The Party of Reagan

Almost a decade after his death, former US President Ronald Reagan still looms large over American politics with many current battles over America's debt, taxation, and the size of government being fought in his name. Through revealing interviews "The Party of Reagan" explores how the Republican Party's increasing conservatism and the emergence of the Tea Party movement has contributed to the most partisan and least productive period in US political history. Republican Presidential candidates, the Tea Party Movement and even Democratic President Barack Obama have all laid claim to being Reagan's rightful heir, but some of those who knew him best say his legacy is being distorted. "A Reagan Republican defines a modern republican – limited government, maximizing liberty, limiting taxes and spending and control over your life," claims conservative libertarian Grover Norquist. However, many people feel the Republican Party has shifted so far to the right that Reagan himself couldn't get elected today. "He'd be too liberal now," claims Ron Reagan Jr. The result of this tug-of-war over what Reagan really stood for has led to gridlock in Washington, economic stagnation in America and defeat for the Republican Party he once led.