Posted by D. Cupples | As Republicans suffer dismal poll numbers, an elite group of has-beens views Ronald Reagan as the way up. The group includes former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (yes, I'm chuckling). Apparently, history is not Gingrich's strong suit. Marc Ambinder reported:
"Fed up with neocons, theocons and convict cons, a group of former aides to Ronald Reagan want to reanimate the Republican Party by reviving the organization that brought Reagan to power.
"The revitalized Citizens For The Republic -- or CFTR -- has already secured $17 million in solid financial commitments....
"CFTR plans to launch before the presidential primaries."
What are they thinking? Republican voters are so disgusted with the GOP partly because they're so tired of empty imagery and failed policies. Highly questionable things happened during Reagan's administration -- some we're still saddled with.
When you think of the government-contractor fraud we taxpayers have endured, for example, think Reagan....
He pushed for widespread privatization. Not surprisingly, $600 hammers kept making headlines during Reagan's administration. Consider Reagan's bizarre notions about the economy, which critics affectionately dubbed "voodoo economics."
Reagan didn't seem to mind deficit spending or big national debts. Trickle-down theories did work for people with more money than Wachovia, but most of the middle class was left in the cold -- and we still haven't recovered. Even fixed-income seniors suffered under Reagan: it was in 1983 that their social security checks started getting taxed.
And who can forget the Iran-Contra affair, which evinced a blatant disregard for our laws and Constitution? Congress had outlawed U.S. funding for the Nicaraguan guerrilla group called the "Contras" (which wanted to overthrow Nicaragua's legitimate government), selling arms to Iran was illegal, and Nancy Reagan had waged war on drugs.
Despite that, numerous Reagan Administration officials participated in schemes that involved: 1) illegal arms sales to Iran, 2) illegal funneling of the proceeds to the Contras, and 3) credible allegations that drug money helped fund the Contras.
Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh said that not enough proof existed to charge Reagan for approving these schemes, but even Lt. Col. Oliver North (who now has a show on Fox) said that Reagan approved of his activities. At the very least, according to Walsh, Reagan had:
"created a climate in which some of the Government officers assigned to implement his policies felt emboldened to circumvent such laws." (Walsh report, executive summary)
Our chances of finding out what happened from cooperative defendants were crushed on Christmas Eve 1992, when President George H.W. Bush pardoned six Iran-Contra convicts and defendants -- two of them before they faced trial. (Bush was Reagan's vice president when Iran-Contra went down.)
I could get lost in the details of Iran-Contra, but I won't. (See Iran-Contra summary.)
My point is that Reagan's administration was not all sunshine and roses and apple pie and boom time for day traders.
I can see why Newt Gingrich is gung-ho to revive Reaganism, because Gingrich always gravitated toward image instead of substance. I mean, Gingrich blasted Bill Clinton for marital infidelity while Gingrich, himself, had been cheating on his wife.
Republican voters, however, are disgusted by the Gingrich-style (and Bush-style) shuck and jive. What makes guys like Gingrich think they can pull wool over voters' eyes again?
Hours after uploading this post, I found a Paul Krugman piece called The Same Old Party, which credibly argues that President Bush has not actually abandoned "true conservative" roots, but is following the same old tradition of inefficient government, failed policies, and disregard for law that decades of "conservatives" had established or fueled (including Reagan).
Related BN-Politics' Posts:
* Even Conservatives Feel Betrayed by Republican Leaders
* Contractor Fraud: Driving Up Healthcare Costs?
* Time for Pentagon to Get Serious about Contractor Fraud
* How the Energy Dept. Incinerated Tax Dollars
* New Orleans Still Suffering after 2 Years and Billions of Tax Dollars
* Billions over Baghdad: Poor Accounting Allowed Waste & Fraud
* Officials Allowed Oil Companies to Underpay Royalties
* Defense Dept. Rewarding Bad Contractor Performance?
* How the Defense Dept. Flushes Dollars Down Latrine
* Gov. Contractors: Driving up War's Costs
Great picture, C.
The simple answer to people who think life was great under Reagan was, "Yeah, and it only cost $2 Trillion to do it."
Posted by: Charles | October 08, 2007 at 01:50 AM
You're too funny -- and you get an A for conciseness.
Posted by: The Crux | October 08, 2007 at 12:46 PM
We might as well laugh at the 'wingers. How can one take them seriously anymore? I've tracked down too many urban legends, debunked too many flaming lies, and put up with too much general snottiness to want to put much energy into slapping them down.
The latest rightwing smear campaign is against the family of Graehme Frost, the kid who, along with his sister, was in an accident and was hurt so badly that he was in a coma. He gave the Democratic response to the SCHIP veto. So now the right-wingers are denouncing his family for being too affluent to deserve medical insurance.
This is the real fruit of Reaganism: people with no conscience at all.
Posted by: Charles | October 08, 2007 at 06:27 PM