A Brief History of 50 Years of ConservatismGeorge Will analyzes the
rise of the Right. Interestingly, he appears to compare George Bush favorably to Ronald Reagan in this passage:
Bush — granted, his party controls Congress — is more of a tax cutter than was Reagan, who signed tax increases in 1982 (twice), 1983 (twice), 1984, 1985 (twice), 1986, 1987 (twice) and 1988. So Bartlett faults Bush for the wrong kind of cuts. Citing, among other things, the 2002 farm bill, Bartlett says Bush the spender is utterly unlike Reagan. He may not remember this: "Through target prices, support loans and other programs, our administration has provided more support to our nation's farmers this year than did the administrations of the last five presidents all put together. Because this year alone, we'll spend more on farm support programs . . . than the total amount the last administration provided in all its four years." The farmers hearing that 11-minute Reagan speech at the 1986 Illinois State Fair interrupted it with applause 15 times.
