199 Reasons Why Ronald Reagan Stunk
by davefromqueens
Tue May 15, 2007 at 08:02:10 AM PST
Ronald Reagan was the second worst President in American history. Instead of dealing with the facts and adverse consequences of Reagan's presidency, conservatives have engaged in a multi-billion dollar propaganda campaign to lionize Ronald Reagan.
The right wing propaganda strategy is simple. Lionize Reagan, (legacy, reaganesque) create a Teflon persona, try to immunize Reagan from criticism, and then attempt to validate RW conservatism through Reagan. They do this because RW conservatism, the ideology, has been, is, and always will be an utter failure.
But it's time we obliterate the Ronald Reagan myths and point out the real record. It's time we automatically use phrases like disaster, terrorist coddler, middle class tax increaser, pessimist, and failure to aptly describe Mr. 666 himself, Ronald Wilson Reagan. Considering his real record, these phrases are understatements.
* davefromqueens's diary :: ::
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1. Ronald Reagan had little or no effect in defeating communism in the Soviet Union. Communism officially collapsed long after Reagan left office and for reasons (internal, Eastern Europe bloc, technology, etc...) unrelated to the Gipper.
2. Ronald Reagan signed the largest middle class tax increases in world history.
3. Reagan accumulated more debt against our treasury in 8 years than all previous presidents combined had done in 192 years.
4. More banks closed during 8 years of Reagan than they had in the previous 192 years combined.
5. Ronald Reagan provided the training and weapons to Osama Bin Laden which formed the base for Al Qaeda.
6. Ronald Reagan gaves arms to Hezbollah.
7. More members of Ronald Reagan's administration were indicted or jailed (139) than any other previous administration in American history.
8. 91% of Americans saw their standard of living decline during the 1980s.
9. Reagan actively supported the apartheid government of South Africa.
10. The poverty rate rose by 6 million people in America from 1980 to 1988.
11. America ranked 1st worldwide in manufacturing in 1980. When Reagan left office, America was ranked 13th.
12. Under Reagan, America went from the largest creditor nation in the world to the largest debtor nation.
13. Bitburg, Germany. Reagan called Nazi soldiers "innocent victims."
14. Reagan opposed the Equal Rights Amendment for women.
15. Reagan ignored the murders of 241 dead marines in Beirut. Instead of pursuing the murderers, Reagan invaded a classroom in Grenada the following day.
16. Nuclear weapons proliferated throughout the 1980s. Many of these loose nukes are still out there.
17. College tuition costs rose dramatically during Reagan's presidency.
18. Reagan cut student loans.
19. Reagan overruled the NASA scientists engineers who warned of potential problems and decided to send the Challenger up into space anyway (because he wanted the photo-op) prior to correcting the problems.
20. Reagan proposed making ketchup a vegetable for school lunches.
21. Reagan engaged in union busting activities that hurt labor and workers.
22. James Watt was Reagan's secretary of the interior. Watt once said, "We don't have to protect the environment, the 2nd coming of Christ is at hand."
23. Reagan ignored the growing AIDS crisis out of pure bigotry and hatred during the first few years of his presidency.
24. Ollie North and Iran Contra.
25. Reagan appointed Antonin Scalia to the United States Supreme Court.
26. Reagan promoted William Rehnquist to chief justice of the US Supreme Court.
27. Reagan supported the Taliban in Afghanistan.
28. Since the Great Depression, Reagan presided over the biggest 1 day losses in the stock market in American history.
29. The federal share of education spending dropped by 50% during the 1980s as a percent of the total share. (12% to 6%)
30. Reagan cut Medicare.
31. Reagan raised social security taxes.
32. Ronald Reagan dramatically increased the amount of spending by the federal government, mostly on waste.
33. Reagan was a disciple of Joe McCarthy who engaged in witchhunts against so called communists in Hollywood during the 1950s.
34. Ronald Reagan opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
35. America's national debt more than tripled under Ronald Reagan.
36. The Savings and Loans scandals and disaster.
37. Reagan cut school lunch programs.
38. Star Wars. As Mitterand once said, "What planet is he living on?"
39. Reagan deregulated the media industry leading to the monopolies we have today.
40. The arms for hostages deal with Iran.
41. Reagan the horrible father once publicly said that his son should undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
42. The multiple Reagan recessions.
43. His treatment of Jane Wyman.
44. Ronald Reagan supported Bob Jones University, including its sexist, racist, and miscegeny policies.
45. Ronald Reagan tried to abolish the US Dept. of Education.
46. Reagan sought to abolish Social Security, said in 1975 that he wanted to make it voluntary.
47. Ronald Reagan cut back on job training programs.
48. Reagan cut back on Veterans benefits.
49. Economically speaking, the 1980s saw slower growth than any previous decade since WWII.
50. Poverty rates increased by over one-third during Reagan's presidency.
51. The Michael Deaver Scandals.
52. A presidency on 2 by 4 index cards.
53. His claims about not remembering on Iran Contra made Reagan, in the words of Barry Goldwater, either incompetent or a liar.
