A Gentleman’s view.

Good Old Ronald Reagan, hero to the modern conservative movement, we are still paying for his great works.

1. Criminal: Iran-Contra treason. Lied about it. Likely encouraged Iran to keep US Embassy hostages until he was into office.

2. Fiscal: Supply-side economics. National debt tripled. $12 billion trade surplus turned into $100+ billion trade deficit. Deregulated savings and loans, precipitated huge economic crisis. Tax raiser. Taxed the poor, cut taxes for the rich. SDI “Star Wars” boondoggle. Military spending increased to match imaginary spending in the USSR. Deregulation caused oil bust. Broke the air traffic control union.

3. Social: Gutted social welfare. Release of mental patients without recourse, homeless population up. Ignored AIDS crisis. Abstinence-only sex education. Strengthened ATF, banned automatic weapons and blamed Democrats for it. Increased spending for War on Drugs, National drinking age of 21. Underfunded the NEA. EPA Superfund grands manipulated to help Republicans in local elections. Deregulated kids’ TV, initiated 22 minute toy ads. Killed energy programs. Crack in the ghettos.

4. Foreign: Wars all over Central America, including Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras. Promoted Iran-Iraq war. Sent Marines into Beirut, abandoned mission after terrorist bombing. Broke detente with USSR until Gorbachev personally made things better. Backed Contras in drug running schemes. Supported right-wing dictators and movements everywhere, including the Apartheid regime in South Africa, Marcos regime in the Phillipines. Saddam Hussein and Baathist regime in Iraq, even after the Kurds were gassed. The Taliban in Afghanistan. Manuel Noriega in Panama. Augusto Pinochet in Chile.

5. Concepts: Welfare queens. Trees cause pollution. Ketchup as a vegetable.

6. Appointments: 30+ convicted appointees; Ed Meese at Justice; addicted to porn. James Watts at Interior; idiot and corrupt. William Casey at the CIA; religious nut, had to be terminated on his way to testify before grand jury. Military strikes into Uzbekistan. HUD became a corrupt mess under his watch. Politicized the CIA. Attempted to appoint Robert Bork (anti feminist) to Supreme Court; segregationist and asshole. Got Antonin Scalia in; same as Bork.

7. Personal: Unfit to serve at end of term because of Alzheimer’s Disease, horrible excuse for a human being in general. A known McCarthyite. Neo-Conservative. Backed the Moral Majority. Pardoned Robert Walker who subsequently killed his wife. Laid a wreath at a SS cemetery in Germany. Considered Vietnam War to be a ‘Noble Cause”. Help start the right wing noise propaganda machine. Hated sex. Made his son, Ronnie feel like a sissy and quit ballet. Dumb as a stump. Believed in and used Astrology to run the government. Initiated and used cue cards for talking points. Famous phrase: “I don’t recall” in response to queries from the press. Outlawed Russia forever.

This is the man the Republicans look up to and admire as one to emulate as their party’s standard bearer.

© 2010, agentleman.