The Reagan administration and Republicans in
Congress experienced a severe legislative defeat in
1981 and suffered long-term political damage when
they attempted to reduce Social Security benefits for
future retirees and the disabled. Led by Tip O’Neill,
Representative Claude Pepper of Florida, and Sena-
tor Daniel P. Moynihan of New York, Democrats in
Congress stridently denounced this proposal as a be-
trayal of American senior citizens. Concerned that
the controversy over this Social Security proposal en-
dangered the rest of Reagan’s policy agenda, Senate
Majority Leader Howard Baker quickly persuaded
Reagan to withdraw his proposal. For the rest of the
1980’s, Republicans avoided proposing any major
changes in Social Security benefits because they
feared that Democrats could exploit such proposals
as a campaign issue.
Nevertheless, the lingering controversy over So-
cial Security and the effects of the 1981-1982 reces-
sion, especially high unemployment, contributed
to Democratic victories in the 1982 congressional
midterm elections. The Democrats gained twenty-
six seats in the House of Representatives, while the
Republicans gained one seat in the Senate. With
a larger, more unified majority, House Democrats
became more assertive and more effective in reject-
ing additional reductions in domestic spending and
taxes, as well as in forcing the Republicans to accept
smaller increases in defense spending.
As the economy steadily improved in 1983 and
1984, so did Reagan’s approval ratings and Republi-
can prospects in the 1984 elections. The Democratic
Party nominated former vice president Walter Mon-
dale as their candidate for president and Represen-
tative Geraldine Ferraro of New York for vice presi-
dent. Mondale’s major campaign promises were to
raise taxes in order to reduce the deficit and to nego-
tiate a bilateral freeze on nuclear weapon produc-
tion with the Soviet Union. Mondale won only his
home state of Minnesota, while Reagan carried ev-244 Congress, U.S. The Eighties in America
Jim Wright, the new Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, swears in the members of the One Hundredth Congress during opening
ceremonies on January 6, 1987.(AP/Wide World Photos)