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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Michael Reagan :: Townhall.com Columnist
If the Reagan Era is Dead, Who Killed it?
by Michael Reagan
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If you believe Newsweek magazine -- something that usually requires a serious suspension of disbelief -- the Reagan Era is dead. Politico also chimed in, proclaiming the death of the Reagan revolution.

Newsweek doesn't go on to tell you who killed the Reagan Era, so I will. It was the Republican Party that demolished the shining city on the hill my father built. It was the Republican Party that was 100 percent responsible for the end of the Reagan Revolution.

They forgot who he was; and having forgotten who he was, they stopped following in his footsteps that should have led to smaller, less-intrusive government, and restrained government spending. They are the ones who began to undermine the sturdy foundation my father built.

By the way, the same thing happened to Maggie Thatcher in Britain. Her own party was responsible for undermining all the great advances she made towards dismantling the socialist welfare state that had made England an economic basket-case. It happened because once she was out of power her party weakened.

Maggie was strong and Ronald Reagan was strong, but when they no longer were in power and at their prime, their followers turned into weak-kneed office seekers.

Being weak they were easily led astray and went in other directions, and fell prey to the lure of big government, big spending and big deficit politics.

The end of the Reagan Era was brought to us by the Republican Party, which had thrived under his leadership and is now in danger of becoming a minor player in the nation's politics and a spectator at the birth of a socialist America doomed to follow the path to ruin of every failed state has embraced the Marxist creed.

Can the Reagan Era be resurrected? It can, but only by the party that was responsible for its death. Republicans killed it and it's up to Republicans to revive it. And if America is to survive the coming debacle looming ahead under an ultra-left-wing Obama government drenched in the welfare-state philosophies of Karl Marx, only a reborn Republican Party will be capable of bringing America back from the brink of destruction.

Unless John McCain understands what is at stake here, Nov. 5 is going to resemble the smoking rubble of Dresden in the wake of the Allied firebombing of that city. The Republican Party is going to be in shambles.

It's going to be in shambles because the Republican Party abandoned the trail leading to that shining city on the hill to become itself a quasi-left-wing organization which looks at the Democrats' welfare programs and says "me too."

They destroyed the party from within. They are the ones to blame. Not the left-wing media , not left-wing academia, not the Democratic Party but the GOP -- the Grand Old Party -- no longer grand, just old and scared silly.

Ronald Reagan had the same media that we have today. He had the same left-wing academia that we have today and the same Democratic Party that we have today. But when the media and the Democrats attacked him he found it invigorating, and found strength and fortitude in being under fire, and he fought back like a tiger.

Today, when Republicans are attacked, they tremble and run for cover. And they give in and begin to mumble "me too."

I've heard people say that Ronald Reagan would have supported the bailout. My answer to that is: "Balderdash!" Ronald Reagan would never have supported a bailout, because under his leadership there never would have been a need for a bailout. He never would have allowed the double-dealing and sheer criminality that brought about our current crisis.

In a Ronald Reagan administration the Chris Dodds and Barney Franks -- who bled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dry -- wouldn't be running Congressional committees, they'd be fending off Federal prosecutors.

Let's not have any more talk about the end of the Reagan Era and the Reagan Revolution. It's time to re-fire the jets and move forward.

Let's win another one for the Gipper.

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About The Author
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of Ronald Reagan, is heard daily by over 5 million listeners via his nationally syndicated talk radio program, “The Michael Reagan Show.”
Bush and Buddies threw GOP under bus
Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, Coulter, and the others, should hide their face and give the big money back for being accomplices to Bush's Neocons. It bugs the hell out me how the neo-cons robbed the party and these CLOWNS didn't have the stones to check them. Nothing. Talk about the character of a person. While they make the big dollars, the taxpayer gets reamed!

Mr. Reagan, Your Father
Was an amazing man. It is so inspiring to watch you supporting his causes!

I was a teen when President Reagan was shot, in the attempted assassination attempt that he survived. What a fighter he was! I'll never forget that day.

This was, of course, before cell phones. But everyone I knew was trying to get in touch with one another, to spread the news about the shooting, and pray for our beloved president. And pray we did, for him as well as your mother.

Michael, we miss your Dad! But I can see some of the same qualities in Sarah Palin. Like your father, she doesn't give a hoot who insults her, and she's a straight shooter.

