It can seem unfair to blame Reagan for what has been done in his name by his successors in the GOP. After all, he: had a sunny, optimistic view of America; raised as well as cut taxes; was willing to make deals with Democrats; appointed Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court; and genuinely believed in the virtues of small government, not a cult of personality. In other words, he wasn’t an angry, bitter culture warrior who thought that tax cuts for business were a form of religious practice and that American liberal democracy was negotiable.
And yet, the fictional “Reagan” character that was created by the GOP leadership after the defeat of Bush 41 could not have existed but for the real item. He has to bear some of the blame for what happened thereafter.