Every election year on FoxNews we hear these pundits bring up Reagan over and over again. Was Reagan really that great of a president? What's his appeal? I wasn't old enough to remember his presidency.
Anyone else tired of conservatives bringing up Reagan over and over on Fox News...
- Thread starter Young Grasshopper
- Start date
MomentsofSanity
Lifer
- Jan 25, 2011
- 17,076
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I don't know I've been finding it kind of funny this year. Tons of former Reagan advisors and cabinet members have endorsed Clinton. Hve any actually endorsed Trump at this point?
under Reagan, the war on drugs was massively expanded, AIDs was completely ignored for years and civil rights were opposed.
I guess certain groups need someone to idolize. When you look at the past 50 years of "conservative" presidents, you are left with the list of:
George W Bush
George HW Bush
Ronald Reagan
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
Dwight D Eisenhower
Its pretty obvious the final two choices would be DDE and Reagan, and Reagan is still fresh in the minds of many older Americans, despite some of his actions being direct conflict with what conservatives describe as their current view of America.
George W Bush
George HW Bush
Ronald Reagan
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
Dwight D Eisenhower
Its pretty obvious the final two choices would be DDE and Reagan, and Reagan is still fresh in the minds of many older Americans, despite some of his actions being direct conflict with what conservatives describe as their current view of America.
Thebobo
Lifer
- Jun 19, 2006
- 18,574
- 7,672
- 136
Ah yes Reagan, worst president after Bush 2 imo. The wall of text below is from here https://soapboxie.com/us-politics/21reasonsReaganwasaterriblepresident
Hey Fox report any of this about Reagan?
1. Reagan Supplied Weapons to America's Enemies
Reagan armed Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact that it was widely known Iraq was using chemical weapons against civilian populations in violation of international law.
2. Reagan Ignored the Atrocities Committed by Saddam Hussein
Even after the whole world condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons to kill over 5,000 Kurdish civilians in Iraq, the Reagan administration continued to provide weapons and tactical information to Iraq. Iraq used this information to target its enemies with chemical weapons. Reagan even vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iraq.
3. Reagan Illegally Supplied Arms to Both Sides of the Iran-Iraq War
While he was supplying Iraq with weapons, Reagan also armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in direct violation of a U.S. law that he had signed.
4. Reagan Caved in to the Demands of Terrorists
After several Americans were taken hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, Reagan provided weapons to Iran in exchange for their release. Despite this concession, ultimately more hostages were taken.
5. Reagan Caved in to the Demands of Terrorists Again
After Reagan sent Marines to Beirut for a peacekeeping mission, a terrorist’s truck bomb killed 241 U.S. Marines. Reagan responded by immediately doing exactly what the terrorists wanted, pulling all the troops out of Beirut.
6. Reagan Was Weak in the War on Terrorism
After the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Reagan promised to track down and punish the terrorists who committed that horrible act. He never followed up on that promise.
7. Reagan Didn't Obey His Own Laws
Reagan illegally supplied weapons to Nicaraguan rebels in violation of a law that he himself had signed.
8. Reagan Supported the Violent Overthrow of a Democratically Elected Government
President Reagan illegally supported the Nicaraguan Contras, whom he called “Freedom Fighters,” despite the facts that they killed civilians and wanted to overthrow the democratically elected government to restore the dictatorship that previously existed in Nicaragua.
9. Reagan Started an Unnecessary War to Take Attention away from His Failure in Beirut
Just days after the bombing that killed 241 Marines in Beirut, Reagan launched an attack on the island of Grenada to remove Cuban soldiers there. This successfully took attention away from the devastating loss of those Marines in Beirut.
USS Stark after 37 crew members were killed by an Iraqi missile on May 17, 1987.
10. Reagan Failed to Defend Us from Saddam Hussein
When an Iraqi fighter jet fired a missile into a U.S. Navy ship in 1987, killing 37 men, Reagan did nothing in response to the attack. Iraq is still the only non-allied country to attack a U.S. warship without retaliation.
11. Reagan Helped Create Al Qaeda
The Reagan administration armed and supported the Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan. Many members of the Mujahideen, like Osama bin Laden, used their experience in Afghanistan to help them form the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
12. Reagan Supported the Racist Apartheid Government in South Africa
When the white minority in South Africa (just 10% of the population) brutally repressed the black majority, even denying them the right to vote, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to apply pressure to South Africa to end Apartheid. President Reagan opposed any sanctions on South Africa and vetoed that bill. Congress was forced to override his veto.