No doubt about it, Michael, your father was one-of-a-kind. But so are John McCain and Sarah Palin. I think they can bring the RNP back to where it should be.

Julie:
Palin is vacant and vapid. Watch Youtube
interviews. It is an example of dumbing down the standards big time. No wonder even non cocktail drinking conservatives are not supporting McCain.

Palin should go back and deal with her multiple ethic investigations. She lied about being completely cleared. That is the neo-con sin, not being able to admit one's error or self-critique. That is what got us in trouble to begin with. No one doing a real self-critique. No courage and no character.

MacCain is Dole II.

10 STARS!
That was the best column I've read in weeks, except for the last line.

Because even if McCain wins, it will NOT be for the Gipper. John McCain does NOT "understands what is at stake here." He's made that obvious by:
- supporting the bailout.
- limiting free speech.
- voting against Bush's tax cuts.
- NOT learning from the Gippers mistake on amnesty.
- supporting no child left behind.
- falling for this man-made global warming nonsense.
- demogoging profits instead of celebrating them.

McCain clearly believes government can solve our problems. Reagan knew he just had to get government out of the way.

"re-fire the jets and move forward" will only happen when we quit nominating socialists like McCain.

In the meantime, let's at least get as many GOP senators as possible to prevent the worst of Obama's marxist agenda from being enacted.


Joe the Plumber for President!

Downfall
True enough, it was a Republican Congress and President together who grew the size of government spending and debt more than the Democrats ever previously imagined. President Bush (Father and Son) were weak presidents who preferred being huddled with their advisers and doing deals with their counterparts in Congress.

Appeasement (compromise) at home with political adversaries is the Bush style of government. I particularly fault George Bush for failing to utilize his veto pen more often than he chose to in the last eight years. President Bush slacked off (Both of them). Remember, "Read My Lips, NO NEW TAXES".

The Late President Ronald Reagan once told the elder President George Bush "the reason you are having political problems is because you don't believe in anything".

I do not believe President Reagan was ever socially very close with then Vice President George Bush. The selection of George Bush as V.P. in 1980 was the beginning of the downfall of the Republican Party, since the vice president often becomes president in his own right. The Republican party needed a win back then, but was not fully committed to the conservative agenda of the Reagan Era.

Wrong, Michael
Since the Clintons came to power the Democrats and media became more leftist because of the 94 revolution and the politics of personal attacks.
I think Republicans did try to hold spending down but were constantly badgered by the msm/dim "poor working man" propaganda to hang on to some Reagan Democrat districts.

But this travesty you're seeing now is the Bush Derangement Syndrome that has not let up since the campaign of 2000. What Republicans and Bush squandered was the maintaining of leadership in 2000, 2002 and 2004. That was when immigration should have been nailed down with temp visas and employer crackdowns, the housing boom should have been tightly regulated especially Fannie/Freddie, oil drilling sites should have been opened up and started and
he should have taken on income tax instead of SS.

Stop speaking in code
We know what you mean when you say NEOCON-- why don't you be intellectually honest and just say "Jew"-- its tired and old as any other empty word.

What a shame
Michael starts of well and the starts talking about Obama as Marxist and makes ridiculous comparisons with Dresden.

Thats exactly the kind of republican attacks that have driven people to the left. You are part of the problem too Michael.



A Bunch of Spoiled Little Children
To Ranger29 et al
Here are some things Bush succeeded in. Justices Roberts and Alito, 2001 Tax Cuts, Increased Annual Contribution limits to Qualified Retirement Plans,Home Mortgage lowest interest rates EVER,Tax Stimuli Checks,and 6 1/2 years of record econ growth from a deep recession after 9/11. If you did not make ANY money during this decade, you are a lazy bum.

Bush Jr NEVER RAN as a Reagan Conservative. He Ran as a Compassionate Conservative...whatever that is. In that regard, he succeded as a Compassionate conservative aka RINO. He never claimed to be the leader of the Conservative movement, and you folks all knew this when he ran for office. Why would you expect anything different? GWB told you what he was, and you STILL voted for him. He has NEVER changed from his Compassionate Conservative line. So in that regard, he has been a success.
In closing, slide your vote for McCain/Palin, and stop your b*tching about GWB; and stop waiting on the next Reagan. That is like waiting for the next Mike Jordan.

