Ronald Reagan's Birthday and the Myth of Reagan

[kiwiman127]

I voted for Reagan twice and still respect the man. He revitalized a nation that was starting to doubt itself and reminded us that we were a great nation

I think he played his role in the fall of the Soviet empire exactly as it should have been played giving Gorby support and not exploiting the situation

I think the impacts of his supply side/trickle down policies are starting to be felt as they have destroyed the middle class and exploded our national debt

FFS, Reagan left office 27 years ago. The Bushes, Clinton and especially Obama are far more responsible today's economic problems.

We are talking about Reagan and have had the time to understand the real impact of his policies

It was Reagan who totally revamped our tax structure and it is for the most part the tax structure we have today. His promises of trickle down did not pan out and created a redistribution of wealth that we still bear today

So what? 27 years is a long time, most of which we've had Democratic rule. Reagan left an economy of almost uninterrupted economic growth for 2 decades. It's way too late to point fingers at Reagan.

It seems the folks are discounting the fact that Reagan worked with a Democratic Congress, who share the accolades and failures of the Reagan Administration.
"27 years is a long time, most of which we've had Democratic rule." That'd be true if we didn't have separate branches of government. All totaled it's a wash. 15 years of Democratic presidents, 12 years of GOP presidents. Congress, we have had 15 years of the GOP and 12 years of Democrats.

No, we've had 18 years of Dem control of the Senate and 12 in the House, plus 15 in the White House since Reagan left. Don't tell me there wasn't the opportunity for Democrats to save the middle class, please!

The House controls the purse strings, but the Senate also went back and forth during the Bush years, so I'll agree you there.
My post never mentioned the Middle Class, but my Signature does.
The Dems did raise the Minimum Wage which does help the Middle Class, which the Conservative Cato Institute points outs:
"However, the 39 percent hike in the minimum wage proposed by President Obama would benefit two-thirds of workers in households with annual incomes over twice the poverty line ($47,100 for a family of four) and 40 percent of workers with household incomes three times the federal poverty level ($70,650 for a family of four) - or three times the percentage of poor workers who would benefit."
But overall, both parties haven't done much to help the middle class.

 

[LogikAndReazon]

If only Walter Mondale had pulled out one more state !

Lol

 

[Meathead]

If only Walter Mondale had pulled out one more state !

Lol

Well, he got Minnesota and DC. Electoral vote 525 - 13. LOL

 

[kiwiman127]

I agree with rightwinger's post earlier in the thread, Ronald Reagan had the persona that America needed at that point in this country's history.
The country's mood was still from Watergate and then we had the Carter, who was weak on policy. So we as a country floundered.
Reagan brought positivity to the presidency. He didn't always do the right thing, but this country needed some positive vibes and Reagan delivered.

 

[JoeB131]

Without Reagan, we would still be fighting the Soviets. If you could go back in time, would you take a chance on ANY other president who may or may not have taken the hard steps to weaken the Soviet Union to the point of collapse? That is all that matters.

1) Reagan had nothing to do with the fall of the Soviets.

2) Given what a mess the former USSR is now, I'm not entirely sure the demise of the USSR was a good thing. Just like I don't think the fall of the British Empire was a good thing, given what some of those countries have become.

 

[MarathonMike]

You glossed over the fact that Reagan inherited a near hyper-inflationary mess from the Democratic disaster who was and is Jimmy Carter. I'm glad you at least grudgingly called him a good President, although that falls far short of the mark. Unions suck so Reagan again gets big Kudos on that front. Free trade attack on the middle class? I partially agree that as those policies took effect there were people hurt economically but I would also say that it propelled the Baby Boomers. In Capitalism you don't have all winners. It's up to you to figure out the rules, get in the game and kick ass. That is Reagan's legacy.

 

[JoeB131]

Reagan is no myth. Reagan is legend and the standard by which all modern presidents are judged. Rightfully so.

Oh, EuroTroll you are so cute when you try to participate in a conversation.

 

[JoeB131]

FFS, Reagan left office 27 years ago. The Bushes, Clinton and especially Obama are far more responsible today's economic problems.

But Reagan set in motion all the crisis that have followed. When he fired the PATCO workers, he told the wealthy that the government would no longer have hte back of working people. The demise of the middle class and all the problems that followed are on him.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Without Reagan, we would still be fighting the Soviets. If you could go back in time, would you take a chance on ANY other president who may or may not have taken the hard steps to weaken the Soviet Union to the point of collapse? That is all that matters.