13. Reagan Supported the Most Brutal Dictators in the World as Long as He Didn't Consider Them “Communists”
He supported Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Later, when Noriega became too close with Fidel Castro, we suddenly considered him an enemy and removed him from power.
Reagan supported Saddam Hussein when he committed the most brutal atrocities on Earth, killing thousands of his own people. Years later, when Saddam threatened our oil supply, we used these same atrocities as reasons to go to war with him.
Reagan supported Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos even after Marcos killed his political rival and rigged his own reelection.
Reagan supported the brutal regime in El Salvador when it was widely known that they were killing civilians, including Americans. After four American nuns were murdered by Salvadorian soldiers, Reagan’s Secretary of State defended the Salvadorians, suggesting that the nuns might have been shot while trying to run a military roadblock—but this wouldn't explain why they were also raped before they were killed.
14. Reagan’s Administration Had More Documented Corruption Than Any President in U.S. History.
At least 138 Reagan administration officials, including several cabinet members, were investigated for, indicted for, or convicted of crimes. This is the largest number of any U.S. President. Many of them were pardoned by Reagan or President Bush before they could even stand trial.
Reagan Administration officials indicted in the Iran Contra Affair
Secretary of the Interior, James Watt —Indicted on 21 felonies
Attorney General, Edwin Meese —Resigned after investigations of corruption
Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger—Charged with Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned before going to trial
Assistant Secretary of State, Elliot Abrams - Plea bargained for Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned by President Bush
Two National Security Advisors, Robert MacFarlane and John Poindexter—Pleaded guilty to Iran-Contra crimes and were pardoned
Three high ranking CIA officials, Alan Fiers, Clair George and Joseph Fernandez —Convicted and pardoned for Iran-Contra crimes
At least 9 Reagan appointees were convicted of perjury, lying to Congress, obstruction of Congress, or contempt of Congress
15. Reagan Frequently Repeated Bald-Faced Lies Even after They Were Publicly Revealed to Be Untrue
He told stories about having been a U.S. Army photographer assigned to film Nazi death camps. Reagan never visited or filmed any such camps.
He often told a story about a “Chicago Welfare Queen” who had 80 aliases and gotten $150,000 in welfare. She never existed but investigators did find one woman who had two aliases and received $8,000. Reagan continued to tell the false version of the story.
He claimed that trees create more pollution than automobiles, an absurdly untrue statement that he literally pulled out of thin air.
16. Reagan Set Records for Budget Deficits
After criticizing President Carter for having a $50 billion deficit, Reagan’s own deficits exceeded $200 billion. He tripled the national debt in only eight years. Although Republicans blamed Congress for the budget deficits, all eight of the budgets passed by Congress had less spending and smaller deficits than the budgets proposed by Reagan.
17. Reagan's Economic Policies Put Millions of Americans out of Work
When he took office in 1981, unemployment was at 7.5% and dropping. A few months after Reagan’s economic policies took effect, unemployment began to rise again. Millions of people continued to lose their jobs for the next two years until unemployment exceeded 10%. It stayed above 10% for nearly a year, peaking at 10.8%. Three years after he was elected, unemployment was still higher than when he was sworn in.
18. Reagan’s Policies Allowed Hundreds of Thousands of Family Farms to Go out of Business or Declare Bankruptcy
By some accounts, nearly one third of all farms were at risk of being foreclosed during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan vetoed a farm credit bill that would have given farmers some relief. Reagan’s popularity among farmers dropped so low that at one point when discussing the exportation of grain to other countries, Reagan joked that he would like to “keep the grain and export the farmers."
19. Reagan’s Financial Policies Caused the Savings and Loan Industry to Collapse
The financial deregulation and changes to the tax code that President Reagan enacted ultimately caused nearly 750 different financial institutions to fail. All of this cost taxpayers about $150 billion.
20. Reagan Robbed the Social Security Trust Fund to Pay for His Budget Shortfalls
After Reagan cut taxes for the rich, the tax revenue to fund the government was so small that the budget deficit grew to four times what it had been under Jimmy Carter. So Reagan “borrowed” hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social Security trust fund to pay the country’s bills. That money has never been paid back.
21. Reagan Largely Ignored the AIDS Epidemic while Tens of Thousands of People Were Dying of the Disease
Many conservatives in the 1980s believed that AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. Ronald Reagan did not publicly talk about AIDS until the 6th year of his presidency. In 1986, when AIDS fatalities were doubling every year, Reagan proposed cuts in funding for AIDS research.
