Ch 41 The Resurgance Of Conservationism Flashcards
Reagan’s campaign
New Right
Similar to his hero FDR, but he rejected government interventionism
Aimed to win votes from white democrats saying that the Democratic Party had become exclusive to minorities
The New Right
Less agitated about the economy
Cultural conservationist
Anti-feminism/abortion/homosexuality/pornography/affirmative action
Aka “movement conservatives” like those of the ’60s except for religion
Practiced “identity politics” as Christian/pro-life voters
Mimics New Left tactics with civil disobedience
Not shaken by the disgrace of the private lives of religious right leaders
BIRTH CONTROL WAS NOT A PRIMARY ISSUE
Neoconservatives
Thinks who influences Reagan
Norman Podhoretz: editor of the Commentary magazine
Irving Kristol: editor of Public Interest
Pro free market capitalism
Anti-Soviet
Questioned welfare programs and affirmative action
Reassertion traditional values
Democratic Party in the Election 1980
Split Carter vs. Edward Kennedy
ABC division (Anything But Carter) because of his poor management and double digit inflation
Edward Kennedy lost popularity over controversy involving his young female assistant drowning in his car
John Anderson
Ran independently in 1980
7% popular not
No electoral votes
James Watt
Suspicious member of Reagan’s cabinet of the “best and brightest”
Product of the “Sagebrush Rebellion”- a fiercely anti-Washington movement
Accused of hampering environmentalism by exploiting oil in CA
Made one mistake too many when he made a racist joke and had to resign
CA tax revolt
Aka Proposition 13
Showed advocation of Reagan’s tax cuts
Boll weevils
Southern, conservative democrats who votes for Reagan
Supply side economics
"Reaganomics" Ideological Increased unemployment Made businesses fold Caused bank failures The automobile industry suffered because the increased value of the American dollar made foreign cars cheaper The poor became poorer The rich became richer The middle class stagnated *created a "revenue hole" due to low taxes plus large military spending = $2trillion and debt was financed by foreign nations like Japan
Yuppies
Young, urban professionals
Increased consumerism
Jimmy Carter
Peanut farmer turned president Religious Hostage crisis (released during Reagan's inauguration) Camp David Accords- Israel and Egypt No response to inflation
Window of vulernability
Reagan’s excuse for large military expenditures for the arms race against the USSR
Made deficits top at $100billion in 1982
Reagan’s strategies for negotiating with the USSR
Being in a position of immense strength
Expanding the military (ex. SDI- shooting down nukes from space)
Gambling: the US could theoretically handle the expenses but the USSR could not handle it at all
Probs with the USSR during the Reagan administration
- US grain embargo vs. Poland and the USSR because of the martial law implements by Poland and the USSR because of the unionization of the polish Solidarity group (never taken too seriously because it would’ve economically damaged American farmers)
- USSR took down a passenger airline killing many Americans
Lebanon
- Israel invaded Lebanon to suppress guerrillas attacking Palestinians
- Palestinians were bloodily subdued but Lebanon was put into chaos
- Reagan felt obligated to send military to Lebanon
- a suicide bomber attacked the US Marines in Lebanon
- Reagan withdrew the remaining troops without losing any popularity
Iran-Contra Affair
- Background: Carter tried to involve influence in the Nicaraguan revolution led by Sardinistas to overthrow their dictator and tried to establish good relations
- Reagan condemned the Sardinistas as commies (similar to the domino theory because they tried to start a coup in El Salvador)
- Reagan est. a pro-US government in El Salvador and killed Marxists in Grenada
- US began selling weapons to the Iranians so they’d release their American hostages (one was eventually set free) AND used the Iranian money to send military aid to Nicaragua
Election of 1984
Reagan easily won because of the good economy and power over foreign affairs
Vs. democrat: Walter Mondale and VP Geraldine Ferraro
Mondale was discredited because he was Carter’s VP
*dominated by foreign affairs
Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the USSR
Personable, energetic, imaginative, and committed to radical reforms
Glastnost
Gorbachev’s attempt to est. “Openness”
Aimed to end secretive, repressive stiffness of the soviet society
Intro free speech and political liberty
Required the USSR to shrink its military
Perestroika
By Gorbachev for “restructuring”
Intended to revive USSR’s economy with free market practice
Required the USSR to shrink its military
Summit conferences between Gorbachev and Reagan
1- Geneva
2- Iceland = stalemate
3- Washington, D.C. =INF treaty banning nukes from Europe (win for US foreign policy and Gorbachev’s reforms)
4- Moscow = Reagan’s praise for Gorbachev
2 foreign policy problems seemingly insoluble to Reagan
- Continuing captivity of American hostages in Lebanon
- Continuing grip of power of the left wing Sardinista government in Nicaragua
- Congress refused to send military to Nicaragua
- some officials thought the two problems were interconnected (unknown to public)
= Iran-Contra Affair
Moral Majority
Est. by Jerry Falwell a televangelist
Anti- sexual permissiveness/abortion/feminism/gay rights
