21 Reasons why Obama will have a better legacy than Reagan.

[wellendowed1911]

I hear a lot of you Obama haters constantly say how bad a POTUS he is and you guys love to state how great Ronald Reagan was as POTUS. Both Obama and Reagan faced somewhat similar hardships when they took office(economy, Terrorism, UE,etc) , but lets take a look of things the GOP won't mention about their last "great" President.

1. Reagan supplied weapons to our enemies


Reagan armed Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact that it was widely known Iraq was using chemical weapons in violation of International law.
http://middleeast.about.com/od/thisd...in-Halabja.htm


2. Reagan ignored the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein,


When the whole world condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons to kill 5000 of his own citizens in Iraq, the Reagan administration continued to provide weapons and tactical information to Iraq which Iraq used to target their enemies with chemical weapons. Reagan vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iraq. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...he_gassed_iran


3. Reagan illegally supplied arms to both sides in the Iran-Iraq War.


Reagan armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in direct violation of a U.S. law that he had signed. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1889.html


4. Reagan caved in to the demands of terrorists.


He provided weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of 7 American hostages in Lebanon, but ultimately more hostages were taken. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...e/reagan-iran/


5. Reagan caved in to the demands of terrorists again


After Reagan sent Marines to Beirut for a peacekeeping mission, a terrorist’s truck bomb killed 241 U.S. Marines. Reagan responded by immediately doing exactly what the terrorists wanted and pulled all the troops out of Beirut. http://middleeast.about.com/od/usmid...e081026d_2.htm


6. Reagan was weak in the war on terrorism.


After the bombing of Beirut, Reagan promised to track down and punish the terrorists who committed that horrible act. He never followed up on that promise.


7. Reagan didn't even obey his own laws.

1.Reagan illegally supplied weapons to Nicaraguan rebels in violation of a law that he himself had signed.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1889.html



8. Reagan supported the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government.


President Reagan illegally supported the Nicaraguan Contras, who he called “Freedom Fighters” even though they killed civilians and wanted to restore the dictatorship that previously existed in Nicaragua.


9. Reagan started an unnecessary war to take attention away from his failure in Beirut


Just days after the bombing that killed 241 Marines in Beirut, Reagan launched an attack on the island of Grenada to remove Cuban soldiers there. This successfully took attention away from the devastating loss of those Marines in Beirut.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...eagan-grenada/


10. Reagan failed to defend us from Saddam Hussein.


When an Iraqi fighter jet fired a missile into a U.S. Navy ship in 1987, killing 37 men, Reagan did nothing in response to the attack. Iraq is still the only country to attack a U.S. warship without retaliation.


11. Reagan helped create Al Qaeda


The Reagan administration armed and supported the Mujahedeen rebels in Afghanistan, who later became the terrorist organization, Al Qaeda.


12. Reagan supported the racist Apartheid government in South Africa.


When the white minority in South Africa (just 10% of the population) brutally repressed the black majority, even denying them the right to vote, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to apply pressure to South Africa to end Apartheid. President Reagan opposed any sanctions on South Africa and vetoed that bill. Congress was forced to override his veto.
http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/...-Sanctions.htm


13. Reagan supported the most brutal dictators in the world as long as he didn't consider them “Communists”.


He supported Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Later, when Noriega became too close with Fidel Castro, we suddenly considered him an enemy and removed him from power.

Reagan supported Saddam Hussein when he committed the most brutal atrocities on Earth, killing thousands of his own people. Years later, when Saddam threatened our oil supply, we used these same atrocities as reasons to go to war with him.

Reagan supported Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos even after Marcos killed his political rival and rigged his own reelection.

Reagan supported the brutal regime in El Salvador when it was widely known that they were killing civilians, including Americans. After 4 American nuns were murdered by Salvadorian soldiers, Reagan’s Secretary of State defended the Salvadorians suggesting that the nuns might have been shot while trying to run a military roadblock, but this wouldn't explain why they were also raped before they were killed.


