Dear Mr President, please stop using Ronald Reagan as an example of anything good

[mtnsnake]

Yes, by frequently quoting Ronald Reagan, most of us realize that you're probably trying to embarrass Republicans into seeing what hypocrites they are. Now if you think that's going to score you political points with the enemy, then you are once again being just a little more than naive. Besides, if making Ronald Reagan look like a patron saint is the only way you can let the country know that Republicans are the biggest hypocrites on the planet, then you are simply beating around the bush and fighting a losing battle. It would serve you and the country much better just to skip the Reagan bullshit and kick Republicans asses, not suck up to a single one of them, especially Reagan.

The blunt truth of the matter is that Ronald Reagan and progressive Democrats mesh together like oil and water. This might just be me, but as a lifelong Democrat, I find it very insulting whenever you praise Reagan to make a point, and what's worse is how you do it so often. If you really find the need to praise a Republican to make a valid point about what hypocrites they are, try using one of the best presidents this country has ever known: Teddy Roosevelt (R).

[JVS]

1. K&R

[jenmito]

2. He does it to point out the hypocrisy of the "Reagan-worshipping" teabaggers. n/t

[mtnsnake]

4. He shouldn't need to glorify Reagan to make that point. n/t

[jenmito]

6. You obviously don't get it. Quoting Reagan is the BEST way to make that point. n/t

[polichick]

8. The point it, THEY don't get it. All they get is that Reagan was good...

...thus, Republicans are good.

[jenmito]

13. Quoting, not "glorifying," Reagan, is the best way to point out the hypocrisy & irrationality of the

teabaggers to the vast majority of the OTHER people, including the "reasonable middle."

[polichick]

20. Like I said, they don't get it. To them it means Reagan - and Republicanism - is good.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[truth2power]

42. You're giving baggers credit for understanding nuance, which they don't. n/t

[mtnsnake]

16. BINGO.

[jenmito]

18. No "BINGO" at all. Try replying to my response to your post. n/t

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CakeGrrl]

7. Please quote a 'glorification' example.

All I've heard is pointing out that the GOP did for Reagan what they are now loath to do.

[mtnsnake]

15. Are you serious?

If you honestly don't think Obama has spent more than a fleeting moment glorifying Ronald Reagan, then try refreshing your memory by googling Obama admiration of Reagan.

[jenmito]

19. YOU made the claim. YOU back it up. n/t

[mtnsnake]

23. I just did if you read my reply to you. It's right in that google search I supplied for you upthread

Wake up and face reality by reading some of the hits in that google search, or maybe you don't have time, lol.

[jenmito]

25. 4. "He shouldn't need to glorify Reagan to make that point. n/t"???

:shrug:

[CakeGrrl]

The onus is on you. Some of you have set the "criticism" bar so low

that all it takes is for him to utter the name, context be damned (and disregarded.)

[jenmito]

28. He keeps talking about some non-existent post he supposedly wrote.

:shrug:

[William769]

32. Heres one. Would you like more?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-23-ronald-reagan-president-obama_N.htm

[CakeGrrl]

5. I really wish people would think about what they hear before they react.

[jenmito]

9. So do I. n/t

[William769]

29. He was doing it long before the teabaggers hit the national stage.

And it wasn't to embarrass Republicans.

[jenmito]

31. Name any Reagan policies Obama glorified. n/t

[AtomicKitten]

35. O didn't "glorify" anything/anybody. He was talking about the trajectory of change, not policy.

:hi:

[jenmito]

36. Thanks for that dose of reality.

:hi:

[PragmaticLiberal]

44. This,

[mtnsnake]

38. Good point.

And it wasn't to embarrass Republicans.

Yup, when you look back to the time of the campaign, that is very true.

[Mimosa]

45. They hate Obama no matter what he says.

JenMito, they're immune to logic. What the teabaggers say is 'Barry's no Reagan'. They always call him Barry or Obummer.

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. Ronald = 6 Wilson = 6 Reagan = 6

no, I can't think of much good that came from that entity

[polichick]

10. He gives people too much credit. All those indie voters hear is Reagan was good...

...so Republican must be good.

[PassingFair]

11. Everytime he does that, a Progressive dies.

He should also stop using the word "entitlements".

