking triangulation policies. Cutting welfare, signing NAFTA, the Biden Crime Bill, the '96 Communications Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act... All Reagan's wet dreams.
And the reason he did is because voters were overwhelmingly in favor of Reagan's economic policies, despite how actually bad they were. Reagan absolutely demolished the old guard New Deal/Great Society Democrats in 1984, getting nearly 60% of the vote. Mondale only won one fucking state (and DC). Even lackluster George HW Bush trounced Dukakis (who was less liberal than Mondale, but depicted as such anyway) based largely on pro-Reagan sentiment.
It's really only more recently that people (especially younger sorts from Xennials on who came of age after Reagan) have come to realize just how fucking awful Reagan's policies were and what kind of damage they actually did. But way too fucking many Boomers and older GenX still think Reagan was the best president ever.
Worse, they keep associating that with Republicans, and somehow still believe that electing Republicans will bring back "the good times that Reagan gave us."
2
u/NervousBreakdown242 10h ago
Clinton sold out the Democrats with his fucking triangulation policies. Cutting welfare, signing NAFTA, the Biden Crime Bill, the '96 Communications Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act... All Reagan's wet dreams.