Did Reagan have ANY libertarian aides/advisors in the white house?

[ronaldo23]

Or was he doomed to be a neocon from 1980 onwards? I mean I'm assuming if Ron is supporting him back then, and it seemed they were very like minded on some issues, that Reagan would have had at least some libertarian economists/aides/staff that would have prevented his presidency from being a failure.

[oyarde]

The Sec of Health and Human Services , 1985 -1989 , an actual Medical Doctor , while not a Libertarian , was a solid conservative as I recall .

[Feeding the Abscess]

Milton Friedman. All jokes about his political contributions aside, at least.

Reagan was doomed to be a neocon based on his career as a lobbyist for GE and his abysmal record as governor of California.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Reagan's staff was a motley collection of zealots, opportunists, and bullshitters. Reagan was the lead baloney peddler of the most pitiful decade of the century. Staffers of his two terms could not have done more to disregard America's crumbling--a deterioration that had begun a generation earlier and was evident in every corner of America.

Instead of wisely addressing this decline, he conveniently and selfishly fueled a nationalist movement that was as pitiful as a punch drunk fighter 30 years past his glory days. You didn't even need to grow up in that time to get a feel for it. The embarrassing movies, music, and other culture perfectly reflect a people with its collective head up its butt.

[NIU Students for Liberty]

Reagan was never remotely a libertarian. Even before he was president, Reagan had an abysmal record as governor and presidential candidate in '68, so yes, Ron Paul made a mistake campaigning for that fraud in '76 and '80.

This myth that Bush corrupted Reagan and hijacked the administration needs to be put to rest.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Reagan's staff was a motley collection of zealots, opportunists, and bullshitters. Reagan was the lead baloney peddler of the most pitiful decade of the century. Staffers of his two terms could not have done more to disregard America's crumbling--a deterioration that had begun a generation earlier and was evident in every corner of America.

Instead of wisely addressing this decline, he conveniently and selfishly fueled a nationalist movement that was as pitiful as a punch drunk fighter 30 years past his glory days. You didn't even need to grow up in that time to get a feel for it. The embarrassing movies, music, and other culture perfectly reflect a people with its collective head up its butt.

They're all puppets when it comes monetary and freedom enslavement policies, the head political puppets are there to distraction the ignorant masses and push the nationalism, jingoism...

Check it out, Michael JackOff Moore, the fool thinks Liberals/Progressives are different in Washington DC, they're all the same... Doesn't matter whether it's; Don Regan, Clintons, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Geithner, Greenspan, Bushes, Neil Wolin, Jacob Lew, Bernanke, NSC, etc.. they all rape the people of their wealth and rights.

The Money Masters keep their political puppets close, and on a short leash. The real leaders dictate to these public muppets/marionettes on what to say and do, and they sell us all out they do, every single day. They weren't foolin when they call the Executive Branch, 'Government Sachs'.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTcL6Xc_eMM

[emazur]

David Stockman was Reagan's budget director - I don't know how libertarian he was then but he endorsed Ron Paul for president and resigned during the Reagan years and criticized the Reagan administration

Alan Greenspan was pretty libertarian in the 1960s but was a major interventionist during the Reagan and post-Reagan years

[gwax23]

He had some Chicago school type belt way libertarians and maybe some objectivists but they came and went rather early I believe.

[Saint Vitus]

Jimmy Carter was more libertarian than RayGun.

[kcchiefs6465]

If they did not resign on principle, I question their character.

I don't seem to recall reading anything about public resignations and open condemnations.

I know republicans have fuzzy feelings about Reagan the way democrats have fuzzy feelings about Clinton but they both should have been impeached and furthermore tried. For war crimes as well as treason, could the case be made.

I'm sure that sentiment isn't popular but if there is a God in Heaven, and I pray there is if not for only this reason, both men will spend an eternity paying for their actions.

[CPUd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

They're all puppets when it comes monetary and freedom enslavement policies, the head political puppets are there to distraction the ignorant masses and push the nationalism, jingoism...

Check it out, Michael JackOff Moore, the fool thinks Liberals/Progressives are different in Washington DC, they're all the same... Doesn't matter whether it's; Don Regan, Clintons, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Geithner, Greenspan, Bushes, Neil Wolin, Jacob Lew, Bernanke, NSC, etc.. they all rape the people of their wealth and rights.