54. Bribes, kickbacks, and pay for play were the norm of this corrupt administration.
55. Federal spending of national income was higher in 1988 than it ever was under Jimmy Carter.
56. Ronald Reagan's tax bill of 1986 raised taxes on small businesses.
57. Reagan tried to abolish the Dept. of Energy.
58. Reagan the racist once said that Africans eat each other.
59. Reagan cut education scholarships.
60. Reagan fired all the air traffic comptrollers thus weakening air safety.
61. Reagan's tax policies led to higher local income and property taxes.
62. Payroll taxes increased under Ronald Reagan.
63. Excise taxes increased under Roanld Reagan.
64. Reagan allowed big business to rape American's national parks by giving them tax free leases to drill on public lands.
65. The Laffer Curve and napkin economics.
66. Median wages in real dollars fell during the 1980s.
67. Unemployment hit double digits under Ronald Reagan.
68. Reagan weakened anti trust laws.
69. Reagan was the spokesman of General Electric during the heyday of their electric price fixing scandals.
70. More servicemen died during "peacetime" during Reagan's presidency than any other presidency prior to his.
71. Reagan increased gas taxes, then called it a user fee.
72. Reagan's policies put small farmers out of work, allowing agri-business conglomerates to monopolize the industry.
73. Despite rarely praying himself, Ronald Reagan wanted to impose government prayer on American citizens.
74. Reagan supported NAFTA.
75. Ronald Reagan undermined the right of collective bargaining for workers.
76. Ronald Reagan tried to undo child labor law protections.
77. Ronald Reagan tried to undo laws outlawing sweatshops.
78. Ronald Reagan cut back on housing assistance for the elderly by almost 50%.
79. The number of fines and penalties against employers who engaged in wrongful activity was reduced by over 70% during Reagan's presidency.
80. The GDP plunged during Reagan's presidency.
81. Reagan increased federal government spending by over 80% during his 8 years in the White House.
82. Reagan began his campaign for presidency in Philadelphia, Mississippi, preaching the same rhetoric as the murderers who killed 3 civil right workers (Schwerned, Goodman, Cheney) in 1963.
83. Home foreclosures rose dramatically during the 1980s.
84. Abortion rates went up during the 1980s.
85. Teenage pregnancy rates went up during the 1980s.
86. Reagan singlehandedly turned California's education system from the best in America to one of the worst in America in just two terms as governor.
87. Reagan once said that trees were the single biggest cause of pollution.
88. Reagan supported Jonas Savimbe, the brutal dictator and mass murderer of Angolans.
89. Reagan supported the brutal AFrican dictator Mobitu who murdered millions of innocent people.
90. Reagan supported Pinochet, the murderous dictator of Chile.
91. Reagan supported Fernando Marcos, the murderous dictator of the Phillipines.
92. Reagan supported Indonesian's murderous dictator Suharto.
93. Reagan gave chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein, the murderous dictator of Iraq.
94. Reagan supported the ayatollahs of Iran.
95. Reagan, through the IMF, changed policies which led to poorer nations being unable to get out of debt.
96. Ronald Reagan doled out more corporate welfare than any previous President in American history.
97. Reagan gutted the clean air act.
98. Reagan gutted the clean water act.
99. Reagan opposed cleaning up toxic waste sites.
100. REagan cut funding for Legal Aid.
101. Reagan supported the murderous regime in Nicaragua which took office by a coup after democratic elections to the contrary.
102. Reagan supported a murderous dictator in Panama.
103. Reagan supported the murderous dictatorship regime of Argentina in the 1980s which would kidnap over 1 million children at gunpoint because their parents were considered "leftists."
104. Reagan supported the brutal, murderous government of Singapore.
105. Reagan supported the murderous dicatorship in El Salvador.
106. Reagan supported the murderous dictatorship in Haiti.
107. Margaret Thatcher, destroyer of Great Britain, and the worst prime minister in England's history, adored him.
108. Even Richard Nixon once described Ronald Reagan as a very weird guy.
109. Ronald Reagan signed the largest tax increase in California's history.
110. Reagan supported the brutal murderous regime of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
111. Reagan supported the murderous regime of Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala that murdered over 100,000 people. Reagan claimed Montt was getting a "bum rap."
112. Reagan cut funding for birth control.
113. Reagan was the only president where debt exceeded gross national product.
114. Reagan cut funding for Head Start.
115. Ronald Reagan opposed a woman's right to choose.
116. Reagan gave away over a billion tons of government coal in Wyoming to Big Business.
117. Reagan equated the Mujahadeen and Osama Bin Laden to America's founding fathers.
118. Reagan tried to abolish affirmative action programs.
119. Reagan supported the murderous regime of Manuel Noriega.
120. Reagan supported Botha's policies of murder in South Africa.
121. Reagan's embrace of Barry Goldwater's extremist platform in 1964.
122. The Housing market bust of the late 1980s.
123. Voodoo economics as a whole.
128. If you add up all the murderous regimes Reagan supported and tabulated the death tolls, Reagan would rank as one of the world's five biggest murders, slightly behind Hitler and Stalin.
129. Ronald Reagan opposed proposals to reduce the harms of acid rain on the environment.
130. 600 dollar toilet seats.
