Has The Republican Party Abandoned Ronald Reagan?

By Victor C. Krumm

One of the most renowned Ronald Reagan quotes is: “I didn’t leave the Democratic party. It left me.”

And, now, just months after he’d have celebrated his 100th birthday, President Reagan been deserted again, this time by the party that publicly reveres him as the patriarch of modern American conservatism while running away from who he was and what he did while President.

FEAR Factor

Increasingly, it would appear that the extremists who have taken command of the party that Lincoln made are governed less by genuine principle and more by raw FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real).

1. Taxes

Like the Queen in Alice and Wonderland, any Republican venturing to contemplate—even consider—raising taxes on the wealthy to help meet the demands of America is met with the chorus: “Off with his head!”

One wonders if Mr. Reagan would certainly have shaken his head in disbelief.

Of course, he increased taxes eleven times while in office, including four times in two years.

Yet, the “myth” of Reagan as the great tax cutter lives on.

FEAR.

2. America’s Deficit

President Obama is widely denounced by his opponents for America’s growing deficit.

No matter that it is mostly the result of Republican decisions and actions before Obama was elected. During President George W. Bush’es eight years as President, the country’s deficit skyrocketed nearly 6 trillion dollars even as Vice President Richard so blithely dismissed it “Deficits don’t matter.”

Obama’s policies are projected to increase the deficit by about a trillion and a half dollars—less than 25% of the deficit run up by President Bush.

Yet the “myth” is loudly proclaimed as fact that Democrats are big spenders and the country should hearken back to the days of that great deficit hawk, Ronald Reagan.

However, the truth is, in Reagan’s eight years in power, the deficit increased more than three trillion dollars (are you starting to see a Republican pattern here?) which was more than the total deficits for all American presidencies in the 20th Century combined (and twice as much as they’re projected to be (based on current policies) if Obama is reelected and serves eight years).

While it is fair to observe that Obama is a big spender, he’s a relative miser compared to Mr. Reagan and Mr. Bush.

FEAR.

3. Immigration

Like taxes, the battle cry of anti-immigration stirs the blood of nearly all red-blooded Republicans.

But how did Ronald Reagan feel? Here is where he stood: “I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.”

He believed so strongly about it that he granted amnesty to more than 3,000,000 illegal aliens.

FEAR.

4. America’s Debt Ceiling

We all vividly recall the Republican Congressional brinksmanship that almost put America into default—and which led one of the credit agencies to downgrade America’s creditworthiness for the only time in the nation’s history.

Some extremist politicians even went as far as to call for default.

What would Reagan have thought of this? In a 1987 nationwide address, he told the country:

“Unfortunately, Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest markets would skyrocket. Instability would occur in financial markets and the federal deficit would soar.

“The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. It means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility — two things that set us apart in much of the world.”

Indeed, during President Reagan’s two terms, the debt ceiling was raised 17 times.

FEAR.

Which leads me to this. Of all the Republican presidents in the last half century (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, and his son, George Bush) why is it that the Grand Old Party has deserted its most respected icon?

Whatever happened to “Win One for the Gipper? “.

Whatever your vision for America, are our leaders up to the political test the country faces? And, whether you loved him or, well, were relieved when he left office, the one great quality about Ronald Reagan was his real warmth and optimism about America’s future.

Article kindly provided by UberArticles.com

Topics: Commentaries | Comments Off

Tags: Commentaries, political test, ronald reagan quotes

Reprint Rights

Comments are closed.