Ronald Reagan - Prophet

[CandySlice]

I was reading this opinion article:

Ronald Reagan's warning on progressive taxes - Conservative News

And it put me onto this speech by Ronald Reagan, given in 1961 while Reagan was still an actor:

Encroaching Control - Reagan Speeches

It is genuinely fascinating how Mr. Reagan, using only common sense and logic (one presumes, at least, that he was not a prophet in the true sense, and delivering directives straight from the Almighty, although I could be wrong about that), so accurately predicted what came to pass in our country. Leftists today are so busy framing the arguments as though the current state of things has ALWAYS pertained that most people forget that there was once an argument about implementing the programs the left takes for granted now as the basis for the NEW programs they want. And if people don't remember the argument, then they obviously don't remember that the left was WRONG.

That's always the problem with arguing with the left: their attention span is so damned short that by the time they've been proven wrong, they've conveniently forgotten that the debate was even happening.

“Not too long ago, Norman Thomas, six times a candidate for president on the Socialist Party ticket, commented that ‘the American people would never knowingly vote for socialism but that under the name of liberalism, they would adopt every fragment of the socialist program.’”

“Traditionally, one of the easiest first steps in imposing socialism on a people has been government-paid medicine. It is the easiest to present as a humanitarian project. No one wants to oppose care for the sick.”

Mind you, this was four years before Medicare was implemented. (Yes, I know, you lefties thought Medicare was established with the signing of the Constitution, but it actually wasn't.)

“It is now proposed that all people of Social Security age be given government paid medical and hospital care,” said Reagan. “Once again, emergency is invoked, and we are given a picture of millions of senior citizens desperately needing medical care and unable to finance it. In all the emotional presentation, the backers of this program seem strangely reluctant to face the facts.”

“As near as can be determined,” he said, “less than 10 percent of our senior citizens require aid in meeting their medical needs.”

Reagan pointed out that this 10% of senior citizens was being used to force ALL seniors into a compulsory healthcare program, whether they needed - or wanted - it or not.

“Why? Well, ex-Congressman (Aime) Forand provides the answer. He says, ‘If we can only break through and get our foot in the door, then we can expand the program after that.’”

As we know now, that's exactly what happened. Medicare became the law of the land, with leftists pooh-poohing warnings like Reagan's as "hyperbole". And as we also know, Reagan and the other naysayers were correct, and the leftists were WRONG: senior citizens did NOT get to keep their health insurance if they already had it. And now, here we are with Obamacare, and it's the same damned argument all over again, and the left has blissfully forgotten that they already used this arguments before, were WRONG then, and will be wrong this time.

Reagan applied the same prophesying to Social Security (No, leftists, Social Security has NOT been the natural order of things since Cro-Magnon Man), predicting that the program would grow and grow and become so monstrous that eventually, younger Americans would end up being taxed just to cover its deficits, with no hope of EVER seeing any return on that money themselves. Sound familiar to anyone else?

While he was at it, Reagan took a prophetic swipe at the progressive tax, as well, pointing out that there were already handpicked leftist economists attempting to redefine as "loopholes" legitimate deductions such as property taxes and charitable deductions. In 1961, that redefinition was considered preposterous. Now, in 2012, we have a President poised to make it cold, hard reality.

You have to remember you are dealing with the young as well as the terminally stupid when you deal with the left.
Most Obama voters are too young to remember what a great country looks like and the rest are too stupid to remember.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Reagan got what HE wanted...

Conservatives are embarrassed by the way Reagan and the Bushes ran the debt up and out of control. So they have invented a cover story: The Democratic Congress did it. I have run into this lie dozens of times. So, I dug deep to set the record straight.

As the figure shows, Reagan and Bush senior got almost exactly the budgets they requested in each of their 12 budget years.

Reagan:

• The first budget — passed by all Republicans and a few conservative Southern Democrats.

* This increased the debt by $144 Billion.​

• The next 5 budgets — passed by the Republican Senate and signed by Reagan.

