Ronald Reagan 1985
Posted on 06/06/2004 12:47:43 AM PDT by Eagle9
I think Sullivan's eloquent tribute to Ronald Reagan deserves to be revived, for those who haven't read it.
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Ronald Reagan 1985
Though, I could have done without the appallingly self-referential mention of Michael Portillo. Yes Andrew, we know you're British. We know you're a homosexual. We know that you have a hard-on for William Hague, now get over yourself!
Anyway, it was a compelling piece, which should be read by anyone who's interested in a blow-by-blow comparison of one of America's finest, with one of our nation's worst.
I'm of a mind that the diminished memory and understanding of what that man, Mr. Clinton, was doing to our country was a blessing for President Reagan.
Reagan got a lot right. Especially the big things. But the WOD wasn't one of them. Neither was immigration.
People that demand Bush get it all right "or else" should reflect on that.
The Reagan administration was relatively successful in terms of drug interdiction, suppression and treatment.
I realize that the mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines were instituted while he was in office, but those were enacted at the behest of an overwhelmingly Democratic congress.
I know that you probably feel that William Bennett is a sanctimonious, paternalistic moralizer when it comes to this particular issue, but he did do a reasonably effective job at the Office for Drug Control Policy.
Personally, I think that the bureaucracy underneath the "Drug Czar" is redundant, and often more harmful than helpful, but you still have begrudgingly admit that Bennett did a pretty job when he held that post during the Reagan administration.
Yes it does take time to open eyes as to who was great, and we now know that President Regan was one of the greatest, and guess what? President Bush will be another one.
Where I think things went particularly wrong in the WOD was asset seizure without due process and no knock raids. No knock raids are particularly hideous. Many people have died defending their homes from unannounced attacks from masked government agents who were absolutely innocent. Your presumption of innocents is totally crushed by such actions.
The civil and criminal forfeiture laws have been distorted beyond recognition in pursuit of certain government objectives.
Though, I think the problem extends beyond the "War on Drugs", and can be found in many different aspects of law enforcement, particularly in the zoning regulations used by various city councils to punish or reward certain people/groups/corporate entities.
There's a big fracas occurring in my own borough (Kings County, NY), over the attempt by Bruce Ratner and his consortium to build a stadium for the New Jersey Nets in downtown Bklyn.
The issues are a little too complex to explore in a brief post-especially after having not slept for the past 25 or so hours-but it basically comes down to the rights of the homeowners in E. New York, being pitted against the economic arguments made by Ratner et. al., who claim that this stadium will revitalize downtown Brooklyn.
Personally, I think that the advantages of having the team relocate to our borough are oversold, whereas the negative repercussions are not given nearly enough press.
But that's just my opinion
Reagan was under the impression that 1 million illegals would be legalized in 1986, and that our border control would be tightened so that we would never again have to face the same issue. How could he know that Seniors Bush, Clinton and Bush would sell this nation out the way they have on this issue.
Around 13 to 15 million illegals reside in our nation today. That's a conservative estimation BTW. Comparing Reagan to the other three men on this issue is misleading in the extreme.
Does that word ring any bells?
It's often forgotten that on cultural issues, Reagan was closer to a libertarian than a "cultural conservative".
-Eric
There were not that many official policies broadcast during the Reagan administration that would fall under the broad rubric of "social conservatism."
Of course, there was the "Mexico City Policy", but that was done through an executive order, not as a result of some piece of legislation being signed into law.
Then there was the Meese Commission, which was pretty toothless and did not exactly stem the tide of America's growing consumption of pornography.
I think that the most enduring achievements of Ronald Reagan can be seen in the fields of domestic economic policy and in the drastic recasting of American foreign policy.
Ronald Reagan is not done inspiring Americans, that's for sure.
Yes I realize there was an amnesty. I alluded to that in my comments. The reality was that those 1 million people I mentioned had come here over decades, not one year as takes place today.
For the record, I did not agree with the amnesty then, and still don't today. That amnesty did spur increased levels of illegals IMO. I think Reagan was wrong to do what he did, and history bears that out.
Now, granting even 1 illegal amnesty is wrong in my book, but attempting to grant amnesty to 1 million illegals that came here over three to five decades is none the less vastly different than granting amnesty to 15 million plus that came here in 14 years.
I've never made the claim that Reagan was a perfect conservative, but Bush does have a very clear example that should drive him away from the insane idea he's come up with. Reagan didn't have that example to my knowledge, and the fact still remains that there was supposed to be proposals in his amnesty plan that would prevent further illegal incursions into our nation.
Three subsequent presidents have screwed the pooch. And if you wish to say Reagan did too, I won't disagree.
Please see 18.
I guess you could even make the argument that had the U.S. Congress put some teeth into the enforcement provisions of the amnesty bill, then we might have actually seen a reduction in the amount of illegal immigrants who remained inside of American borders.
The crux of the problem remains that no one is willing to punish the gigantic corporate behemoths-such as Tyson Foods-that regularly flout the employment provisions of this law.
I don't blame either Reagan or President Bush for their immigration policies. It's my impression that Republicans like them sincerely believe in an open door policy.
What really irks me is the Wall St. Journal faction of the GOP, which foists this crap on us with no firmer convictions than the power of the almighty dollar.
This venal, self-interested type of behavior is what is truly destroying our country.
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