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How Reagan Was Compromised
FORBES ^ | 9/02/2012 | Richard Grant

Posted on 09/03/2012 9:48:48 AM PDT by AmonAmarth

A politician who leads with compromise is like a prizefighter who leads with his chin. If you’re in a real fight, you’re not going to last long.

Some months ago, “compromise” was one of most popular words in political discourse. But the calls for compromise were suspiciously unidirectional. We were treated to portrayals of President Ronald Reagan as “the great compromiser” who, despite his professed intention to reduce marginal tax rates, actually “raised taxes 11 times.” Clearly this was a call to conservatives and Republicans, in the name of a man for whom they had great respect, to follow his example and compromise with those who wish to raise tax rates, perhaps in return for spending cuts, in order to reduce the budget deficit.

But should Reagan be remembered as a great compromiser? It is unlikely that the striking air traffic controllers or the Soviets would agree. The art of principled compromise entails giving up a lesser value to achieve a greater value. The strikers and the Soviets asked Reagan to do the opposite; they ended with nothing.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS:
In 1982, Reagan agreed to increase some excise taxes on a promise from House Speaker Tip O’Neill that every dollar increase in tax revenue would be matched by 3 dollars in spending cuts. Famously, O’Neill reneged. So much for compromise: when later asked again to raise some taxes, Reagan would reply, “I’m still waiting for those spending cuts.”
1 posted on 09/03/2012 9:48:51 AM PDT by AmonAmarth
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To: AmonAmarth

The word of a Democrat, whether a President, Senator, Congressman, your mother, father, brother or sister or relatives or friends means absolutely nothing...they are incapable of honoring any word they give.


2 posted on 09/03/2012 9:51:08 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: AmonAmarth
Given the overwhelming rat control of the House for the entirety of Reagan's 8 years, and rat control of the Senate for all but 2 years, it is truly amazing what Reagan was able to accomplish. Everything positive that was accomplished on behalf of traditional, taxpaying American families was accomplished because Reagan's charisma and popularity forced the rats to cave, not "compromise".
3 posted on 09/03/2012 9:56:35 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: AmonAmarth

In 1980 when he make a DOUCHBAG BUSHIE his running mate!


4 posted on 09/03/2012 9:59:54 AM PDT by US Navy Vet (Go Packers! Go Rockies! Go Boston Bruins! See, I'm "Diverse"!)
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To: Gaffer

Yep, I have witnessed that firsthand countless times. Not a lick of honor amongst the rats!


5 posted on 09/03/2012 10:02:14 AM PDT by AmonAmarth (Wherever you go...There you are)
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To: AmonAmarth

There is no compromise on stopping the rampaging growth of government. We just have to wallop the people who oppose us.


6 posted on 09/03/2012 10:07:03 AM PDT by DManA
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To: AmonAmarth

Its funny how they can never tell the whole story, they are stupid but not stupid enough to know that if they told the whole story it would be nothing but a lie.


7 posted on 09/03/2012 10:10:13 AM PDT by ravenwolf
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To: AmonAmarth; GeronL
Amazing how this subject came up yesterday just before this editorial comes out!!!

Must be mental telepathy...

8 posted on 09/03/2012 11:07:18 AM PDT by SierraWasp (Government it'self is the REAL "Free Rider!" Obamacare will create burdensome "Free Riding!!!")
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To: AmonAmarth

I for one don’t believe that compromise is always bad all the time. The Declaration of Independence would never have been signed without it. The Constitution would never have been ratified. And “Pawn Stars” co-owner Rick Harrison would never make a sale.


9 posted on 09/03/2012 11:10:50 AM PDT by Tar and Feathers (http://tarandfeathersusa.wordpress.com/)
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To: Lancey Howard
Given the overwhelming rat control of the House for the entirety of Reagan's 8 years, and rat control of the Senate for all but 2 years, it is truly amazing what Reagan was able to accomplish

The republicans did not lose the Senate until 1986, six years after Reagan took office.

Incidentally, the effect of party control of the Senate is a better predictor of stock market performance than control of the White House or House of Representatives.

10 posted on 09/03/2012 11:49:41 AM PDT by Castlebar
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To: Tar and Feathers

Compromise is not always bad, in fact it is the essence of politics.

However.

Compromise, in the definition used by liberals and the news media (I know, a distinction without a difference) is as follows:

Liberals want to increase size and power of government at a rapid pace. Conservatives don’t want to increase size and power of government. The compromise is for size and power of government to increase at a somewhat slower pace than liberals would prefer.

May I suggest that conservatives should counter by laying out plans to drastically decrease size and power of government. The split-it-down-the-middle compromise would then be to keep government size and power roughly where it is now.


11 posted on 09/03/2012 1:11:03 PM PDT by Sherman Logan (Perception wins all the battles. Reality wins all the wars.)
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To: Castlebar
The republicans did not lose the Senate until 1986, six years after Reagan took office.

I sit corrected. Thank you.

Regardless, the rats controlled the House convincingly, and that's where "Ways and Means" happens. Also, the GOP senate included a pile of liberal, go-along-get-along Republicans at the time. Weicker, Chafee, Specter, Rudman, Stafford, Hatfield, Andrews, and Lugar just for starters. Half of the rest were squishy at best. That was one pathetic "Republican" senate. In retrospect, it's amazing Reagan got done what he did.

12 posted on 09/03/2012 2:09:40 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: AmonAmarth
By mid-1983, he had reduced the capital-gains tax rate from 28 percent to 20 percent (though he later agreed on its return to 28 percent to equalize it with the income-tax rate).

And that is used by Democrats, to this day, to claim that Reagan signed the largest tax increase in history. A tax cut -- that never took effect -- became a huge tax increase when it was reversed before it ever even took effect.

13 posted on 09/03/2012 3:56:01 PM PDT by BfloGuy (Without economic freedom, no other form of freedom can have material meaning.)
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