Exactly who are these "Reagan Democrats" I hear so much about?

[CatWoman]

Looking through the threads here, I see that quite a few democrats voted for Reagan.

One question: WHY??

[Tempest]

1. Reagan had a purdy mouth

And some Democrats believed him when he opened it.

You'd think they would have known Reagan was lying his ass off.

There's just too many sheeple in America.

[mopaul]

2. i was 29 in 1980 and wondered the same thing

a reagan democrat was just that, reagan fooled them all into thinking he was a centrist with his charm and they were tired of carter, and longed for jfk.

but to me, they were contrarians, like chickens voting for colonel sanders. or jews voting for hitler, or gays voting for bush.

weird critters, who like nader voters, fucked it up for all of us

[buddhamama]

3. he appealed to the baser side of humanity

mine me mine me mine.

He said it was ok to be greedy ignorant selfish Americans.
Then it was feeling good when he convinced the American people the world should emulate us, and set about accomplishing it too through force.


(fyi, i am not/wasn't a Reagan democrat)

[Skittles]

4. they were fooled

it kills me because that bastard was as transparently phony as Dubya.

[buddhamama]

5. they sold their soul to the highest bidder

and the rest of us got fucked.

[Vickers]

6. I voted for him in 1984.

I was not a Democrat at the time. I was a 20-year-old Airman First Class working at bases that were deploying GLCMs (ground launched cruise missiles) throughout Europe. I was pretty hardcore all in all. Gung-ho.

Within a couple of years, he was caught in a lie (Iran-Contra). By this time I was working inside of a mountain (Cheyenne Mountain Complex, NORAD, CO). Not just a lie, but a perversion of the Constitution, one that I, like him, had sworn to uphold. MY COMMANDER-in-CHIEF WAS LYING!!!! I won't kid you, that freaked me out.

I've been a Democrat ever since.

So yes, it IS possible that folks here who seem pretty progressive or liberal or whatever voted for Reagan. People change.

Sincerely,

Vickers

[mopaul]

10. I used to be extremely conservative as a teen

i was seriously messed up with the establishment mindthought, i was a moran for nerds and love it or leavers. now look at me

[theboss]

7. Several reasons

I wasn't old enough to vote in 80 and 84 and I never would have voted for Reagan, but there are many reasons Dems voted for Reagan.

1. Blue collar workers starting voting based on values rather than economics. Steelworkers may benefit from our economic policies, but they weren't going to vote for soft-on-Commies/pro-affirmative-action/pro-Gay/Anti-God Liberals anymore. This is why Pittsburgh is turning into a Republican stronghold.

2. Carter. Carter was just that unpopular. I know his image has been rehabiliated to some degree, but he was really really unbelievably unpopular. Anyone was going to pull votes from him across party lines. And Mondale was not exactly Johnny Charismatic.

3. Machismo. Again, Reagan Democrats were largely blue-collar men. And Reagan was seen as a man's man. He rode horses. He chopped wood. He threatened to blow up the world. All good stuff.

4. The general shift of the South. Howeve, I don't think Southerners count as Reagan Democrats since they don't split their tickets anymore. The classic Reagan Democrat would vote Reagan for President and Casey/Cuomo/Rockefeller/whoever for Governor.

[MisterP]

12. rather true:

1. Blue-collars affected by Nixon & Wallace's "I am a hard hat" and "rule by truncheon" promos.
2. Blue-collars swayed by all the lies about liberals and Democrats, especially in '84.
3. Media consolidation: the '84 debates fooled people due to the Mighty Wurlitzer being warmed up, which continues to this day.
4. Carter in '80.
5. Hinkley in '81.
6. Zell Millerites and other Trojan horses.
7. Newly Evangelicalized persons over the late 70's.

[wyldwolf]

13. most logical and reasoned response so far

The "machismo" combined with the general bad taste Carter left in mainstream America's mouth over the economy and national defense.

Men voted for him in droves and many political analysts predicted that Wesley Clark could win some of them back.

[theboss]

14. I'd like to meet those political analysts

But that's a discussion for another time.

Reagan is where Democrats started to do just horribly with white men.

[theboss]

15. I'd like to meet those political analysts

But that's a discussion for another time.

Reagan is where Democrats started to do just horribly with white men.

[Solly Mack]

8. I've got the popcorn. Getting comfy...

this should be interesting...


Democrats explain why they voted for Reagan...


1980 - too young to vote (by 2 years)..campaigned for Carter
1984 - (finally) old enough to vote..and did...for Mondale.

[JHB]

9. They were...

...Catholics and Protestants newly-encouraged to take the abortion fight to the polls, people whose class- and race-prejudices let them fall for "welfare queen" exaggerations, proto-Rambos who liked Reagan's tough-guy rhetoric, Yuppies who heard "tax cut" and decided on that alone, and so on.

[theboss]

11. You need to define "Reagan Democrat" by the way

I did a bit in my first post. It was typically described as a northern ethnic Catholic who split his/her ballot between Reagan at the top and Democrats below that.

This is how we managed to still hold big margins in the House and retake the Senate in '84 while Reagan beat Mondale like a red-headed stepchild.