• The last 2 budgets — passed by a Democratic Congress

* Totaled slightly less than Reagan requested.​

G. H. W. Bush:

• Democratic Congresses under Bush passed smaller budgets than he requested in 3 out of 4 years.

• These four Democratic budgets totaled $14.6 Billion less than Bush requested.

G. W. Bush:

• The first two budgets — Senate was split 50/50 and the House was Democratic.

* Bipartisan and totaled $20 Billion less than Bush requested.​

* The biggest cause of deficits was Bush's enormous tax cut, mainly for the rich.​

• The next 4 budgets — the Congress was solid Republican.

• The last 2 budgets — Bush vetoed modest Democratic attempts at spending.

In summary: Democrats controlled Congress during 8 out the 20 years. During 4 of those years, Democrats decreased the budgets proposed by the Republican presidents. Their total effect during those 8 years was to reduce Republican budgets by $17 Billion (which is only 0.2%).

more

One Obama deficit > all 8 of Reagan's

Reagan was not going to be able to reform entitlements with a Democrat Congress.

He asked for reducing spending, cut taxes and crush the USSR; 2 out of three ain't bad

President Obama Cut the Deficit and Slowed Spending to Lowest Level in 50 Years.

Here is the Federal surplus or deficit in dollars...

And Obama is not growing government...that was Bush.

One Obama Deficit > Any Reagan Budget

One Obama Deficit > All 8 of Reagans

 

[Meathead]

yes, Ronny Raygun did it all by himself.

Actually, he DID do it all by himself. I don't know if you were around then, or paying attention if you were, but the Democrats fought Reagan at every turn. His popularity and effectiveness made the liberals crazy, and their efforts to make him fail drove them to do some very unpatriotic things (like side with the Soviets in arms negotiations). I love how the Dems now try to claim that the defeat of the Soviet empire was a bi-partisan effort. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Actually, that's a lie. Tip O'Neil and Reagan worked together because they weren't obstructive imbeciles and cared about the country.

That's true. We also didn't have an imbecile in the White House.

I do love the whining though!

 

[FJO]

I spent about 6 hours standing in line in the National Mall in the summer of 2004, waiting, along with thousands of others to pay my respects and express my gratitude to President Ronald Reagan.

As an immigrant from a former Communist country, my feelings could not have been more genuine.

I am sure that when Jimmy Carter passes there will be no crowds anywhere with the possible exception of Plains, GA.

And when Obama croaks, the only people attending will be those who have not received their phones or the cash from his stash.

 

[CandySlice]

One Obama deficit > all 8 of Reagan's

Reagan was not going to be able to reform entitlements with a Democrat Congress.

He asked for reducing spending, cut taxes and crush the USSR; 2 out of three ain't bad

President Obama Cut the Deficit and Slowed Spending to Lowest Level in 50 Years.

Here is the Federal surplus or deficit in dollars...

And Obama is not growing government...that was Bush.

One Obama Deficit > Any Reagan Budget

One Obama Deficit > All 8 of Reagans

I remember a time when the idea was to take the poor and lift them up. Now it's all about creating more bums.

 

[CandySlice]

I spent about 6 hours standing in line in the National Mall in the summer of 2004, waiting, along with thousands of others to pay my respects and express my gratitude to President Ronald Reagan.

As an immigrant from a former Communist country, my feelings could not have been more genuine.

I am sure that when Jimmy Carter passes there will be no crowds anywhere with the possible exception of Plains, GA.

And when Obama croaks, the only people attending will be those who have not received their phones or the cash from his stash.

Bless you, fjo. You actually get it.

 

[FJO]

i knew he had alzheimer's, but i didn't realize it was early onset.

sad

Typical liberal/Democrat comment, right in line with Obama snickering about the Special Olympics, when he displayed his awesome prowess in bowling, which, by the way, supersede his 'abilities' as President.

