Nathan,

Sure the people at the top of the Teamster's Union supported Reagan, but I saw it from the bottom, where the Reagan Democrats came from.

I've always worked closely with union members, tradesmen, Teamsters and other blue collar people, and back in 1980, most, like myself, were politically unsophisticated. They were born and raised in Philadelphia, a Democrat/Union town, got a union job, and became Democrats, the natural progression for that time and place.

The one political issue we thought we knew about and that we all had in common was our hatred of Welfare, and I think this was the view of unionized people all over the country. I think we all had a warped view I won't get into, but suffice to say, it was warped.

One day, a Presidential candidate came along and promised to get rid of "that welfare queen in her
Cadillac." You know the one, we all saw her;

A big fat black lady in a red Cadillac convertible who would go to the Supermarket, park that Caddy at the front door and go inside and buy the best of the best; Steaks, chops, shrimp, lobster, Ice Cream, candy, cookies, cigarettes, soda, and beer if available. Of course she would pay for all of this with food stamps, then drive that Caddy back to her taxpayer paid for house.

So the union guys and other blue collars all over the country flocked to this guy and became the Reagan Democrats. Why, even the Air Traffic Controllers jumped on this anti welfare bandwagon. (define irony)

In the end, those in the unions and the other blue collars built the gallows the Republicans/Conservatives used to hang them.
And, to a certain extent, its still going on today.

I voted for Reagan the first time, then I started watching C-SPAN and got some political education.

Until the Myth of Reagan is destroyed, until Reagan is shown for what he was as President, his shadow will always be cast over the Democrats.

I was a teamster during those years and and never understgood how we could endorse Reagan. It doesn't make me feel better, but thanks for laying it out

Nathan, I don’t know about the myth.

I reside in a Right to work State
I can tell you this from my experience.
For years I‘ve been in the construction trades. At the time of the Reagan election, I was a Union Carpenter. During breaks, lunch, and many meetings of after work social events, many of my co-workers and I mean many, we would get into heated disputes about who would represent the workers the best. Despite my vocal concerns, it was clear I was unable to convince them otherwise.

In fact some recognized this fact, and rationalizing that Unions needed to be purged of some of the problems of Union leadership, and I warned that if we failed to protect the Unions now, it might never recover,
A lot of blood had been spilled to give us this protection and this new breed of Union workers had their heads buried ….well you know.

This infatuation with Reaganomics, myth lingered for years, how great the economy did with him, as President, I heard this from practically all the trades.

There is also another element when you work with the construction trades, they’ll backstab other locals.
Example: When I was young, just out of high school, I became a Union laborer.
It was not unusual for my employer to tell me to pick up a hammer and remove the concrete forms. BIG MISTAKE, heck you’d thought I killed someone, when the Carpenter Union business agent would come looking for me. We'd fight about whether that was a carpenter job or a cememt finisher job

Years later, as the trades were all competing for more work during one of Phoenix’s famine days, the Plumbers Union, the Electricians and then the Carpenters, decided they didn’t need to respect the Laborers Union, they would now bypass the laborers and would start having a pre-apprentice program, these new hires would now do the work that used to be done by laborers.

It wasn’t that much afterwards, that the trades were crying when Non union contractors beat them out of the work.

Reminding me of that story about when they came looking for communist I didn’t care, I wasn’t a communist,when they came for the Jews I didn’t care I wasn’t a Jew, When they came for me there was no one left to defend me.

So as I said “Union workers cut their own throats; the movement was destroyed from within”

Anyone care to guess how many of the Boeing workers who belong to the Machinist's Union voted for McLame?
These people have swallowed the idea that work=money=success. They have no idea where they'd be without the blood of the Union movement.
Sheeple.

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