Ronald Reagan on the importance of political compromise(in his own words)

An American Life (his autobiography) | 8/7/03 | Ronald Reagan

[holdonnow]

The chip may be on his shoulder, but the plate is in your head.

[Miss Marple]

My opinion stands, although some people feel I should defer to you because of your celebrity.

I would point out that I did not attack you personally. I simply said that I disagree with you and Rush (as do quite a few other people, you may be surprised to find).

Oh...and I did say that a lot of people don't know your real name and what you have done. That is also the truth. You do not appear on television under the name "holdonnow."

At any rate, continue on. I simply expressed my disagreement.

[holdonnow]

Sure, you call all the time. You're the guy who makes an ass out of himself. Remember?

[holdonnow]

You shouldn't defer. I see you've posted rather liberally here. You don't seem too bashful. But you're consistent. I'll give you that.

[holdonnow]

Anyway, have a good night. Time to "run" again, as someone put it earlier.

[Amelia]

Specifics, madame?

For example, the flamethrowing and insults you've just tossed around beginning about #129 on this thread. You may disagree with them, but there's no need to be so gratuitously nasty to your fellow FReepers, is there?

You aren't playing for the TV audience now, and while not everyone may fit your definition of True Conservative, we aren't a bunch of liberals here either.

I think you can do better - or do you think it ought to be a priviledge for us to be flamed by The Great One, as the liberals are on TV?

[WhiteGuy]

If the president is getting 100% of his domestic agenda, then he's not remotely a conservative, is he?

Discouraging isn't it...............

[Brian S]

BTW...I plugged some of the "quotes" you laid out in your initial post and I'll be damned if I can find any reference to the quotes as you posted, other than from FR sources.

You have another source to "confirm" President Reagans "exact" quotes, in context?

Thanks...in advance.

[justshe]

I have life....thank you. And I also know you have donors on these threads ...so knock off the nasty attitude if only to protect your bank account.

1. Did President Bush campaign on a prescription drug benefits for seniors? Yes

2. Does this drug benefit help open the door to future privitization of benefits for seniors? Yes

3. Will the seniors, under Bush's proposed medicare reform, be able to have the same CHOICES that those currently serving in Congress have? Yes

4. Will a future medicare reform actually SAVE money as means testing and private group benefits, bulk purchasing of drugs, and deductibles are implemented? Yes

Is Bush's spending troublesome to me? Yes. But I have a bigger picture view...and I would expect you would too.

Another poster, Southack, on another thread, HERE said it better than I ever could:

Now granted, I'd like to see less money spent by Washington A.C. / D.C., but the level of spending is manageable, and it is buying us every conservative thing that we want (e.g. partial birth abortion ban, national ABM defenses set up in Alaska, death of the Kyoto global warming nonsense, death of the ICC madness, two raises for our military, full military funding, two major income tax cuts, the death of the estate tax, the death of the dividend double-tax, etc.).

And if we weren't at war, I'd be even more concerned about the spending, but I'm hardly going to want my Senators to stand up in a 1942-style Congress and tell FDR that we shouldn't be spending all this money on ships and certainly shouldn't be funding this black book "Manhattan Project" thing for $2 Billion, or whatever the modern day equivilent would be.

The overspending is sad, but should hardly surprise anyone. Bush's campaign promises weren't cheap wishes, and Bush is the style of leader who delivers.

Moreover, in a nation so evenly split ideologically, getting Conservative victories passed through Congress is going to come at some not-so-cheap price. No doubt that there will be many on FR who bicker like mad at the looming price tag on private school choice vouchers, but how else are we going to kill the power of the public school teachers' unions without them? So, the price must be paid.

Blood and treasure. We are spending both.

[Southack]

"When the president says that he will sign any Medicare/prescription drug bill that hits his desk, exactly how is this compromise, as opposed to surrender? You see, I'm giving the president the benefit of he doubt, that he is, in fact, conservative."

If you mean the above question sincerely (as opposed to sarcasticly or even rhetorically), then I have a reasonable answer to it for you.

What Bush got out of the prescription drug bill (which, though large, is tiny compared to the whole Medicare program itself) was a provision to **privatize** all of Medicare in the next 10 years.

...And that privatization option is why you can view the wild-eyed Leftists on DU and other similar forums **bashing** Ted Kennedy to this very day for signing onto Bush's plan (as the Republicans control both of the House/Senate bill reconciliation committees so we'll get what we want out of them).

Yes, Bush gave the Lefties some carrots, but their taste is bitter in their mouths for they recognize that Bush has won. In exchange for those expensive carrots, Bush has obtained a tool to privatize a massive government beast, something antithetical to all Leftists.

Other lessor accomplishments in Bush's prescription drug compromise include taking a campaign issue away from the Democrats, as well as fulfilling a Bush campaign promise.

Is it "conservative" to privatize all of Medicare? Is it complete "surrender" to gain a privatization option?! Should Republicans strive to keep their campaing promises?!

Watch and learn, grasshopper. Bush plays politics better than Michael Jordan played basketball.

[Southack]

"If anything, GW has conceeded to 75% fo the opposition agenda."

Oh please. You haven't been paying attention.

Presidency of George W. Bush --the first 30 months

 

Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.

Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court.

Killed the U.S. - CCCP ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses.

Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy.

Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California.

Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules that would have shut down every home business in America.

Passed 2 tax cuts----1 of which was the largest Dollar-value tax cut in history

Pushed through TWO raises for our military.

Increased Defense Dept funding which had deteriorated during the previous 8 years

Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit

Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers.

Ordered Attorney-General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, NOT a leftist-imagined "collective" right.

Successfully executed 2 wars: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom.

Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the Presidency

Reorganized bureaucracy...after 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency: the Department of Homeland Security.

