Brokaw on MSNBC: Reagan had UNERRING natural instincts. WHY does this deification continue?

[blm]

Because Reagan and Bush1's CRIMES OF OFFICE were allowed to be swept under the rug during the crucial point where Democrats HAD THE BEST OPPORTUNITY to complete the investigations of all the outstanding matters in IranContra, BCCI, Iraqgate and CIA drugrunning through the executive office and its access to documents previously blocked to the investigators and to the public - Jan 1993.

What happened?

Imagine if Bushboy was investigated for years and we all came close enough to the documents that would put him and his cronies in jail for years for their treason and someone STOPPED the pursuit for the 'good of the country' or 'in the spirit of bipartisan goodwill' or whatever.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

Democrats, the Truth Still Matters!
By Robert Parry
(First Posted May 11, 2006)

Editor's Note: With the Democratic victories in the House and Senate, there is finally the opportunity to demand answers from the Bush administration about important questions, ranging from Dick Cheney's secret energy policies to George W. Bush's Iraq War deceptions. But the Democrats are sure to be tempted to put the goal of "bipartisanship" ahead of the imperative for truth.

Democrats, being Democrats, always want to put governance, such as enacting legislation and building coalitions, ahead of oversight, which often involves confrontation and hard feelings. Democrats have a difficult time understanding why facts about past events matter when there are problems in the present and challenges in the future.

Given that proclivity, we are re-posting a story from last May that examined why President Bill Clinton and the last Democratic congressional majority (in 1993-94) shied away from a fight over key historical scandals from the Reagan-Bush-I years -- and the high price the Democrats paid for that decision:

My book, Secrecy & Privilege, opens with a scene in spring 1994 when a guest at a White House social event asks Bill Clinton why his administration didn’t pursue unresolved scandals from the Reagan-Bush era, such as the Iraqgate secret support for Saddam Hussein’s government and clandestine arms shipments to Iran.

Clinton responds to the questions from the guest, documentary filmmaker Stuart Sender, by saying, in effect, that those historical questions had to take a back seat to Clinton’s domestic agenda and his desire for greater bipartisanship with the Republicans.

Clinton “didn’t feel that it was a good idea to pursue these investigations because he was going to have to work with these people,” Sender told me in an interview. “He was going to try to work with these guys, compromise, build working relationships.”

Clinton’s relatively low regard for the value of truth and accountability is relevant again today because other centrist Democrats are urging their party to give George W. Bush’s administration a similar pass if the Democrats win one or both houses of Congress.

Reporting about a booklet issued by the Progressive Policy Institute, a think tank of the Democratic Leadership Council, the Washington Post wrote, “these centrist Democrats … warned against calls to launch investigations into past administration decisions if Democrats gain control of the House or Senate in the November elections.”

These Democrats also called on the party to reject its “non-interventionist left” wing, which opposed the Iraq War and which wants Bush held accountable for the deceptions that surrounded it.

“Many of us are disturbed by the calls for investigations or even impeachment as the defining vision for our party for what we would do if we get back into office,” said pollster Jeremy Rosner, calling such an approach backward-looking.

Yet, before Democrats endorse the DLC’s don’t-look-back advice, they might want to examine the consequences of Clinton’s decision in 1993-94 to help the Republicans sweep the Reagan-Bush scandals under the rug. Most of what Clinton hoped for – bipartisanship and support for his domestic policies – never materialized.

‘Politicized’ CIA

After winning Election 1992, Clinton also rebuffed appeals from members of the U.S. intelligence community to reverse the Reagan-Bush “politicization” of the CIA’s analytical division by rebuilding the ethos of objective analysis even when it goes against a President’s desires.

Instead, in another accommodating gesture, Clinton gave the CIA director’s job to right-wing Democrat, James Woolsey, who had close ties to the Reagan-Bush administration and especially to its neoconservatives.
>>>>>

Parry allows DU to repost the article in its entirety, but, I'll be mindful of bandwidth. The entire article is a must read to understand the importance of accountability and prosecuting crimes of office. Democracy demands it and needs it to continue in any healthy form.

[BOSSHOG]

1. Natural instincts to order the murder of priests, nuns and children? What a guy!

Declaring ketchup a vegetable. Very instinctive.