14. Reagan’s administration had more documented corruption than any president in U.S. history.


At least 138 Reagan administration officials, including several cabinet members, were investigated, indicted or convicted of crimes. This is the largest number of any US President. Many of them were pardoned by Reagan or President Bush before they could even stand trial. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...e/reagan-iran/
•Secretary of the Interior – Indicted on 41 felonies
•Attorney General – resigned after investigations of corruption
•Secretary of Defense – charged with Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned before going to trial
•Two National Security Advisors – plead guilty to Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned
•Three high ranking CIA officials were convicted and pardoned for Iran-Contra crimes.
•At least 9 Reagan appointees were convicted of perjury, lying to Congress, obstruction of Congress or contempt of Congress.



15. Reagan frequently repeated bald-faced lies even after they were publicly revealed to be untrue.


He told stories about having been a U.S. Army photographer assigned to film Nazi death camps. Reagan never visited or filmed any such camps.

He often told a story about a “Chicago Welfare Queen” who had 80 aliases and gotten $150,000 in welfare. She never existed but they did find one woman who had 2 aliases and received $8,000. Reagan continued to tell the false version of the story.

He claimed that trees create more pollution than automobiles, an absurdly untrue statement that he literally pulled out of thin air.


16. Reagan set new records for Budget deficits.


After criticizing President Carter for having a $50 billion deficit, Reagan’s own deficits exceeded $200 billion. He tripled the national debt in only 8 years. Although Republicans blamed Congress for the budget deficits, all 8 of the budgets passed by Congress had less spending and smaller deficits than the budgets proposed by Reagan.


17. Reagan's economic policies put millions of Americans out of work


When he took office in 1981, unemployment was at 7.5% and dropping. A few months after Reagan’s economic policies took effect, unemployment began to rise again. Millions of people continued to lose their jobs for the next 2 years until unemployment exceeded 10%. It stayed above 10% for nearly a year, peaking at 10.8%. Three years after he was elected, unemployment was still higher than when he was sworn in. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000





18. Reagan’s policies allowed hundreds of thousands of family farms to go out of business or declare bankruptcy.


By some accounts, nearly 1/3 of all farms were at risk of being foreclosed during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan vetoed a farm credit bill that would have given farmers some relief. Reagan’s popularity among farmers dropped so low that at one point when discussing the exportation of grain to other countries, Reagan joked that he would like to “keep the grain and export the farmers”.
http://www.ruralvotes.com/thebackforty/?p=363


19. Reagan’s financial policies caused the Savings and Loan industry to collapse.


The financial deregulation and changes to the tax code that President Reagan enacted ultimately caused nearly 750 different financial institutions to fail. All of this cost taxpayers about $150 billion.
http://useconomy.about.com/od/Politi...c-Policies.htm


20. Reagan robbed the Social Security trust fund to pay for his budget shortfalls.


After Reagan cut taxes for the rich, the tax revenue to fund the government was so small that the budget deficit grew to 4 times what it was under Jimmy Carter. So Reagan “borrowed” hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social Security trust fund to pay the country’s bills. That money has never been paid back.


21. Reagan largely ignored the AIDS epidemic while tens of thousands of people were dying of the disease.


Many conservatives in the 1980s believed that AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. Ronald Reagan did not publicly talk about AIDS until the 6th year of his presidency. In 1986, when AIDS fatalities were doubling every year, Reagan proposed cuts in funding for AIDS research.

[Mr MojoRisin]

Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

I hear a lot of you Obama haters constantly say how bad a POTUS he is and you guys love to state how great Ronald Reagan was as POTUS. Both Obama and Reagan faced somewhat similar hardships when they took office(economy, Terrorism, UE,etc) , but lets take a look of things the GOP won't mention about their last "great" President.

1. Reagan supplied weapons to our enemies


Reagan armed Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact that it was widely known Iraq was using chemical weapons in violation of International law.
http://middleeast.about.com/od/thisd...in-Halabja.htm


2. Reagan ignored the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein,


When the whole world condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons to kill 5000 of his own citizens in Iraq, the Reagan administration continued to provide weapons and tactical information to Iraq which Iraq used to target their enemies with chemical weapons. Reagan vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iraq. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...he_gassed_iran


3. Reagan illegally supplied arms to both sides in the Iran-Iraq War.


Reagan armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in direct violation of a U.S. law that he had signed. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1889.html


