"What about Mondale?" indeed: Candidate Reagan

Last edited Fri Jun 19, 2015, 02:04 PM - Edit history (1)

Thanks to demwing, we've gone a long way toward deconstructing the meme about the 1972 election. So, I thought we might start on the 1984 meme as well.

Off the bat, Reagan was no ordinary candidate.

Personally, he was affable and charming, with a great sense of humor.

He had been a "movie star," when that status was akin to owning Zeus adjacent real estate on Mt. Olympus. "In 1941 exhibitors voted him the fifth most popular star from the younger generation in Hollywood." https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Ronald_Reagan

Mind you, that was the era of Clark Gable, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart, among others. So, fifth was not too shabby.

That same year, he landed on the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild, which, to this day, remains a strong union, one of few private employee unions about which that can be said. Eventually, he served several one year terms as President.

"Reagan led SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor-management disputes, the Taft-Hartley Act, House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings and the Hollywood blacklist era." https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Ronald_Reagan

He had been a Democrat.

He joined numerous political committees with a strong left-wing orientation, such as the American Veterans Committee. He fought against Republican-sponsored right-to-work legislation and for Helen Gahagan Douglas in 1950, when she was defeated for the Senate by Richard Nixon. It was his realization that Communists were a powerful backstage influence in those groups, that led him to rally his friends against them.[59]

Reagan spoke frequently at rallies with a strong ideological dimension; in December 1945, he was stopped from leading an anti-nuclear rally in Hollywood by pressure from the Warner Bros. studio. He would later make nuclear weapons a key point of his presidency, specifically his opposition to mutually assured destruction, building on previous efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons to a new focus to reduce the numbers and types of them.[60] In the 1948 election, Reagan strongly supported Harry S. Truman, appearing on stage with him during a campaign speech in Los Angeles.[61]

id.

He spoke passionately for Truman in 1948, ironic, as Truman was the nation's Cold War Warrior in Chief.



So far, he sounds a lot like a staunch, traditional Democrat. However, as the abomination named Joe McCarthy dissected Hollywood--actors, writers, anyone--Ronnie had a change of heart about Democrats, despite Truman. Not to be too cynical, but maybe that was because Jack Warner practically turned into McCarthy himself, and Reagan's contract had been with the Warner Brothers Studio? Reagan and his wife became secret informants for the FBI.

During the late 1940s, Reagan and his wife provided the FBI with names of actors within the motion picture industry whom they believed to be communist sympathizers, though he expressed reservations; he said "Do they expect us to constitute ourselves as a little FBI of our own and determine just who is a Commie and who isn't?".

Reagan testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on the subject as well.[43] A fervent anti-communist, he reaffirmed his commitment to democratic principles, stating, "I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment."

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Ronald_Reagan

While still a Democrat, he endorsed Eisenhower and Nixon.

The beloved Gipper was on TV, in America's living rooms every week for G.E. Theater .

On September 26, 1954, Ronald Reagan debuted as the only host of the program. GE added a host to provide continuity in the anthology format. The show's Nielsen ratings improved from #27 in the 1953-1954 season to #17 in 1954-1955, followed #11 in 1955-1956, #3 in 1956-1957, #7 in 1957-1958, #26 in 1958-1959, #23 in 1959-1960 and #20 in 1960-1961.[2]

The show made the already well-known Reagan, who had appeared in many films as a "second lead" throughout his career, wealthy, due to his part ownership of the show. After eight years as host, Reagan estimated he had visited 135 GE research and manufacturing facilities, and met over a quarter-million people. During that time he would also speak at other forums such as Rotary clubs and Moose lodges, presenting views on economic progress that in form and content were often similar to what he said in introductions, segues and closing comments on the show as a spokesman for GE. Reagan, who would later be known as "The Great Communicator" because of his oratorical prowess, often credited these engagements as helping him develop his public speaking abilities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_Theater

He also had one season on Death Valley Days. With that kind of exposure on TV during the 1950s and 1960s, he was practically like a member of the family of millions of Americans.

In sum, Democrats and Republicans, union members, movie fans, TV fans and people in general, could find a lot to like about Ronnie.