[depakid]

11. Trees causing pollution-

and then turning around and devastating the national forests- and local communities that depended on them by cutting WAY past sustained yield.

Yep, great instincts.

The only people more odious than Reagan are the sycophants in the corporate media who continue to run cover for him.

[AndyA]

2. Ronald Reagan was in the early stages of Alzheimer's when he was in the White House.

Nancy ran things behind the scenes, after getting advice from her astrologist.

We could have had The Addams Family living in the White House at the time, for all we know.

Reagan did what he was told to do. He was no great President. Not by a mile.

[Swamp Rat]

12. "We could have had The Addams Family living in the White House"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[calimary]

43. We DID have the Addams Family living in the White House.

I don't know why there's such idolatry of reagan. I just do not understand it. But the republi-CONS wanting to follow in his footsteps did exactly what Randi Rhodes said they'd do - they all very resolutely climbed straight up into reagan's ass.

[porphyrian]

3. Exactly what year did he have unerring natural instincts?

It certainly wasn't any time he held office.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Simple. His handlers then are **'s handlers now.

Must speak no ill of them.

[fooj]

9. Bingo.

[blitzen]

5. It's called the Doctrine of Reaganal Infallabilty....n/t

[geardaddy]

6. Barf

Ray-gun managed to dismantle effective programs set up over years of Democratic control. Why do these people put him on a pedestal?

:puke:

[Wapsie B]

7. And thus it becomes the first Law of conservative Political Correctness.

Speaking about Ronnie in only reverent tones. Anything else and you can kiss your membership in the cabal goodbye.

[Beaverhausen]

8. Reagan was an ACTOR! He knew how to fool people

Even people some would consider smart. :eyes:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

10. The MSM, in their unerring capitulation to corporate fascism,

tingles at the opportunity to schlarve the dode of the GOP. Don't forget your kneepads Tom...

[blm]

27. If the books are kept closed on BushInc, expect this same treatment for the Bushes

and especially the Bushboy 10 years from now.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. He had good instincts as a politician.

But since the OP provided no context for the remarks whatsoever I can't say if this is what Brokaw meant.

[DURHAM D]

14. Brokaw's love of Reagan has more to do with the year he was

born than anything else. The Greatest Generation now, The Greatest Generation forever. Long live The Greatest Generation.

What drivel.

[rasputin1952]

15. For Pete's sake...Reagan was a walking clusterfuck...

Jeez...what next, Lincoln is coming back from the dead to save the country?

[Mabus]

25. Same for Nancy

Remember when she came under fire for her expensive clothes, her use of an astrologer to determine Ronnie's schedule and for being out of touch? Now they act like she's some kind of grande dame. :banghead:

However, there is a fine line between style and elitism, and at some point early in the administration, the public felt that Nancy Reagan had crossed over that line. Certainly, the press's attitude towards her seemed to change. In 1981, Newsweek ran a story entitled "Mrs. Reagan's Free Clothes," in which they reported that Nancy Reagan had accepted an unspecified number of gowns on loan from her favorite top designers. Newsweek also indirectly suggested that Mrs. Reagan's action might have violated the spirit of the Government Ethics Act of 1977, and pointed out that other First Ladies had not accepted the same policy. Soon, a virtual onslaught of criticism began. Mrs. Reagan was chastised for raising $800,000 from private funds to refurbish the White House (much of the money donated being...deductible from tax returns in the 50 percent bracket, so that the public was indirectly footing a large portion of the bill), getting $209,000 worth of donated china, letting Architectural Digest have exclusive photo rights to the new interior, and keeping three hairdressers buzzing in and out of the White House. The CBS Evening News juxtaposed a story about an impoverished widow's eviction with a story about the First Lady's acquisition of an expensive new dress. Finally, in a cover story in December 1981, Newsweek suggested that the real Nancy Reagan was revealed when she savagely dressed down a Los Angeles hotel manager for delaying the President<'s> and her entry to the presidential suite to allow the prior occupant to pack up and leave.

