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By Root 805 0

is peculiar to Democrats. Republicans didn’t even idolize Ronald Reagan, indisputably among the nation’s greatest presidents. Forget the warm nostalgia conservatives have for Reagan today, based on his record. There was no hero worship of the man at the time. Contrary to our whitewashed memories, Reagan was criticized early and often by conservatives—or “the New Right,” in the parlance of the day.

A year into office, the Washington Post ran an article about how Reagan’s favorite newspaper, Human Events, was devoting a lot of ink to attacking him. “Ronald Reagan’s ‘favorite newspaper,’ ” the Post said, “is giving him fits lately.” Although there weren’t “two more committed true-blue-Reaganite-to-the-core conservatives anywhere” than editors Thomas Winter and Allan Ryskind, the Post reported, Reagan himself had noticed the attacks, telling them, “I’m still reading you guys, but I’m enjoying it less.”36

At about the same point in Obama’s presidency, Obama singled out his cheerleading squad at MSNBC to praise them for providing “an invaluable service,” and keeping “our government honest.”37

A perusal of the headlines throughout Reagan’s presidency makes it clear that conservatives did not view even their most-admired president as a demigod. True, Obama gets the occasional fake denunciations from a few showoff liberal bloggers trying to prove what badass Marxists they are, but it is inconceivable that any Democratic president could produce this many headlines about liberal angst.

Try to imagine a stream of headlines about Obama and his base along the lines of this small sample from the Reagan years:

Conservatives Attack Reagan Appointees

—United Press International, February 25, 1981

“New Right” Disillusionment with Reagan Breaks into the Open

—Washington Post, February 25, 1981

The Far Right Splits with Reagan

—United Press International, July 14, 1981

For Reagan and the New Right, the Honeymoon Is Over

—Washington Post, July 21, 1981

Conservatives Meeting to Discuss Disappointment with Reagan

—Associated Press, January 21, 1982

President Warned by Conservatives

—New York Times, January 22, 1982

Conservatives Disappointed with Administration’s First Year Record

—United Press International, January 22, 1982

Is Reagan Betraying the Right?

—Washington Post, January 27, 1982

Reagan Hears Thunder from the Right

—U.S. News & World Report, February 1, 1982

When Mr. Conservative Is Too Liberal

—Christian Science Monitor, February 26, 1982

Rumblings on the Right

—The National Journal, March 13, 1982

New Right Meeting Grumbles About Reagan

—Washington Post, July 28, 1982

Conservatives Blame White House for GOP Losses

—Associated Press, November 4, 1982

New Right Decides to Part Company with Reagan

—Miami Herald, November 26, 1982

Leftward Drift of Reagan Decried; Some Conservatives Shop for a “New Face”

—Washington Post, February 4, 1983

Reagan Bid Reopens Rift with Right

—New York Times, February 19, 1983

Conservatives Criticize Reagan

—United Press International, September 4, 1983

New Right Disappointed by Reagan’s Reactions

—Washington Post, September 6, 1983

Conservatives Divided on Support for Reagan

—Associated Press, September 11, 1983

The Right Is Really Sore at Reagan …

—Washington Post, September 18, 1983

New Right Poll: Alarm Bells for Reagan

—Associated Press, October 13, 1983

Right Critical of Reagan in Hostage Crisis: Longtime Supporters Attack Policies

—Washington Post, June 29, 1985

Even Conservatives Are Abandoning Ship

—Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1986

Trouble on the Right

—U.S. News & World Report, December 29, 1986

Baker Helping Reagan Renew Ties to Conservative Leaders

—Associated Press, March 30, 1987

Reagan Seeks to Calm His Right-Wing Critics

—Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1987

Reagan’s Arms-Control Dream Is Nightmare for Conservatives

—Washington Post, November 30, 1987

There would never be such unremitting criticism of Kennedy or Clinton—to say nothing of the angel Obama—from the Democratic base.

By September of Reagan’s first year of office, he