Larry Wilson’s column about Reagan is way off. “Not that great” really?
All he did was end the threat of nuclear war and win the Cold War that had been going on for 45 years with the threat of mutual annihilation without firing a shot.
“Not that great?” Really? Reagan “supply side” economic policies sparked the longest period of economic growth in the history of the United States economy after the dismal Carter years of hyperinflation that we haven’t seen anything like it until, oh wait, right now? In fact, Reagan’s economic policy allowed us to win the Cold War by outspending the Soviets, who couldn’t match our economic strength or technological know how.
Teargassing the campus at Berkeley was the decision of the National Guard after the local police and administration did nothing to stop the takeover of the campus by protesters. Sound familiar?
The tired tropes about Reagan being racist are clearly wrong.
Read the actual history or better yet go visit the Reagan library. You’ll find out when Reagan was in college, two African-Americans on the football team were denied rooms in a hotel near Reagan’s home town so Reagan took them to his family‘s house. Any guesses which president made Martin Luther King Day a national holiday? Reagan’s father once slept in his car rather than a hotel because the hotel wouldn’t allow Jews. Does that sound like a racist family? In fact, the Reagans were deeply religious and very strong in practicing their faith.
AIDS came out of nowhere and no one knew what it was for years. You can criticize Reagan for being slow to respond, but no one knew what to do at that time.
“Just reading his lines”? Citing “I forgot to duck” shows Wilson’s ignorance. Reagan was quoting a famous line from Jack Dempsey when he was beaten by Gene Tunney. Dempsey‘s wife came into the locker room and Dempsey told her “I forgot to duck.” Reagan was trying to put Nancy at ease.
Reagan was good hearted and made jokes all the time that were not mean spirited like today’s politicians. Look up classic Reagan jokes on YouTube. You’ll see a totally different tone from today’s bitterness. Reagan was even friends with Tip O’Neill a staunch liberal from the Massachusetts hot bed of liberalism.
“A genius he was not.” Really? What would you call a guy that sparked an economic boom because he had an economic degree in college and was wise enough to consider other economic opinions than the Keynesians ruining the economy? What would you consider a leader who defied the State department “experts” to take on the Soviet Union by calling them “evil” and making the speech at the Berlin wall to tear it down?
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Wilson then tips his hand to the real point of the column and the real point of all the Leftists that attack Reagan. Trump is similar to Reagan. “Peace through strength,” “Make America Great Again,” less government, lower taxes, are all Reagan ideas so the left hates anybody that says anything like Reagan.
What the Left really hates is that Reagan was a staunch Democrat until he was 51 years old in 1962 when he flipped because as he says “the party left me.” Reagan realized government was not the solution, but the problem. Sounds familiar? RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Elon Musk come to mind?
Wilson advises people to read Max Boot’s 800 page hit piece. Instead, if they want to know the real story, they could read “Reagan: An American Life.” Or you can read his actual words by reading the Reagan diary. Interesting to note that Reagan‘s public speeches match exactly what he was writing about in private in his diary.
Why do Wilson, Max Boot and their ilk want to distort Reagan’s history? Is it because they don’t want a repeat of peace and prosperity?
Stephen Waddell, Palos Verdes Estates