4. Reagan caved in to the demands of terrorists.


He provided weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of 7 American hostages in Lebanon, but ultimately more hostages were taken. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...e/reagan-iran/


5. Reagan caved in to the demands of terrorists again


After Reagan sent Marines to Beirut for a peacekeeping mission, a terrorist’s truck bomb killed 241 U.S. Marines. Reagan responded by immediately doing exactly what the terrorists wanted and pulled all the troops out of Beirut. http://middleeast.about.com/od/usmid...e081026d_2.htm


6. Reagan was weak in the war on terrorism.


After the bombing of Beirut, Reagan promised to track down and punish the terrorists who committed that horrible act. He never followed up on that promise.


7. Reagan didn't even obey his own laws.

1.Reagan illegally supplied weapons to Nicaraguan rebels in violation of a law that he himself had signed.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1889.html



8. Reagan supported the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government.


President Reagan illegally supported the Nicaraguan Contras, who he called “Freedom Fighters” even though they killed civilians and wanted to restore the dictatorship that previously existed in Nicaragua.


9. Reagan started an unnecessary war to take attention away from his failure in Beirut


Just days after the bombing that killed 241 Marines in Beirut, Reagan launched an attack on the island of Grenada to remove Cuban soldiers there. This successfully took attention away from the devastating loss of those Marines in Beirut.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...eagan-grenada/


10. Reagan failed to defend us from Saddam Hussein.


When an Iraqi fighter jet fired a missile into a U.S. Navy ship in 1987, killing 37 men, Reagan did nothing in response to the attack. Iraq is still the only country to attack a U.S. warship without retaliation.


11. Reagan helped create Al Qaeda


The Reagan administration armed and supported the Mujahedeen rebels in Afghanistan, who later became the terrorist organization, Al Qaeda.


12. Reagan supported the racist Apartheid government in South Africa.


When the white minority in South Africa (just 10% of the population) brutally repressed the black majority, even denying them the right to vote, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to apply pressure to South Africa to end Apartheid. President Reagan opposed any sanctions on South Africa and vetoed that bill. Congress was forced to override his veto.
http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/...-Sanctions.htm


13. Reagan supported the most brutal dictators in the world as long as he didn't consider them “Communists”.


He supported Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Later, when Noriega became too close with Fidel Castro, we suddenly considered him an enemy and removed him from power.

Reagan supported Saddam Hussein when he committed the most brutal atrocities on Earth, killing thousands of his own people. Years later, when Saddam threatened our oil supply, we used these same atrocities as reasons to go to war with him.

Reagan supported Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos even after Marcos killed his political rival and rigged his own reelection.

Reagan supported the brutal regime in El Salvador when it was widely known that they were killing civilians, including Americans. After 4 American nuns were murdered by Salvadorian soldiers, Reagan’s Secretary of State defended the Salvadorians suggesting that the nuns might have been shot while trying to run a military roadblock, but this wouldn't explain why they were also raped before they were killed.


14. Reagan’s administration had more documented corruption than any president in U.S. history.


At least 138 Reagan administration officials, including several cabinet members, were investigated, indicted or convicted of crimes. This is the largest number of any US President. Many of them were pardoned by Reagan or President Bush before they could even stand trial. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...e/reagan-iran/
•Secretary of the Interior – Indicted on 41 felonies
•Attorney General – resigned after investigations of corruption
•Secretary of Defense – charged with Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned before going to trial
•Two National Security Advisors – plead guilty to Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned
•Three high ranking CIA officials were convicted and pardoned for Iran-Contra crimes.
•At least 9 Reagan appointees were convicted of perjury, lying to Congress, obstruction of Congress or contempt of Congress.



15. Reagan frequently repeated bald-faced lies even after they were publicly revealed to be untrue.


He told stories about having been a U.S. Army photographer assigned to film Nazi death camps. Reagan never visited or filmed any such camps.

He often told a story about a “Chicago Welfare Queen” who had 80 aliases and gotten $150,000 in welfare. She never existed but they did find one woman who had 2 aliases and received $8,000. Reagan continued to tell the false version of the story.

He claimed that trees create more pollution than automobiles, an absurdly untrue statement that he literally pulled out of thin air.


