Did Ronald Reagan Usher in Hate Politics?

By. A. Govea alberto@holatexas.us

August 24, 2026

My short answer: Yes. Pero, how did we get there, and who were the players that pushed us in that direction?

Reading Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America by Kurt Anderson really sparked my interest. The book digs into the shift from Fair Deal politics to the modern belief that “government is bad and must be stopped.” I haven’t finished the book — like many of us. Finding time to finish a book isn’t easy nowadays — Pero, it pushed me to start researching the media’s role in shaping the political climate that Reagan helped create.

A Brief Media History

From the 1950s through the 1960s, early conservative media focused heavily on the Cold War and anti‑Communism. Most of this lived in print: National Review, Human Events, and other right‑wing foundation newletters. Fire‑and‑brimstone radio preachers also began sprinkling partisan messages into their sermons. But there was no national conservative media machine yet — maybe some right‑wing talk at your golf club, if you were White.

The 1970s: A Turning Point

By the 1970s, conservative activists began attacking mainstream media as “liberally biased.” Rupert Murdoch started buying newspapers and positioning himself as a political disruptor.

Murdoch’s rise mirrors that of the current resident on Pennsylvania Avenue — he inherited his first newspaper from his father. The paper, The News, was published in South Australia, where Rupert was born before coming to America to build his entertainment‑news empire. More on Rupert later.

Enter Ronald Reagan

Reagan was a political heir to Barry Goldwater, whose 1964 presidential run he strongly supported. For those unfamiliar with Goldwater, he fiercely opposed the Civil Rights Act, and anything connected to it. At the 1964 Republican National Convention, Goldwater declared:

“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

This is the man Reagan endorsed — and whose policies he adopted, though in a more polished, camera‑friendly way.

Reagan became the perfect vehicle for the far right: likable, folksy, photographed in blue jeans on his ranch. Pero underneath that public persona (he was an actor, after all), Reagan was a staunch ultra‑conservative who understood the power of media.

Reagan + Murdoch: A Strategic Alliance

Reagan quickly befriended Rupert Murdoch. Together with other conservative strategists, they began mapping out a plan to dominate the airwaves with right‑wing messaging. Step one: eliminate the Fairness Doctrine, which required balanced viewpoints in broadcast media.

In 1987, the Fairness Doctrine was repealed — opening the floodgates for conservative talk radio.

Rush Limbaugh launched nationally in 1988, blending politics with entertainment and outrage. He united his listeners — “Dittoheads” — by telling them, half-jokingly or maybe not:

“Don’t worry about what to think. I’ll tell you what to think.”

Murdoch’s Media Empire Grows

With Reagan’s help, Murdoch’s U.S. citizenship was fast‑tracked, bypassing federal laws that prevented foreign ownership of TV stations. Reagan also waived rules that barred owning both a TV station and a newspaper in the same city.

These moves cleared the path for Murdoch’s rapid expansion — and ultimately for the creation of Fox News, launched by Murdoch and Roger Ailes.

We’ll dive deeper into Fox News next week.