Memo to GOP: Even Reagan Raised Taxes

Be sure to check out the latest column from Cynthia Tucker:

The cult of Ronald Reagan is alive and well in Republican precincts across the land, from the nation's capital to outposts in Georgia, Montana and Missouri. But the faith of the followers has distorted Reagan's legacy. The Reagan whom his acolytes worship is a shallow hardliner who doesn't bear much resemblance to the pragmatic and flexible man who occupied the White House for most of the '80s.

If you asked the legions of Reagan standard-bearers about his opposition to taxes, for example, they'd reply that he never sanctioned a tax increase. That idea has taken such hold in the GOP that no Republican politician dares mutter "tax hike" except as an expletive.

Over the coming months, as President Obama takes up the task of deficit reduction, you'll hear that conservative article of faith preached from the Senate floor, on the airwaves favored by conservative talk show hosts, in the policy papers cranked out by conservative think tanks. There's just a tiny problem of fact: Reagan did, too, raise taxes.