 

[CandySlice]

i knew he had alzheimer's, but i didn't realize it was early onset.

sad

Typical liberal/Democrat comment, right in line with Obama snickering about the Special Olympics, when he displayed his awesome prowess in bowling, which, by the way, supersede his 'abilities' as President.

Don't pay too much attention to Moonglow. He's evidently mental or very young. Actually he's the IDEAL Obama voter.

 

[FJO]

President Obama Cut the Deficit and Slowed Spending to Lowest Level in 50 Years.

Here is the Federal surplus or deficit in dollars...

And Obama is not growing government...that was Bush.

One Obama Deficit > Any Reagan Budget

One Obama Deficit > All 8 of Reagans

I remember a time when the idea was to take the poor and lift them up. Now it's all about creating more bums.

What liberals don't realize that it is NOT a zero sum game. They 'think' that the only way to raise the standard of living of those who don't have is destroying those who do.

It is safe to say that if by some magic all the wealth of the world was evenly distributed and everyone would be exactly same, within five years those who have been rich would be rich again and those who have been poor would be poor again.

 

[Bfgrn]

Actually, he DID do it all by himself. I don't know if you were around then, or paying attention if you were, but the Democrats fought Reagan at every turn. His popularity and effectiveness made the liberals crazy, and their efforts to make him fail drove them to do some very unpatriotic things (like side with the Soviets in arms negotiations). I love how the Dems now try to claim that the defeat of the Soviet empire was a bi-partisan effort. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Actually, that's a lie. Tip O'Neil and Reagan worked together because they weren't obstructive imbeciles and cared about the country.

That's true. We also didn't have an imbecile in the White House.

I do love the whining though!

Actually we had THE imbecile in the White House.

"Washington couldn't tell a lie, Nixon couldn't tell the truth, and Reagan couldn't tell the difference."
Mort Sahl

Thank You Mr. President - 49 second video

Reagan and the press...

When President Reagan first took over the oval office, we would throw questions at President Reagan, and he would answer them.

Well, his three top aides were apoplectic. They didn’t know what was coming out of his mouth. They taught the president to say “this is not a press conference”, and they had him quite trained on that.

And one day we asked him what was happening, and he said to us: “I can’t answer that”. We said ‘why’?

“Because they won’t let me”, he pointed to Baker, Meese and Deaver standing behind, very grim.

“They won’t let me”…I said, ‘but you’re the President’…

 

[FJO]

Actually, that's a lie. Tip O'Neil and Reagan worked together because they weren't obstructive imbeciles and cared about the country.

That's true. We also didn't have an imbecile in the White House.

I do love the whining though!

Actually we had THE imbecile in the White House.

"Washington couldn't tell a lie, Nixon couldn't tell the truth, and Reagan couldn't tell the difference."
Mort Sahl

Thank You Mr. President - 49 second video

Reagan and the press...

When President Reagan first took over the oval office, we would throw questions at President Reagan, and he would answer them.

Well, his three top aides were apoplectic. They didn’t know what was coming out of his mouth. They taught the president to say “this is not a press conference”, and they had him quite trained on that.

And one day we asked him what was happening, and he said to us: “I can’t answer that”. We said ‘why’?

“Because they won’t let me”, he pointed to Baker, Meese and Deaver standing behind, very grim.

“They won’t let me”…I said, ‘but you’re the President’…

Helen Thomas is a typical humorless, dry and washed out whack who can't and never could appreciate sarcasm and never realized in her 250 years as "Reporter" that the President was just yanking her wires.

She should take a trip to Simmi Valley, visit the Reagan Presidential library, spend a few minutes on the lower level and hear and listen to President Reagan telling jokes in his inimitable style.

Even for a useless harridan like Thomas, it is never too late to learn about humor. It is sadly lacking on the Left, unless it is shouted, yelled and seasoned with and unhealthy dose of vulgarity.

 

[Bfgrn]

President Obama Cut the Deficit and Slowed Spending to Lowest Level in 50 Years.

Here is the Federal surplus or deficit in dollars...

And Obama is not growing government...that was Bush.

