Thanks to Justin for pointing out what what all true conservatives have known Reagan, whatever his faults, was no neocon. In fact, the neocons where often times critical of Reagan for being insufficiently hawkish. But now we will be treated to months of neocon propaganda that W is Reagan’s heir, despite the fact that Bush in both style and substance is well to Reagan’s left.

For example, it is hard to imagine Reagan expanding the welfare state by funding (and thus controlling) religious charities

To see how far the conservative movement has fallen, check out these two great Reagan quotes from the seventies and try to imagine Bush, or any current member of the conservative establishment, expressing such sentiments today (Of course, Reagan’s actions as President did not match his words about limited government, but today most conservatives politicians don’t even feel obligated to pay lip service to limited government, much less fight for anything resembling libertarian principles):

Reason Magazine iterview, 1975:

“I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism…The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description of what libertarianism is.”

Human Events column, 1979:

“…it [conscription] rests on the assumption that your kids belong to the state. If we buy that assumption then it is for the state — not for parents, the community, the religious institutions or teachers — to decide who shall have what values and who shall do what work, when, where and how in our society. That assumption isn’t a new one. The Nazis thought it was a great idea.”