Quote:
Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan
Honest question: What do you not like about Reagan?
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What was to like about Reagan? The
hypocrisy of the mythos is enough to make you puke. Conservatives hold Reagan up as this great leader and being responsible for so many great things that have become tenets of conservative dogma. Too bad that reality doesn't hold up. Try these on for size.
We don't negotiate with terrorists. Oh, Reagan negotiated with terrorists alright. He actually
committed treason in doing so. Ronald Reagan negotiated with the Iranians through a secret back channel for the release of the hostages held at the American embassy. He did this while he was a private citizen, undermining the efforts of the Carter administration.
Tax cutter extraordinaire. Yes, Reagan cut taxes in his first budget, and in a huge way. The rich never got richer under any other President. But Reagan also
raised taxes in each of his subsequent budgets, and primarily on the backs of the
middle class and poor.
No deficit spending. Reagan was the
King of deficit spending. He ran up more crippling debt than any other President. All of those trillions of dollars he borrowed to build up the military were all put on the government credit card, and at interest rates ranging from 16-18%. As a country it will take a century to pay for what he borrowed because of the interest being accrued.
Small government conservative. One of the biggest lies told about Reagan. Reagan's expansion of the military was the largest contributors to the size of government in US history. He also dramatically
increased the numbers of fed workers to support the behemoth he had created.
Tax cuts create jobs. This bull#### was started under Reagan and continues to be promoted today. After Reagan's 1981 budget
unemployment soared to almost 10%. Tax cuts do not spurn economic growth. Reaganomics was a complete bust, and even his own administration admitted that. H.W. Bush called Reaganomics Voodoo Economics because he knew what that smell was coming from the White House. The only thing that created a boom during the Reagan years was the money he poured into the industrial military complex.
Anti-wealth transfer. Reagan was a huge proponent of wealth transfer, just not the way conservatives like to talk about it. Conservatives are all against transfers from the rich to the poor, but they don't say a word about the other way. Reagan's budgets were total wealth transfers, moving money from the
middle class and giving it to the rich.
Reagan won the cold war. Total fabrication on the part of conservatives. Afghanistan won the cold war for the west. The
Soviet foray into Afghanistan coupled with three consecutive crop failures ended up bleeding the Soviet economy dry and bringing an end to the Soviet Union.
Agriculture failures were the primary driver, but the Soviets' attempts to take over Afghanistan was the final nail in the coffin.
Strong military leader. Reagan was the original cut-and-runner. When the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed, Reagan pulled all troops out and went home. Reagan was good at rattling the sabre, and almost
started a thermonuclear WWIII, but he really was a military weakling. Looking for a decisive military victory to pump up his legacy he launched the
invasion of Grenada.
Reagan was a great thinker and truth teller. Reagan was a total puppet who was effective at delivering whatever speech was put in front of him. His mind was completely gripped by Alzheimer's disease by time he earned his second term. Whether it was the dementia talking Reagan was the original liar in chief, coming up with lies like "
Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do" and "Mt. St. Helens was responsible for the release of all the sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere, not industrialization and automobiles." Reagan was almost Trumpian in his ability to lie convincingly, prompting Larry Speakes to coin the phrase, "If you tell a lie five times it become true."
The War on drugs. Reagan
started us down this road, but he didn't believe in it at all. He continued to bloat budgets for the military and law enforcement in battling this "war" all the while working directly against it
importing drugs and selling them to
fund allies in Latin America.
Reagan was the standard bearer for American decency. Reagan and his administration were as dirty as the day is long. From starting with
negotiating with terrorists, to f
unding illegal arms deals by importing and selling drugs, to
raiding the Social Security Administration of funds, his administration was crooked. The rules never applied to these guys and they got caught repeatedly. I can't imagine how this would have played out for a Democrat.
Reagan was tough on immigration. Yeah, not true at all. Reagan granted
amnesty to 3 million illegals, which allowed for a flood of immigrants from other nations.
Reagan was great strategist. No, not at all. Reagan, and his administration, we all about the now and never considered the blowback for their actions. Reagan was all about scoring immediate wins, but didn't think about where his moves would lead the nation. His support of mujaheddin in Afghanistan gave birth to the
Taliban, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
The myth and the legacy of Reagan just don't stack up. Reagan was a fraud and so is the majority of what people believe about him.