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Title: ThinkProgress Celebrates Ronald Reagan's Birthday By Marketing Its Top Ten Lies Intended ro Smear the 20th Century's Greatest President
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URL Source: http://directorblue.blogspot.com/20 ... celebrates-ronald-reagans.html
Published: Feb 6, 2011
Author: directorblue
Post Date: 2011-02-06 16:49:40 by no gnu taxes
Keywords: None
Views: 74319
Comments: 100
It didn't take long for the loons at ThinkRegress to begin attacking the memory of the 20th century's greatest president. The culmination of their effort -- '10 Things Conservatives Don’t Want You To Know About Ronald Reagan' -- is a list of Reagan's policies that conservatives supposedly want to hide from the general public.
Reagan was not the man conservatives claim he was. This image of Reagan as a conservative superhero is myth, created to untie the various factions of the right behind a common leader. In reality, Reagan was no conservative ideologue or flawless commander-in-chief. Reagan regularly strayed from conservative dogma — he raised taxes eleven times as president while tripling the deficit — and he often ended up on the wrong side of history, like when he vetoed an Anti-Apartheid bill.
ThinkProgress' "top 10 things conservatives rarely mention when talking about President Reagan" are as follows:
" 1. Reagan was a serial tax raiser" - Reagan suffered from overwhelming Democrat majorities in Congress when he took office. While he desperately wanted to strip away huge swaths of government (including eliminating the then newly created Department of Education), he had no choice but to compromise with the Democrats who controlled the budgetary purse-strings. When Reagan left office, the top marginal tax rate was 28% (today's it's 35% and under Bill Clinton it was nearly 40%).
"2. Reagan nearly tripled the federal budget deficit by enacting a major tax cut his first year in office and government revenue dropped off precipitously" - Another flat-out lie. Before his 25 percent across-the-board cut in individual income-tax rates went into effect, government receipts from individual income taxes trickled in at $244.1 billion. The year Reagan left office, they totaled $445.7 billion -- an 82 percent jump. As for the deficits, Democrats outspent every one of the nine budgets Reagan proposed but one. Further, Democrats refused to make corresponding cuts in wasteful domestic programs to offset the defense appropriations Reagan needed to combat the Soviet Union after the Carter administration's foreign policy disasters (e.g., Iran, Afghanistan, et. al.).
"3. Unemployment soared after Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts" - Before the full tax-relief package was passed -- against the wishes of many Democrats, by the way -- the jobless rate hit 9.6 percent. But as the cuts rippled through the economy, unemployment dropped every year after 1983, reaching a low of 5.3 percent in 1989. And tax cuts benefited minorities, too. The jobless rate among blacks plunged from 19.5 percent in 1983 to 11.4 percent in 1989.
"4. Reagan grew the size of the federal government tremendously" - this again omits the role of Congressional Democrats who controlled the purse-strings and refused to axe the programs and agencies that Reagan requested. In fact, the media portrayed Reagan as "heartless" and depicted him as "laughable and malevolent" for his attempts to strip away the federal bureaucracy. But the only way the Democrat Congress would accept a defense buildup and tax cuts was for Reagan to agree to their domestic spending agenda. In fact, the budget deficits of the 1980s made the surpluses in the 1990s possible; the balanced budget was aided by surging tax revenues from a healthy, low-tax economy and immense defense savings made possible by the fall of the Soviet Union.
"5. Reagan did little to fight a woman’s right to chose [sic]" - Reagan was adamant about ending the practice of 'abortion on demand' and proposed that legislation be drafted to do so (you can hear Reagan's 1983 address on this subject); but he "had little success in gaining its acceptance by Congress."
" 6. Reagan was a “bellicose peacenik.”" - this is sheer revisionist idiocy; Reagan believed, first and foremost, in peace through strength. He gave dozens of speeches on this topic, rebuilt the U.S. military after Carter had stripped it bare, and created the impetus for the oft-derided SDI ("Star Wars") program that has since become an essential part of U.S. national security strategy. His famous slogans on this topic were "peace through strength" and "trust but verify".
