Domestic policies of presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton - Essay Example

Domestic policies of presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Tannsjo states in his book that the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines conservatism as that attitude which is possessed by the person who wants to “maintain existing institutions” (3) when he comes into the government. According to Tannsjo, this attitude “is the first step towards an adequate characterization of conservatism” (3). Conservatism focuses on the economic autonomy and the measures to maintain a small government with guaranteed protection against terrorism.

The concept of conservatism has seen some modification after the postwar era or since some decades, and this new concept has affected the meaning of political and public verve in the United States. Ronald Reagan, the 40th American president from 1981-1989, was a Republican politician and a conservative leader. The history of America shows that most of the conservative politicians belonged to the Republican Party. Reagan’s domestic policies focused on lowering down the federal regulation. He emphasized upon the importance and establishment of private enterprises and worked toward lowering the taxes.

The aim behind tax cuts was to improve productivity with reduced government spending and investment in domestic field so that more should be spent on national defense and protection against violence. Although his conservative policies did face some difficulties in the form of recession in the beginning of his career, yet the economical infrastructural strengthened its roots afterwards. This way, we can say that Reagan’s domestic policies were a reflection of rise of conservatism in the American politics.

Historians suggest that Reagan’s first presidential nomination was the largest surge in conservatism in American politics and that modern conservatism is only the by-product of Reagan’s conservative theories (Cooper, Kornberg and Mishler 83). A powerful conservative movement was waiting for George W. Bush when he became the 41st president of America in the late twentieth century, according to Farber (209). Bush himself proved to be an extraordinary conservative politician. He had not studied in conservative institutions; instead, he had a long list of personal experiences that made him a conservative leader.

He also promoted, like Reagan, the tax-cutting policies and focused on pro-business with pro-wealth policies. He emphasized upon loosening federal regulation and promoting monopolization. Bush’s “conservative ideological predispositions” were much like those of Reagan’s, and were a blend of “traditional conservatism and classic liberalism” (Farmer 387). The independent institutional life proposed by Bush was an end-product of his compassionate conservative domestic policies, according to Ceaser and Busch (45).

As for Clinton, he also worked upon establishing a smaller government thus focusing on the conservatism once again. Farber writes that Clinton announced in his 1996 State of the Union address that he had been successful in establishing a “smaller, less bureaucratic government…that lives within its means” (210). Clinton also thought of older conventional conservative structure of policies as preferable in enriching the common people so that fewer people received “food stamps and welfare checks” (Farber 210).

The strength of the state government increased. This way, Clinton is said to have re-engineered the conservative political concept put forward by Reagan (Godwin). Hence, it is evident that the domestic policies of presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton reflect the rise of conservatism in American politics.Works CitedCeaser, James W., and Andrew Busch. The Perfect Tie: The True Story of the 2000 Presidential Election. USA: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. Cooper, Barry, Kornberg, Allan, and William Mishler.

The Resurgence of Conservatism in Anglo-American Democracies. USA: Duke University Press, 1988.Farber, David R. The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism: A Short History. USA: Princeton University Press, 2010. Farmer, Brian R. “Conservatism and George W. Bush.” American Conservatism: History, Theory and Practice. USA: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2005. Godwin, Jack. Clintonomics: How Bill Clinton Reengineered the Reagan Revolution. USA: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2009. Tannsjo, Torbjorn.

“What is Conservatism?” Conservatism for Our Time. USA: Taylor & Francis, 1990.