I have just finished a book that encapsulates the events in the 70's and how they led to the creation of conservative populism. I highly recommend it!
I have finished a book that I highly recommend to anyone here who has wondered how the conservative populist movement who elected Ronald Reagan in 1980 came about. The book is called Mad as Hell by Dominic Sandbrook. It goes into detail the economic and social convulsions that working-class America in general (and white working-class America in particular) underwent in the mid-to-late 1970's beginning with Nixon's resignation and ending with the Iranian hostage crisis that began in 1979 and ended with the hostages release in January 1981 (the day Reagan was sworn in).
In between the book goes into detail how the masses, feeling under attack by social changes and moral decay, started striking back and resisting said change. Sometimes the resistance is violent, like the violent riots in South Boston and elsewhere concerning court-ordered busing. Othertimes the resistance comes out in the form of xenophobic humor (like the "nuke the ayatollah" slogans during the coverage of the hostage crisis).
Meanwhile the economy is mired in a seemingly endless spiral of Stagflation (that 70's era bugaboo of stagnant (i.e. zero-growth) GDP coupled with double-digit inflation) that both Gerald Ford (R) and Jimmy Carter (D) seem incapable of combating, not for want of trying. Further fueling the consensus among these masses that "their" America was slip-sliding away.
This all sets the stage for the rise of Ronald Reagan who masterfully takes the election from Carter in the end and at the end of the book is being celebrated at an election gala in a pre-renovation Union Station in DC, and it ends with a crowd of homeless people (drawn in by the smell of food) sneak in and are momentarily a part of the gala until they are hustled back outside by security.
The title itself is taken from the character of Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) in the 1976 satire Network and his famous rant "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" For me this book brought back some not-so-good memories of the 70's (my teenage years) like watching the busing riots and the Stop ERA rallies. But it also provided a contrast with the current Tea Party populism in the GOP and the general talk of "permanent economic decline". There was plenty of permanent decline talk back in that era, and at least today prices aren't soaring upward almost by the minute.
Anyway, if you want to know more about how the conservatives ultimately elected Reagan (thus ushering in over 20 years of conservative dominance) I would highly recommend this book. Although the author takes pains to point out that in 1980 Reagan won with only 51% of the popular vote and that many of the voters who voted for him were voting more against Carter than for Reagan. And that (as is now) people were more concerned with the state of the economy than anything else.
Anyway, that's my two cents on this one. If you've read this book (or plan to find it at your bookstore or library and read it), comment and let me know what you think of it.