Word: stockman
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Politics replaced theology as his obsession, and in 1970, Stockman abandoned his pursuit of a doctorate to join Congressman John Anderson's office in Washington. He soon became a senior adviser on fiscal affairs, learning his economics chiefly from literature of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, and the works of right-wing economists. In 1976 he went home to Michigan to win his own seat in Congress...
...assertive young Congressman was an excellent sparring partner. Among other things, he accused Reagan of wanting to "throw open the door of Alaska to allow the rape of our last frontier" and of being unconcerned about acid rain. Against such thrusts, Reagan practiced calm parries. He responded to Stockman by saying, "Well, you know, John, I think you need a gas mask...
...Stockman was campaigning in his south Michigan district the following month when he received an urgent call for a rematch. Now he was to impersonate Carter as Reagan rehearsed for the campaign's pivotal debate. Said Reagan, after that encounter: "I lost every practice debate with Stockman. After him, Anderson and Carter were a piece of cake." At Thanksgiving, the President-elect phoned to tell Stockman: "David, I've been looking for a way to get even. I think I'll send...
...Administration's senior officials, Stockman is clearly the boldest and the most ideological. He often uses sweeping, strident language, as when he called the federal budget an "automatic coast-to-coast soup line." He revels in taking unpopular positions and shows disdain for most economists: "They've been dead wrong, persistently." While he wants the Government to reduce most social welfare programs drastically, he would make even deeper cuts in subsidies for business interests and agriculture. Though Republicans generally blame most of the economy's present difficulties on Democratic folly, Stockman believes that one of the most...
Reagan has admonished his Cabinet to avoid timidity, but a few members are wondering if Stockman takes that order too far in acting as the cutting edge of Reagan's economic policies. Says one White House official: "We're hearing gripes from some of the department heads." Reagan's confidence in Stockman is high enough to create a little jealousy on the part of new department heads who know less about their programs and budgets than the youngster who has been studying the budget ever since he joined Anderson's staff. When Reagan watches Stockman perform...