One has to wonder when someone becomes bigger than life. Time passes, vision blurs, and all we can see is perspective of a legacy, and become unable to focus on the brutal reality of days gone bye. I am all for a celebration for the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan...he was a very good Governor for the state of California, and deserves to be praised for his service to the country as our President. BUT, before we begin carving his likeness in Mount Rushmore and naming him the principal architect of the conservative political philosophy, let's take a moment to review some salient points of his presidential administration....
1. He aided and abetted one of the most brutal armies...the Nicaraguan Contras by selling arms to Iran (despite an official embargo), and using the money to train the Contras who were attempting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. The contras engaged in the most violent and brutal forms of warfare.....rape, arson, murder, torture, abduction, and mutilation. And, oh yeah, he lied about it....and his administration destroyed documents in a cover up of the truth by all accounts. Check out these quotes from RR...
"despite the wildly speculative and false stories of arms for hostages and alleged ransom payments, we did not-repeat, did not - trade weapons or anything else for hostages nor will we" November 1986
"a few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and evidence tells me it was not" March 1987
2. He was one of our most popular presidents...this may have been true after he was shot, but as unemployment continued to rise over 10%, his approval rating hovered in the low thirties.
3. He was for smaller government....the truth is government grew over 2.5% during his tenure, including establishing the Veterans Affairs department...however this fact failed to reach his speechwriters.....check out these quotes from RR....
"government isn't the solution to our problems, it is the problem" "the nine most terrifying words in the English language.....I'm from the government and I am here to help"
4. He was an economic genius....under Reagan, the national debt exploded from $700 billion to $3 trillion, unemployment hovered around 10%, the number of families living below the poverty line increased by one-third (despite this fact, he made cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, aid to families with dependant children, school lunch programs and declared unemployment insurance as "a pre-paid vacation plan for free loaders"), and many believe his policies paved the way for the Savings & Loan scandal, which cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
5. He was a tax cutter throughout his administration....his 1981 tax cut was a sweeping measure that reduced taxes for our wealthiest Americans from 70% to 50%, including big breaks for corporations and the oil industry. However one year later with the economy tanking towards recession and the federal deficit spiraling out of control, he signed measures that increased taxes every year of his eight year presidency, except the first year and the last.
Please believe me, I take no pleasure in bringing up these points...I voted for the man twice as Governor, and just as all other Americans,grew to love him for his persona and quick wit. However the present day GOP still hold these principles as if they actually worked then, and will work for the country now.....hopefully they will include a visit to the facts in between the speeches by Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney...for the good of the country before we enter into a Reaganesque recession.
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