Ronald Reagan Wasn't the Good Guy President Anti-Trump Republicans Want You to Believe In
History has a way of repeating itself, making the passage of time feel like riding a nauseating carousel. In this spinning spiral, we are constantly asked to descend into the past, to revisit familiar faces of evil, and, too often, to remember them for their good, not their bad. Historical revisionism is, in short, not cute!
The carousel of history really threw me for a loop this week as a new ad attacking President Donald Trump asked viewers to compare the 45th president unfavorably to the 40th, Ronald Reagan. Unsurprisingly, a bunch of Republicans want us to remember the movie star turned president as an emblem of American greatness and contrast to the reality star turned president.
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Where to even begin? First, I guess, let me acknowledge that Reagan who spent nearly 30 years acting before moving into politics sure could talk pretty on camera. The former actors charisma was a hugely consequential part of his appeal in the 80s, 20 years after television had altered presidential elections forever. And that charisma, in turn, helped Reagan capitalize on the conditions that gave way to his landslide victory over Democratic president Jimmy Carter in the election that took place the day after the Shining City on a Hill address now being used to attack Trump.
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Reagan was the first Republican elected after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace following the Watergate scandal. The GOP needed someone like him: a charismatic, TV-ready smooth-talker who could turn the economic dissatisfaction of the last year of Carters presidency into a reason to vote red. But despite what the Republican Voters Against Trump might want you to believe, Reagans economic model Reaganomics, as it came to be known is exactly what Trump has been pushing for years.
Its difficult to boil an entire administrations worth of economic policy down to a few words, but for a working definition of Reaganomics, lets look at a few key features of Reagans policies: cutting taxes (especially for the rich) for trickle-down economics, cutting social welfare spending, increasing military spending, and deregulating economic activity in the name of free markets. Reagans path to American greatness meant making rich people pay less in taxes, giving poor people less help, building the imperial forces he used in foreign policy, and making life easier for the capitalist class.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ronald-reagan-bad-president-anti-trump-republicans
Ferrets are Cool
(21,112 posts)He hoodwinked an entire generation. (for the most part)
EarnestPutz
(2,123 posts)....in the home of the KKK, hid his racism behind platitudes about immigrants and whose foreign policy was best characterized by his goal of building a 600 ship Navy so he could rattle sabres in the Caribbean.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,926 posts)of St. Ronnie the Great to persuade those GOP voters who haven't become hopelessly-brainwashed MAGAts that Trump is the opposite of Reagan (even though he really wasn't, he just had better manners and wasn't so obviously demented).
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)really was, just the image of what he was.
And this isn't aimed at us, it's aimed at conservatives and Trumpons who believe in St. Ronnie, or at least the myth.
Thekaspervote
(32,813 posts)At the end he could hardly put two words together, let alone a sentence
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)But that's not important here. If never-Trumpers can use his fake iconic image as a tool to bring down Trump, by all means they should go for it.
Ohiogal
(32,130 posts)Wow, pretty good stuff, Im impressed.
Raven123
(4,906 posts)RainCaster
(10,938 posts)Aristus
(66,487 posts)n/t
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)by getting rid of the Equal Time regulation.
Also removed restrictions on how many minutes of advertising could be sold per hour of TV and paved the way for children's public TV shows to create show-related merchandise.
matt819
(10,749 posts)But if his words can be used against trump, Im all for it. And I thought that video was excellent in that regard. That said, the cultists dont care. Trump could shoot their grannies at one of his Nuremberg rallies and hed still get their votes (though hed lose the grannies).
katmondoo
(6,457 posts)Graham was his favorite Preacher. I wrote him a letter at the time and told him to do his presidential thing and stay out of women's affairs. He got back at me later when I applied for Social Security.
Nululu
(842 posts)Eliminated deductions for interest payments except mortgages, decreased medical and work related deductions and taxed Social Security, taxed disability payments.
Cut taxes to rich while increasing taxes for workers and middle class.
murielm99
(30,779 posts)allowing many people to die needlessly.
Nululu
(842 posts)murielm99
(30,779 posts)minutes after he was inaugurated.
murielm99
(30,779 posts)that George Will stole from the Carter debate team. An honest person would have refused to look at it, or returned it without looking at it.
Response to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)
CatLady78 This message was self-deleted by its author.
roamer65
(36,747 posts)Response to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)
geralmar This message was self-deleted by its author.