Ronald Reagan

8 Commentaries for 2/4/2009 #1

I was born during the Presidency of Richard Nixon and I became politically aware during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. Nixon was bad, but Reagan was worse. I didn't get it at first though. I had no idea. I thought Ronald Reagan was God and in my first election, I cast my ballot for George H. W. Bush. Not long after that election, I was introduced to Rush Limbaugh. It was then that I came to understand just what conservatism was all about and I came to understand that I was not a conservative. I haven't turned back since.

To this day, so many people hold Ronald Reagan in high regard. They believe that he belongs on Mount Rushmore. They believe that he and he alone brought about the end of the great Soviet empire. They believe that he stands above Lincoln and Washington as our greatest President.

What should you know about Ronald Reagan? He implemented an economic program that emboldened the rich and punished the poor. He used racism as a tool to turn Americans against one another. He made fun of those who were dying from AIDS. He oversaw an administration that ran amok in Latin America, not to mention afoul of the law.

Worst of all, he did all of it with a wink, a nod and a smile. His affable good nature was little more than a disguise to hide a monster who was hell bent on destroying all that was good about America. It was the success of Ronald Reagan that led directly to the Presidency of George W. Bush. These are dark times, but here something I know to be true. The idea of America will persevere. It is too great to be brought down by such little men as Reagan and Bush.