In today's highly-polarized American politics, Conservatives seem unwilling to compromise on even the most reasonable of policies to address the serious issues facing the country today. However, there was one Conservative politician who was willing to choose compromise over ideology, and Mike Huckabee is probably accurate to say that he would find himself at odds with today's Republican Party.
Conservatives are outraged that President Obama would negotiate with terrorists in return for Bowe Bergdahl. On the other hand, Reagan negotiated with terrorists multiple times.
The recent Cantor primary loss has renewed Conservative vitriol for immigration reform. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan led the way to amnesty for 3 million then-illegal immigrants.
I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.
Conservatives today oppose even the most sensible of gun safety policies. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan, himself a member of the NRA,
advocated for the Brady Bill.
Critics claim that "waiting period" legislation in the states that have it doesn't work, that criminals just go to nearby states that lack such laws to buy their weapons. True enough, and all the more reason to have a Federal law that fills the gaps. While the Brady bill would not apply to states that already have waiting periods of at least seven days or that already require background checks, it would automatically cover the states that don't. The effect would be a uniform standard across the country.
Even with the current gaps among states, those that have waiting periods report some success. California, which has a 15-day waiting period that I supported and signed into law while Governor, stopped nearly 1,800 prohibited handgun sales in 1989. New Jersey has had a permit-to-purchase system for more than two decades. During that time, according to the state police, more than 10,000 convicted felons have been caught trying to buy handguns.
While Conservatives today oppose any new taxes imposed on the wealthy, Reagan used much of the rhetoric Liberals use today to push things like the Buffett Rule.
Finally, even though Reagan gave us trickle down economics and railed against welfare queens, he also expanded Medicare and Social Security.
Of course, Ronald Reagan was no Liberal crusader. What this lesson does show, though, is that the solutions to these problems are not just black and white. There has to be compromise, complexity, and sometimes some really unsavory deals have to be made to get something more meaningful achieved. Ronald Reagan understood this. President Obama understands this. The Democrats who support the Affordable Care Act and immigration reform despite their imperfect nature understand this. It seems only today's Conservatives seem to fail at understanding this. Or they do, and are just being compensated really well by their corporate backers to ignore this.