The Money Masters keep their political puppets close, and on a short leash. The real leaders dictate to these public muppets/marionettes on what to say and do, and they sell us all out they do, every single day. They weren't foolin when they call the Executive Branch, 'Government Sachs'.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTcL6Xc_eMM



I really don't put a lot of stock into the "speed it up" tape and think its overplayed. The Youtube recording itself is a scripted production that might even rival the public's personality fascinations with the two characters of the video.

I probably and mostly agree with you on perspective, but might vary on the mechanics of how such results comes about. I view it simply as revolving elites easily tapping into human nature, rather than some ominous influence controlling every aspect of a production. The fact that they ARE all the same makes the narrative all the more predictable. I don't however, view it as a scenario where every move you make in life is hopelessly controlled by a plethora of strings. There are just too many variables in the world for adherence to a point-by-point script.

[specsaregood]

I'll just put this here.



In any event, when Reagan scored his resounding triumph in New Hampshire in February, the overtures to the East began to work. New York establishment laywer Bill Casey (CFR), who became campaign director the day of the New Hampshire victory, began building bridges and promising that a more moderate Reagan would emerge after the Republican Convention.

Indeed, one did. Reagan picked Bush for his running mate, and after the election, put together a transition team that included 28 CFR men. As President, he appointed more than 80 individuals to his administration who were members of the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, or both.

--From: "The Shadows of Power", pg. 168

[Occam's Banana]

The embarrassing movies, music, and other culture perfectly reflect a people with its collective head up its butt.

So I take it you're not a fan of Howard the Duck or Leonard Part 6?


Alan Greenspan was pretty libertarian in the 1960s but was a major interventionist during the Reagan and post-Reagan years

He was libertarian on paper. In real life, my understanding is that he was a self-dealing schmoozer ...

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

So I take it you're not a fan of Howard the Duck or Leonard Part 6?



I forgot all about Howard, but never really remembered what it was anyway. Never heard of Leonard at all. Hmmm...

By the way, I don't mind something poorly done as much as I mind knuckleheaded geometry. The symmetry of that decade was absolutely maddening.

[Occam's Banana]

I forgot all about Howard, but never really remembered what it was anyway. Never heard of Leonard at all. Hmmm...

Then you may count yourself among the blessed, on both counts ...

[Henry Rogue]

Then you may count yourself among the blessed, on both counts ...
Those are 2 and 3 on my all time greatest motion pictures list.
No. 1 Citizen Kane
No. 2 Leonard Part 6
No. 3 Howard the Duck
No. 4 The Godfather

[Ronin Truth]

I don't remember any libertarians with Reagan. It seems like there were a pot full of Trilaterals, as I recall.

[Brian4Liberty]

Alan Greenspan was pretty libertarian in the 1960s but was a major interventionist during the Reagan and post-Reagan years

Greenspan was a member of the inner circle of the Ayn Rand cult. That would make him an Objectivist.



He was libertarian on paper. In real life, my understanding is that he was a self-dealing schmoozer ...

Another way to say Objectivist? ;)

[Ender]

Jimmy Carter was more libertarian than RayGun.

Yep.

Carter was probably more libertarian than any president in the last 75 years or so. He is always hated because he didn't do enough. Ron Paul would say "Bravo"!

[Zippyjuan]

I forgot all about Howard, but never really remembered what it was anyway. Never heard of Leonard at all. Hmmm...

By the way, I don't mind something poorly done as much as I mind knuckleheaded geometry. The symmetry of that decade was absolutely maddening.

Most movies in ANY era were inane. The goal is to make a buck.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Most movies in ANY era were inane. The goal is to make a buck.

Oh, I agree with that. I'd fairly guess though, that a few more movies from the 80s were lousier. The themes were also lousier than from a decade like the 60s.

[Brian4Liberty]

Oh, I agree with that. I'd fairly guess though, that a few more movies from the 80s were lousier. The themes were also lousier than from a decade like the 60s.

Late 80s. Great movie. Probably not known to everyone.

Classic line:

"It's not that I hate cops, I just seem to feel better when they aren't around."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ScGfNIUaz8

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Okay, so I now have to validate my elitism by comparing 60s movies to 80s movies. :D

Looks like the 60s has, at least, some quality, while everything on the 80s list is pretty sorry. :eek:



Here's the totally scientific comparison :/

TOP TEN FILMS--1960s

(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
1.The Sound of Music (1965)
2.101 Dalmatians (1961)
3.The Jungle Book (1967)
4.Doctor Zhivago (1965)
5. The Graduate (1967) (tie)
6.Mary Poppins (1964) (tie)
7.Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
8.My Fair Lady (1964)
9.Thunderball (1965)
10.Funny Girl (1968)
11.Cleopatra (1963)
12. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (tie)
13.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) (tie)
14.Goldfinger (1964)




TOP TEN FILMS--1980s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
1. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
2.Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
3.Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
4.Batman (1989)
5.Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
6.Ghostbusters (1984)
7.Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
8.Back to the Future (1985)
9.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
10.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
11.Tootsie (1982)

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Late 80s. Great movie. Probably not known to everyone.