" 7. Reagan gave amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants" - The Democrat leadership in Congress promised to enact strict enforcement measures as a trade for a one-time amnesty deal. In an effort to control the border, Reagan went along with the deal. At the time (1986), the measures were marketed by Democrats as as being able to stop illegal immigration. Ted Kennedy himself sold the enforcement clauses of the law as strong enough to ensure that only a one-time amnesty would be needed. But, as is their standard practice, Democrats lied about sealing the border.
Reagan himself said, "This country has lost control of its borders. And no country can sustain that kind of position."
" 8. Reagan illegally funneled weapons to Iran" -Democrats launched a six-year, $40 million investigation of Reagan in a politically inspired witch-hunt. Reagan was, in fact, found guilty of absolutely nothing. Furthermore, indictments were intentionally handed down mere days before the 1992 election that pitted George H. W. Bush against Bill Clinton -- presumably to levy the maximum amount of political damage on the GOP candidate. Near the end of the investigations, The Baltimore Sun reported that a "federal trial judge in Washington dismissed Oliver North's conviction" and that "[c]riticism of Mr. Walsh's prosecution and of the law that authorized it will become more intense [because the] public has gotten precious little from his [at the time] $30 million, four-year effort".
"9. Reagan vetoed a comprehensive anti-Apartheid act" - Reagan vehemently opposed apartheid ("Apartheid is morally wrong and politically unacceptable [... the] United States cannot maintain cordial relations with [such] a government") but he did not support the approach advocated by Congress. He issued an executive order restricting trade with the Pretoria government and virtually ended inter-bank dealings. But he believed that Congress' unilateral sanctions would harm blacks most of all and eradicate all of the leverage he wanted to bring to bear on South Africa. He wanted a timetable for the elimination of apartheid laws, the release of all political prisoners (especially Nelson Mandela) and a removal of the ban on black political movements. He felt he could not negotiate with the South African government if he had nothing to trade. His 1986 speech -- "Ending Apartheid in South Africa" -- comprehensively described his plans and approach.
" 10. Reagan helped create the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden" - Gee, next they'll be complaining that we had to side with the Soviets to defeat the Nazis. This sort of leftist lunacy simply rewrites history. We needed to sabotage the Soviets' efforts in Afghanistan to prevent a dramatic power-shift in the Middle East. Blaming Reagan for the Taliban and Bin Laden is like blaming Henry Ford for the problem of too many scrap tires.
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#46. To: A K A Stone, Godwinson (#43)
But the GOP still considers Abe to be their Greatest POTUS. 8D
I didn't say a lot of stuff. Jackson was a great president that looked out for our interests. Unlike the presidents of today.
Now that we have a central bank, how do you explain the Great Depression, other than FDR exacerbating it with the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? How do you explain the current depression? We have your statist fantasy bank and everything is turned upside down.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
No No NO. Reagan has eclipsed Abe. Abe is a curious guy. We can't know what would have happened after the civil war after he was assassinated. So I think there were good and bad things about Abe.
Do you deny leftists and outright Communist were and remain the greatest genocide practitioners in history? It's how you get your agenda passed.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
"Our Interests" specifically Not including the First Nation peoples: At least 60 million. Of which we broke every treaty made with them and continue to this day to plunder. Very bad karma. ;}
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over. The central bank is not like the US Banks of old. In any case Jackson's attack on the 2nd US Bank was based on the economy of his era - you don't learn any lessons from it because the economy is different. Jackson's opposition to the US Bank was due more to the ideology of that era were Southern Plantationers wanted the US Bank to be closed in favor of state banks while northeners like Madison wanted a national bank. What caused the current collapse is the same that caused the earlier collapse - unregulated financial transactions - speculations - gambling with other peoples money.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Communism killed 100 million people over 90 years give or take. How many died due to the Mongolian hordes? European colonization of the Americas, Africa and Asia (including the death toll from Britain's policies causing the sale of Opium to China and starvation in Ireland) or what was done in the Belgian Congo? Those are not easily calculated....
