Reagan has gotten a bum rap for decades for allegedly flip-flopping on abortion. As California governor, Reagan signed a bill which permitted abortions for "health" reasons. He and the legislature were both assured that it would only permit abortions in a few very unique circumstances where the mother was suffering severe physical trauma from the pregnancy. After the bill became law, judges "interpreted" the word "health" to mean virtually anything, such as mental stress, and the result was abortion-on-demand. But that was not Reagan's intention. He never described himself as "pro-choice" and at no point in his career ever supported an abortion legalization proposal except for that one bill, which was misinterpreted afterward by the courts and would have only permitted a handful of hard circumstance abortions per year if applied properly.
On amnesty, Reagan agreed to it after being told there were three million illegals in the country and that a one-time amnesty would be justifiable if afterward we cracked down and didn't let any more come in. The problem there was that once Bush I took office, followed by Clinton and Bush II, there was no effort to protect the borders and we now have 12 to 20 million illegals here.
Reagan made some mistakes, but he learned from them. As president, he fought efforts by Congress to add a "health" provision to the Hyde Amendment, because he had learned that that word would be perverted by the courts. Had he remained in office, he would never have supported another blanket amnesty.
How convenient you can manufacture excuses for the great Ronald Reagan (a man I love and respect) yet you can't find similar political logic for a man (Romney) who simply made some pandering statements, and didn't even SIGN INTO LAW these wrongs as Reagan did.
You know, I might be persuaded to "understand" Reagan's legalizing abortion considering the liberal judge manipulation, but giving blanket AMNESTY for illegals will ALWAYS encourage more illegals to swarm across the border.
Many many good Republicans and some Democrats said so AT THE TIME -- so to claim one was duped is simply making excuses. Reagan wasn't stupid, my friend.
Remember is was REAGAN HIMSELF who said "Government IS THE PROBLEM" -- so now you expect me to believe that Reagan in 1986 suddenly believed government would prove to be the ultimate solution... the guys in white hats who would KEEP THEIR PROMISES.
Baloney!!
It was pure and simple political pandering... a mistake...the things that politicians sometimes make.
But oh no, Romney is the devil himself for simply uttering a few pandering remarks.
All of which convinces me further there is underlying deeper animosity... dare I say hatred of Mitt Romney.
And it's not just his occasional flip on this issue or that.
Again, I point out that 90% of the posters demonizing Romney don't even have a candidate they care to support.
They just want to hate Romney.
To me, that spells obsessed hatred.