1115.org

Now that the waves of nausea that washed over me for the last week are gone, it’s time to look at the root causes of this condition. Regular readers will know that I am a news junkie. I consume more news than any ten normal people in an effort to stay informed on our empire in decline. With the death of our 40th president last week came a forced hiatus of my information habit. Unless you are a hermit, you have no doubt endured at least some exposure to the major media outlets transformation into ReaganVision™.

Now I am neither naïve enough nor disingenuous enough to expect that the passing of a former President would go without notice, but the week-long session of fellating the memory of a man who fooled the nation through two terms in the White House ended up being more than I could really take.

Shocked, offended and outraged by the word “fellating”? At least I’m not former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan:

He was dying for years and the day came and somehow it came as a blow. Not a loss but a blow.

But in Peg’s defense, she didn’t actually jump on the casket as it was being lowered into the ground, costing your correspondent a $10 bet.

Since ReaganVision™ included nothing passing for accuracy (or even balance), and many readers are probably too young to have firsthand knowledge of the Reagan years, I decided to provide the other side of the story. If you think there’s any chance you will end up emailing with comments amounting to “Show some respect, the man just died,” please stop reading now.

Viewing any 10 minutes of cable news this week would lead almost anyone to believe that in addition to walking on water, Ronald Reagan saved the American economy, crushed the Soviet Union with his bare hands, and other assorted superhuman feats.

Ronald Reagan Saved the Economy

The mid-to-late 70s were a difficult time. An oil crisis crippled the domestic economy contributing to runaway inflation and slow growth. Jimmy Carter made many mistakes, but despite considerable risk to his own Presidency, he appointed Paul Volcker to head the Federal Reserve. No President wants to preside over rising interest rates, but Carter knew Volcker would do the right thing and aggressively raise rates. Carter paid a huge price for this, his defeat at the hands of Reagan in the 1980 election.

When Reagan took office Volcker began lowering interest rates aggressively. The tracks were greased for Reagan, and he used the momentum to push through the biggest tax cut (at the time) in history. Even though world oil prices collapsed, before long, that tax cut led to the largest tax increase in history, which lead to Reagan’s recession. It was at this point that supply-side economics and the Laffer Curve should have been relegated to the trash can of history. Alas, that did not happen, and they are still causing havoc and poverty to this day.

Result: With the fall in world oil prices, even Bonzo could have presided over a strengthening economy. Reagan managed to rely on what George H. W. Bush called voodoo economics to lead us directly into a recession.

Ronald Reagan Didn’t Ignore AIDS…

He did much worse than that. In probably the earliest case of “no homo” (and one that is truly repugnant), Reagan’s press secretary Larry Speaks jokes with reporters during a White House briefing:

Q: No, I mean, I thought you were keeping-
Speaks: I checked thoroughly with Dr. Ruge this morning and he’s had no (laughter) no patients suffering from AIDS or whatever it is.
Q: The President doesn’t have gay plague, is that what you’re saying or what?
Speaks: No, I didn’t say that.
Q: Didn’t say that?
Speaks: I thought I heard you on the State Department over there. Why didn;t you stay there? (Laughter)
Q: Because I love you, Larry, that’s why. (Laughter)
Speaks: Oh, I see. Just don’t put it in those terms, Lester. (Laughter)
Q: Oh, I retract that.
Speaks: I hope so.

But in all seriousness, the Reagan administration completely ignored AIDS for the first 5 years they were in office. The President didn’t even speak the word AIDS until ‘85 or ‘86. In a time when AIDS was tantamount to a death sentence, the attitude from the highest authority was more or less “they deserve what they get.”

Result: Thousands died before the administration faced the unavoidable (due to constant pressure) and started funding AIDS research.

Ronald Reagan brought down the Soviet Union almost singlehandedly.

This tall tale has been in service since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. As time goes on, it gets more and more laughable. The Soviet Union failed because the central planning in communist regimes is inherently inefficient. It is incredibly ironic that market-worshipping Republicans feel the need to lionize Reagan for felling the Soviets when their whole existential theory dictates that communism will inevitably fail anyway. (And as an aside, the strict market worshipers denigrate communism because workers do not see the fruits of their labor due to excess production going to the state. More irony here as salary growth is falling while corporate profits are skyrocketing.)

The events that surround the fall of the Soviet Union correlate to the events surrounding the Iraq war. The United States won, but both wins were exceedingly costly. Reagan’s military buildup coupled with his reckless tax cuts exploded the deficit just as George Bush’s ill-advised Iraq adventure and reckless tax cuts have had the same effect. In both cases, the wealthiest enjoy big tax cuts and defense contractors experience a boom. Not surprising when so many of the same advisors played influential roles in both administrations and campaign contributions came from the same places.

Result: Crippling budget deficits that a Democrat will have to clean up at some point.

The Iran-Contra arms for hostages scandal was in the best interest of the country and since Reagan took responsibility, he should be looked upon as a hero.

Reagan’s adventures with authoritarian regimes and their death squads in Central America were a huge black eye on this country. Selling weapons to our enemy Iran and using the proceeds to fund these killers made it that much worse. When the hearings started on Capitol Hill, Reagan basically played the senility card (which in retrospect may have been true, but then that begs the question asked and answered in Genesis’ “Land of Confusion video). Lovely to know that he still had two years left as President after saying he couldn’t remember events as serious as these.

Result: Reagan gets to have it both ways: The Right calls him a hero, and Left is left shooting at a moving target of senility and cluelessness.

As a Democrat, it always drives me insane when Reagan is credited with all of these things by himself even though he had mostly opposition majorities in Congress while Bill Clinton’s accomplishments are chalked up to his opposing majorities in Congress. But that’s typical in the time of the So Called Liberal Media.

The similarities between Reagan’s tactics and those of the current administration are remarkable. While Reagan had some skill at being diplomatic with members of the opposing party, he distorted and lied in ways that became the blueprint for how politics are conducted today. After all, who could forget “welfare queens”, “trees cause pollution” and “missiles that can be recalled?”

The Bush administration and campaign are trying to use Reagan to bolster their chances in November even altering their websites. Nothing could be more disrespectful to the dearly departed than that.

Historians will differ on the merits and impact of Reagan’s eight years in office. From the love-in on the major media outlets for the last 10 days, you would never know. Hopefully the media can learn from their mistakes in time for the next Presidential passing.