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
You are changing the goal posts again. You think a central bank is the answer to staving off economic downturns. The 20th Century is a rebuttal to your centriststatist viewpoint.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
That you casually dismiss in excess of 100 million murdered for not thinking correctly and then go on to equivocate is sickening and to be expected from a socialist like you.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
Where did I mention this?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I did? I just pointed out that others are not that far behind.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
When I said get rid of the Federal Reserve, you came out foaming at the mouth, posting one scree after another about the absolute need for centralized banking.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
So, more than 100 million murdered is acceptable to you, Pol Pot?
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
That is your recollection not mine. All I mentioned was that every industrialized nation on earth has some sort of central bank or financial system. What system would you propose America adopt? The German Bundesbank? I think the Bundesbank operates very much like the US Bank once did - but it is not like the U.S. Federal Reserve.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
No, I am saying that pig Andrew Jackson should be considered as the Pol Pot of his era.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Andrew Jackson was nothing like Pol Pot.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
Correct, Pol Pot murdered his own people while Jackson genocided non Americans.... other than that.... Jackson's trail of tears killed 4,000 of 15,000 Cherokees - that's 27% of their population. Pol Pot killed roughly 20% of his population.......
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act a day or so after FDR assumed office in 1933. That Act gave him the power to so declare.
The Bill passed in the House with 244 Republicans and 20 Democrats voting for the Bill and in the Senate with 39 Republicans and 5 Democrats voting in favor. It was signed into law by President Hoover. Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act was a Republican project.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
Most of the European Central Banks are now part of the European System of Central Banks which are subordinate to the Europeam Central bank.
As was Prohibition. Imagine the damage that did to the economy. Organized crime is still living off the wealth generated from that Republican policy.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
You're arguing with someone who tried to blame Obama in 2010 for something that Boy Blunder did in 2008.
Yes, but I don't think they operate like the Federal Reserve does?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Which was signed into law by FDR. That is one of the checks and balances imposed by the Constitution. Congress can pass anything it wants and a president is ultimately responsible for signing it into law. Or not.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
Whore, you never got back to me about posting your picture, porky?
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
In 1930?
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
Interest rate and currency decisions for the EU are made by the ECB. The Bundesbank is responsible for overseeing that policy in Germany.
Part of Hoover's platform was a promise to farmers that he would increase tarrifs on agricultural products. Smoot-Hawley was more broad based.
Weeks after. war that isn't the way it works. You should know that the congress passes an act then the Senate has to pass it then the president signs it. The president doesn't do something then the congress passes a bill. Are you really that dumb?
Uh...Stone...hooo boy... The CONGRESS = House of Representatives AND the Senate If a bill passes CONGRESS it has been passed by BOTH the House and the Senate. FDR was inaugurated on March 4th. The Act was passed March 9th.
If a bill passes CONGRESS it has been passed by BOTH the House and the Senate. Don't be an ass. While you are technically correct, the term "Conress" is COMMONLY used to desribe just the house in colloquial speak.
Now, I know I’m not going to change the minds of any of the True Believers…those who read all of Reverend Al’s sermons, and say things like, “You know, global warming can mean warmer OR colder, wetter OR drier, cloudier OR sunnier, windier OR calmer, …”. Can I get an ‘amen’??
So when did the piece of shit FDR close the banks. Before or after the act passed? It was before which makes him a usurping shit sucking piece of Obama.
most banks were closed already due to bank-runs, FDR's action was mostly symbolic. Thanks to Hoover and crew the US bank system had failed before FDR took office.
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
FDR ordered his Treasury Secretary to, in essence, suspend UST support for the banking system until the Treasury was certain of a bank's solvency. So, on one hand while "declaring" a bank holiday prior to the act being passed, he effectively and legally shut down the banking system by issuing a legal order to his Treasury Secretary. Tell me again how the Senate isn't part of the Congress tho. I want to learn.
FDR was a piece of shit. May he burn in hell for eternity.
