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Today is Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday (they will even start the Super Bowl with a video tribute to the Gipper), so it is fitting to look back on his legacy.
Is Reagan a true American hero, or was he simply the first actor to play the role of President in real life? I'm not sure, actually. But I do know that any acting he was doing in the White House has been far eclipsed by the fiction that has been spun around his presidency by conservatives.
So on this day of remembrance for Reagan, if you are cornered by a conservative complaining about deficits and the size of government, remind them about how Reagan increased our deficit by $3 trillion and increased the size of government dramatically. Or if they start complaining about illegal aliens, remind them that Reagan gave amnesty to three million undocumented workers. Or if they talk about fighting a war with Iran, remind them that Reagan secretly sold arms to Iran despite an arms embargo against them, and used the proceeds to fund death squads in Nicaragua, which Congress had outlawed. Or if they try to pretend they are not racist, remind them of how Reagan vetoed sanctions against apartheid South Africa, asserting that they would not work. Or if they claim that only Republicans can prevent terrorism, remind him that Reagan helped create and fund the Taliban and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
#1 - Sun Feb 6, 2011 5:46 AM ESTHeh heh....well.....heh...well...there you go again..... if they handed out political oscars this demented bozo would have won the big one......he was an actor who gave the best performance of his career to the people who "OWNED" him.
I'd say Ronnie was the perfect prototype of Teapublicans. Unself-aware hypocrite.
Do as I say, not as I do.
I would use the fox hole test to contrast the greatest President with the fraud we have in the White House now. You knew where Reagan stood on issues. Obama, wait a month. This country needs another Reagan.
The "legacy of Ronald Reagan" is nothing more than a delusional rewrite by a conservative fan base.
As stated in another seed Ronnie raised taxes, increased military spending, negotiated with terrorists, cut-and-run from Lebanon, supported illegal arm sales, attempted union busting, etc, etc, etc.
His "feel good" rhetoric and "good ole' boy" demeanor went a long way in fooling the masses.
Reagan will go down in history as a B grade Hollywood actor that became a C grade President that planted the seeds of America's economic ruin.
Blue, you forgot: sponsored cocaine cartels by using US assets and personnel, personally authorized political assasinations and lied to congress about his involvement.
I would use the fox hole test to contrast the greatest President with the fraud we have in the White House now. You knew where Reagan stood on issues. Obama, wait a month. This country needs another Reagan.
How would you know where Reagan stood on issues when Reagan himself, didn't know where he stood or what issues stood before him.? If Reagan could speak from hell today, he would tell you that the best acting role he ever had was that of playing the President of these United States.
This country needs another Reagan.
This country needs another Reagan like it needs another epidemic of syphilis before the discovery of penicillin.
ronnie raygun talked a big game but when push came to shove he sold out to the terrorists. So much for the rethugliCON god!
And he couldn't tell you that because he had Alzheimer's during the full eight years.
True; but he retained his skills for improvisation.
I'll vote this up just for the headline. Really, all belief, even in science, is just a cargo cult.
#2 - Sun Feb 6, 2011 6:49 AM ESTI like the update:
If you are concerned about corruption in government, Reagan’s administration was one of the most corrupt in history with a total of 138 Reagan officials convicted, indicted, or named in investigations of official misconduct or criminal acts. Here is a list of all the people in the Reagan administration who were convicted of serious crimes directly related to their jobs — there are 21 of them, compared to eight for Nixon (who was forced out of office) and only one for Clinton (who was not).
Oh yes - let's all pray to St Raygun, the start of America's war to eliminate the middle class.
#3 - Sun Feb 6, 2011 6:55 AM ESTIs Reagan a true American hero, or was he simply the first actor to play the role of President in real life?
He simply was the first actor to play the role of President in real life. Since I've been old enough to vote every republican president has been the worse president to be in office.
#4 - Sun Feb 6, 2011 9:01 AM ESTReagan was - I'm 50 and remember all 8 glorious (joking) - a pragmatic conservative leader that actually could work both sides of the aisle. My father was a republican but after Reagan, he switched to a Democratic. My father loved nature and the wilderness and despised how Reagan showed little regard to it.
This nonsense about the Reagan legacy is just that - nonsense. It is a poor attempt to rewrite history. The facts are the facts, as pointed out in the seeded article.
Since his start in office, there has been a consistent pattern of attacks on the middle class, where now, almost 80 percent of the entire wealth of this nation is held by less than 2 percent of the population.
He was our President and did hope for success, but at the end, he was just a tool from big business and the most wealthy.
#5 - Sun Feb 6, 2011 11:11 AM EST...Voodoo economics... ...Teflon President...
For me, Ronald (Ray gun) Reagan will always be a turncoat Democrat seduced by GE money and a traitor to the USA for having undertaken negotiations with Iran under the Carter administration radar. But then Reagan was a B actor playing a presidential role and those who sucked in the fables of the Bible and believe in Creationism are quite at home with make-believe as long as presented as ABSOLUTE.
A tailored suit with greased dyed hair to better play the part.
The "DEFLATION' that occurred during his first term was due to a drop in the price of oil after Saudi Arabia agreed to a reduction. Kissinger and Co. had previously caused the price to go higher (pre Carter) so that they could sell weapons to Iran and other Arab countries and keep the Shah in power.
Strange that he busted the Air Traffic Controllers Union when he had been President of the Screen Actors Guild.
Stranger that he picked on the mentally ill by throwing so many of them on the streets when he himself was a mental case.
Finally, the Soviet Union, Reagan's Evil Empire would have collapsed with or without Reagan. Besides the Polish Pope had a bigger role. The collapse was eventually inevitable due to the Russian people themselves who could no longer believe the lie of a better way under Communism. Even the East Germans under Communism were better off than the Russians and they could see that.
#6 - Sun Feb 6, 2011 11:16 AM ESTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
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