Classic line:

"It's not that I hate cops, I just seem to feel better when they aren't around."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ScGfNIUaz8


I hear a lot of these movies are just on Youtube, and some are even fairly decent. I'll have to check that out.

[TaftFan]

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/keyofficials.html

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Then you may count yourself among the blessed, on both counts ...

Now that you mention it, I do remember people talking about that annoying movie A LOT. And now you've brought back the memory. Curse you--you dirty Banana!

This will only reinforce the snobbery that makes the 60s better. It goes without saying, but some further comparison between 60s and 80s movies:



The eighties can have their action space movies ad nauseum, but nothing touches Space Odyssey.

The Bond movies annihilate Indiana Jones. Sean Connery vs. Harrison Ford is no contest. Sixties girls way hotter than eighties girls. Julie Andrews was even smokin'.

Both Newman and Hoffman are great actors, but Butch Cassidy rates while Tootsie does not. Come on: a cool outlaw who kicks guys in the balls and practically steals Etta Place vs. a transvestite.

Even the roles got crappier for individual actors. Dustin Hoffman goes from getting an Anne Bancroft massage to dressing up like a woman.

The Graduate alone beats all the eighties movies combined, even if you take out all the good acting and themes. You can't beat a college student balling a thin, 40 year old broad.

[Occam's Banana]

Okay, so I now have to validate my elitism by comparing 60s movies to 80s movies. :D

Looks like the 60s has, at least, some quality, while everything on the 80s list is pretty sorry. :eek:

Here's the totally scientific comparison :/

TOP TEN FILMS--1960s

(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
[...]

TOP TEN FILMS--1980s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
[...]

Well, to be fair (and strictly technical), that does not measure the quality or substance of the movies being made in each decade. At most, it is a measure of theater-goers' general, shared tastes. And by defintion, blockbusters gonna bust blocks.

One can enjoy Ghostbusters and the Indiana Jones saga on the one hand - and Blade Runner (1982) and Brazil (1985) on the other. Both of these latter two are possessed of extremely potent libertarian themes - with IMO the former being the greatest science fiction film ever made and the latter being one of the greatest films ever made in any genre. As noted, both were products of the '80s.

But mileages vary as mileages will.

[Matt Collins]

Milton Friedman. I don't think Friedman was a libertarian.

[Matt Collins]

He had some Chicago school type belt way libertarians and maybe some objectivists but they came and went rather early I believe.I don't consider Chicagoians libertarians.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Occam,

I'm sort of serious, but sort of horsing around. I guess I was somewhat addressing those films that attract the large audiences, which seems to indicate that PT Barnum's demographic got even dumber over the past few decades. I mean--Space Odyssey had a top audience in the sixties. Not only would people today not sit thru Odyssey--the film would probably not even be made.

Go back even further. Gone With the Wind was not my cup of tea, but can you imagine today's "ADHD" generation sitting through even a third of that? Butch Cassidy was just a fun movie, but the cinematography was outstanding. That would be lost on today's audience and probably be considered boring.

Check out the top performers from the last three decades (http://www.filmsite.org/boxoffice2.html). Don't know all of them, but I don't think I'd walk across the street to see one or two--or even any of those movies.

Yeah, I know a libertarian should not care about what people view, but it's also just an informal observation. It just seems that people's apparently increased apathy about freedom goes right along with the mindless culture. Might relate to what member HOLLYWOOD was talking about in his post, but maybe I'm just being nostagic.

Hey, I never heard of that Brazil movie, but did look at a Youtube shot. Looks like something worth checking out.


Anyway, this is a Ronald Reagan thread, so we should be talking about Reagan movies. :eek:

[Matt Collins]

Reagan was never remotely a libertarian. Even before he was president, Reagan had an abysmal record as governor and presidential candidate in '68, so yes, Ron Paul made a mistake campaigning for that fraud in '76 and '80.I think personally he was, but never tied that philosophy into his actual policy for whatever reason.