16. Reagan set new records for Budget deficits.


After criticizing President Carter for having a $50 billion deficit, Reagan’s own deficits exceeded $200 billion. He tripled the national debt in only 8 years. Although Republicans blamed Congress for the budget deficits, all 8 of the budgets passed by Congress had less spending and smaller deficits than the budgets proposed by Reagan.


17. Reagan's economic policies put millions of Americans out of work


When he took office in 1981, unemployment was at 7.5% and dropping. A few months after Reagan’s economic policies took effect, unemployment began to rise again. Millions of people continued to lose their jobs for the next 2 years until unemployment exceeded 10%. It stayed above 10% for nearly a year, peaking at 10.8%. Three years after he was elected, unemployment was still higher than when he was sworn in. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000





18. Reagan’s policies allowed hundreds of thousands of family farms to go out of business or declare bankruptcy.


By some accounts, nearly 1/3 of all farms were at risk of being foreclosed during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan vetoed a farm credit bill that would have given farmers some relief. Reagan’s popularity among farmers dropped so low that at one point when discussing the exportation of grain to other countries, Reagan joked that he would like to “keep the grain and export the farmers”.
http://www.ruralvotes.com/thebackforty/?p=363


19. Reagan’s financial policies caused the Savings and Loan industry to collapse.


The financial deregulation and changes to the tax code that President Reagan enacted ultimately caused nearly 750 different financial institutions to fail. All of this cost taxpayers about $150 billion.
http://useconomy.about.com/od/Politi...c-Policies.htm


20. Reagan robbed the Social Security trust fund to pay for his budget shortfalls.


After Reagan cut taxes for the rich, the tax revenue to fund the government was so small that the budget deficit grew to 4 times what it was under Jimmy Carter. So Reagan “borrowed” hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social Security trust fund to pay the country’s bills. That money has never been paid back.


21. Reagan largely ignored the AIDS epidemic while tens of thousands of people were dying of the disease.


Many conservatives in the 1980s believed that AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. Ronald Reagan did not publicly talk about AIDS until the 6th year of his presidency. In 1986, when AIDS fatalities were doubling every year, Reagan proposed cuts in funding for AIDS research.

Reagan is dead. Worry about the guy who is in office at the present time. Cause he is far from perfect.

Jim

[wellendowed1911]

Originally Posted by Mr MojoRisin

Reagan is dead. Worry about the guy who is in office at the present time. Cause he is far from perfect.

Jim

Look here pal- all I am saying is that other POTUS have had their faults- I never said Obama is perfect, but you guys want him to fail and that is so sad. FYI, I was a Reagan Democrat, but I know Reagan had his faults and he wasn't nearly as great as the Pedestal the GOP would like to place him on- but nevertheless, I know Reagan and if he were alive today he would be embarrassed of the mockery of what was once a great and trustworthy political party.

[Guest051115]

They'll be back to normal once the black face is out of office.

[TheDaliLama]

Looks like Zanney beat you into calling someone a racists wellendowed..

[Mr MojoRisin]

Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

Look here pal- all I am saying is that other POTUS have had their faults- I never said Obama is perfect, but you guys want him to fail and that is so sad. FYI, I was a Reagan Democrat, but I know Reagan had his faults and he wasn't nearly as great as the Pedestal the GOP would like to place him on- but nevertheless, I know Reagan and if he were alive today he would be embarrassed of the mockery of what was once a great and trustworthy political party.

Nobody will dispute that. All Presidents have had their short comings. But never have I ever seen anything like this era we are having with Obama. Liberals can ignore it, deny it, blame someone else whatever. But something really wrong is going on around here. I am afraid to even guess what the next two years will bring.

Jim

[shanm]

Originally Posted by Mr MojoRisin

Nobody will dispute that. All Presidents have had their short comings. But never have I ever seen anything like this era we are having with Obama. Liberals can ignore it, deny it, blame someone else whatever. But something really wrong is going on around here. I am afraid to even guess what the next two years will bring.

Jim

^HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

What other news have you brought us? O Harbinger of doom, Slayer of worlds and Herald of destruction.

[Mr MojoRisin]

Originally Posted by shanm

^HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

What other news have you brought us? O Harbinger of doom, Slayer of worlds and Herald of destruction.

