I would not say Reagan "had it easy," my point would be the times are not comparable.
Let's talk about "the times," shall we??
Are we, as Conservatives, supposed to buckle to the changing times? Are we not, indeed, if we are true to our values, supposed to make an effort to return to a time when there was more genuine patriotism, when there was a more civil society, when God was still permitted inside schools, when only men and women could marry each other, when babies weren't being slaughtered until and after the day they were born, when 4 year old children didn't use as foul a language as longshoremen??? And a whole slew of other things that have changed with "the times," but have harmed this culture and this country??
My answer to these are different times so our behavior has to be different is a resounding NO IT DOESN'T!!
When we buckle as we have done with Trump, we are saying that the times rule us rather than that we have power to turn the ship around and make things right again.
What Reagan stood for is still what works. It works against rampant socialism, and it works against cultural rot.
Giving in by saying "the times are different" is just that........ giving in.
And I, for one, don't believe that is ever the right thing to do........ and I have been shocked to realize how many who claim to be Conservative are so quick to give in and have "us" become no different that "them."
@Cyber Liberty