Everything is Reagan's Fault

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Apr 1, 2026

A sharp deep dive into Reaganomics and how supply-side ideas reshaped taxes, spending and the role of government. They trace policy cuts that widened homelessness, gutted welfare and weakened unions. The conversation covers the slow federal response to AIDS, regulatory rollbacks and the political strategies that normalized smaller government. Light digressions about psychics and cultural pronunciation add humor.

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INSIGHT

Think Tank Playbooks Made Policy Repeatable

Policy playbooks from conservative think tanks (Heritage Foundation) were handed to Reagan and implemented, creating a repeatable blueprint later used by Trump.
Eliza McLamb cites The Mandate for Leadership and notes Project 2025 as the same institutional pipeline.

INSIGHT

Religious Coalition Shaped The AIDS Denial

Reagan's alliance with the Moral Majority fused evangelical politics and conservative governance, which shaped his neglectful, moralizing response to AIDS.
Hava connects that coalition to policies opposing sex education and framing AIDS as moral punishment, delaying federal action.

ANECDOTE

White House Mocked AIDS In Early Years

Larry Speakes and Reagan publicly mocked AIDS early on; reporters recorded Speakes joking that Reagan didn't have AIDS because he wasn't gay.
Julia Hava plays the exchange showing administration laughter and dismissal while thousands were dying.

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