Well, I am sorry I can't tell ya what ya want to hear. Go get your ration of deception from someone else.

Jim

[shanm]

Originally Posted by Mr MojoRisin

Well, I am sorry I can't tell ya what ya want to hear. Go get your ration of deception from someone else.

Jim

I mean no offence obviously. That was just my first reaction to what you said. It sounded really unnecessarily eerie.
Also could get the award for most unsubstantiated claim of the century really.

[JD Barleycorn]

Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

I hear a lot of you Obama haters constantly say how bad a POTUS he is and you guys love to state how great Ronald Reagan was as POTUS. Both Obama and Reagan faced somewhat similar hardships when they took office(economy, Terrorism, UE,etc) , but lets take a look of things the GOP won't mention about their last "great" President.

1. Reagan supplied weapons to our enemies


Reagan armed Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact that it was widely known Iraq was using chemical weapons in violation of International law.
http://middleeast.about.com/od/thisd...in-Halabja.htm
Iraq was not our enemy at this time. Iran was not officially our enemy because Carter failed to ask the Congress for an authorization or declaration of war.
Point one destroyed. I also assume that since you bring this up that you are accepting that Obama has armed our enemies (Mexican drug cartels, Syrian terrorists, the Libyans, the Yemeni, etc. This are people who we are actively fighting with drones or law enforcement)


2. Reagan ignored the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein,

Which 5,000 citizens? The Kurds who were killed while G H W Bush was president? You have to be more specific.


When the whole world condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons to kill 5000 of his own citizens in Iraq, the Reagan administration continued to provide weapons and tactical information to Iraq which Iraq used to target their enemies with chemical weapons. Reagan vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iraq. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...he_gassed_iran


3. Reagan illegally supplied arms to both sides in the Iran-Iraq War.


Reagan armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in direct violation of a U.S. law that he had signed. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1889.html

Your link didn't work so I have to assume that you're talking about the Bolan Amendment which was designed by the left wingers in the Congress to prevent Reagan from aiding the Contras. It had nothing to do with Iran or Iraq. It was illegal and unconstitutional. After Reagan violated it the Congress did nothing because the smart money said that the supremes would come down on the side Reagan since the Constitution clearly states that foriegn policy is the responsibility of the executive branch.

Another point smashed...

4. Reagan caved in to the demands of terrorists.


He provided weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of 7 American hostages in Lebanon, but ultimately more hostages were taken. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...e/reagan-iran/

Yes, he did.....and he admitted that it was a mistake. According to Obama he is perfection. He has never admitted to any mistake.


5. Reagan caved in to the demands of terrorists again


After Reagan sent Marines to Beirut for a peacekeeping mission, a terrorist’s truck bomb killed 241 U.S. Marines. Reagan responded by immediately doing exactly what the terrorists wanted and pulled all the troops out of Beirut. http://middleeast.about.com/od/usmid...e081026d_2.htm

He also said that this was a mistake on his part. You gotta to admit, the man took responsibility unlike Obama or Hillary.


6. Reagan was weak in the war on terrorism.


After the bombing of Beirut, Reagan promised to track down and punish the terrorists who committed that horrible act. He never followed up on that promise.

There was no war on terrorism then. There were acts of terrorism that the west responded to like the taking of the Achilles Lauro. The US acted immediately to capture the terrorists responsible unlike Benghazi.


7. Reagan didn't even obey his own laws.

1.Reagan illegally supplied weapons to Nicaraguan rebels in violation of a law that he himself had signed.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1889.html

This I know is the Bolan amendment and I have already addressed this illegal law that was a small part of a larger package. You know better than that...



8. Reagan supported the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government.


President Reagan illegally supported the Nicaraguan Contras, who he called “Freedom Fighters” even though they killed civilians and wanted to restore the dictatorship that previously existed in Nicaragua.

When was the last time that a "legally elected" communist government was truly elected? The next time will be the first time. Daniel Ortega, look him up and then tell us that he was really elected.


