Ronald Reagan never did much to make abortion illegal. He did, however, deliver videotaped greetings, fulsome in praise for his hosts, to antiabortion rallies on the Mall. Rick Perlstein More Quotes by Rick Perlstein More Quotes From Rick Perlstein Ive summarized dozens of books in my literary career; its become rather second nature. Rick Perlstein dozencareersbook Imagine a senator running for president whose positions included halving the military budget, socializing the medical system, re-regulating the communications and electrical industries, establishing a guaranteed minimum income for all Americans, and equalizing funding for all schools regardless of property valuations - and who promised to fire Alan Greenspan, counseled withdrawal from the World Trade Organization, and, for good measure, spoke warmly of adolescent sexual experimentation. That was Barry Goldwater, conservative. Rick Perlstein communicationmilitaryrunning In politics, if you're explaining, you're loosing. Rick Perlstein explainingifs It takes two things to make a political lie work: a powerful person or institution willing to utter it, and another set of powerful institutions to amplify it. Rick Perlstein powerfultwolying Only liberals know how to make you freer on the job, which is where most of us suffer the gravest indignities in our lives. Rick Perlstein sufferingknowsjobs In American religious history, theological qualms tend to get pushed aside when politics intervenes. Rick Perlstein theologicalqualms-aboutreligious I cant summarize my favorite movie, Jacques Tatis Play Time. You just have to see it. Rick Perlstein play-timemy-favoriteplay No historical analogies are exactly precise. Rick Perlstein preciseanalogieshistorical In Ronald Reagans case, he always bore with him this extraordinary ability to radiate confidence, optimism, clarity, a blitheness of spirit, in what other people saw as chaos. And after the 1970s, that was catnip. Rick Perlstein optimismsawspeople It is a lesson of the sixties: liberals get in the biggest political trouble - whether instituting open housing, civilian compliant review boards, or sex education programs - when they presume that a reform is an inevitable comcomitant of progress. It is then they are most likely to establish their reforms by top-down bureaucratic means. A blindsiding backlash often ensues. Rick Perlstein top-downmeansex When legitimately constituted state authority stands down in the face of armed threats, the very foundation of the republic is in danger. Rick Perlstein republicfoundationfaces One of the most important things liberals don't understand about conservatism, obscured by too much lazy talk about conservatism's various 'wings,' is that its tenets form a relatively organic base for its adherents, where 'traditional morality' serves the interests of laissez-faire economics and vice-versa. Rick Perlstein understandeconomicsimportantwings Chicago's privatization mania began during Mayor Richard M. Daley's administration, which ran from 1989 to 2011. Under his successor, Rahm Emanuel, the trend has continued apace. For Rahm's investment banker buddies, the trend has been a boon. For citizens? Not so much. Rick Perlstein buddiestrendinvestmentchicago Richard M. Nixon honestly believed in his bones that an organized conspiracy of liberal media insiders had literally been plotting against him ever since he broke Alger Hiss in 1948 (he never shifted course, and lost his soul). Rick Perlstein nevermediasoullost Liberals tend to stress how marvelous education is, in and of itself, and also adore it as a vessel for genuine equality. (That's me, by the way: Hell, I think we should be spending $50 billion a year to make college education free). Rick Perlstein meequalitystresseducation Fight injustice, that our children might be blessed. Rick Perlstein fightinjusticeblessedchildren I'm just a Bolshevik with a laptop. Rick Perlstein bolsheviklaptopjust While Obama might not push college education exclusively, like most Democrats he does oversell it and does shortchange the alternatives. And millions of young Americans pay the price. Rick Perlstein pricepushcollegeeducation Back when I was 16, when I should have been doing normal high school things, I availed myself of my brand new driver's license to spend as much time as possible in Milwaukee's Renaissance Book Shop, a tumbledown five-story warehouse that the city was finally able to close down in 2011 for safety reasons. It was my teenage paradise. Rick Perlstein citymyselftimeschool Whatever you think about his intelligence, what's unquestionable is that Reagan had extraordinary emotional intelligence. He could sense the temperature of a room, and tell them a story and make them feel good. And that's more fun, right? It's more fun to feel good than feel bad. That's part of our human state. Rick Perlstein feelgoodyouintelligence
