What do you guys think about Ronald Reagan?

[canadian4ronpaul]

do americans view him as a good president? I know he was a "libertarian at heart" or whatever, but wasn't his administration full of corruption?

whats the deal?

[jkr]

2 BIG thumbs down.

shot 69 days after taking ofice, he was kept in line after that...

[surf]

two words: big government.

i'd say he talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk. look at the dep't of education - something he said should be eliminated....

[ClockwiseSpark]

i'd say he talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk.

This.

[lucius]

Ronald Reagan was an ardent “New Dealer”, B-grade ‘actor’, in his greatest life-long role as controlled-opposition for Fabian Socialist machinations, who defined the new right, spokesman for the ‘free’. His administration reeked with corruption and scandals, making a mockery of the office of presidency. He used “I do not recall” something like 108 times during Iran-Contra testimony; I was astonished watching that shill in action.

I would rather listen to the real deal,

“In the contemporary arena of political chicanery, reality counts for little and illusion is frequently king, but in the struggle for the survival of Western Civilization, it will be the real world, not illusions or delusions, that will determine which way the future will go...” Congressman Lawrence Patton McDonald

[paulitics]

He was an outstanding magician and an incredible liberal if one were to measure the term liberal as increasing government spending and power. He was a trojan horse.

[Kludge]

Did some good at slashing regulation, and tried to eliminate some government programs, but his social politics were terrible, and his drug war and other "family values" legislation hijacked the GOP.

[BuddyRey]

Everyone so far has gotten it right. Reagan was a brand-front, and nothing more. With the way the GOP candidates so shamefully bowed and scraped at his altar during the debates, is there really any question that he was in line with their warped and twisted view of government?

[AdamT]

Totally overrated.

[Original_Intent]

Despite all the negative, he was still probably the best president we have had in my lifetime. I mean there isn't much competition honestly.

[lynnf]

have to agree with most of what has already been said.

voted for him twice, was disappointed with his results. back then we blamed it on those pesky Democrats, thwarting him. now we found out that was coupled with the fact that he wasn't really trying.

and letting astrologers call the shots? very disappointing. seems that he was a delegater and he may have delegated much to GHW Bush. let himself be co-opted.
became more image than substance.

my opinion

lynn

[Brian4Liberty]

Read this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Supply-Side-Revolution-Insiders-Policymaking-Washington/dp/067485621X/ref=sr_1_1/181-9327884-7857566?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231385941&sr=1-1

Quick synopsis: NWO, big government Republicans dominated the Reagan adminstration, and under-mined him at every turn (Reagan had no choice but to put many establishment Republicans in his administration, as there weren't any other options). Top of the NWO list: David Stockman, Bush Sr., James Baker, Bob Dole (and most of the Senate Republicans), Larry Kudlow, Art Laffer, etc...

[AdamT]

Every one of the RNC chair candidates said Reagan was their favorite president. When the neo-cons worship someone (at least in lip service) watch out.

[StudentForPaul08]

Great speaker, loved it. He did not to do good in terms of acting on his talk.


Despite all the negative, he was still probably the best president we have had in my lifetime. I mean there isn't much competition honestly.

Yea that's true.

[Stary Hickory]

Reagan was a good president, he was too consumed with combating communism thiugh. And so he spent heavily on the military, and as a compromise with Democrats he had to go a long with social spending to get his defense budgets through.

I listened to the Reagan diaries on CD. He was not the embodiment of Lbertarian ideals but he was very very close. But his cold war really prevented him from making lasting internal changes to the government.

[fr33domfightr]

I think when you talk about RR, you need to remember where we were in history:

Carter was just president, we had hostages in Iran for 400 some-odd days being paraded blindfolded down their streets, one failed attempt to rescue them made the U.S. look weak and inept, Carter had imposed the 55 mph speed limit, we had gas lines, Cold war, etc., etc., etc.

