"I've never been able to understand why a Republican contributor is a 'fat cat' and a Democratic contributor of the same amount of money is a 'public-spirited philanthropist'"
About this Quote
Reagan lands the punch by pretending he just "can't understand" a label everyone understands perfectly. It's faux-naive, and that performance matters: it recasts partisan language as irrational prejudice, not a debate over power. The line is built on a clean symmetry - same money, different moral judgment - and the contrast terms do the ideological work. "Fat cat" evokes cigar smoke, back rooms, indulgence; "public-spirited philanthropist" sounds like polished press releases and gala applause. Reagan's point isn't that money in politics is clean. It's that moral storytelling around money is selective.
The subtext is a defense of his coalition's financial base. Republicans, in the Reagan era, leaned heavily on business donors and anti-tax networks; Democrats drew strength from unions, trial lawyers, and aligned wealthy patrons. By flattening these differences into "same amount of money", Reagan sidesteps the question of what donors are buying: deregulation, contracts, tax policy, labor rules. He turns structural critique into etiquette critique - an argument about name-calling rather than influence.
Context sharpens the intent. Reagan rose as a communicator who framed politics as common sense versus elite manipulation. Here, he paints Democrats as the party of sanctimony: eager to condemn "rich interests" while laundering their own. It's a neat inoculation against campaign-finance attacks, and a reminder that in American politics, the hardest currency isn't dollars - it's legitimacy.
The subtext is a defense of his coalition's financial base. Republicans, in the Reagan era, leaned heavily on business donors and anti-tax networks; Democrats drew strength from unions, trial lawyers, and aligned wealthy patrons. By flattening these differences into "same amount of money", Reagan sidesteps the question of what donors are buying: deregulation, contracts, tax policy, labor rules. He turns structural critique into etiquette critique - an argument about name-calling rather than influence.
Context sharpens the intent. Reagan rose as a communicator who framed politics as common sense versus elite manipulation. Here, he paints Democrats as the party of sanctimony: eager to condemn "rich interests" while laundering their own. It's a neat inoculation against campaign-finance attacks, and a reminder that in American politics, the hardest currency isn't dollars - it's legitimacy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
|---|
More Quotes by Ronald
Add to List
