also by michael k. deaver Behind the Scenes A Different Drummer: My 30 Years with Ronald Reagan Nancy: A Portrait ofMy Years with Nancy Reagan WHY I AM A REAGAN CONSERVATIVE ★ • • E D I T E D B Y Michael K. Deaver To Ronald Reagan, who changed all of our lives contents INTRODUCTION viii ROBERT L. BARTLEY 1 Being Conservative Gives You a Grip on Reality ROBERT D. NOVAK 7 Government: Problem or Solution? BOB DOLE 9 A Legacy of Values, Not Just a Label MICHAEL BARONE 13 Detroit WILLIAM H. FRIST, M.D. 19 Self-Reliance MARTIN ANDERSON 23 A Ringing Melody of Ideas DAVID A. KEENE 27 The Founders Had It Right MICHAEL MEDVED 31 Conservatism: It Works for Me RICK SANTORUM 37 Building on What Is Good for America contents TRENT LOTT 39 The Government Closest to the People EDWIN MEESE III 41 A Just and Prosperous Society J.C. WATTS, JR. 47 Remembering Ronald Reagan BILL OWENS 51 Optimism JON KYL 53 Sorting Out Conflict HENRY J. HYDE 57 The Importance of Transcendent Moral Values G. GORDON ROBERT LIDDY 61 Keeping Your Dream JIM DEMINT 63 The Struggle for Freedom P. J. O’ROURKE 69 The Shocking Convictions and Astonishing Grabbiness of the Left PHIL GRAMM 75 Effort and Determinism CHRISTOPHER COX 79 Classic Ideas Worth Conserving LORD DOUGLAS HURD 83 Different Soils Bearing Conservatism PAUL M. WEYRICH 85 Eternal Truths GROVER NORQUIST 87 America Is Freedom FRANK FAHRENKOPF 91 The Making of a Conservative CRAIG THOMAS 95 The Constitution’s Groundwork v contents JAY NORDLINGER 97 I’m a Reaganite ROBERT LIVINGSTON 101 The Marks of a Conservative SUZANNE FIELDS, PH.D. 103 From Cultural Liberal to Cultural Conservative EDWIN J. FEULNER, PH.D. 107 What Conservatism Is Not DONALD J. DEVINE, PH.D. 111 All Other Political Philosophies Have Failed PETER BRIMELOW 117 How Can Man Die Better? KEN MEHLMAN 125 I Believe in Freedom CHUCK HAGEL 129 A Philosophy of Governance KATHERINE HARRIS 131 Limited Government and Unlimited Prosperity ORRIN G. HATCH 133 Restoring Essential Values Through the Reagan Revolution MONA CHAREN 137 Inculcating Nobility REED IRVINE 141 Free Choice Versus Maudlin Sentimentality ADAM H. PUTNAM 145 The Greatest Nation with a Greater Promise JACK OLIVER 149 Defining Success for Ourselves ZACH WAMP 151 The Cornerstones of a Healthy Society PAUL RYAN 157 Government Does Not Know Best vi contents THOMAS A. SCHATZ 159 The Importance of Fiscal Conservatism MICHAEL K. DEAVER 161 A Reagan Man PETE SESSIONS 165 Beauty and Fulfillment DARRELL ISSA 171 The Pillars of Our Nation WALTER B. JONES 173 Restoring the Principles of Our Past DR. MARVIN OLASKY 175 God Is Wiser Than Me SCOTT MCINNIS 179 Common Sense ROBERTA COMBS 181 Historic Judeo-Christian Principles JO ANN EMERSON 183 Strong Values MICHAEL C. BURGESS, M.D. 185 The Power of the Individual DAVID VITTER 187 Individual Freedom TODD TIAHRT 189 Take a Right Turn: My Conversion from a Democrat to a Conservative Republican ROB SIMMONS 195 The Freedom to Do What Is Right ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 201 ABOUT THE AUTHOR CREDITS COPYRIGHT ABOUT THE PUBLISHER vii introduction In early 2004, the New York Times created a small stir by quietly assigning an experienced reporter to a new assign- ment: cover conservatives. Bill Keller, the Times’ executive editor, appeared to be in a slight bind. After all, does the Timeshave a reporter working the “liberal” beat? Regardless of intent, I think Big Media has finally owned up to the fact that conservatives are here to stay. The current political landscape is not some residue from the Reagan Revolution; it is the result of a generational sea change that will not dissipate anytime soon, despite the best efforts of Al Franken and Company. When I first became active in the conservative movement of the Republican Party, we were considered a “fringe group,” made up largely of westerners who were separated by far more than miles from the eastern GOP establish- ment. introduction I find myself bemused when today’s liberals bemoan the rise of conservative medium outlets, identifying the usual suspects: Fox News, Wall Street Journal editorial writers, the Washington Times, Rush, and Sean Hannity. They either forget—or chose to overlook—that liberal views dominated nearly every major institution for a good part of the century. From the think tanks to the National Council of Churches to the Democrat-dominated congres- sional committees to the newsrooms to the halls of acade- mia, liberal views were the norm. National Public Radio’s idea of a “balanced political dialogue” was—and still is—a pair of Democrats and a reporter from the Washington Post. Anybody to the right of Everett Dirksen was considered a menace or a lunatic. Then a guy named Reagan came along. The national week of mourning for Ronald Reagan rein- forced the fact that conservatism, as we know it today, would not enjoy its majority status in American politics if not for him. Thirty-five million people tuned into the state funeral at the National Cathedral and the interment at the Reagan Library, more than had watched the final game of the NBA play-offs. Reagan’s impact on the American political scene is only rivaled by that of FDR in the twentieth century. Today the White House and both sides of Congress are in conservative hands. A majority of state legislatures are Republican. The majority of the Supreme Court is right of center. ix