Here comes RR, talking like a Libertarian yet speaking with inspiration like Obama, even many Dems liked him. Once he took office, hostages were released immediatly, 55 mph speed limit lifted (woohoo), no gas lines (woohoo), there was a feeling of hope, etc.

Since he was the first president I could vote for, I thought of him as the starting point for a Republican transformation of government. I always considered his libertarian leaning as actually republicanism. In hindsight, yes there are things he could have done better, but maybe the country wasn't ready for those changes, toward libertarianism.

If each president getting elected keeps doing what they've been doing (talking one-way, then doing another), then we need to seriously understand what in the hell is going on in Washington D.C. This could have been Reagan's achilles heel as well.


FF

[FindLiberty]

Was it all just an act, a lie? RR managed to get credit for "cutting taxes" while massively increasing gov spending (by running the printing press at full speed... Bonzo pooped in Jimmy Carter's shoes BEFORE he went to bed).

RR talked well, many fun quips.

[fr33domfightr]

Was it all just an act, a lie? RR managed to get credit for "cutting taxes" while massively increasing gov spending (by running the printing press at full speed... Bonzo pooped in Jimmy Carter's shoes BEFORE he went to bed).

RR talked well, many fun quips.


The way I remember it is, RR wanted to increase military spending after what was perceived as a lack of funding. Due to the majority of dems in the Congress, to get what he wanted, he had to accept the budget they proposed. And as we might expect, the dems liked to spend money on their own pet projects. In the end, the budget gets bloated.


FF

[RevolutionSD]

do americans view him as a good president? I know he was a "libertarian at heart" or whatever, but wasn't his administration full of corruption?

whats the deal?

He talked a good libertarian game but like every other politician he did the opposite while in office. The national debt skyrocketed and tax rates actually went UP under Reagan, despite the legend.

[RevolutionSD]

Another point about Reagan is that Bush ran his presidency. Reagan WAS an outsider to the elite crown but Bush was one of their own. Bush was who the elites wanted as president in 1980 but they settled for Bush as VP due to Reagan's popularity. Bush was forced on RR by the elites, and his cabinet was made up of, you guessed it, mostly CFR members.

There are no good guys in politics unfortunately, outside of RP.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[Brian4Liberty]

Another point about Reagan is that Bush ran his presidency. Reagan WAS an outsider to the elite crown but Bush was one of their own. Bush was who the elites wanted as president in 1980 but they settled for Bush as VP due to Reagan's popularity. Bush was forced on RR by the elites, and his cabinet was made up of, you guessed it, mostly CFR members.

There are no good guys in politics unfortunately, outside of RP.

Exactly. And what people don't realize is that it was not the Democrats that pushed the tax increases. It was the elitist, NWO, big government Republicans that pushed it from behind the scenes. Reagan was a convenient screen to hide behind. They let Reagan say and believe anything he wanted, but then they implemented their agenda.

[RevolutionSD]

Exactly. And what people don't realize is that it was not the Democrats that pushed the tax increases. It was the elitist, NWO, big government Republicans that pushed it from behind the scenes. Reagan was a convenient screen to hide behind. They let Reagan say and believe anything he wanted, but then they implemented their agenda.

Yep. It's just like today with Obama. The way he says it sounds great, but in reality it's just more government bullshit.

[LABELtheTRAITOR]

i think he came into it with good intentions, got shot as a "warning" to play ball... downhill ever since....

[Real_CaGeD]

ask Larry McDonald.

[Kilrain]

I think it's safe to say he changed, for the worse. This is IMO one of the best political speeches I've ever seen:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yt1fYSAChxs

But I couldn't even watch his convention speech from 1980. I started cringing pretty much right out of the gate when he started talking about fighting discrimination. Very good guy turned...well, not good. Still better than most, but not enough for a passing grade.

[brandon]

Why didn't he give Paul a position is his administration?

[Stary Hickory]

Why didn't he give Paul a position is his administration?

More than likely because of Ron Pauls' stance on Militray Spending and empire building. Reagan was a very big pro military guy.

