We believe that all the time. But let's be honest, despite that belief occasionally in the past, we seem to have forgotten that in this rapidly evolving world being faithful to principle required more than guarding the museum of past policy. Some of our programs were permitted to wander from their purpose. We slighted the middle class, and we allowed ourselves to be caricatured by our opponents. They said things like, Democrats are addicted to big government, big spending, and big taxes.
Democrats are soft on crime.
They're anti- middle class. And those attacks proved to be effective. In 1980, in 1984, millions of middle class Democrats became Reagan Democrats, and more of them drifted toward the Republicans with Bush in 1988. And then came the stark failure of supply-side that was measured in crushing recession and debt. And by 1992, America decided on a new course and a new captain.