The administration claimed that the general public was not nearly as concerned about these issues as was the media elite, but polling data by the media suggested that this was not the case. A Newsweek poll reported on December 21, 1981 showed...fully 62 percent of the public thought that Nancy Reagan put "too much emphasis on style and elegance," given current economic conditions and her husband's attention to Federal budget cutting. In addition, 61 percent of the respondents felt that Nancy Reagan was less sympathetic than other First Ladies to the problems of the poor and disadvantaged.

A number of factors were involved in Mrs. Reagan's unpopularity early in her husband's administration. One factor was undoubtedly poor timing. Many of the issues involved were by themselves unimportant; however, they took place during an economic recession. Using private donations to purchase new china for the White House might seem laudable under ordinary circumstances -- to have the story break on the same day that the Department of Agriculture declared catsup a vegetable in school lunch programs suggested a lack of feeling...for the needs of average Americans. At some point early in the Reagan administration, Nancy Reagan crossed over the line from style to ostentation....

http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id58.htm

I hate Ronnie and Nancy more today than I did when they were in the WH.

[rasputin1952]

33. Ugh...I still can't stand the "deer in the headlights" look...

I used to call her the "Stick Woman". She is one nasty pice of work...x(

[Mabus]

34. We used to call her Lollipop Head or The Thorazine Queen

She just seemed so, so. . ., what's a word for it,: vacant? She just looked like a misshapen doll with a dim bulb backlighting her face.

[rasputin1952]

35. ROFLMAO...

"She just looked like a misshapen doll with a dim bulb backlighting her face.":rofl:

Perfect description!

[lpbk2713]

16. Well ..... Tom ..... there you go again.

RayGun got what smarts he displayed in public from Nancy's astrologer. It was all smoke and mirrors from Tinsel Town. You've been had Tom.

[indepat]

23. If Tom is half as smart as the Gipper was, he knows he's been had. Actually, Tom's just trying

to snow the people with his fantastical fable awash in fantasy and duplici1ty.

[K8-EEE]

17. I always thought he was a doddering old man

I was 20 when he was president -- I always thought he was this corny old guy they were just sort of propping up in a chair with the hair dye and the blush and all that.

It's weird -- I don't remember people drooling all over themselves with ReaganLuv during the actual era, it's like they're re-writing history. I wonder if in 25 years they will say the sam thing even about * !

[Old and In the Way]

18. Reagan's longest gig acting.

He played President while Mike Deaver and George HW Bush took care of business. But don't let that stop the RW from idolizing this man. He was infallible.

[ginnyinWI]

19. He brought their party back from the dead

after Nixon killed it. I wonder who will bring it back after *?

[Dudley_DUright]

20. At the time, I thought Reagan would be the worst president of my lifetime

Silly me. :silly:

[Mabus]

21. And that frigging clip they've used today "There you go again"

WTF? It made him sound like the doddering old fuck he was! And they've been playing it off and on all day long on MSNBC like it was something special. I thought it was stupid at the time and, iirc, non-responsive to Carter's assertion that Reagan's policies would be diasterous for the US. In fact, every time I've heard it, it reminds me of the dumb shit Bush says.

:grr:

[blm]

48. They said Reagan DEMOLISHED Carter in the debates. It didn't happen like that at ALL.

Cripes, the corporate media whores didn't notice that Kerry truly 'DEMOLISHED' a sitting president in the debates in 2004. THAT was noticeable. Reagan's debate performances have been ELEVATED to make it APPEAR that he beat the intellectual Carter.

[mod mom]

22. because he was the first president that the corporate media really placed and they

want to write history to benefit their bad decision. Where's the talk of Iran Contra? or abuse of power? why no big deal that Nancy consulted with astrologists? (can you imagine if a Dem did this?)

[Straight Shooter]

24. The natural instincts of a slithering, silver-tongued snake. n/t

[Disturbed]

26. Raygun pleased the US Corps. RW Theocrats and

the US Corp Media.

Rethugs lean toward RWing Fascism. Most Rethugs do not believe in representative Republic. They believe in RWing Fascist Dictatorship with Old Testament repressive domination.

[w4rma]

28. Clinton could have investigated this stuff. Instead he pulled that kum-ba-ya, the DLC can work with

GOP, crap and refused to. So now the Repukes are free to deify him.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

55. and Hillary will do the ssame favor for Dubya

After all Babs Bush considers Bill an honorary "son."

