Political Test

President Ronald Reagan famously said:  ”I didn’t leave the Democratic party.  It left me.”

And, now, just months after he would have turned 100, he’s been left again, this time by the party that publicly reveres him as the father of modern conservatism  while running away from who he was and what he stood for.

FEAR Factor

Increasingly, it appears that the reactionaries who are taking control of the party that Lincoln created are governed less by real principle and more by raw FEAR  (False Evidence Appearing Real).

1.  Taxes

Like the Queen in Alice and Wonderland, any  Republican daring to contemplate—even consider—raising taxes to meet the demands of America is met with the chorus: “Off with his head!”

Like Alice, Mr. Reagan would certainly have shaken his head in disbelief.

After all, he raised taxes 11 times as President, including four times in two years.

Yet, the “myth” of Reagan as the great tax cutter lives on.

FEAR.

2.  America’s Deficit

President Obama is widely denounced by his opponents for America’s burgeoning deficit.

No matter that it is not true.  During President Bush’es eight years as President, the country’s deficit ballooned $5,700,000,000,000 even as Vice President Cheney so eloquently put it: “Deficits don’t matter.”

Obama’s policies are projected to increase the deficit by $1,400,000,000,000—a quarter of his predecessor.

Yet the “myth” persists that Democrats are big spenders and the country should look back at that old deficit hawk, Ronald Reagan.

But, fact is, in Reagan’s eight years in office, the deficit increased  more than $3,000,000,000,000 (are you beginning to see a Republican pattern here?) which was more than the combined deficits for all his 20th century predecessors combined (and twice as much as they are projected to increase if Obama if president for eight years).

FEAR.

3.  Immigration

Like taxes, the mantra of anti-immigration stirs the blood of nearly all red-blooded Republicans.

And President Reagan?  Here’s where he stood: ”I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.”  He believed so strongly about it that he granted amnesty to over three million illegals.

FEAR.

4.  America’s Debt Ceiling

We all vividly recall the GOP brinksmanship that nearly put America into default—and which led one of the credit agencies to downgrade America’s creditworthiness.  Some reactionary Congressmen even went so far as to call for default.

What would Reagan have thought of this?  In a 1987 national address, he told the country:

“Unfortunately, Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest markets would skyrocket. Instability would occur in financial markets and the federal deficit would soar.

“The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. It means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility — two things that set us apart in much of the world.”

Indeed, during President Reagan’s two terms, the debt ceiling was raised 17 times.

FEAR.

Which leads me to this.  Of all the Republican presidents in the last half century (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, and his son, George Bush) why is it that the Republican Party has abandoned its most revered icon?

Whatever happened to “Win One for the Gipper?”