Posted on 02/11/2010 10:46:32 AM PST by The Right Way 1776
So I was thinking recently about the RINOs infesting the GOP and it hit me that -despite being one of the greatest presidents in the 20th century- there are certain elements during Reagan's terms that might make him a RINO.
Make no mistake though, these are just that: ELEMENTS, the majority of his accomplishments were grand.
Illegal Mexican Immigrants
One of Reagan's downfalls was not clamping down on illegal immigration. It's exemplified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act which gave Amnesty for illegals instead of trying to deport them. The act also followed on the leftist premise of a "pathway towards legalization" for certain illegals.
States' rights
One of the unfortunate results of the liberals in congress was the passage of the federal minimum drinking age, which effectively destroyed any notion of States' rights. Instead of vetoing the legislation, Reagan took it upon himself to vote FOR it.
Market protectionism
Despite freeing buisness from the grip of Carter's disaster liberalism (aka Keyensianism) there are certain protectionist measures Reagan took that go against any kind of notion of free market responsibility.
In 1981 the White house put a "voluntary" export restraint on Japanese cars, limiting the number that could be imported into America. Other then distorting the free market, it rewarded the Big three car companies for not being competitive enough and essentially acted like a bailout.
Conclusions
Nothing compares to the wonders Reagan achieved during his presidency but we have to be vigilant on some of the bad spots too.
In all if we let one of our best presidents get away with bad policies we'll be blindsided when the next conservative president comes in.
If I thought this post was intended to be even remotely tongue-in-cheek, I would applaud it, but we seem to have long since passed the point where satire becomes impossible here at FR.
IBTZ
Me too? IB4TZ.
Ozone Party!
Troll!
Actually considering who ran the Republican Party at the time (the country-club Rockefeller Republican types), they certainly considered Reagan a RINO.
Don’t be an ass
I guess that is what angers me so much about the country clubbers. They hated Reagan so much. They fought him more than they fought the democrats. Now, they do all they can to get people to imagine Reagan was one of them. It’s disgusting.
At any rate, I think it is totally ridiculous to judge Reagan by today's standards, which you seem to be suggesting. The political world has moved forward at light-speed in the last 20 years.
Reagan was not perfect, that is for sure. As with all icons, the negatives tend to be washed away from the public perception.
But it also speaks to the fact that the President, for all the power implied, really is not quite as powerful in a technical sense when you remove the War Powers from the discussion. The President, ultimately, has to attempt to influence, sign or veto what congress does. The power is in the vagaries of persuasion.
You have a point about the amnesty. That deal was Reagan’s biggest mistake.
He made other compromises with liberals, but only as necessary. He was always clear about his conservative Christian beliefs.
Reagan came into the presidency with a few major objectives, among them cutting taxes, getting people back to work (obviously related to tax policy), improving the military, and dealing with the Soviets. If he had to make some compromises in some other areas in order to accomplish his primary goals, he made them.
Bear in mind that he had a Democrat House to contend with during both his terms.
No president has ever been perfect. Reagan was not an exception to that rule. He was however, a great president. By today’s standards, he probably would be considered a RINO.
I see some are already calling for you to be “zotted”. How absurd.
If you compare him to the kinds of Republicans that were in office at the time, you could say so since he had more of a Libertarian stripe.
He also had a much different political reality to deal with than GW did. Reagan had a Democratic House and Senate to deal with, and they weren’t willing to compromise their “safety nets.”
I remember reading a quote from Tip O’Neill who said something like he was happy to have gotten through the Reagan administration with the social safety nets still intact. So, my guess is that Reagan wanted to do something with them, but never got that far because of people like Tip and his Democratic cohorts.
You fail to give the whole picture such as:
The Act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants (immigrants who do not possess lawful work authorization) and required employers to attest to their employees’ immigration status.
So Reagan was interested in a conservative approach but no one elected him to be Stalin and ignore other branches of the government.
If you think Reagan had the power to deport illegals but chose not to.
Reagan, the legend, was perfect. Reagan, the man, isn’t spoken of much around here.
I liked him fine because he knew how to compromise to at least get a piece of what he wanted. But he wasn’t the stellar conservative president that many portray him as.
Nothing much can be done about things in the past and while not 100% perfect Reagan was by far the best President in my lifetime.
Now, what needs to be done is to purge the GOP of every stinking progressive. At the primary level, if the GOP tries to run a progressive, like the scum they ran in NY ScuzzyFavaFlavorFlave then Conservatives need to use every legal means necessary to get someone else on the ballot.
If I were a Dem I would be ashamed with what the progressives have done to that party and I sure am not going to sit around and let the GOP do the same damned thing.