9. Reagan started an unnecessary war to take attention away from his failure in Beirut


Just days after the bombing that killed 241 Marines in Beirut, Reagan launched an attack on the island of Grenada to remove Cuban soldiers there. This successfully took attention away from the devastating loss of those Marines in Beirut.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...eagan-grenada/

Now you really screwed up. My ship was involved in this operation and we were prepping when we got the word about Beirut. You've believed another urban myth. Beirut was not Reagan's failure (the pull out was), the Congress set the rules of engagement which got the Marines killed because they were not ready for trouble due to the orders that they not have their weapons loaded when the truck bomb drove through a road block. The real culprit was Tip O'Neill.


10. Reagan failed to defend us from Saddam Hussein.


When an Iraqi fighter jet fired a missile into a U.S. Navy ship in 1987, killing 37 men, Reagan did nothing in response to the attack. Iraq is still the only country to attack a U.S. warship without retaliation.

Are we going to split hairs here. The USS Pueblo was attacked by North Korea in 1968 and LBJ did nothing though he had aircraft and a carrier group within striking distance. The USS Liberty was hit by Israel in 1967 and nothing happened. LBJ on both counts. The USS Cole was hit in 2000 and Clinton did nothing. There you have the truth. Three navy ships under two democratic presidents and no reaction.


11. Reagan helped create Al Qaeda


The Reagan administration armed and supported the Mujahedeen rebels in Afghanistan, who later became the terrorist organization, Al Qaeda.

The rebels were originally supported by Jimmy Carter so they are Jimmy's creation.


12. Reagan supported the racist Apartheid government in South Africa.


When the white minority in South Africa (just 10% of the population) brutally repressed the black majority, even denying them the right to vote, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to apply pressure to South Africa to end Apartheid. President Reagan opposed any sanctions on South Africa and vetoed that bill. Congress was forced to override his veto.
http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/...-Sanctions.htm

Reagan opposed sanctions because the Soviets were sniffing around just to the north of South Africa in Zimbabwe. Context and tell the whole story. Don't lie by ommission.


13. Reagan supported the most brutal dictators in the world as long as he didn't consider them “Communists”.


He supported Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Later, when Noriega became too close with Fidel Castro, we suddenly considered him an enemy and removed him from power.

Reagan supported Saddam Hussein when he committed the most brutal atrocities on Earth, killing thousands of his own people. Years later, when Saddam threatened our oil supply, we used these same atrocities as reasons to go to war with him.

Reagan supported Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos even after Marcos killed his political rival and rigged his own reelection.

Reagan supported the brutal regime in El Salvador when it was widely known that they were killing civilians, including Americans. After 4 American nuns were murdered by Salvadorian soldiers, Reagan’s Secretary of State defended the Salvadorians suggesting that the nuns might have been shot while trying to run a military roadblock, but this wouldn't explain why they were also raped before they were killed.

Really, the worst of the worst. Worse than North Korea, worse than Pol Pot, worse than Communist China (the sheer numbers here dwarf all the rest), worse than the USSR and their gulags system, worse than Cuba, worse than Angola..... I could go on but whats the point. You exaggerated beyond the rational point of argument.


14. Reagan’s administration had more documented corruption than any president in U.S. history.


At least 138 Reagan administration officials, including several cabinet members, were investigated, indicted or convicted of crimes. This is the largest number of any US President. Many of them were pardoned by Reagan or President Bush before they could even stand trial. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...e/reagan-iran/
•Secretary of the Interior – Indicted on 41 felonies
•Attorney General – resigned after investigations of corruption
•Secretary of Defense – charged with Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned before going to trial
•Two National Security Advisors – plead guilty to Iran-Contra crimes and pardoned
•Three high ranking CIA officials were convicted and pardoned for Iran-Contra crimes.
•At least 9 Reagan appointees were convicted of perjury, lying to Congress, obstruction of Congress or contempt of Congress.

Why bother trying to explain the politicized congress (they remembered Nixon), the Bolan amendment and trying to make foriegn policy a criminal act. Why don't you list what this people were convicted of....they were convicted right? Or are you just trying to make it sound like they were convicted. The entire Iran-Contra scandal was politically motivated by the democrats who got out maneuvered everytime by Reagan.



15. Reagan frequently repeated bald-faced lies even after they were publicly revealed to be untrue.


He told stories about having been a U.S. Army photographer assigned to film Nazi death camps. Reagan never visited or filmed any such camps.

