Ronald Reagan as Presidential Symbol Maker: The Federal Bureaucrat as Loafer, Incompetent Buffoon, Good Ole Boy, and Tyrant

Abstract

Federal bureaucrat bashing has a long history in this country. In recent years Ronald Reagan, in particular, played on the public's resentment of the federal bureaucracy. For Reagan and his devoted audiences the federal bureaucrat was a symbol represent ing many of the qualities that are wrong with present-day society. Four dominant images of the federal bureaucrat emerge from Ronald Reagan's Public Papers. Reagan depicted the federal bureaucrat primarily as a loafer, incompetent buffoon, good ole boy, and tyrant. It is possible that these images were so well-received by much of the public because of widespread ambivalence about our organizational society.

Editor’s introduction: Our public service manifesto during pandemic

“…To be clear, we understand this bashing goes back a way and is nothing new, seemingly tracing roots in American politics to the Jacksonian spoils system (Hubbell, 1991). Yet when elected officials consistently beat the drum calling for removing seemingly unnecessary public servants and public services or even when public servants face threats to their security for attempting to speak sense and keep people safe, as is now the case with Dr. Fauci (Bennett & Perez, 2020), there is a problem when the state is called upon to intervene in crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.…”

“…The hollow state refers to contracting out government services to non-state organizations, further separating government agents and agencies from the services they deliver (Milward & Provan, 2000). Akin to Terry's writing (1997), Hubbell (1991) asserts no U.S. president until Reagan came into office with such an active agenda to hollow the state and blame bureaucrats for all its failings.…”

Interaction Quality in Political-Administrative Relations in the United States: Testing a Multi-Dimensional Model

“…The literatures in public administration and political science are replete with accounts of how the relationship between elected officials and public administrators can become stressed, tense, and conflict-laden (e.g., Lorentzen, 1985;Pfiffner, 1987;Hubbell, 1991;Ingraham et al, 1995). This is very likely for the simple reason that the two actors have different formal positions, values, and perspectives (e.g., Svara, 2001).…”

Live Bureaucrats and Dead Public Servants: How People in Government Are Discussed on the Floor of the House

“…He went on to say, "It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed" (Suriano 1993, 295). Scholars (Hubbell 1991;Terry 1997) argue that Reagan used federal bureaucrats as symbols for the problems that existed in society and as a foil for the average hardworking American: The tyrannical or incompetent "bureaucrat" makes decisions that could best be made by individuals and are not in the best interest of most Americans.…”