I joined the PrimaryChallenge group in NY. I’ve attended the Tea Party Rallies. On an almost weekly basis write my representatives to, at bare minimum, let them know we are watching.
We need a Sen McCarthy to once again purge the communists (progressives)from both parties and our country.
He certainly made deals and was pragmatic about it. He had no choice thanks to Tip O'Neil. That alone would draw the ire of many today who believe that anyone who compromises is a RINO.
The arm-twisting of states - especially Louisiana - about the minimum drinking age really irked me back then - long past the time where I turned "legal", and it still irks me today. The age that a state allows someone to drink liquor is none of the business of the imperial federal government
That oldies and goodies picture LOL!
Monk get on ping 7
Was he a Rino? ...........NO!
Was he a single issue nutcase? >>>>>>Absolutely NOT!
Did he make everyone happy all the time?......Certainly not!
Throughout his presidency he pissed of one constituency or another for the explicit purposes of governing the country well, but he always retained his conservatism in spite of appearances at times. GW Bush governed in much the same way as he tried to emulate Reagan when he could, but he did not have that special sauce that Reagan had.
I have often grappled with Conservatives on this site who often quote Reagan as if he was the quintessential conservative and never gave in to liberals. That idea is nice but it is not true. Reagan, or any good governor or president is the president of all, not just some, and reality tends to conflict with any ideology. It's how you handle that conflict that determines you ability to govern effectively.
Reagan was very effective compared to many modern day presidents, as was GWB. They both did it in a way that history will reflect as successful, and neither was, is, or ever will be considered a RINO. But criticisms of how they did one thing or another will always exist. It was the price they paid for effectiveness and it was done in the best interests of the entire country. He did it his way.
Out, out, damned zot!
“He certainly made deals and was pragmatic about it. He had no choice thanks to Tip O’Neil. That alone would draw the ire of many today who believe that anyone who compromises is a RINO.
The arm-twisting of states - especially Louisiana - about the minimum drinking age really irked me back then - long past the time where I turned “legal”, and it still irks me today. The age that a state allows someone to drink liquor is none of the business of the imperial federal government”
I agree. The passing of time often removes a bit of reality to our memories. Back then, and even now, Reagan would/should have been considered a RINO. And yet we honor the man and sure wish we could bring him back as our president once again.
Who pray tell Ron Paul Troll would be conservative enough? Never mind, I think I figured it out.
I smell Ron Paul infiltrator troll scent...
That’s right, Reagan was a RINO!!!!
The only true Republican was Abraham Lincoln. All “Republicans’ since him have been RINOs.
(I’m a RINO, you’re a RINO, everyone’s a RINO [except the progressive, liberal comunist democrats])
RINO wars!
As a conservative and Californian, I was thrilled to see Reagan elected, for him to push tax reductions, and push tough smart foreign policy.
I was, and remain, very pissed off about amnesty, preventing me from seeing him through the rose colored glasses.
Remember back in the eighties when Kerry came back from Nicaragua with his little hearings and such?
Fat Ted and the Demos just let Lurch hang in the wind. The deal was 'in'.
LLS
This is actually a good point, and in all cases I wasn’t trolling just food for thought.
“Reagan had to sign the Amnesty to get Ted Kennedy and the rest of the liberals on board to support some of the “off the books fund raising”.”
Thanks. I feel so much better experiencing these past 22 years of illegal immigration, since Reagan. not
Obviously it was all worth it, since Ted “handled” Reagan so easily. not
But I’ll stick to my version, and stay pissed.
IBTZ!
Hooah
ibtz
ZOT!
IBTZ
IBTZ
Livin dangerously, kid ???
Historically speaking you are correct.
Dang it, hate it when the post doesn’t go up right... Technically this poster is correct, but Regan was not a RINO. He had to make a number of compromises, and certain situations did arise that had to be dealt with. The Amnesty was a Mistake I think however. That is the only big one that I think he made. I wish he had been more aggressive in his last two years in office tho....
If your point was to show that Reagan was human and had his faults, then point made. At his worse, he was a damn sight better than what we are contending with today.
If your intent was simply to badmouth Reagan, the may your post die the death of a thousand viking kittie’s cuts.
(Vanity) A Look Back at Immigration, or Fifty Years of Lies
Cheers!
No president is perfect....on illegals I don’t think Reagan knew just how bad that would get...they only expected i think what??...a million or so applying?
and back then no one had the data seeing how most latinos would end up voting....sure most Ricans voted D but the more white Cubans voted R...a big R.
Now we know how it works....amnesty would kill the GOP’s power as we know it...and the hispanic birthrate coupled with white infanticide may do it anyhow
on drinking age...I think Magnus was wrong but that is not really RINO realm
amen but let me warn you that many many freepers have zero ability to view anything in historical context.
ask any southern freeper..lol
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