One Obama Deficit > Any Reagan Budget

One Obama Deficit > All 8 of Reagans

I remember a time when the idea was to take the poor and lift them up. Now it's all about creating more bums.

Yea CandySlice, it was labeled the War on Poverty, but the real name of the agency created was called: the Office of Economic Opportunity. The core principles were opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

But right wing turds never supported it, instead they tried to portray it as a handout program. It was based on what should be conservative core values...the problem...conservative have no core values, except hatred and fear off the poor and Monica Lewinsky worship of an opulent hierarchy.

 

[FJO]

"Yea CandySlice, it was labeled the War on Poverty, but the real name of the agency created was called: the Office of Economic Opportunity. The core principles were opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

But right wing turds never supported it, instead they tried to portray it as a handout program. It was based on what should be conservative core values...the problem...conservative have no core values, except hatred and fear off the poor and Monica Lewinsky worship of an opulent hierarchy."

NO conservative EVER opposed the core principles of opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

They just opposed the misbegotten idea of EQUAL OUTCOME.

BTW, only liberals/Democrats worship Monica Lewinsky, because they are envious of her and would like to do to Obama what Lewinsky did to Clinton.

 

[CandySlice]

Nobody denies Reagan was probably suffering Alz symptoms at the end and he was STILL a better President than Obama, who, ostensibly, has all his faculties.

 

[CandySlice]

"Yea CandySlice, it was labeled the War on Poverty, but the real name of the agency created was called: the Office of Economic Opportunity. The core principles were opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

But right wing turds never supported it, instead they tried to portray it as a handout program. It was based on what should be conservative core values...the problem...conservative have no core values, except hatred and fear off the poor and Monica Lewinsky worship of an opulent hierarchy."

NO conservative EVER opposed the core principles of opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

They just opposed the misbegotten idea of EQUAL OUTCOME.

BTW, only liberals/Democrats worship Monica Lewinsky, because they are envious of her and would like to do to Obama what Lewinsky did to Clinton.

What? Get him impeached??

 

[Meathead]

Please, more whining about Reagan!

 

[FJO]

"Yea CandySlice, it was labeled the War on Poverty, but the real name of the agency created was called: the Office of Economic Opportunity. The core principles were opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

But right wing turds never supported it, instead they tried to portray it as a handout program. It was based on what should be conservative core values...the problem...conservative have no core values, except hatred and fear off the poor and Monica Lewinsky worship of an opulent hierarchy."

NO conservative EVER opposed the core principles of opportunity, responsibility, community and empowerment.

They just opposed the misbegotten idea of EQUAL OUTCOME.

BTW, only liberals/Democrats worship Monica Lewinsky, because they are envious of her and would like to do to Obama what Lewinsky did to Clinton.

What? Get him impeached??

Impeachment left a stain on Clinton's Presidency, but not on Monica's blue dress.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Reagan never had a Republican Congress

He did the best he could under the circumstances

Say anything else you like about Reagan, but he gave an absolutely masterful demonstration of how a President can work around a hostile Congress. No one else has equalled it since, although I have to say, Bill Clinton came pretty close. On the other hand, Clinton's bar was set a lot lower, because Congressional Republicans always have an eerie resemblance to the Keystone Kops.

 

[regent]

Have you read one good word from the Left about Reagan freeing Eastern Europe from Soviet Communism?

Yep, it was a Reagan executive order that freed the USSR from communism. That executive order placed Gorbachev in power and gave the Soviet Republics the power to declare themselves free. Ah, the past can become so simple if a political party can write the history and its role in that history.
The real key to the fall of the USSR was both Gorbachev and Reagan wanted the cold war to end. Both allowed and acted for that too happen. Had either been hard liners who knows what might have happened. Reagan talked a hard line, but it was both he and Gorbachev that caved. And for that we should thank both. And anther thanks that Reagan's Iran Contra team was not involved in those negotiations.

 

[Londoner]

Research the relationship between the Reagan administration and Iran before the 1980 election.