[BeyondGeography]

12. Obama could emulate Reagan in one area

Being likable and making the other side unacceptable at the same time. Wonder WTF he's waiting for. It can't be material.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

14. I do NOT get this. He's been doing this from day 1. I'm sick of it. nt

[bhikkhu]

17. I think its actually pretty effective

as, first, the RW has been indoctrinated to think that anything Reagan did, said, or touched has an aura of sacredness to it. They are somewhat ignorant that the country has been pushed so far to the right since that time, that Reagan would be immediately labeled a lefty now.

Its an easy incongruence to play to, and a satisfying way to hijack their own narrative to good ends.

[jenmito]

26. K&R this post. n/t

[JoePhilly]

41. +1

[Bluenorthwest]

24. I assume it is a dog whistle to the right wing and anti glbt folks

Those who'd rather see millions die than say 'HIV' out loud. Reagan is their hero, and many of then pollute this party.

[jenmito]

34. Of course you "assume" that.

No surprise there. :eyes:

[ProSense]

27. Why should he stop

emphasizing hypocrisy?

He doesn't have to explain that is what he's doing. He just needs to keep pointing it out.

Why do some people say "at least Bush" when criticizing Obama? Does it mean they admire Bush?

That example is the exact opposite of what the President is doing, which is calling attention to how far right the teabaggers are and the hypocrisy of Republicans who now oppose tax increases.

The Republicans/teabaggers hate Obama's references to Ronald Reagan.

It's a typical strategy to highlight hypocrisy

Dear House Republicans: Raise the debt limit for your hero Ronald Reagan’s sake

MSNBC Sharpton Hands Teabagger His Hat Using Reagan's Words

[jenmito]

33. Thank you. GREAT post! n/t

[Mimosa]

46. It doesn't work.

Such strategy aggravates us, his supporters, and has no effect upon the Rethugs who despise Obama! They do not care what Obama thinks or does. He is always wrong in their minds, such as they are.

[Enthusiast]

30. K&R! Nice OP, mtnsnake!

Obviously the President could use some advice in this area.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

37. no, whats needed is people learning what pointing out/showing what hypocricy is

[great white snark]

39. Dear DU, please stop using Nixon as an example of anything to the left of Obama.

Thanks.

[Axrendale]

40. Perhaps something should be noted about Ronald Reagan

Even though the Gipper was a hard-right wing (although practical) ideolouge who devoted much of his presidency to trying to dismantle the legacy of the New Deal, he remained to the end of his life a great admirer of Franklin Roosevelt, expressing his regard for the 32nd POTUS as being one of the greatest leaders in American history. Even after he became a Republican (a lot of people are surprised to learn that Reagan started off as a liberal Democrat before steadily becoming more conservative and eventually switching parties) the 40th POTUS remained proud to tell people that he had voted for FDR four times, and that his policies had helped the Reagan family survive the Depression. Despite his disagreements with most of Roosevelt's accomplishments, he even claimed to have held his illustrious predecessor as a role model in conducting his own presidency.

It goes without saying that this habit of Reagan's pissed off a lot of conservatives just as much as Obama's references to Reagan annoy liberals. Reagan kept doing it anyway, partly because he no doubt recognized the political advantages of (fallaciously) wrapping himself in FDR's mantle, and partly because there were some parts of the legacy of the architect of the New Deal that he genuinely appreciated. My guess is that Obama holds similarly ambivalent feelings about the Gipper.

Reagan's domestic policy legacy might have been a disaster for the most part (there were some exceptions, such as immigration reform), and most of his foreign policies unhelpful at best, deeply negative at worst. Still it deserves to be noted that his diplomatic cooperation with Gorbachev after 1986 resulted in tremendous breakthroughs being made in bilateral arms control and reduction, and arguably helped speed the end of the Cold War by giving Gorbachev the political elbow-room to pursue his programs of domestic reform, which were more responsible than anything for the collapse of the Soviet Union in the manner that occurred.

Very few, if any, Presidents can be said to have had a wholly negative legacy, and none have a wholly positive one. I think that this is a point that Obama for one grasps very well.

[Hart2008]

43. Reagan would have used the constitutional option with the debt limit. NT