Have you ever heard of the Senate. They have separate powers.
Yea so? Have you heard of the Constitution and what it requires for a bill to pass the Congress and be submitted to POTUS foir a signature? Hint: Article I Section 7.
A K A Stone, what is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? Can you make the American right wing any less attractive?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
The chimp movie? V the Gettysburg Address? Let's get serious. "We can't know what would have happened after the civil war after he was assassinated." Yes we can. He planned on bring the South in ASAP. The Generals/Jay Cooks/Goulds/JPMorgans wanted to suck it dry thru Reconstruction. And so Abe was shot.
How's the Gulf Coast evacuation proceeding, mcgoon? Is everything dead down there except you?
Comments (87 - 100) not displayed.
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#47. To: Godwinson (#45)
#48. To: Godwinson (#41)
#49. To: mcgowanjm (#46)
#50. To: Godwinson (#45)
#51. To: A K A Stone (#47)
ackson was a great president that looked out for our interests.
#52. To: Rudgear (#48)
Now that we have a central bank, how do you explain the Great Depression, other than FDR exacerbating it with the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? How do you explain the current depression? We have your statist fantasy bank and everything is turned upside down.
#53. To: Rudgear (#50)
(Edited)
Do you deny leftists and outright Communist were and remain the greatest genocide practitioners in history? It's how you get your agenda passed.
#54. To: Godwinson (#52)
#55. To: Godwinson (#53)
#56. To: Rudgear (#54)
You think a central bank is the answer to staving off economic downturns.
#57. To: Rudgear (#55)
That you casually dismiss in excess of 100 million murdered for not thinking correctly and then go on to equivocate is sickening and to be expected from a socialist like you.
#58. To: Godwinson (#56)
#59. To: Godwinson (#57)
#60. To: Rudgear (#58)
When I said get rid of the Federal Reserve, you came out foaming at the mouth, posting one scree after another about the absolute need for centralized banking.
#61. To: Rudgear (#59)
So, more than 100 million murdered is acceptable to you, Pol Pot?
#62. To: Godwinson (#61)
#63. To: Rudgear (#62)
(Edited)
Andrew Jackson was nothing like Pol Pot.
#64. To: A K A Stone (#31)
Because we elect a president not a dictator.
#65. To: Rudgear (#48)
...FDR exacerbating it with the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act?
#66. To: Godwinson (#60)
German Bundesbank? I think the Bundesbank operates very much like the US Bank once did - but it is not like the U.S. Federal Reserve.
#67. To: lucysmom, Rudgear (#65)
Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act was a Republican project.
#68. To: lucysmom (#65)
(Edited)
Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act was a Republican project.
#69. To: war (#66)
#70. To: lucysmom (#65)
#71. To: war (#68)
#72. To: Rudgear (#70)
Which was signed into law by FDR.
#73. To: Godwinson (#69)
Yes, but I don't think they operate like the Federal Reserve does?
#74. To: lucysmom (#72)
#75. To: war (#64)
Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act a day or so after FDR assumed office in 1933. That Act gave him the power to so declare.
#76. To: A K A Stone (#75)
You should know that the congress passes an act then the Senate has to pass it then the president signs it.
#77. To: war (#76)
The CONGRESS = House of Representatives AND the Senate
#78. To: war (#76)
#79. To: A K A Stone (#78)
So when did the piece of shit FDR close the banks. Before or after the act passed? It was before which makes him a usurping shit sucking piece of Obama.
#80. To: A K A Stone (#78)
(Edited)
So when did the piece of shit FDR close the banks. Before or after the act passed? It was before which makes him a usurping shit sucking piece of Obama.
#81. To: war (#80)
#82. To: war (#80)
#83. To: A K A Stone (#82)
Have you ever heard of the Senate. They have separate powers.
#84. To: war, A K A Stone (#83)
#85. To: A K A Stone (#49)
No No NO. Reagan has eclipsed Abe.
#86. To: mcgowanjm (#85)
Let's get serious.
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