People saying that Bush ran the presidency kinda surpirse me. It sounds a bit crazy. I've read quite a bit on Reagan, including his diaries. It's obvious he was running the show. The large deficit was due to military spending, and the congress's refusal to reduce the budget.

They gave Reagan his military spending if he would let them continue spending domestically. But I will say this, if we had a Ronald Reagan every presidency we would be a lot better off than we have been so far. Yeah he was a bit spend heavy on the military, the battle against communism defined him. But at the same time he held real Libertarian beliefs, and he acted on them.

But you have to remember thatthe President is not King, he has to work inside the political system.

[acptulsa]

Hate to speak ill of the dead, but my nephew and I used to go 'round and 'round about the guy. One day he blurted out, "All I know is things were great when he was president and they've been all &$#@ed up since!"

Exactly my point. Who first put a Bush in a position to gain the presidency?

[M House]

Ronald Reagan has got to be the most overrated recent president bar none. That being said jeez look at his competition, it's a little above the level of total dog-shit.

[Freedom Forever]

A sellout

[lucius]

ask Larry McDonald.

Nice (+1)!

[LibertyEagle]

Another point about Reagan is that Bush ran his presidency. Reagan WAS an outsider to the elite crown but Bush was one of their own. Bush was who the elites wanted as president in 1980 but they settled for Bush as VP due to Reagan's popularity. Bush was forced on RR by the elites, and his cabinet was made up of, you guessed it, mostly CFR members.



Pretty much what I think too, at least AFTER he was shot.

But to add onto it, I think Reagan talked a most excellent game, but he wasn't able to implement it. In some cases, that wasn't his fault. He had to get it through Congress you know and back then, Congress didn't foresake their duties and just hand them over to the President.

Reagan was much different after he was shot.

One thing though, because I remember it. Reagan made people proud to be Americans again, for the first time in a long time. And even if he wasn't successful at getting much of his agenda through, people finally at least heard again, some of the very same principles that we now are trying to get them to hear. I'll always love him for that. And something he had over Ron Paul, is that Reagan could communicate those principles so that people could understand them. I love Ron, but that is not his forte.

[Elwar]

I like Ronald Reagan's rhetoric.

Actually, I can say that about a lot of Republican candidates.

[constituent]

do americans view him as a good president? I know he was a "libertarian at heart" or whatever, but wasn't his administration full of corruption?



he was a stooge, bad actor and generally a p.o.s. who sold out his country to the m./i. complex and implemented policies that have since led to the incarceration of millions of his fellow americans.


may he rot in hell.

[acptulsa]

he was a stooge, bad actor and generally a p.o.s. who sold out his country to the m./i. complex and implemented policies that have since led to the incarceration of millions of his fellow americans.


may he rot in hell.

That's the way I felt about him at the time. Still do. Calling this drug warrior and expander of the police state libertarian is to value words over actions. And as for that military spending--is there anyone who will say with a straight face that Jimmy Carter was wrong, Reagan was right, and we wouldn't have gotten by just fine without the B-1 bomber?

[nodope0695]

He was the last president to actually believe in the United States and her people...the last president who had moral values, and believed in the Constitution.

Since Reagan, all garbage. All scum. Obama will be worse even than Dubya. Beleive that.

[nodope0695]

A sellout

From the mouth of babes......unfortunately comes mindless comments such as this....:D

[speciallyblend]

I actually thought Ronald Reagan was scum at the time(thanks to the gop),but after finding out more about him. His ideas where great but the gop is scum and destroyed his campaign after he was elected

I give a good rating on Ronald Reagan, but i give a SCUM ALERT for the GOP for destroying everything he stood for while he was in office.


GRADE( A) for Ronald Reagan and an (F) for his Administration and CORRUPT gop scum!!


Ronald Reagan was GREAT until he was elected ,then the gop did everything opposite of what Reagan wanted , would i have voted for the gop then ??? NO actually HELL NO and experiencing what the gop did this election cycle. I wouldn't of voted for him then just because the gop is pretty much scum in my eyes......