Initiated discussion on Social security and individual investment accounts.

Improving govt. efficiency with .8 million jobs put up for bid...weakening unions and cutting undeserved pay raises. Wants merit based promotions/raises only.

Executed a WAR ON TERROR by getting world-wide cooperation to track funds/terrorists (has cut off much of the terrorist's funding and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network)

Stopped foreign aid that would be used to fund abortions.

Supported and upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals

Signed E.O. reversing Clinton policy of not requiring parental consent under the Medical Privacy Act

Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control.

Set to sign Partial Birth Abortion Ban

Orchestrated Republican control of the White House, the House AND the Senate.

Killed the liberal ABA's role in vetting federal judges for Congress.

GWB signed an executive order enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision (re: union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes)

Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed

Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ.

Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia

Initiated comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE was critical.

Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first ten ABM silos in Alaska, so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes

Turning around an inherited economy in recession.

Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals.

Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains

In process of eliminating IRS marriage penalty.

Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people

Signed into law the CFR legislation (under dark of night)

Signed into law the No Child Left Behind legislation delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations)

Reorganized the INS in an attempt to safeguard the borders and ports of America and to eliminate bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability.

Signed trade promotion authority

Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men and women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa

Urging Medicare Reform

Urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits

Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims

Submitted comprehensive energy plan--awaits Congressional action. ( works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy)

Endorses and promotes The Responsibility Era ("In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else -- to one in which every single American understands that he or she are responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself. " -----this quote was too good to leave out)

Started the USA Freedom Corps

Pushing for privatization of Medicare and CHOICES based on current Federal Employee Health benefits program.

Initiated review of all federal agencies with a goal to eliminate federal jobs (review to be done by September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of federal gov while increasing private sector jobs.

Part of coalition (Russia, Israel, Palestine, USA) for Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace"

Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become The League of Nations ( in other words, completely irrelevant)

Nominated strong, conservative judges to the judiciary.

Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary clean-up of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger.

As part of the national forests clean-up, the President restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges) and removed the need for an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger.

Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops.

[Howlin]

[justshe]

Glad you got my ping.

Good list! :-)

[Southack]

"Noiminating conservative judges isn't the same as getting them confirmed. The new tone prevents Bush from pushing these candidates through -- the so-called "nuclear" option. I'm told Bill Frist won't push because Bush doesn't want the Senate's legislative "work" to be hindered."

You're not from the South, are you?!

The "new tone" only goes so far. After that, Southernors are going to remember what the Democrats did to Lott, and to Bush re: the "16 words", and what they did to Justice Thomas (Jill Abramson just took over as the freaking ombudsman of the NY Times after writing that damnable hit-piece of a book against him "The Selling of Clarence Thomas" or some such title), and what they did to Estrada, Owens, and Pryor (especially to Pryor, as he honestly answered all of their questions, which they claimed was their reason for dissent on Estrada).

Frist will hammer the Democrats with a 24/7 filibuster as soon as all important legislation is out of the way.

Which will probably be by late October or early November.

But it will be done. It just won't be done imprudently. On the other hand, it will be done with more strategic and tactical sense than even Patton could muster ripping through France.

And just like has happened in Texas with Democrats going from the majority party pre-Bush to the minority party today, so too will the Democrats witness political prize after prize fall to Bush in Washington, even as they continue to call him an idiot, a cowboy, and unsophisticated.

[I got the rope]

The chip may be on his shoulder, but the plate is in your head.

ROFLMAO!

[Southack]

"After learning that many of the nation's most extreme environmental groups have received billions of taxpayer dollars from the federal government, Landmark also initiated recent litigation against the EPA, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service aimed at exposing both the amount and misuse of federal grants by these organizations, including political advocacy and lobbying. The EPA has already produced a list of nearly 14,000 grants totaling more than $2 billion made to nonprofit organizations since 1993."

Nice work on tracking that down, but have you also looked into the possibility that several federal and state agencies are **deliberately** losing court cases to these extremist groups in order to have judges compell major donations settlements their way?

[Amelia]

Nice series of posts here.

[Redleg Duke]

When I was in OCS at Sill in '67, a Major was fishing in Lake Elmer Thomas when a battery one of 105s, fuze VT straddled his craft! It was the only recorded case of someone trying to dig a foxhole in a rowboat! :-D

[hchutch]

Well, I'm going to call it as I see it.

We didn't get the landslide in 2000 we should have had. Pick the reasons why - but they don't matter.

I have had a couple of serious disagreements with the administration. One MAJOR disagreement has been the way the State Department hung a man who took major risks to assist us in taking down Pablo Escobar out to dry. Carlos Castano is a friend to the United States of America, and he deserves much better treatment than he has received at the hands of the State Department.

But I didn't huff and puff and bitch and take my marbles and go home. Southack has laid out the logic multiple times, if you would care to listen.

To be very honest, over the past year and a half, I have become more and more suspicious of the "culture war" conservatives. I believe they favor a "big government" approach for THEIR favored groups - which happen to be different than the favored groups of Hillary Rodham Clinton. They have their hands out and are shouting "gimme gimme". I don't put up with the "gimme gimme" cries of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, so why the hell should I put up with the same attitude from Paul Craig Roberts?

I'm also getting tired of having people being called RINOs or worse over tactical disagreements or for the "heresy" of not being willing to jump on the hobbyhorse issue of the week.

Landmark Legal Foundation is doing some good work - particularly with the NEA. But I would STRONGLY recommend that you read a book called "The Quiet Warrior" by Thomas B. Buell. I think conservatives would do well if they modeled their approach on the subject of that biography.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Chapter 26, p. 171.

You really would be wise to purchase his book.