131. Farm foreclosures reached record highs during the 1980s.
132. Unemployment claims increased during the 1980s.
133. The number of bankruptcy claims filed increased during the 1980s.
134. Malnutrition rates increased during the 1980s.
135. REagan cut low income housing funds by over 80% during the first two years of his presidency.
136. Reagan the ra once described black women as "welfare queens."
137. Ronald Reagan tried to lower the minimum wage for younger workers.
138. Reagan cut OSHA (Occupational Safety + Health Administration) staffing and enforcement by over one-third.
139. Reagan tried to undo Title Nine and equal education laws.
140. Reagan cut back on EEOC enforcement of gender discrimination by 50% despite a 25% increase in claims during his presidency.
141. As Governor, after migrant workers protested the inhumane conditions at the vineyards, Reagan went on TV and started eating grapes.
142. Health care costs skyrocketed because of Reagan's deregulation policies.
143. Bedtime for Bonzo.
144. Reagan exempted the sugar cane industry from the fair labor standards act.
145. Reagan signed an executive order instituting the infamous gag rule regarding abortion.
146. Reagan sought to ban forms of contraception.
147. Murder rates increased during the 1980s.
148. Drug use increased during the 1980s.
149. Teen smoking rates increased during the 1980s.
150. Interest rates reached 20% at one point during Reagan's presidency.
151. Reagan taxed people's savings from their bank accounts, which had previously been tax free.
152. EPA enforcement rates declined 79% during Reagan's presidency.
153. Reagan favored school vouchers which would severely undermine the quality of education in America.
154. Reagan cut school construction funding as governor of California.
155. As governor, Ronald Reagan increased the sales tax.
156. As governor, Ronald Reagan's first budget increased spending by 23% even though Reagan campaigned on "less spending."
157. Reagan once claimed that Vietnam Vets were not entitled to the GI Bill of Rights because Vietnam was not a declared war.
158. Caspar the criminal Weinberger.
159. Reagan tried to dramatically cut the Superfunds for environmental cleanup.
160. Reagan thought that working 20 hours a week was hard work.
161. Callous Reagan's response to people being hungry. "They're dieting."
162. The number of business failures in Reagan's first term tripled the number of business failures during Carter's presidency.
163. The Ed Meese scandals at the Dept. of Justice.
164. As President of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan helped blacklist many people from work as alleged communists. But when Nancy Davis came to him and said she was on the list by mistake, Reagan had her name removed from that list and later married her.
165. The events surrounding Pan Am flight 103.
166. Against the advice of the military, Reagan housed the marines in
Lebanon on land instead of at sea.
167. Only 1 member of Reagan's cabinet remained for the entire 8 years.
168. Alexander Haig was his first Secretary of State.
169. As Governor, Reagan ordered California state patrol onto a campus where a 25 year old man from San Jose was murdered by an overzealous officer.
170. Reagan often referred to his wife Nancy as "Mommie." (In all fairness this may be one of the most honest momemts in Reagan's life.)
171. Reagan claimed he fought in WWII. He was in a movie.
172. AIDSgate.
173. Ironically enough, the most expensive building in Washington to construct is named after Ronald Reagan.
174. Reagan was not an optimist. He truly hated large numbers of people and his policies reflected this pessimism.
175. Reagan admits that he never saw grades above Cs.
176. Despite trying to shove religion down everyone's throat, Reagan rarely went to church and rarely practiced what he preached.
177. Reagan couldn't even recognize his own son at his high school graduation.
178. Reagan was a distant and abusive father who ignored his own kids.
179. Reagan was the first divorced president in American history.
180. Reagan's 2nd wife Nancy Davis hired an astrologist to plan some of Reagan's days as President.
181. Reagan once said, "All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk."
182. Reagan once said, "A tree is a tree. How many more do you need to look at?"
183. Reagan once said, "facts are stupid things."
184. Reagan once said, "I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself."
185. Reagan admitted to falling asleep during Cabinet meetings.
186. Reagan once said, "It's true hard work never killed anybody but I figure, why take the chance?"
187. Reagan once said, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to announce that I have just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. Bombing begins in five minutes."
188. REagan once said, "trees cause more pollution than automobiles."
189. Reagan once said, "the state should not subsidize intellectual curiosity."
190. Reagan once said of people whom he considered hippies and free speech advocates on college campuses that they "should be taken by the scruff of the neck and thrown off campus --- permanently."
191. Reagan once said about protestors on college campuses, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with."
192. Reagan once said, "It's silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking stripes on it and still be home for Christmas."
193. Reagan once said, "Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders."
194. Reagan once said, "Growing and decaying vegetation in the land are responsible for 93% of the oxides of nitrogen."
195. Reagan once called Medicaid recipients, "a faceless mass waiting for handouts."
196. Reagan the homophobe once called homosexuality "a tragic illness."
197. Reagan once said, "Jefferson Davis is a hero of mine."
198. Reagan once said, "Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal."
199. Reagan's Interior Secretary James Watt once said to describe a panel he appointed, "A black, a woman, two Jews, and a cripple."
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