Regards,

John Shaft

Letting Us Down
Mr, Reagan totally agree with you, when we had complete control for 6 years they did nothing but spend and grow government the GOP let us down in a big way.

ANDREW JACKSON MCCAIN OR OLD MCHICKORY
"As it is likely John McCain will win the White House in November he will be the third President in U.S. history to have been taken captive by an enemy and held as a prisoner of war. The second President-after Washington-was the great military hero Andrew Jackson who was captured by the British at age 13 in the Revolutionary War where he served as a courier with his younger brother. Like McCain Jackson was defiant with his captors and like McCain he suffered brutally at their hands receiving sword wounds to his body and nearly dying from starvation and disease.

If McCain is elected President then like Jackson, who succeeded John Quincy Adams, he will succeed the son of a former President who formerly was his rival for the presidency and belonged to the same party (the Democratic-Republican Party). Moreover, if McCain wins the race then like Jackson his election will occur in a year that ends in the number 8: for Jackson beat Adam’s in the 28th year of the 19th century, as
McCain would win in 2008 (the number 28 expanded)........."

Click ApolloSpeaks and read more about the striking analogies between Jackson and McCain in "John McCain and the Great Cyclic Return: Signs of Coming Victory and Presidential Destiny."



Reagan
Amen

Reagan
Right on Michael! If we had any sense, we would vote out ALL incumbents. While a few good souls would be lost, the overall good that would ensue would be worth it. We have far too many Americans who want someone else to provide for them and I am afraid that we will go the way of western Europe but with one significant difference, there will not be a western military power (USA) to keep the evil at bay.

WHO KILLED THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?

.....MICHAEL ...

.....Let's have a dose of reality ...

.....Bush Sr. landed the first blow ...he did not depose Saddam when he had the chance and then he raised taxes ...

.....Reagan has to accept some responsibility here because he kept Bush on the ticket for his second term and handed Bush the keys to the Kingdom even though Bush the elder had called Reagan's Trickle down, voodoo economics ....

.....Parties follow leaders and Bush Sr. was weak ...but he was a rock comparared to GW who administered the coup de grace to the Republican brand with his weak, aimless and at times very Liberal Leadership ...

.....Can the Party be saved? ...maybe, but I don't think McCain is the next Reagan, I think Sarah Palin might be .....COLOSSUS

Spot On, Mike!
The whole notion that real conservatism such as your father exemplified is 'obsolescent' is lying propaganda by the big-gov elite. Small-gov conservatism that values the worth & dignity of the individual & thus minimizes government is timeless & universal, not some odd product of R Reagan's supposedly unique talent + the Cold War, as the liars would have it.

The Rockie element & the apparachiks of the GOP are the basic problem. It's a simple matter of their own vested interests & applied basic marketing. They don't WANT to offer real conservatism because it cramps THEIR big-gov style.

When you don't want to sell what the market actually wants, you try to convince it that it wants what you're actually offering, instead. Try to confuse them on nomenclature: "conservative" is not a registered trademark, thus you won't get dinged for concocting some halfass weasel term like "compassionate conservative".

They insist there's this crowd of "independents" & "moderates" that are OK with leftist extremism, but get the fantods if a conservative dares raise his/her voice. They pander to the NYT while dissing "the right wing." Conservatism gets watered down to nothing & mixed w/ big-gov 'solutions.'

Then they hand us this load of tripe & the ultimatum "This is all you get. Eat it, or 'Wooo-ooo President Obama, woo-oo.'"

Real conservatism wasn't rejected in this election cycle, because it wasn't offered as a real choice since early in the primaries.

We need to form a real conservative party to either give the GOP some opposition on the "right" to motivate it to move toward the right & 'steal' the 3rd party's issues, or to supplant it as the redundant "Democrat Lite" waste of space & oxygen it's become.

Yeah, c'mon, GOP, steal our issues!

How can you be the son of Reagan and not
get it?

Reagan/Goldwater/Buchanan/Ron Paul: Goldwaterites

Bush/McCain/Bill Buckley, Mitt, Guiliani: Rockefellers

The liberal Rockefeller republicans have now almost completely purged the party leadership of the conservative Goldwaterites.

Townhall, NRO, Salem Radio Network, Rush, and Heritage Foundation dug the party grave by their blockheaded insistance on the

PHONY WAR ON TERROR


Left out something

Republicans don't hear much about the Goldwater/Rockefeller split in the party because the Rockefellers have used the neocons for cover.

