I wanted to let those inquiring minds” who wanted to know, especially the NATCA in Washington participants who helped lobby for it, that a “Dear Colleague” letter is now circulating through the Senate Appropriations committee which requests funding for more controller hires in fiscal ’05.  The letter is co-authored by Specter and Dorgan and signed by Bond, Dewine, Reed and Durbin. An identical House letter is being authored by Tiahrt and I’ll get back to you with more on that when I have it.  Everyone should be proud of the work your NATCA brothers and sisters did on your behalf the other week in DC.

Much of what was to happen on the hill this week was put on hold due to the in state funeral and events surrounding the death of Ronald Reagan.  Many people have commented that, even though the former President was due every bit of the honors he received, the constant news coverage and endless commentary all week long was a bit of overkill.  I however, don’t want to be accused of letting a bandwagon pass me by without at least a quick jump on board, so I thought I’d offer some of my own perspectives on the actions and words of our 40^th President. I’ll try not to rehash all the coverage, but there are a few things I wanted to draw attention to that somehow have been understated in the mass overstatement of all things Ronald Reagan this past week.  By way of a disclaimer I should point out that these are my thoughts on the matter and my thoughts alone.

To start with, it needs to be said that President Reagan had a dramatic impact on our profession that will leave him forever in the contempt of many former and current controllers. He acted in an over-bearing and excessive manner to deal with what he felt was a betrayal of previous agreements by the PATCO leadership. But that is a very involved topic that I’ll address at another time if appropriate. 

Ronald Wilson Reagan grew up in a small town in Illinois not to far away from where I grew up, but light years away from how I grew up.  His early adulthood was dominated by the depression and later World War II. He shared much of the same common psyche and sense of duty experienced by most of his contemporaries whom Tom Brokaw has famously redefined as “The Greatest Generation”.

His political life can, from a certain perspective, be seen as a series of contradictions.  Starting his career as a “liberal” democrat he finished as a “conservative” republican.  Without getting into the modern misuses and inaccurate characterizations of those terms, this and many other transformations serve example as to the never resting capacity for change and nuance in the thought processes and even beliefs of the man.  I find it ironic when some current conservatives profess him, as founding hero of the modern movement, to be the example to emulate when their own actions and demeanor stray so far from his.  It is also extremely unfortunate how some current liberals demonize him entirely without respect to his history on the whole.

As President, Reagan held the office for eight years through some of the most interesting and tumultuous times of the latter half of the 20^th century.  Domestically we were coming out of the worst recession in modern history. Internationally the Soviet Union was, as we now know, a desperate world power that at its highest levels was being faced with limited options rapidly being narrowed to two distasteful choices; eventual financial collapse or military conquest through the only real tool left to it, nuclear weapons.  This unstable situation was only exacerbated by the Premier-oh-rama revolving door created by the deaths of Brezhnev then Andropov then Chernyenko and the final taking of office by Gorbachev. But the “Great Communicator” or the “Teflon President” had an arguably unequaled skill in relaying these problems and his solutions to the American people in an easily digestible manner.  He had a remarkable skill in delivering a well rehearsed speech that could sell an idea to the public as a whole while simultaneously assuaging its detractors and energizing its proponents.  This is not to say that his aides didn’t live in mortal fear of Ronald Reagan improvising or being trapped into giving statements that weren’t prepared. Certainly the worst verbal gaffes of his presidency occurred during those moments but given time to reflect and prepare, Reagan was one of the most persuasive speakers ever.  It is also fair to point out he was arguably the most eloquent and certainly the most prolific President with respect to written correspondence since Adams. What remains of that paper trail is some of the best sources of knowledge in understanding the man.

The preceding facts are generally not in dispute by historians, fans or detractors of the former President.  But modern conservatives seem to forget some of his greatest and most useful talents, all the while holding him up as the poster child and inspiration of the movement and their template for behavior.  Ronald Reagan was never a man so foolish as to come to a conclusion that he knew everything.  His beliefs were constantly refined, updated with current events and even occasionally reversed as he applied them throughout his political life and the Presidency.  He took office as the sworn enemy of the evil empire but always left room in his rhetoric to allow for communication with the Soviets.  He was adroit enough to recognize, within Mikhail Gorbachev, a man with whom he could work with and courageously did so to the distaste of many of his supporters and advisors.  He was wise enough to put his own loathing aside, while putting the needs of our country and its people first, giving some concessions but more importantly through dialogue taking the steps necessary to convert his sworn enemy into a tentative friend and backing the world away from a dangerous precipice.  The Reagan tax cuts, that so much of the modern zeal for the current tax cuts is based upon, were re-analyzed shortly after there enactment.  Based on a real and growing deficits he was prudent enough to realize that he had went to far and eventually counteracted the tax cuts with “revenue enhancements” (also known as new taxes) to the point that tax revenues to the federal government were in fact greater at the end of his presidency than at the beginning. This pattern of tax cuts and later increases leading to more tax revenue than before the cuts was repeated by Bush 1 and Clinton.  When interacting he always dealt with his friends and foes alike with respect and willingness to find common ground.  He respected congress as the elected voice of the people and had no real history of trying to bully legislation through or bypassing the process in conference as we see today (remember FAA Reauthorization?).  His relationship with his main political nemesis in the 80’s, House Speaker Tip O’Neill, was not only cordial but an actual friendship.  While they traded pithy barbs publicly, in private they met regularly both realizing the need for effective governance and compromise in the interests of the American people.  He was never so wrapped up in his “conservatism” to not give the other side an airing or to reassess his positions based on current information.  This practice is best described in his own words, “Anyone who votes conservative all of the time is unfeeling, and anyone who votes liberal all the time is unthinking.

Ronald Reagan could not be accurately referred to as a centrist, but his actions were often unlike the actions of many of the current extreme right that claim him as their hero.  His dealings referenced above and many other similar measures would be referred to, in today’s vernacular of polarized politics, alternatively as waffling, appeasement or lack of conviction just to name a few.  The current fervor in the belief that an ideology is totally correct in all situations, is not subject to refinement or updating as events, facts or realities change, and that all those who disagree at any level are merely deserving of scorn or to be shouted down, is not only against the principles this country was founded on, but also not in alignment with the real behavior of conservatisms greatest icon.  This behavior is sadly not exclusive to the extreme right, but also exists on the extreme left.

Ronald Reagan did have several areas he was inflexible in.  But on the whole he had a remarkable way of grasping the crux of an overall issue and acting with uncanny insight on many occasions.  He was wise enough to realize that nuance and perception, not slavish ideological devotion, were the keys to effective leadership. As a religious man, he said his beliefs involved more that this country stay on God’s side rather than claiming God was on our side. His decline over the last dozen years due to Alzheimer’s is indeed sad.  We could have used his insight during that time on many critical issues.  Sadder still is that many self proclaimed members of the revolution that bears his name are behaving in a manner that he would not recognize as his own.

Grant Anderson
ganderson@natca.org
NATCA pin 50501