Yes he was quite the president, bet half the folks on Fox weren't even around then.
Hey Fox report any of this about Reagan?
1. Reagan Supplied Weapons to America's Enemies
Reagan armed Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact that it was widely known Iraq was using chemical weapons against civilian populations in violation of international law.
2. Reagan Ignored the Atrocities Committed by Saddam Hussein
Even after the whole world condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons to kill over 5,000 Kurdish civilians in Iraq, the Reagan administration continued to provide weapons and tactical information to Iraq. Iraq used this information to target its enemies with chemical weapons. Reagan even vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iraq.
3. Reagan Illegally Supplied Arms to Both Sides of the Iran-Iraq War
While he was supplying Iraq with weapons, Reagan also armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in direct violation of a U.S. law that he had signed.
4. Reagan Caved in to the Demands of Terrorists
After several Americans were taken hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, Reagan provided weapons to Iran in exchange for their release. Despite this concession, ultimately more hostages were taken.
5. Reagan Caved in to the Demands of Terrorists Again
After Reagan sent Marines to Beirut for a peacekeeping mission, a terrorist’s truck bomb killed 241 U.S. Marines. Reagan responded by immediately doing exactly what the terrorists wanted, pulling all the troops out of Beirut.
6. Reagan Was Weak in the War on Terrorism
After the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Reagan promised to track down and punish the terrorists who committed that horrible act. He never followed up on that promise.
7. Reagan Didn't Obey His Own Laws
Reagan illegally supplied weapons to Nicaraguan rebels in violation of a law that he himself had signed.
8. Reagan Supported the Violent Overthrow of a Democratically Elected Government
President Reagan illegally supported the Nicaraguan Contras, whom he called “Freedom Fighters,” despite the facts that they killed civilians and wanted to overthrow the democratically elected government to restore the dictatorship that previously existed in Nicaragua.
9. Reagan Started an Unnecessary War to Take Attention away from His Failure in Beirut
Just days after the bombing that killed 241 Marines in Beirut, Reagan launched an attack on the island of Grenada to remove Cuban soldiers there. This successfully took attention away from the devastating loss of those Marines in Beirut.
USS Stark after 37 crew members were killed by an Iraqi missile on May 17, 1987.
10. Reagan Failed to Defend Us from Saddam Hussein
When an Iraqi fighter jet fired a missile into a U.S. Navy ship in 1987, killing 37 men, Reagan did nothing in response to the attack. Iraq is still the only non-allied country to attack a U.S. warship without retaliation.
11. Reagan Helped Create Al Qaeda
The Reagan administration armed and supported the Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan. Many members of the Mujahideen, like Osama bin Laden, used their experience in Afghanistan to help them form the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
12. Reagan Supported the Racist Apartheid Government in South Africa
When the white minority in South Africa (just 10% of the population) brutally repressed the black majority, even denying them the right to vote, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to apply pressure to South Africa to end Apartheid. President Reagan opposed any sanctions on South Africa and vetoed that bill. Congress was forced to override his veto.
13. Reagan Supported the Most Brutal Dictators in the World as Long as He Didn't Consider Them “Communists”
He supported Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Later, when Noriega became too close with Fidel Castro, we suddenly considered him an enemy and removed him from power.
Reagan supported Saddam Hussein when he committed the most brutal atrocities on Earth, killing thousands of his own people. Years later, when Saddam threatened our oil supply, we used these same atrocities as reasons to go to war with him.
Reagan supported Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos even after Marcos killed his political rival and rigged his own reelection.
Reagan supported the brutal regime in El Salvador when it was widely known that they were killing civilians, including Americans. After four American nuns were murdered by Salvadorian soldiers, Reagan’s Secretary of State defended the Salvadorians, suggesting that the nuns might have been shot while trying to run a military roadblock—but this wouldn't explain why they were also raped before they were killed.
14. Reagan’s Administration Had More Documented Corruption Than Any President in U.S. History.
At least 138 Reagan administration officials, including several cabinet members, were investigated for, indicted for, or convicted of crimes. This is the largest number of any U.S. President. Many of them were pardoned by Reagan or President Bush before they could even stand trial.
