Why does Ronnie Reagan get so much credit for the Berlin Wall coming down? It was coming down

[secondwind]

wiithout his help anyway. The young kids were scrambling over it, the guards were looking the other way, and in rides Ronnie Reagan on his shining white horse, to save the day with one sentence to Mr. Gorbachev? I think not.

Anyone here have any evidence to the contrary? I'm sick and tired to hearing that Reagan single-handedly brought Communism to its knees.


:puke:

[BlueJac]

1. Quit worrying about it

we have bigger problems now

[secondwind]

4. I guess you are right.....thanks

[Maccagirl]

15. Absolutely right

Only Reaganauts care about it anymore-or believe it. History will write the real story.

[LovinLife]

2. Becuz Republicans are masters of manipulation. Bush inherited 9/11 as well. NT

[DURHAM D]

3. Reagan just ran the fifth leg of a long relay.

He just walked the baton across the finish line and spoke a few words to an crumbling wall. No big whop.

[Cosmocat]

28. He was the second string QB ...

running into the endzone and going the herky jerky dance after the first teamers drove the length of the field to score the winning touchdown ...

[Ken Burch]

5. The Right is obsessed with making everyone approve of the massive 1980's arms buildup

They can only achieve this if the get everyone to accept that the Wall only came down because Ronnie made his little speech. It also helps them resolve the contradiction between in their claim that the Soviets were simultaneuously on the verge of eternal world domination AND at the point of imminent collapse.

Finally, if they admit it wasn't all Ronnie, they'd have to admit that Mikhail Gorbachev deserves equal credit for the destruction of the Soviet regime, and this would mean admitting that it was possible for a Communist to NOT be evil.

[secondwind]

7. exactly. Perestroika was already rearing its head.......and the border guards at the wall

really didn't care anymore. Good point!

[baldguy]

6. Are you questioning the impact of Saint Reagan?

[mediaman007]

8. Reagan risked nothing!

The Soviet Union had so many problems that the satellite countries could not be controlled. We haven't learned that lesson yet, so we are hung up in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both loser deals.

Reagan was smart, though. He knew East Germany was unravelling, so he jumped on the bandwagon to grab the credit, while the nameless German heroes did the work.

[Captain Hilts]

9. Beats me. nt

[RoyGBiv]

10. It's sorta like knowing when to do a slow-clap ...

He picked his moment well.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. Same reason he got credit for the hostages being freed, even though Carter did most of the work.

[DURHAM D]

16. Reagan made a secret deal with Iran to hold them / not free them.

I don't think Reagan got any credit at the time for the release.

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. At the time, no. But now that history has been rewritten, yes. Many RWers like

to bring it up as one of St. Ronnie's miracles.

[whistler162]

12. Ronnie doesn't now his father Ronald of does.....

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

13. Amusingly, it happened when he was out of office.

[moondust]

14. Shameless opportunism. n/t

[boppers]

18. What? WHAT?

Yeah, didn't go down that way.

On November 9, 1989, the East German government announced people could go through. Before that, people were killed for attempting to scramble over it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wall#The_Fall

Reagan had nothing to do with it, but not because the wall wasn't deadly.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

20. That's what's learned here in the U.S.

but definitely not what history says or what we learned in Europe.

[silverhandorder]

21. I would rather it be Reagen.

You do realize the alternative would mean that socialism failed.

[ItNerd4life]

22. Maybe if you actually asked East Germans, Poles, and Russians

you would understand. I can't understand how people refuse to give credit where credit is due.

If Repblicans don't give credit to Democrats, Republicans are idiots. But it's okay for Democrats to not give credit?

We have a dear friend from Latvia, who told us in detail what it was like for them when Reagan was in office. He gave Reagan and Gorby the credit.

[andym]

23. In the right place at the right time

Actually, Gorbachev should get the most credit by failing to maintain the stringent level of Soviet authoritarian control of his predecessors.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. If you meet such a nincompoop, refer them to the wiki page on the subject.

Nary a mention of Ronald Reagan.

[CBGLuthier]

25. because america is full of shit. We also won WWII single handledly

and we own the motherfucking moon!!!

[Ter]

26. Probably because of his famous 1987 speech

At the Berlin Wall, saying Mr. Gorby, tear down this wall! At the time, it dominated news stories all over the country. When it finally came down, people put two and two together. Not that it really had much at all to do with it coming down, but it sounded good so he got the credit.

[Blasphemer]

27. St. Ronnie is also responsible for eradicating poverty, curing hunger and creating world peace... nt

[bulloney]

29. Becaause RW talk shows and the MSM news gerbils perpetuate the myth regularly.

That old saying--if you repeat a lie often enough, somebody will believe it--applies here.