The Real Reagan - Poll added!

[m52nickerson]

Salon has been doing a series of article on Ronald Reagan, pointing out why his presidency is largely misunderstood.

"About the Real Reagan series
There is much to appreciate and even like about America's 40th president, and his two terms in office were not without significant achievements. But Ronald Reagan and his presidency are also badly misunderstood. To mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, we are offering what we hope will be a respite from the hagiography that has taken hold elsewhere -- a critical, but fair and respectful, exploration of the real Ronald Reagan."

www.salon.com/news/the_real_reagan/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/02/03/real_reagan_intro

[Vene]

How about this?

[m52nickerson]

Feb 7, 2011 13:04:37 GMT -5 Vene said:

How about this?

Pretty clear and to the point!

[gyeonghwa]

Reagan's administration didn't think AIDS was threat during his presidency.



There's our saint...

[nickiknack]

I hate that fucker, was the worst president ever

[ltfred]

Reagen only escaped the White House without impeachment for treason through luck. Well, luck, and the Republicans institutional advantages over Democrats. That's pretty much all have you have to know about Reagen's presidency.

[Napoleon the Clown]

I've made my opinions on Reagan clear multiple times. I have nothing nice to say about the fucker.

[caseagainstfaith]

10 Things Conservatives Don’t Want You To Know About Ronald Reagan

1. Reagan was a serial tax raiser. As governor of California, Reagan “signed into law the largest tax increase in the history of any state up till then.” Meanwhile, state spending nearly doubled. As president, Reagan “raised taxes in seven of his eight years in office,” including four times in just two years. As former GOP Senator Alan Simpson, who called Reagan “a dear friend,” told NPR, “Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times in his administration — I was there.” “Reagan was never afraid to raise taxes,” said historian Douglas Brinkley, who edited Reagan’s memoir. Reagan the anti-tax zealot is “false mythology,” Brinkley said.

2. Reagan nearly tripled the federal budget deficit. During the Reagan years, the debt increased to nearly $3 trillion, “roughly three times as much as the first 80 years of the century had done altogether.” Reagan enacted a major tax cut his first year in office and government revenue dropped off precipitously. Despite the conservative myth that tax cuts somehow increase revenue, the government went deeper into debt and Reagan had to raise taxes just a year after he enacted his tax cut. Despite ten more tax hikes on everything from gasoline to corporate income, Reagan was never able to get the deficit under control.

3. Unemployment soared after Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts. Unemployment jumped to 10.8 percent after Reagan enacted his much-touted tax cut, and it took years for the rate to get back down to its previous level. Meanwhile, income inequality exploded. Despite the myth that Reagan presided over an era of unmatched economic boom for all Americans, Reagan disproportionately taxed the poor and middle class, but the economic growth of the 1980 did little help them. “Since 1980, median household income has risen only 30 percent, adjusted for inflation, while average incomes at the top have tripled or quadrupled,” the New York Times’ David Leonhardt noted.

Full 10 here - thinkprogress.org/2011/02/05/reagan-centennial/

I know if I was a conservative he wouldn't be my hero. I would be trying to forget he ever took office.

[Jodie]

Didn't he practically commit treason in the way he ran the country?

I've heard that before somewhere.

[dakotabob]

If I was in America, the first thing I would do is record myself dancing on his grave.

[mechtaur]

Feb 9, 2011 14:38:34 GMT -5 Jodie said:

Didn't he practically commit treason in the way he ran the country?

I've heard that before somewhere.

It was the Iran-Contra Affair, and yes it was treason. He only managed to not get impeached because he was able to convince people that he misspoke.

[Old Viking]

Someone said he had prematurely orange hair.

[shadoom]

All this talk of treason and impeachment and dancing on graves; if you swapped Reagan for Obama this thread could easily be on Rapture Ready.

[ltfred]

Feb 10, 2011 1:11:45 GMT -5 @shadoom said:

All this talk of treason and impeachment and dancing on graves; if you swapped Reagan for Obama this thread could easily be on Rapture Ready.

There's just one, minor, difference: Reagen actually did the things he stands accused of, wheras Obama did their opposite.

[Dragon Zachski]

For once, I'm in agreement with ltfred here.