Reagan Administration officials indicted in the Iran Contra Affair
Secretary of the Interior, James Watt —Indicted on 21 felonies
Attorney General, Edwin Meese —Resigned after investigations of corruption
Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger—Charged with Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned before going to trial
Assistant Secretary of State, Elliot Abrams - Plea bargained for Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned by President Bush
Two National Security Advisors, Robert MacFarlane and John Poindexter—Pleaded guilty to Iran-Contra crimes and were pardoned
Three high ranking CIA officials, Alan Fiers, Clair George and Joseph Fernandez —Convicted and pardoned for Iran-Contra crimes
At least 9 Reagan appointees were convicted of perjury, lying to Congress, obstruction of Congress, or contempt of Congress
15. Reagan Frequently Repeated Bald-Faced Lies Even after They Were Publicly Revealed to Be Untrue
He told stories about having been a U.S. Army photographer assigned to film Nazi death camps. Reagan never visited or filmed any such camps.
He often told a story about a “Chicago Welfare Queen” who had 80 aliases and gotten $150,000 in welfare. She never existed but investigators did find one woman who had two aliases and received $8,000. Reagan continued to tell the false version of the story.
He claimed that trees create more pollution than automobiles, an absurdly untrue statement that he literally pulled out of thin air.
16. Reagan Set Records for Budget Deficits
After criticizing President Carter for having a $50 billion deficit, Reagan’s own deficits exceeded $200 billion. He tripled the national debt in only eight years. Although Republicans blamed Congress for the budget deficits, all eight of the budgets passed by Congress had less spending and smaller deficits than the budgets proposed by Reagan.
17. Reagan's Economic Policies Put Millions of Americans out of Work
When he took office in 1981, unemployment was at 7.5% and dropping. A few months after Reagan’s economic policies took effect, unemployment began to rise again. Millions of people continued to lose their jobs for the next two years until unemployment exceeded 10%. It stayed above 10% for nearly a year, peaking at 10.8%. Three years after he was elected, unemployment was still higher than when he was sworn in.
18. Reagan’s Policies Allowed Hundreds of Thousands of Family Farms to Go out of Business or Declare Bankruptcy
By some accounts, nearly one third of all farms were at risk of being foreclosed during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan vetoed a farm credit bill that would have given farmers some relief. Reagan’s popularity among farmers dropped so low that at one point when discussing the exportation of grain to other countries, Reagan joked that he would like to “keep the grain and export the farmers."
19. Reagan’s Financial Policies Caused the Savings and Loan Industry to Collapse
The financial deregulation and changes to the tax code that President Reagan enacted ultimately caused nearly 750 different financial institutions to fail. All of this cost taxpayers about $150 billion.
20. Reagan Robbed the Social Security Trust Fund to Pay for His Budget Shortfalls
After Reagan cut taxes for the rich, the tax revenue to fund the government was so small that the budget deficit grew to four times what it had been under Jimmy Carter. So Reagan “borrowed” hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social Security trust fund to pay the country’s bills. That money has never been paid back.
21. Reagan Largely Ignored the AIDS Epidemic while Tens of Thousands of People Were Dying of the Disease
Many conservatives in the 1980s believed that AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. Ronald Reagan did not publicly talk about AIDS until the 6th year of his presidency. In 1986, when AIDS fatalities were doubling every year, Reagan proposed cuts in funding for AIDS research.
Yes he was quite the president, bet half the folks on Fox weren't even around then.
umbrella39
Lifer
- Jun 11, 2004
- 13,816
- 1,126
- 126
LOL it's GD hilarious. If Reagan were still alive and running today, the FoxNews generation of low information TrumpTard f'wits would be calling him a socialist, liberal POS. In today's day and age, Reagan would be considered slightly left of Obama.
Fanatical Meat
Lifer
- Feb 4, 2009
- 35,862
- 17,403
- 136
As a guy who grew up then, people wanted a war on drugs, AIDs was barely understood thing that struck promiscuous gay men, civil rights were better than they were in the 70s. Perspective is important.
With today's Republican Party Reagan would have ended up being a Democrat
Thebobo
Lifer
- Jun 19, 2006
- 18,574
- 7,672
- 136
I grew up before then.
The conservative/republican party wanted a war on drugs. not everyone. They were in wrong and destroyed many lives. Weed almost became legal in the 70s in fact it was in many states.
Between 1973 and 1977, however, eleven states decriminalized marijuana possession. In January 1977, President Jimmy Carter was inaugurated on a campaign platform that included marijuana decriminalization. In October 1977, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use.