This was refuted just two months ago on this site. It never happened. Reagan really said that that he had saved film from the death camps for his children so they would never forget how cruel man can be.

He often told a story about a “Chicago Welfare Queen” who had 80 aliases and gotten $150,000 in welfare. She never existed but they did find one woman who had 2 aliases and received $8,000. Reagan continued to tell the false version of the story.

I would like to see this citation. I nailed you on one already, I can't believe this one either.

He claimed that trees create more pollution than automobiles, an absurdly untrue statement that he literally pulled out of thin air.

I heard this one when it happened. It was actually a sarcastic joke about how many leaves that trees drop in the forest. Nothing to do with air pollution.


16. Reagan set new records for Budget deficits.

He did have to rebuild a badly depleted and demoralized military that Carter has ruined. Any records that he broke, Obama is now the champ.


After criticizing President Carter for having a $50 billion deficit, Reagan’s own deficits exceeded $200 billion. He tripled the national debt in only 8 years. Although Republicans blamed Congress for the budget deficits, all 8 of the budgets passed by Congress had less spending and smaller deficits than the budgets proposed by Reagan.

I only wish we had only a $200 billion deficit today. He tripled the debt... how about some real numbers. Anything close to $8 trillion in six years? Ronald Reagan's tax cuts ended up increasing revenue to the federal treasury but the democratically controlled Congress (you forgot to mention that) spend even more than they took in. It was not a problem with taxes, it was a problem with spending and the democrats who ran congress.


17. Reagan's economic policies put millions of Americans out of work


When he took office in 1981, unemployment was at 7.5% and dropping. A few months after Reagan’s economic policies took effect, unemployment began to rise again. Millions of people continued to lose their jobs for the next 2 years until unemployment exceeded 10%. It stayed above 10% for nearly a year, peaking at 10.8%. Three years after he was elected, unemployment was still higher than when he was sworn in. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

When Reagan took office this country was in a recession caused by the policies of Jimmy Carter. Reagan could have blamed Carter but his didn't. So if you want to be consistent then every job lost after 2009 is Obama's fault and he can't blame anyone but himself. Also the real unemployment under Obama is still over 10 % and was as high as 13%. Way above Reagan's numbers.





18. Reagan’s policies allowed hundreds of thousands of family farms to go out of business or declare bankruptcy.


By some accounts, nearly 1/3 of all farms were at risk of being foreclosed during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan vetoed a farm credit bill that would have given farmers some relief. Reagan’s popularity among farmers dropped so low that at one point when discussing the exportation of grain to other countries, Reagan joked that he would like to “keep the grain and export the farmers”.
http://www.ruralvotes.com/thebackforty/?p=363


19. Reagan’s financial policies caused the Savings and Loan industry to collapse.


The financial deregulation and changes to the tax code that President Reagan enacted ultimately caused nearly 750 different financial institutions to fail. All of this cost taxpayers about $150 billion.
http://useconomy.about.com/od/Politi...c-Policies.htm

Actually the Savings and Loan crisis was precipitated by a law passed by Metzenbaum and not Reagan. The Metzenbaum bill took away the advantage of the taxes on the mortgage interest rate. This made property holdings less valuable and most the assets of the Savings and Loans were properties. Overnight the S & Ls lost billions of dollars of assets because of this bill passed by a democrat. Read your history.


20. Reagan robbed the Social Security trust fund to pay for his budget shortfalls.


After Reagan cut taxes for the rich, the tax revenue to fund the government was so small that the budget deficit grew to 4 times what it was under Jimmy Carter. So Reagan “borrowed” hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social Security trust fund to pay the country’s bills. That money has never been paid back.

The social security trust fund was raided by in 1967 when LBJ added it to the general fund. The piggy bank was already empty when Ronald Reagan showed up.


21. Reagan largely ignored the AIDS epidemic while tens of thousands of people were dying of the disease.


Many conservatives in the 1980s believed that AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. Ronald Reagan did not publicly talk about AIDS until the 6th year of his presidency. In 1986, when AIDS fatalities were doubling every year, Reagan proposed cuts in funding for AIDS research.

