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Well it's kind of silly to speculate, but I think if he could see all the abuses that have resulted from the drug war he might have some regrets. He certainly c

Well it's kind of silly to speculate, but I think if he could see all the abuses that have resulted from the drug war he might have some regrets. He certainly changed his mind/policy on other issues, so I'd like to think a woken from the grave (pre-dementia) Reagan would be shocked into such an admission. Given that in 1978 he wrote an editorial opposing the anti-gay Briggs Initiative (California) and arguably hosted the first gay couple to sleep in the White House, I think modern social conservatives would be in for a few surprises from a mellowed out/dead Reagan.

hga 13y ago
Reagan was a divorced California playboy actor! Seriously; can't find the classic picture of him with a surfboard, but as I recall he was the first President to have been divorced, and that was an issue in the 1980 election. When James Watt did his Beach Boys kerfuffle one thing that reversed it was Reagan and Nancy being fans of the band.
- msgilligan 13y ago
  I remember the Beach Boys kerfuffle. It resulted in the best letter to the editor (you know, printed in an actual newspaper) that I ever read. It was one sentence: As a sex-crazed, commie drug-fiend I resent Secretary Watt's implication that I listen to the Beach Boys.
  - hga 13y ago
    Heh; no comment on the "sex-crazed" ^_^, which I think is orthogonal anyway, but I'm the opposite of a "commie drug-fiend", so that must explain why I too like them.
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
I don't believe Reagan was ever anti-gay, being an actor in Hollywood and all, and so this doesn't represent much of a change in position. We could imagine Wallace having regrets for being a racist, because he expressed them in his lifetime. But actually, Wallace was a populist, and overt racism was out of vogue even in Alabama by the late 70s. Even if stubborn, Reagan was similarly a conservative populist: what do the people say they want, and give it to them. So his war on drugs was geared toward public opinion at the time, and he was right: a lot of Americans hate drugs. But unlike racism going out of vogue, drugs are still considered evil by most (conservative) Americans; what pressure would there be for Reagan to change his opinion now?
- msgilligan 13y ago
  I brought up gay rights to support my other point that today's conservatives have read a lot in to Reagan that was never there. I suppose his, or any President's expressed views on the drug war would be much more influenced by public opinion while holding office than as an ex-President. It was after leaving office that George Shultz became the first prominent Republican to call for drug legalization. People's opinions are slowly changing and there is overwhelming evidence that the drug war is failing and inimical to so many other values that conservatives (especially libertarian-leaning conservatives, which Reagan arguably was) There's certainly a big contradiction between where we have gotten to now and a man who promised to "get government off our backs" -- isn't there? But, as I said, it's a little silly to speculate and thinking about his positions over the years I can't come up with any major changes, so you have a point. I know what I would like to see, though.
- msgilligan 13y ago
  Medical opinion (at least as presented in the popular media) is changing: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-mari... I'm not feeling very optimistic about anything these days, but this is a good sign.

hga 13y ago

Reagan was a divorced California playboy actor! Seriously; can't find the classic picture of him with a surfboard, but as I recall he was the first President to have been divorced, and that was an issue in the 1980 election. When James Watt did his Beach Boys kerfuffle one thing that reversed it was Reagan and Nancy being fans of the band.

msgilligan 13y ago
I remember the Beach Boys kerfuffle. It resulted in the best letter to the editor (you know, printed in an actual newspaper) that I ever read. It was one sentence: As a sex-crazed, commie drug-fiend I resent Secretary Watt's implication that I listen to the Beach Boys.
- hga 13y ago
  Heh; no comment on the "sex-crazed" ^_^, which I think is orthogonal anyway, but I'm the opposite of a "commie drug-fiend", so that must explain why I too like them.

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

I don't believe Reagan was ever anti-gay, being an actor in Hollywood and all, and so this doesn't represent much of a change in position. We could imagine Wallace having regrets for being a racist, because he expressed them in his lifetime. But actually, Wallace was a populist, and overt racism was out of vogue even in Alabama by the late 70s. Even if stubborn, Reagan was similarly a conservative populist: what do the people say they want, and give it to them. So his war on drugs was geared toward public opinion at the time, and he was right: a lot of Americans hate drugs. But unlike racism going out of vogue, drugs are still considered evil by most (conservative) Americans; what pressure would there be for Reagan to change his opinion now?

msgilligan 13y ago
I brought up gay rights to support my other point that today's conservatives have read a lot in to Reagan that was never there. I suppose his, or any President's expressed views on the drug war would be much more influenced by public opinion while holding office than as an ex-President. It was after leaving office that George Shultz became the first prominent Republican to call for drug legalization. People's opinions are slowly changing and there is overwhelming evidence that the drug war is failing and inimical to so many other values that conservatives (especially libertarian-leaning conservatives, which Reagan arguably was) There's certainly a big contradiction between where we have gotten to now and a man who promised to "get government off our backs" -- isn't there? But, as I said, it's a little silly to speculate and thinking about his positions over the years I can't come up with any major changes, so you have a point. I know what I would like to see, though.
msgilligan 13y ago
Medical opinion (at least as presented in the popular media) is changing: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-mari... I'm not feeling very optimistic about anything these days, but this is a good sign.