The Enduring Influence of Ronald Reagan on American Politics

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0:30 Speaker 2 Well Sunday morning next week is fourth July. Oh my god, the time is flying with us. Today is Roger Zachheim, and he is director of the Reagan Institute in d C. And Well, how often do you travel back and forth for DC in California?

0:52 Speaker 3 Well, John Grazy back on the show and the regulation DC. We lead the think tank and public policy arm of the Reagan Foundation, which is you know, is based in California. I go back there a bunch. We do our big convenience out there, we have one recently we couldn’t get you there, but we hope to in the future of

1:11 the Reagan National Economics Forum, and there we had the Secretary of Treasury and leading CEOs entrepreneurs to talk about American free enterprise and the dignity of work and how do we make America prosper for all Americans.

1:30 Speaker 2 And lately it seems like America is under attack in so many ways in so many directions politically. I mean in New York. I live in New York, and New York has suffered a socialistic takeover just about and it looks like it might happen in the state. Besides just the city. President Trump is doing as much as he can.

1:55 They’re fighting the drug situation. What are you looking as the big biggest dangers that President Reagan would have looked at?

2:06 Speaker 3 Well, you know he faced these challenges when he was in office. Actually prior to him coming into office as president. You know, he served as governor during the sixties where he faced a spate of young people who were anti war.

2:24 And we’re promoting this socialist outlook, some of which we’re seeing play out again in this respect. You know, history’s rhyming a little bit. Of course, we’ve seen this in urgence in New York City with socialism, Marxism and Islamism and that’s unique and different than what we’ve seen in this country before. I do think Reagan always had a

2:47 dose of optimism even when we were facing these challenges to our democratic republic. And I think that’s important, John, we keep it that in mind as we are on the cust of celebrating our two hundred and fiftieth birthday, and that is pride in the wisdom of the American people that America is built on this foundation of human dignity,

3:10 individual liberty. That is what the Declaration of Dependence said, is a God given right to every individual. And that’s why Marxism will not succeed in this country, despite what’s happened in some of these primaries in New York City.

3:27 And I think it took too long for the Democratic Party to wag up to this. You know, in my view, this is now a feature that democratic socialists are a feature of the Democratic Party. It’s not a bug, and it needs to be combated. And your mayor is leading the way, Mayor Mumdani, but it is fundamentally in my

3:47 view an American Reagan’s all the time. Government is not the solution. Government is the problem. And we created this republic care of core needs. But generally the purpose of it is the general welfare is because let peop live freely.

4:07 Speaker 2 Agreed. But we’re challenged. We’re challenged. And do you see do you see them the American people nationally, because you’re you’re getting on a national basis that they’re realizing what it is happening.

4:28 Speaker 3 So we do a lot of polling, as you know, and the American people overall stand for the values of our declaration of independence. They want that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that’s promised, and they want to build a more perfect union. We see that in the polling.

4:51 They know who our friends are, they know who our adversaries are. There is a clear eyed view, for example, that China, in Iran and Russia are our enemies. They had that to the tune of eighty percent. We see this time and time again. I’m referencing numbers for a survey we did recently ahead of our Reagan National Economic

5:15 Forum in late May, so just fresh numbers, no more than a month ago. There are pockets in this country that get outside attention, although worthy of concern, where the DSA is exploiting and we have a generation of young people that went to leite institutions where they were taught that our democratic republic is built on corruption, is built

5:41 on exploitation, is built by people who are press. And all of a sudden, we’re shocked right now that those people who went to institutions that we’re taught that are now going to be taking elected office. After they were rallying in favor of Kamas on October eighth, now they’ll be rallying in the US Health Representative. So you know,

6:02 it’s pockets of the country. I think the making up to it, But John, I have full confidence that overall in their country at this point of view is marginal and it’s going to be rejected.

6:12 Speaker 2 Oh well, I pray for it, because you know, President Trump is trying to make the free world free and I don’t want to lose our own country.

6:23 Speaker 3 Not that do I. And it needs to be combated. And you know, the first step is for the Democratic Party to recognize that this is something that is structural, that it can’t be wished away or swept under the rug.

6:40 You have a Democrat like center of fetterment from Pennsylvania, which seems to be quite clear eyed about it. But this is a point of view that is seeking to give government and the state all the means of production.

6:57 And we know what that is. You know, this marks this outlawk just leads to servitude the surface of the state. This is what I expoke, spoke about, This is what Reagan internalized. We need to be on the side of freedom freedom, economic freedom, political freedom, religious freedom. And unfortunately, the forces that are operating in these corridors in New

7:23 York City want to tell young people that they should trade their freedom for government services and benefit that somehow will make their lives better. And we know what happens the situation when it does, it just makes people slaves to the state and actually is a corruptive force in people’s lives.

7:45 Speaker 2 Well, Roger zach Im, thank you so much for everything you do and get the truth out and maintain the Reagan legacy, and we’ll catch up with you again.

7:56 Speaker 3 Really too great to be with you.