Kind of like Clinton and Carter ignoring Islamic terrorism when they were in office and Obama ignoring just about everything but his golf score. I wonder what you think Reagan was supposed to do. Medicine didn't even have a handle on the HIV epidemic until after Reagan left office. Reagan offered his time to raise money for AIDS research but he was turned down flat by the Hollywood elite like Paul Michael Glaser after his wife died in 1994. Your comment about how conservatives believed that AIDS was punishment has nothing to do with Reagan so why did you add it? How about those liberals who blamed the Green Monkey and Ronald Reagan for CREATING the AIDS virus. Are you one of those too?

I don't really have time for this bullshit but I hope that I've countered some of your myths even if you don't believe it.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

I don't really have time for this bullshit but I hope that I've countered some of your myths even if you don't believe it.

Reagan supplied arms to Iran?

My goodness

Reagan Cur n Run?

My goodness

How would the Tea Party treat Ronal Reagan today?

[filbone]

When it comes to trying to get elected, there are all kinds of Democrats who claim to be Reagan-like. How many politicians (Republicans and democrats) will claim to be Obama-like once he's out of office? My guess is none, if they hope to get elected. That will be the big difference in their legacies.

[Whirlaway]

Very excellent post filbone.................keep em coming.

Originally Posted by filbone

When it comes to trying to get elected, there are all kinds of Democrats who claim to be Reagan-like. How many politicians (Republicans and democrats) will claim to be Obama-like once he's out of office? My guess is none, if they hope to get elected. That will be the big difference in their legacies.

[I B Hankering]

Tip O'Neil "cut and run" from Lebanon, WE:

O'NEILL CRITICIZES PRESIDENT; WAR POWERS ACT IS INVOKED.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28— The Speaker of the House, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., (Democrat) who has generally supported President Reagan's positions in Lebanon and Grenada, turned sharply against the Reagan Administration today and called its foreign policy ''frightening''....

Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat West Virginia, the minority leader, moved to expand the war powers resolution by adding a long statement urging the President to replace American troops in Beirut with a more neutral international force as soon as possible.

Reagan moved the peace keeping force offshore, WE:

On February 7, 1984, President Reagan ordered the Marines to begin withdrawing from Lebanon largely because of waning congressional support for the mission after the attacks on the barracks. The withdrawal of the 22d MAU from the BIA was completed 12:37 PM on February 26, 1984...

The ship borne 22d MAU contingent remained stationed offshore near Beirut while a detached 100 man ready reaction force remained stationed ashore near the U.S./U.K. Embassy. The 22d MAU was relieved in place by the 24th MAU on April 10, 1984. In late July, 1984, the last Marines from the 24th MAU, the U.S./U.K. Embassy guard detail, was withdrawn from Beirut (wiki).

... and retaliate against whom, WE? There was legitimate doubt at the time as to who executed the bombings, and there were some who believed the U.S.S.R. might be complicit. Would you have had Reagan start a nuclear war with the Soviets, WE?

At the time of the bombing, an obscure group called the "Islamic Jihad" claimed responsibility for the attack. There were many in the U.S. government, such as Vice President Bush, Secretary of State George P. Shultz, and National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane (who was formerly Reagan's Mideast envoy), who believed Iran and/or Syria were/was responsible for the bombings. After some years of investigation, the U.S. government now believes that elements of what would eventually become Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, were responsible for these bombings as well as the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut earlier in April. It is believed that Hezbollah used the name "Islamic Jihad" in order to remain anonymous. Hezbollah eventually announced its existence in 1985. To date, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria have continued to deny any involvement in any of the bombings; even though, in 2004, the Iranian government erected a monument in Tehran to commemorate the 1983 bombings and its "martyrs" (wiki).

It wasn't until 2003 -- 20 years after the bombings -- that the real culprits were publicly identified, WE:

Iran responsible for 1983 Marine barracks bombing, judge rules
Friday, May 30, 2003 Posted: 11:14 PM EDT (0314 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iran is responsible for the 1983 suicide bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 241 American servicemen, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Friday.

https://web.archive.org/web/20081206...racks.bombing/

[i'va biggen]

Iran is a bad MF it is why we invaded Iraq.