Aids was understood well enough not to cut research.
HamburgerBoy
Lifer
- Apr 12, 2004
- 27,111
- 318
- 126
He's all the Republicans have. They can't praise Nixon, and it makes them look silly if they have to go all the way back to Eisenhower (especially when Eisenhower was further to the left than any Republican president since him).
EDIT: abj13 already said it
EDIT: abj13 already said it
Eisenhower wouldn't win election as dog catcher on the GOP ticket these days.
bradly1101
Diamond Member
And secretive deals and proxy wars. I can't think of any good stuff. He did not win the Cold War, economics ended that.
MongGrel
Lifer
- Dec 3, 2013
- 38,466
- 3,067
- 121
I voted for Reagan twice when I was young, then I grew up.
BoomerD
No Lifer
- Feb 26, 2006
- 66,259
- 14,684
- 146
Thank you for that. (you left out the whole "Ronnie based a lot of his decisions based on Nancy's astrologer's predictions)
IMO, Ronnie Rayguns was the worst president in modern history...until GWB came along and took the crown.
sportage
Lifer
- Feb 1, 2008
- 11,492
- 3,163
- 136
Reagan AND Lincoln.
As if either have a rats ass to do with the current state of the republican party.
I think we should dig both of these past presidents up, and just see if they are turning over and over in their grave?
Which no doubt they are.
trenchfoot
Lifer
- Aug 5, 2000
- 15,782
- 8,359
- 136
DrDoug
Diamond Member
- Jan 16, 2014
- 3,580
- 1,629
- 136
In praise of Ronnie Reagan I can say that he was as good a president as he was an actor.
Close, he was a better actor as a President. Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of mental patients across the nation. He helped to free them from their institutions and now the seeds he sowed have borne fruits. Lotsa fruits...
Donald Trump has his base.
Fanatical Meat
Lifer
- Feb 4, 2009
- 35,862
- 17,403
- 136
There was a cute scene in that stupid Opera movie about one of the long term butlers, I forgot the name. Reagan asked to butler to take an envelope of money and mail it to a woman who wrote the White House looking for help but he didn't want Nancy to know.
Apparently its true, Reagan did occasionally send cash to people looking for help. Strange, innocent, endearing and naive all at the same time.
Apparently its true, Reagan did occasionally send cash to people looking for help. Strange, innocent, endearing and naive all at the same time.
Starbuck1975
Lifer
- Jan 6, 2005
- 14,698
- 1,909
- 126
The left has as much irrational hatred for Reagan as the right does for Bill Clinton.
When I was a kid growing up, I played hockey, and every April we would have an awards dinner of sorts. One year in particular I got up to go the bathroom, and in the hallway adjacent to the bathroom was a television. As I walked by, all the servers and most of the adults were plastered to the television.
President Reagan was giving a speech on our bombing of Libya. The presence he commanded through that television set a template in my young mind of what a President should be.
As an adult, I've come to learn of the scandals and poor economic policies that also categorized his legacy. But he was the right leader at a pivotal time in American history, and had many redeeming qualities.
When I was a kid growing up, I played hockey, and every April we would have an awards dinner of sorts. One year in particular I got up to go the bathroom, and in the hallway adjacent to the bathroom was a television. As I walked by, all the servers and most of the adults were plastered to the television.
President Reagan was giving a speech on our bombing of Libya. The presence he commanded through that television set a template in my young mind of what a President should be.
As an adult, I've come to learn of the scandals and poor economic policies that also categorized his legacy. But he was the right leader at a pivotal time in American history, and had many redeeming qualities.
Fanatical Meat
Lifer
- Feb 4, 2009
- 35,862
- 17,403
- 136
theeedude
Lifer
- Feb 5, 2006
- 35,787
- 6,197
- 126
Yes, and he used those qualities to destroy the working middle class that voted for him. Being a good politician and a good President are two different things.
ivwshane
Lifer
- May 15, 2000
- 33,510
- 17,003
- 136
Lol irrational? People is this thread have literally given a list of deplorable actions committed by Regan. Are any of the things on the list not true or exaggerated? No? Then it would appear that the "hatred" is exactly the opposite of irrational.
Starbuck1975
Lifer
- Jan 6, 2005
- 14,698
- 1,909
- 126
Starbuck1975
Lifer
- Jan 6, 2005
- 14,698
- 1,909
- 126
Yes he enacted economic policies that hurt the middle class, as has every President since the dawn of globalization.
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