Current Events > Why did Ronald Reagan win by a huge landslide in two elections?

(+) Yeah! (+)

He beat his Democratic opponents so badly. Why was Reagan so popular at the time?

---

Small government seemed like a good idea, back then

---

And was there small government in the two terms?

---

Carter told Americans the truth and Reagan told them USA #1, fuck yeah! and they liked the message better.

---

The first time because Carter's presidency didn't go well in a number of ways, especially the hostage crisis in Iran (which was a big deal during the election) and the economy stinking.

The economy perked back up during Reagan's first term and Mondale wasn't a great candidate. Plus, the Christian coalition was building power and firing up the right wing base of the Republican party.

Also, am I the only one that thinks Jimmy Carter has done a lot more good since he left office with humanitarian efforts compared to his presidency?

Virtual_Console posted...

He beat his Democratic opponents so badly. Why was Reagan so popular at the time?

Because Jim Crow racists were still alive

LastTomorrow posted...

And was there small government in the two terms?

Kind of. He slashed all the Kennedy era regulations and safe guards

It was basically Trump politics. "A lot of this government is big and powerful, but look, this part is small."

---

Carter/Mondale were just that unpopular

---

pfh1001 posted...

Also, am I the only one that thinks Jimmy Carter has done a lot more good since he left office with humanitarian efforts compared to his presidency?

That's actually a pretty common view of him

---

Because the dems didnt steal the election from him

---

pfh1001 posted...

The first time because Carter's presidency didn't go well in a number of ways, especially the hostage crisis in Iran (which was a big deal during the election) and the economy stinking.

The economy perked back up during Reagan's first term and Mondale wasn't a great candidate. Plus, the Christian coalition was building power and firing up the right wing base of the Republican party.

Also, am I the only one that thinks Jimmy Carter has done a lot more good since he left office with humanitarian efforts compared to his presidency?

At his age, he still participates in habitat for humanity, he's out there with a hammer in hand and helping with the construction, not just donating money.

---

The 80s were a pretty gigantic improvement from the 70s.

Broseph_Stalin posted...

The 80s were a pretty gigantic improvement from the 70s.

just put on your red cap already

He ran against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale.

Reagan had a lot of things going for him that he didnt even need, the two candidates being who they were not the least of it.

---

34_ShaqRule_34 posted...

just put on your red cap already

????

because then people were stupid and thought electing tv/movie stars was a good idea

Broseph_Stalin posted...

The 80s were a pretty gigantic improvement from the 70s.

in what way

---

Republicans love their celebrity presidents.

---

Zeeak4444 posted...

in what way

The 80s was when we starting demanding unlimited growth and inundating the market with cheap goods. People thought life was good because TVs were cheap but didnt have healthcare or security, a trend that continues to this day.

---

Fam_Fam posted...

because then people were stupid and thought electing tv/movie stars was a good idea

then?

---

Zeeak4444 posted...

in what way

stagflation for one thing

Carter was pretty unpopular. Gas lines, Iran hostage crisis, etc. Whether it was all his fault is up for debate. In 1984 it was a combination of a weak candidate, incumbency advantage, and the economy had recovered very well from the recession of the late 70s.

---

For most of us, that was literally a lifetime ago. Times change and sometimes its difficult to put yourself in someones position decades in the past. If the country knew that George Bush was working behind the scenes to ruin the country, then maybe the Republican Party wouldnt have won.

Ex-Kefiroth posted...

Fun fact: Joe Biden won a higher % of the popular vote last year than Reagan did in his 1980 landslide.

Interesting

---

Every election since then has been a landslide except for Bush/Gore and even then, its not like it was that close

Because Mondale sucked ass, + Ronnie survived an assassination attempt.

---

Unnamed Hobo posted...

Carter was pretty unpopular. Gas lines, Iran hostage crisis, etc. Whether it was all his fault is up for debate. In 1984 it was a combination of a weak candidate, incumbency advantage, and the economy had recovered very well from the recession of the late 70s.

And celebrity status. Don't ever discount that.

Broseph_Stalin posted...

The 80s were a pretty gigantic improvement from the 70s.

Except for blacks, gays, inner cities, the environment, and all the banana republics we propped up and democracies we overthrew, sure.

---

Because the Reagan campaign convinced Iran to keep the hostages until after the election

The entire country was lead poisoned from gasoline fumes.

---

Because that was the way presidential elections went in this country for a long, long time.

Keep going back in time and you'll see, everyone wins like 45 states until the 90s when politics started being about "owning the libs". It used to be people just voted for who they liked, whoever had charisma or who they genuinely though would be better for the country despite party affiliation. It's more about winning nowadays so it's way more polarizing. But yeah, it blew my mind when I saw that too.

---

The rise of individualism of the 60s and the new consumerism that targeted the hippies in the 70s.

Also the failures of collectivist actions by the hippy movement in the 60s when the state brutally cracked down on them. It was a new kind of "socialism in one person" and the movements supporting individualist liberties like sexual freedom sadly warped into ultimate consumerist hedonism because of the corporations

Virtual_Console posted...

He beat his Democratic opponents so badly. Why was Reagan so popular at the time?

He didn't really. He won the EC in a landslide but the popular vote was extremely evenly split.

---

Tyranthraxus posted...

He didn't really. He won the EC in a landslide but the popular vote was extremely evenly split.

First term maybe. The second term is the second highest difference between two candidates. Nixon's second term had a higher difference.

Edit: Actually it kind of depends on how you define it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin

---

Reagan won in a landslide because some of the states were making a transition from traditional red states to blue states and others from traditional blue states to red states. The Southern used to be extremely democractic but after the Civil rights movements and the move towards the Religious Right, they turned a shift towards red.

Red states like California started to make a move to the blue but weren't completely there until like the early 90s when minorities started to make up a huge part of the state population. The period of 1968 to 1992 was very favorable to Republicans. Nowadays, there are solidly red states and solidly blue states. The Northeast, the Northwest and California will always favor Democrats while the South and midwest will be geared more towards Republicans. Back then a lot of states were transitioning, so it was possible for a Republican candidate to win in a huge landslide.

---

Because swing voters actually existed at that time and peaked then. Afterwards, more races entered the picture and politics became more polarized.

---

Jimmy Carter was worthless Trash who gave way American territory and he led to the dumpster fire that was Reagan

---