We hear a lot from the conservative right praising Reagan as if he was the very baby Jesus they so desperately wish to meet again. But the truth is that Reagan, by today’s standards at least, was a flaming liberal. He stood for everything our current Pinko-in-chief stands for, yet somehow he’s the good guy, while Obama is the devil.
Here are just 9 reasons why Ronald Reagan was the most liberal president we’ve had in modern history, and give me yours in the comments and I’ll post a follow-up with more reasons why.
1 – Reagan Passed Massive Tax Increases
Former Reagan advisor Bruce Bartlett wrote in 2003 that “according to a recent Treasury Department study, TEFRA alone raised taxes by almost 1 percent of the GDP, making it the largest peacetime tax increase in American history.” Moreover, Reagan also backed a $3.3 billion gasoline tax and increased the Social Security tax rate. That’s pretty liberal.
2 – Reagan Negotiated with the Enemy
The Soviet Union fell soon after his presidency ended, but Reagan met and negotiated with Gorbachev – the head of the “evil empire” as Reagan himself labeled the Soviet Union. Not once, not twice, but frequently.
3 – Reagan Loved the Gays
Reagan was a trend setter in his ardent opposition to the Briggs Initiative in California, which would’ve banned gays and lesbians from teaching in the public schools. It was his opposition that helped defeat the measure. If this isn’t a rainbow-colored flag of victory, what is?
4 – Reagan Loved Illegals
Reagan granted amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in 1986, a position you’d be hard-pressed to find among contemporary republicans, especially those who exault Reagan to near-deity status. In 1986, Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees’ immigration status, and granted amnesty to approximately 3 million illegal immigrants who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1982, and had lived in the country continuously. Does this mean he likes Donkey Shows?
5 – Reagan was Pro-Abortion
While Reagan served as Governor of California in 1967, he made abortion legal. He understood the value of choice as it impacted American society, and he supported that freedom.
6 – Reagan was more Pro-Gun Control than Obama
In a 1991 editorial, Reagan wrote that the Brady Act would provide a crucial “enforcement mechanism” to end the “honor system” of the 1968 Gun Control Act and said that it “can’t help but stop thousands of illegal handgun purchases.” What a pinko.
7 – Reagan Liked Bombing
He authorized the bombing of Libya, which is mighty similar to what Obama did in Syria. Sure, this is a republican thing, but if we’re giving Reagan credit for left-wing thinking, we have to give Obama credit for right-wing thinking too.
8 – Reagan Denounced Torture
Yes, Reagan denounced the use of torture and believed it shouldn’t be used under any circumstances. he signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 1988. Something John McCain should read and cringe in his very ill-fitting boots about.
9 – Reagan Loved the Poor
While president, Ronald Reagan allowed visitors to come to the White House and see him, and frequently he redressed their concerns with his check book. Not a congressional check book, mind you, but his own, personal check book. He understood need and addressed it when he personally saw it, from his fortune as an actor and corporate spokesman.
Despite cutting taxes once in 1981, Reagan raised corporate taxes and many other taxes on top of it, and not by a little, but by a lot. The bigger thing is that he also hired more government workers. 200,000 more to be exact. He knew that he couldn’t cut his way out of a recession, he had to grow the way out.
So tell me, how are the republicans of today in any way like their beloved Ronald Reagan?
Great article, but please use pro-choice rather than pro-abortion. No one would choose this procedure unless it was a necessity.
Still, no links or facts to back it up, just attacks on the data provided.
I know you disagree with any source that doesn’t say what you want to hear, but here are the facts. Government jobs went DOWN under Obama. Show me proof otherwise, or I’ll consider this settled.
Media Matters link and Politifact link. Also ABC story link, NYTimes story link, and Washington Post story link.
Barg-“I’m sure out of the proposed 16,000 new IRS inspector jobs there will be more high paying jobs, more expense, more compliance checks, more audits, and a lot less privacy”.
That’d all be true except IRS inspectors don’t make squat. Seriously.
