Reagan's Real Legacy

[unhappycamper]

Reagan's Real Legacy
by Peter Dreier
Published on Sunday, February 6, 2011 by The Nation

As the nation embarks on a celebration this Sunday of the hundredth anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s birth—with conferences, museum exhibits and lots of speeches—let us not forget that many of the serious problems facing America today began or worsened during Reagan’s presidency.

Why not let Reagan, who died in 2004, rest in peace? Because a growing chorus of journalists, politicians, and pundits are using this hundredth-birthday milestone to rewrite history and bestow on Reagan a Mount Rushmore–like status as one of our greatest presidents.

That’s hogwash.

During his two terms in the White House (1981–89), Reagan presided over a widening gap between the rich and everyone else, declining wages and living standards for working families, an assault on labor unions as a vehicle to lift Americans into the middle class, a dramatic increase in poverty and homelessness, and the consolidation and deregulation of the financial industry that led to the current mortgage meltdown, foreclosure epidemic and lingering recession.

~snip~

Since his death, we’ve named a major airport, many schools and lots of streets after Ronald Reagan. Perhaps now, as we celebrate the centennial of his birth, a more fitting tribute to his legacy would be for each American city to name a park bench—where at least one homeless person sleeps every night—in honor of our fortieth president.

[deanable]

1. Ronald Reagan. If not him, who?

The republicans have no hero. So they chose the least offensive and then hammered away about his imagined greatness. But who could have it been? W left office in political disgrace. His father was a one term bore as was Gerald Ford. Richard Nixon left office in criminal disgrace. Eisenhower was a secret democrat.
Whose left that the general public could identify with? Lincoln? Except Lincoln is a hero to all Americans.

[KharmaTrain]

2. Well Said...And Welcome

to DU...

The right wing has no real heroes. Goldwater? BobDole? They try to claim "party of Lincoln" but that has rung hollow since the 60s. All they've got is Raygun. He's become this comic book hero...large than life and now a cartoon character made to be everything "conservative" despite the reality.

While it's easy to debunk the "great expectorator", the wingnuts are so in need of the cartoon hero they'll not only keep believing in a Raygun than never was but will add even more myths to the lore.

Cheers...