These two groups also have an incestuous relationship.

Rockefellers prefer democrats to Goldwater leaders And they would prefer the GOP die rather than have the Goldwater republicans ever rise up again.

Bush did a great job killing the party for the Rockefellers, don't you think?(Which party do you think benefits from Bush/McCain amnesty?)

HA!

McCain's job appears to be burying the GOP.

It's no skin off his back,of couse, as he belongs to the real party that runs America: the Council on Foreign Relations.

WOW! WOW! I mean Wow!
I agreed with John Hawkins in a separate column, and I agree with Mike Reagan?

Check the moat around hell for ice buildup.

He's basically, though not completely, right. The Bush administration has been an absolute disaster for the country and for conservatives. The first part is bad. The second part is ironic and amusing. Somehow, Bush Republicans managed to combine the worst aspects of leftist and rightist thinking, while ignoring the good aspects of either.

But don't say we didn't warn ya.



Reagan Era ended by its success
When Reagan was sworn in the government regulated the prices of gasoline, long-distance phone rates, and air travel. Income tax rates were obscene. Inflation was in double digits. The Soviets had expanded into more than a dozen countries with impunity and the American military was in a shambles.

Reagan successfully solved these problems, and no politician in his right mind would run on undoing Reagan's reforms. Reagan succeeded because he had the right policies to solve those problems. To simply repeat his actions with an entirely new set of problems is foolishness.

Don't Tread On Me, you say we
need to form a conservative 3rd party to "give the GOP some opposition on the 'right'"...

Why not vote for one of the existing ones like the Libertarian (Bob Barr) or Constitution (Chuck Baldwin) party.

Obviously I don't completely agree with either party, but they're both head-and-sholders above the GOP on limited government and personal liberty.

I imagine a party where everyone agreed on everything would have a membership of one.

baseballdoc,
"I don't think McCain is the next Reagan, I think Sarah Palin might be"

Michael already said that a few columns back.

Hahahaha, Chris. Yeah!

Exactly!

The only person with whom I agree 100% is me!


love it.
Arnold Palmer asked his caddy, "What would Ben Hogan do in a situation like this?"

He was behind the green in some tall rough with no room to land the ball by the pin.

The caddy replied, "Mr. Hogan wouldn't be in this position."


Winning another for the Gipper
I would be more than happy to be a foot-soldier in the next Reagan Revolution. We need one, and soon. It doesn't appear McCain is going to be that leader. It doesn't appear 2008 will be anything short of a hibernation for the true conservatives out there. But in 2012, who will be our General? Mitt Romeny? No thanks. He was just the most conservative of the group to survive into the late primary. Mike Huckabee is a good guy, but a bit too populist for me. I hope Sarah Palin will pick up the colors and lead us. She seems to be the principled politician who runs not because of ambition, but in spite of it. She'll fill the White House with common sense ideas and leadership with purpose. I hope her, or someone like her, will bring responsibility back to Washington.

Matt

How about Jindal? Or Tancredo or Hunter?

The great thing Palin proved is that if the GOP pledges its support behind a conservative, no matter how "unknown" they are, they become a national figure, so any REAL conservative can do it.

And a REAL conservative will win by a landslide.

This neo-con RINOism has got to stop!

Reagan was a great President
and an actor.

He was able to make things look better than they were. Mc Cain is no actor.

Nine Terrifying Words
No way Michael! Your Dad is near and dear to our hearts and always will be! Keep up the great work!

http://allanerickson.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/nine-terrifyi ng-words/

We need something more radical...
than Reagan. If we get another Reagan, he will merely cut tax rates temporarily, as Reagen did. He we not restore the economy to it's pre-Bush era.

Hero material
Michael, my first presidential vote was for your father, and I was so proud to do so. Thank you for defending this great man. Ronald Reagan understood both the physical and idealogical threats our country faced at the time; they have only gotten worse. Washington today is a comfortable womb for many elitists seeking power and wealth. And as a tax payer, one of the 60% who actually contributes to the public trough, the flagrant disregard of my hard earned money is outrageous. But here's the key: you can't put all the responsibility on the elected officials. Sure, they need to act responsibly, but the real problem is the indifference of the American people. If politicians believed the citizens of this country would wake up and take action, then I believe we would see a whole new kind of government.

hero material
Michael, my first presidential vote was for your father, and I was so proud to do so. Thank you for defending this great man. Ronald Reagan understood both the physical and idealogical threats our country faced at the time; they have only gotten worse. Washington today is a comfortable womb for many elitists seeking power and wealth. And as a tax payer, one of the 60% who actually contributes to the public trough, the flagrant disregard of my hard earned money is outrageous. But here's the key: you can't put all the responsibility on the elected officials. Sure, they need to act responsibly, but the real problem is the indifference of the American people. If politicians believed the citizens of this country would wake up and take action, then I believe we would see a whole new kind of government.

