Posted on 03/27/2007 1:09:31 PM PDT by jbonham76
Great recounting of the military resurgence begun under Ronald Reagan. It must have been amazing to see the transformation -- I'm sure it didn't really appear until late in his second term -- to be an eye-witness to that history. And while the liberals in the media still decry the deficits from Reagan's defense build-up, think of the benefits garnered by forcing the collapse of the Soviet empire! Amazing. Thanks for sharing...
My wife and I felt that we were eye-witnesses to the other major turn-around from those awful Carter years. We were bringing up our kids in a northern suburb of Chicago and would take walks every night that took us across the Milwaukee Road Railroad tracks in the town of Northbrook where we lived. During the Carter years, we almost never had to pause for a train traveling through... then the 1980's came with the cut in tax rates... and then in 1982-3, the big freight trains started rolling... On a nightly basis, we could see the country coming alive again -- sometimes we would have to wait 5 or may 10 minutes to cross that track, but we loved it. Morning in America!
Let me ask: were you alive during the Carter years? Do you remember what it was like?
Mailaise; defeatism; American being hounded around the globe; stagflation; pessimism; depression.
What did Ronald Reagan leave us?
An economy that soared for basically 20 consecutive years (1983-2001) thanks to the supply-side tax-cuts that he ushered in. Do you have ANY idea what tax rate you would be in had those tax rate cuts not been enacted? But more importantly, he brought the philosophy that economic growth could be pursued by cutting tax rates.
Were you an investor prior to the 1980's? Reagan's tax rate cuts ushered in the longest running bull market in history (1982-2000) and it helped fuel the Technology Revolution of the 1990's (sorry Bubba, you deserve NO CREDIT on this other than your belated capital gains tax cut late in your second term).
You blithely noted earlier that "I think the Soviet Union may have fallen without our efforts anyway." Or something like that... I'd say "BS". As some very senior people in the Reagan Administration noted, "I always expected that the Soviet Union would collapse someday, but I never expected to see it in my lifetime." You may not think it noteworthy, but Reagan's assault on the Evil Empire liberated hundreds of millions -- maybe billions -- of people from the chains of Totalitarian Communism. And I'm confident the rest of the world will one day reject that philosophy for good.
There were disappointments during the Reagan years -- even late in his presidency, the media was claiming he was a failed president -- but he knew that by focusing on a few major challenges and goals, he was turning the great battleship of America around. And he did!
I would really suggest, staytrue, that you go back and read your history. There are many great books about the Great Ronald Reagan that would help you to better appreciate what he did and accomplished.
That was my point. I find it odd that the Thompson supporters are so indignant about Rudy's indiscretions, but think nothing of the rumors about Fred.
It is news to me that traditional conservatives are fine with this kind of behavior as long as the individual is unmarried. If the personal life is so important, Fred's ought to be vetted as closely as Rudy's. Otherwise there is a lot of hypocrisy going on.
Personally, I am interested in a) who can win and b) best fight the war on terror.
Well, myself, it's not so much Rudy's personal lifestyle issues, it's his stance on 2nd Amendment, abortion, and gay rights that makes him weak in the conservative issue areas. Likewise, he will NOT get the women's votes like Fred Thompson would, and he will have a really tough time in the heavy-Democrat states. Carrying the South will be tough for him, also.....and here's his positions on the illegal aliens:
Rudy would continue to make city services available to all immigrants, regardless of immigration status.
Prohibit city workers from reporting undocumented immigrants to the INS, unless criminal activity is involved….
Make sure that city workers understand what benefits immigrants are entitled to….
Encourage outreach to immigrant communities to encourage their utilization of city services….
Support the use of interpreters and translators in city government
Support bilingual and bicultural education with goals of learning fluent English and maintaining native language skills….
Oppose making English the “official language” of the U.S.
Support adding alienage to protected class under City’s Human rights Law.
Most of our executives were bad at executing principles. A good executive need only defend the country, speak constantly among those whom will help get those principles, and have good PR skills. As long as he does a semi-fine job with following through, that's it.
Poor Bush doesn't know PR at all. See how Bill managed to squeak through on MOST things, even though they weren't done well. He had PR skills. Most of this political crap is perception. Someone that can address things like 'plame', 'gonazales',...and all of these stupid waste-of-time public bonazanas. That's half the battle. The other half is defending the country by listening and taking the best and brightest people in account.
B U M P
Another B U M P!
I agree. My dream team front-runners for the VP would be:
1. Duncan Hunter
2. Julius Caesar Watts
3. Rick Santorum
4. Lynne Cheney (Would never happen though)
5. Michael Steele
It is news to me that traditional conservatives are fine with this kind of behavior as long as the individual is unmarried.
RUMORS? RUMORS? You mean gossip don't you?
ever hear of dating?
and what behavior?
do we have bedroom pictures?
....a semen stained dress, maybe?
unmarried, non-engaged men, by definition, can't cheat (unless they told a girl it's a monogamous relationship....and even then, no formal vow of commitment)
How about letting the gossip die...unless thats what you want to hear, so you can revel in Republican defeat! (or even better maybe you can get the Dems/MSM the evidence they need)
I mean both. Some word of mouth stuff is gossip. OTOH, when you see repeated published reports that Fred was scratched off the list for VP in 2000 because of an alleged relationship with Margaret Carlson during which time he was also with someone else I would call that at least a rumor. Or repeated published references to him being a playboy during his Senate years, again that is at least a rumor. (Actually, I think it is common knowledge.)
unmarried, non-engaged men, by definition, can't cheat
That wasn't the point. The point is how the so-called social conservatives would react to his style. Social conservatives supposedly don't condone sex outside of marriage. Then there is the question of who the women were. Depending on the answers, that might not go over big either.
How about letting the gossip die...unless thats what you want to hear
Doesnt matter. It will all come out if he runs. And what if any of the rumors are true? Although I do not believe it based on what I see so far, there is one that could really do in his viability as a candidate. Better we should know the truth now than before it is too late.
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