Why would a good accountant with 6 digit potential work for Mcdonald’s manager salary at the IRS? They won’t. So how can the government keep up when they’re hiring sub-standard accountants (who are getting ready to audit my butt as I type)? VOLUME, that’s right! and they pass the savings on to you! It’s a win-win. All the privacy stuff isn’t guaranteed by the Constitution anyway. Expenses? And what’s wrong with an IRS agent relaxing with a hooker? It’s good enough for the Secret Service without being a cost audit issue.
I don’t like all the government waste either but I’ve got my hands full trying to find out where that $50 billion went in Iraq. I’ll worry about government bookie costs later.
Bargis, you know I have respected you as a writer in the past, but honestly, to be true to myself, I can’t stomach some of the stories you put up on Satire World. They are inflammatory and cater to a crowd with whom I would never associate. You are allowed to push the envelope so you do, and so do your writers, especially J-man. Being given a voice is a big responsibility. Making it fun to see the conservative side should be uppermost in your mind but the hate that is spewed from your site leaves me speechless. The fact that you would endanger Brian’s good name by doing so really ticks me off and you should know better. I will visit Satire World when you stop bashing gays, women, and religions that are other than yours and you rein in the overt hostility your site exudes. Till then, we’ll agree to disagree…STRONGLY.
LOL…Think Progress for facts? That’s like asking MSNBC’s Ed shultz for an anti-Obama story!
Thanks Brian..You da man! I would gladly supply a fact backing link, but it’s been awhile ago that I read that piece and the substance sorta stuck because I was frankly (well, maybe not) surprised that the current administration padded the government with so many new jobs while the economy is struggling.
The increase of $100K government jobs took place during the summer of 2009 when Obama was planning to expand government. I’m sure out of the proposed 16,000 new IRS inspector jobs there will be more high paying jobs, more expense, more compliance checks, more audits, and a lot less privacy.
Now, Patty be nice! You know I respect you and your opinions. Come visit SatireWorld anytime, we have cartoons on Saturday and some really nifty celebrity stories that are politically neutral.
And dumb, I might add.
Obviously, love is blind…
Yes Bargis, you make some good points, except that what you say isn’t true. I love you man, you know that, but when you make outrageous claims like that you gotta back them up with those pesky, whatchamacallits, facts. So provide some citation to backup your top-down, right-wing, faith-based talking points… or just admit that you’re wrong.
As a former government employee, I can assure you that government workers making $100,000 ain’t that many. In fact, those making such could make $250,000-$500,000 in civilian jobs given their expertise. So, basically, it’s the “market” determining what the government has to pay for those equivalent skills.
As far as the 1500% increase, not sure here you got that number, so I can’t dispute it. However, you do realize that going from 1 to 15 phd’s in nuclear energy is a 1500% increase also? So if you toss in, say, solar research and other “new” high tech disciplines, if you want to “walk the walk”, you’ve got to hire the right expertise. Else, they’ll make more out here, in civilian jobs. That’s why I’m out here.
Now, your alternative is to be proponent of going to Mars, being energy independent or fixing the economy but being too cheap to hire engineers, chemists and economists, so you do the deed with lowly paid PE majors to keep the cost down. Good luck with that. The first rule of the free market: you get what you pay for.
There goes Mr. Talking Points again. Aren’t you happy with your own site, Satire World, which allows you to bash Obama, Muslims and anyone else on your hate list to the hilt, including pictures of the first family as monkeys? Not a big fan obviously and therefore could give two whits about your ‘opinion.’
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/19/446990/obama-bush-reagan-government-spending/
Uhhhhhhhh number 7 isn’t correct…..Obama hasn’t bombed Syria…Yet. That happens on Oct 31st-a few days before election time.
Actually, Reagan only grew the government by 12,000 jobs during his term in office. Whereas, Carter added 100,000 and Obama, during his first three years, has added 130,000 to the government payroll. Under Obama government employees making $100K per year increased 1500% over similar jobs during the Bush & Clinton administrations.
Very interesting.
Things and people are rarely what they seem to be.