[RevolutionSD]

He was the last president to actually believe in the United States and her people...the last president who had moral values, and believed in the Constitution.

Since Reagan, all garbage. All scum. Obama will be worse even than Dubya. Beleive that.

Moral values? Are you sure?

How is taking money from people through taxes and inflation moral?
How is authorizing the killing of innocent people via war moral?

Reagan may have been a puppet but obviously was willing to do all the immoral things that they required of him, thus he was no better than any other head of the criminal gang we call government.

[paulitics]

Reagan dramtacally increased your taxes via the fica tax, by 25%, an enormous ponzi scheme. There has not been a president in my lifetime, that has increased taxes on a PERMANENT bases for that matter, more than Reagan. Unknown to most, the Fica tax usually takes more from the average wage earner's pocket than the income tax.

Thank you Reagan.

[acptulsa]

Ronald Reagan was GREAT until he was elected ,then the gop did everything opposite of what Reagan wanted...

...or said he wanted, anyway. Yeah, this is a common theme and, from what I understand, exactly what Rep. Paul went through at the time. What a disappointment.

"Consider the affection man has for the dog. Great benefits are anticipated at the outset; few concretely appear."--E.D. Worley

No offense to those among us who have well-trained, hard-working dogs. ;)

[Kludge]

I like Ronald Reagan's rhetoric.

Actually, I can say that about a lot of Republican candidates.

Maybe a few years ago. I was taken aback when McCain started advocating National Service programs openly. The acceptance of Neoconservatism is spreading at a rate which must astonish even the likes of God.

[JohnMeridith]

Despite all the negative, he was still probably the best president we have had in my lifetime. I mean there isn't much competition honestly.

which is code for

"I have 5 shit sandwiches here to eat, but the one with corn in it is the best one"

[lucynuts]

Just the other day I was thinking of Reagan when all of the living presidents and Obama had met at the White House, there were the 2 Bush's, Clinton, Obama, and Carter but no Reagan. Thats when it struck me Reagan is dead and has been for quite a while now. It really struck a chord with me that Reagan is no longer amongst the living he most assuredly talked the talk and even walked the walk from time to time but sadly is no longer around. Maybe we can't all have agreed with him 100% but back then he gave the Republican party a rhetoric that could be believed in and even had Ron Paul give him an endorsement once upon a time. I was even catching myself day dreaming about a scenario in which Reagan was in the 08' primary debating inflation as he once did and even talked about the gold standard as he once did, however he was being hushed, booed, condemned, and exiled by the party as Ron Paul had been for simply uttering a few conservative princples. Yes I would say if Reagan had run in the 08' primaries he would have lost, the Republican Party has simply abondoned everything it once stood for. Reagan at one time even helped Goldwater in his 64' campaign and since I am writing this today as a Jeffersonian/Goldwater Conservative I beleive Reagan could have been much better especially when it came to foreign intervention, which he regretted in his memoirs, and deficit spending however he seemed to be the only president of modern history who at least spoke of the ideas of liberty and for that I am grateful. It seems with his death the Republican Party has hopelessly abandoned everything. All we hear today about Reagan is how wonderful he was and how everyone in the party seems to idolize him however no one seems able to communicate the messages he did except for Ron Paul. Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul: A Comparison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmsP95Bl9pM

[damania]

The guy was nuts and anyone who supported him was nuts.

[anaconda]

A nice man with conservative values that got unwittingly eaten alive by NWO shitheads like GHW Bush and Dick Cheney.

[acptulsa]

A nice man with conservative values that got unwittingly eaten alive by NWO shitheads like GHW Bush and Dick Cheney.

No one eats enough of the other dogs to become POTUS unwittingly.

Are we all ignoring his record as Governor of California? If you want to keep blindly loving the guy, do not look into it.

[speciallyblend]

No one eats enough of the other dogs to become POTUS unwittingly.

Are we all ignoring his record as Governor of California? If you want to keep blindly loving the guy, do not look into it.

yep.i am one of those dam hippies reagan liked alot:) (sarcasm)