Graditude
Thanks, Michael---it is always reassuring to read your articles---Keep the torch burning!!!

A better question
Why did anyone let it get started, and why
didn't they kill it off quicker?

I think it is because all those people who
hate liberal arts majors and love their guns
haven't figured out people yet.

I will leave it at that.

Republican Communicatons Cowardice
Right you are, Michael. We're down to a handful of Republicans with conservative principles and the courage to stand up and aggressively communicate and defend them. Boehner and Blunt were disgusting wimps in the wake of Pelosi's post-bailout vote attack--they had the MSM spotlight and the opportunity to call the Dems out for CRA, redline pressure, three blowoffs of Freddie and Fannie controls, etc and they simply stood mute.

If McCain had not been on the wrong (left/socialist) side of both immigration and the bailout, he'd be up by 10 points nationally and the race would effectively be over. Contrary to popular opinion, McCain's greatest shotcoming isn't his temper, it's his sanctimony. He confuses capitulation of principle with constructive cooperation. Nevertheless, Obama is too dangerous (in ways Americans can't even imagine) to simply concede his election. We can and must pull this out, because Obama is planning to build a federal voting majority that middle class America may not be able to overcome for decades.

We can rebuild around Palin, Jindal and others who understand real Reaganism.

Leadership
Well said, Michael R.!

This is a day when each of us who know what is right needs to vote based on the leader closest to correct principles.

It seems to me that Kathleen Parker holds a different view, in her recent column she commends WF Buckley's son for supporting Obama as a way to teach the Republican Party a lesson. What a terrible principle!!!

While Obama will say many popular things, they are not the principles that make a great country.

McCain is certainly no Ronald Reagan and I can only hope he is not like our pandering Bush family. But even for those who have to hold their nose with McCain, he's closer to understanding and encouraging personal responsibility and ability than Obama and company will ever be.

McCain can win with the economy issue!
The Economy is what most people are concerned about. McCain can win on the economy if we promote a grass roots effort that will get the country angry at the real culprits. If Republicans send out emails like I did to everyone on my email address list, then McCain could win! Elected public officials will only accept emails from their constituents.
Therefore I have access to only a few Republican politicians. If enough people who receive this email will email their friends, Republican representatives at every level from local to the president and every conservative talk show host then America will get the message.



This was the message;

------------------------------------------------

I apologize for sending this unsolicited email, but I feel every American would like to know who caused our financial collapse which is causing your 401k and your home value to sink in value. We have been betrayed, not by the obvious greed of the banks, but by our congressmen who caused this to happen.

Let’s not put the fox in charge of the hen house. Please view all six sections of the very clearly produced video at the following link.



http://www.teleprompterpresident.com/2008/10/fnc-fbn-inves- 6.html

The site can also be googled by the phrase, telelprompter saving our economy.

See what clinton thinks!

http://www.teleprompterpresident.com/2008/10/shocking-vide- 1.html or you can google the phase "Teleprompter Covering Up The Fannie Mae".

------------------------------------------------

Bob Email- netc@comcast.net

Ronald Reagan killed the "Reagan Era"
Ronald Reagan killed the "Reagan Era" with his multi-million Mexican Socialist amnesty.

You can't give citizenship and VOTING RIGHTS to tens fo millions of Mexican Socialists and other criminal invaders & expect anything other than millions more indigent unskilled uneducated dependent Socialist voters.

You can tie the political decline of America directly to Reagan's immigration policy and subsequent amnesty followed by 20 years of the same from both parties, like clockwork you can trace the political shift in every congressional district with the growth the "immigrant community".

Reagan failed miserably to carry out government's primary responsibility, protecting our territory from foreign invasion.

Reagan was a complete failure, his amnesty was the peak of the America's rise as nation state and the beginning of a total economic, cultural and social collapse.


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