What if President Reagan, in his first term when HIV/AIDS was just becoming a major public health crisis, had committed money and resources beyond the wildest dreams of Larry Kramer and Rep. Henry Waxman?
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/06/01/ronald_reagan_and_aids_correcting_the_record_122806.htmlIn doing so, he of course would have had to, in 1982-83 (in the midst of a major recession when his approval was below 50%), have committed to advocate condom usage, and an ethic of compassion towards those suffering from HIV/AIDS (in addition to sharply increased funding, perhaps beyond what the Dem Congress asked for). (A poll taken as late as the early 1990s showed 51% of Americans having "little or no" sympathy for those who contract HIV/AIDS through homosexual activity). He undoubtedly would have alienated many Evangelical Christians, who gave him 80% of the vote in 1984 at a time when the Rev. Jerry Falwell (Sept. 2, 1985) and the Rev. Pat Robertson (Feb. 17, 1986) were making Time magazine covers, and the view that HIV/AIDS was God's punishment for homosexual activity was almost mainstream.
As supporters of Democrat Lyndon LaRouche were advocating quarantining those with HIV/AIDS (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_64_(1986)), Reagan could have used his Great Communicator status, at some political risk, to portray Democrats as the party that was cold and insensitive toward those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Recall that in 1978 he came out against an anti-gay proposition in CA.
Well.... what if Reagan had out-advocated Waxman and Kramer and effectively communicated his advocacy? How does the 1984 election shake out? Does Reagan still win 80% of Evangelicals? Does he improve upon his 31.4% showing in San Francisco (and his 23.4% in Cambridge, MA)? Do moderate and liberal Republicans, who supported Reagan-Bush-Quayle in the 1980s with misgivings, stay in the party through 2016, and does Trump have a chance at the nomination? Is treatment and/or a cure found sooner, saving many lives? Does the GOP remain competitive with the LGBT community? Does the Evangelical community make peace and find common ground with the LGBT community?