1) Reagan had nothing to do with the fall of the Soviets.

You are entitled to your opinion, but why do you believe that? I gave good reasons why he was greatly responsible already.

2) Given what a mess the former USSR is now, I'm not entirely sure the demise of the USSR was a good thing. Just like I don't think the fall of the British Empire was a good thing, given what some of those countries have become.

If you were old enough or not brain dead at the time, you'd be ecstatic the Soviets are gone.

 

[JoeB131]

You are entitled to your opinion, but why do you believe that? I gave good reasons why he was greatly responsible already.

1) The USSR did not fall because of anything we did. The USSR Fell because 300 million not-Russians got tired of being ruled by 150 million Russians who just didn't want to bother anymore.

2) Contrary to Reagan's boasts, the fall of the USSR is not something he predicted. In fact, the Army was still publishing "threat" manuals with all these glossy pictures of Russian military hardware and acted like not a thing was wrong. Our intelligence agencies were caught flat-footed when the USSR fell.

3) Reagan's policies caused more damage than good. Hey remember those "Freedom Fighters" from Afghanistan? ONe of them was Osama Bin Laden.

If you were old enough or not brain dead at the time, you'd be ecstatic the Soviets are gone.

Sorry, I find a world where big corporations have more power than nation states MUCH scarier.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

1) The USSR did not fall because of anything we did. The USSR Fell because 300 million not-Russians got tired of being ruled by 150 million Russians who just didn't want to bother anymore.

Yea, the Russians got tired because they practically had no food to eat. They were lucky when we gave them grain shipments. Again, no food because it all went to the military to try and keep up in the arms race that Reagan won and broke their back at the same time.

 

[JoeB131]

Yea, the Russians got tired because they practically had no food to eat. They were lucky when we gave them grain shipments. Again, no food because it all went to the military to try and keep up in the arms race that Reagan won and broke their back at the same time.

Yup, so all we had to do to "win" the Cold War was triple the national debt and destroy the middle class.

Brilliant.

 

[Godboy]

Yea, the Russians got tired because they practically had no food to eat. They were lucky when we gave them grain shipments. Again, no food because it all went to the military to try and keep up in the arms race that Reagan won and broke their back at the same time.

Yup, so all we had to do to "win" the Cold War was triple the national debt and destroy the middle class.

Brilliant.

If you take the part out about wining the cold war, it sounds like youre talking about Obama. The truth is, Reagan is widely considered the greatest president we ever had. I understand that bothers you, but too bad.

 

[JoeB131]

If you take the part out about wining the cold war, it sounds like youre talking about Obama. The truth is, Reagan is widely considered the greatest president we ever had. I understand that bothers you, but too bad.

most historians don't rate Reagan as a "Great" president. He usually rates in the middle of the pack and never breaks the top ten.

 

[BULLDOG]

Without Reagan, we would still be fighting the Soviets. If you could go back in time, would you take a chance on ANY other president who may or may not have taken the hard steps to weaken the Soviet Union to the point of collapse? That is all that matters.

Reagan didn't do anything to weaken Russia. All he did was make a speech beside the Berlin Wall after the collapse of Russia was a foregone conclusion.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Progs hate Reagan because he called their home team an Evil Empire, vowed to defeat them and dealt them a crushing defeat that liberated hundreds of millions from the oppression of Soviet Communism.

There are statues of Reagan all throughout Eastern Europe where he is loved and reveared as their Liberator

 

[BULLDOG]

Reagan is no myth. Reagan is legend and the standard by which all modern presidents are judged. Rightfully so.

The right wing tries to endow him with super powers, but in truth he was an old man with Alzheimer's who didn't even know where he was during the last few years of his presidency. Nancy was calling the shots with the help of fortune tellers she called into the white house to advise her..

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Firing PATCO was straight out of the Coolidge playbook where he fired striking police force.

 

[JoeB131]

Progs hate Reagan because he called their home team an Evil Empire, vowed to defeat them and dealt them a crushing defeat that liberated hundreds of millions from the oppression of Soviet Communism.

There are statues of Reagan all throughout Eastern Europe where he is loved and reveared as their Liberator

No, there really aren't.

I'm more worried about the crushing defeat Reagan inflicted on the American Middle class.

 

[JoeB131]

Firing PATCO was straight out of the Coolidge playbook where he fired striking police force.

Yes, endangering millions of people because they asked for a raise was a masterstroke.... of stupidity.