Collected millions of dollars
Sandra Day O’Connor
First female Supreme Court justice
One of the conservative justices appointed by Reagan
Wards Cove Packing v. Antonia
Martin v. Wilks
Supreme Court decision that disproved discrimination if employers preferred white male workers
Anti-affirmative action
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
Did not overturn Roe v. Wade BUT it seriously compromised the protection of abortion rights
Approved the MO law to restrict abortions
Reiterated with Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Black Monday
October 19, 1987
Stock market fell 508 points (largest one day decline in history)
Seven Dwarfs
Name of pack of democrats that pushed for the 1988 presidency BUT the nominee, Gary Hart, had to drop out over sexual misconduct
Officially nominated Michael Dukakis
Jesse Jackson
Black presidential nominee in 1988
Hoped to forge a “rainbow coalition” of minorities and the disadvantaged
George Bush
Republican nominee in 1988 Ran Reagan's tax cuts Opposed abortion Toughness toward crime Pro economic expansion Profited from oil industry Worked for congress, CIA, and UN Advocated a "kinder and gentler America"
Boris Yeltsin
President of the Russian Republic (one of the several republics that made up the USSR)
Pro Old Guard communism
Tried to overthrow Gorbachev and even though he failed, Gorbachev had to resign since he became a leader without and country and Yeltsin took over the new CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)
But communism quickly withered away along with the Cold War
START II
Act signed by Bush and Yeltsin to reduce long range nukes by 2/3 within 10 years
Ethnic cleansing
Tactic by Russia to suppress Chechnyan minority in the Russian Caucasus
Consumed Yugoslavia
Increased weakness and fear of east Europe
Manuel Noriega
Panamanian dictator that Bush sent troops to overthrow
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
Led by Saddam Hussein
Motivated by oil to pay off debts from war with Iran
= US and UN intervention = Persian Gulf War (ironic because the US aided their efforts to fight communism)
Bush’s board of Education
Opp. Affirmative action
Clarence Thomas
African American Supreme Court justice appointed by Bush
Conservative: anti-affirmative action but eventually criticized Bush’s strict views on abortion
Involved in scandal over Anita Hill’s accusations of sexual harassment
Never convicted
Pro civil rights
Made republicans lose electoral appeal
Bush’s downfall
The economy
Increasing unemployment (especially in CA)
Uncontrollable inflation made him take back his 1988 promise of “no new taxes”
Bush “scandal”
Bad checks written by HOR members
Didn’t involve tax payers’ money but increased talk of limiting terms of politicians
Bush could not win a reelection
The “New” Democrat
Clinton’s platform in 1992
Avoided traditional antibusiness, underdog reputation (because of McGovern’s embarrassing loss)
Pro- growth, strong defense, and anticrime
Promised to provide Medicare for 37million Americans (failed)
H. Ross Perot
Independent party candidate in 1992 Biggest third party candidate since Teddy's Bull Moose Campaign Won 20% vote No electoral votes Texas billionaire Never held a public office
Carol Moseley-Brauun
First African American woman in senate
Don’t ask don’t tell
Clinton’s compromise to ban discrimination against gays in the army
First blow to his presidential career
Clinton’s Deficit reduction
Brought deficit to lowest levels in 10yrs
Brady Bill
Clinton’s gun control law
Named after James Brady who had been handicapped by an assassin trying to kill Reagan
Newt Gingrich
Republican
Promoted a “Contract With America” to assault budget deficits and radical reductions in social welfare
Drowned by rest of the right wing
Became Speaker of the HOR
Anti-welfare programs
Took it too far with the suggestion that welfare children should be sent to orphanages so the HOR had to shut down for a few days
Unfunded mandates
Long term success by HOR republicans during Clinton’s administration
Forbade the fed government to make more obligations on state and local govt.s without providing a source of revenue
Election of 1996
Republican Robert Dole (listless WWII veteran) vs. Clinton
Clinton was elevated by a health economics and conservative wind so he easily won (the second democratic president since FDR to be reelected)
Clinton’s tactic for his second term
Balance federal budget☑
Middle ground issues because he was overwhelming opposed by the republican office (ex. Began to embrace the Welfare Reform Bill that decreased social welfare)
Wanted to mend, not end affirmative action, prohibiting it for higher edu. Ex. Hopwood vs. Texas (only criticized republican audacity, didn’t reverse it)
2 accounts Clinton was impeached on
- Perjury
- Obstruction of justice
Prosecution led by Henry Hyde
Most Americans didn’t think he deserved impeachment after Kenneth Starr had been personally chasing him down since the Whitewater scandal
Democrats complained that Carter had….
Removed regulatory controls from major industries
Clinton’s primary political legacy
Consolidation of the Reagan-Bush revolution by encouraging reduced expectations government
Unusual issue of the election of 2000
How to spend the huge federal budget surpluses
GWB’s “axis of evil”
Iran
Iraq
Libya
Who pushed most strongly for an invasion of iraq
GWB’s neoconservatives
VP Cheney