No need to upset the family.
and then the same crooks can return to power in the next GOP administration.

[ncteechur]

29. It will continue until the generations that know of Reagan die off.

[blm]

49. It will continue till an HONEST Dem administration opens the books on BushInc.

and we will clearly see the crimes of office that spanned the last 4 decades.

[Carolina]

30. You hit the nail squarely on the head

Clinton made a huge mistake by letting it go and thinking he COULD work with these people (liars and thieves).

And that's the problem I have with our guys sometimes (often times these days). They want to work together for the good of the nation BUT you can't partner with criminals ...

Robert Parry is just the best. Thanks for posting this.

[GeorgeGist]

31. In case you hadn't noticed ...

Brokaw is a rich pimp, and a rich whore. But, as his co-worker Timmeh would say, "Integrity is for paupers".

[bobbolink]

32. Why? Puppet worship?

:rofl:

or CORPORATE drum beating....

[SpiralHawk]

36. What Reagan has was unerring TIMING -- because of his astrologer

His instincts weren't that good. But because he used a competent professional astrologer, he could always time his actions to catch the wave.

Commander AWOL is hardly the first republicon pResident occultist...

AWOL is just More Occult than your average Skull & Boner cabalist, or republicon chickenhawk actor.

[Cha]

39. HaHa! See post #38~

SpiralHawk~

[Colobo]

37. He was a skillful politician

[Cha]

38. Cause Nancy hired an astrologer

after ronnie almost ate his lunch.

Those weren't his instincts they were Joan Quigley's interpretations..

"As Nancy Reagan's astrologer for seven years, San Franciscan Quigley influenced the timing of the President's speeches, public appearances, surgery and trips. In this self-congratulatory tell-all, she also claims that she softened Ronald Reagan's stance toward Gorbachev, paved the way for a friendly Geneva Summit, helped Reagan win two presidental elections and protected him from potential assassins. She takes credit for helping to shape his "visionary" strategy of particle-beam weapons in space (Star Wars), for giving First Lady Nancy an image-overhaul and for defusing the controversy over the president's visit to Bitburg cemetery where Nazis are buried. Separate chapters cover the birth charts of Reagan and Gorbachev and the "breathless possibilities" in the chemistry between them. Although this tiresome memoir would have worked better as a magazine article, it offers an intimate, different, unintentionally devastating slant on the Reagan White House."


http://www.amazon.com/What-Does-Joan-Say-Astrologer/dp/1559720328

[sandnsea]

40. Because The Corporatists Say So

Ever since FDR, the capitalist party was in a stew to get the workers party out of office. Reagan did that. Until somebody stands up to the corporatists, Reagan will be viewed as the man who saved the American Corporate Economy. That lie leads people to believe it's the model economy so they'll never vote in workers' parties again.

[Contrary1]

41. Brokaw is correct about this...

Every few weeks. Unerring.

[Zhade]

42. Unerring criminal instincts, yes.

NT!

[bobbie]

44. I hope you're not suggesting a conspiracy to prop up Reagan's reputation

'Cause then this thread will have to be moved to the 911 forum.

[blm]

50. heh.....just saw this.

I know. I know. ;)))

[nam78_two]

45. Ugh.nt

[Mabus]

46. He's the GOP's version of FDR

We Dems have FDR. FDR lead our nation when the threat of Nazi Germany spreading its influence was of paramount importance to world peace. He did it by speaking to the nation in very plain spoken terms. The GOP needed a hero they could look up to and so they invented Reagan. They like to portray him as someone who helped save the world from the spreading communist threat (but they don't like it when you mention that if Reagan was so instrumental in the collapse of the Soviet Union, why was Gorby the only one to receive the Nobel Prize?). They like to think his bumbling, stumbling speech is on par with FDR. Naturally, they are wrong.

I also believe that their push a while back to have Ronnie replace FDR on the dime is indicative of this weird need of theirs to have someone they can admire, like FDR.

This is my theory. ;)

on edit: as for the press, they just want to be the ones who covered one of the greatest presidents in American history. Look at how people like Peggy Noonan has glomped onto Reagan and made a cottage industry out of it.

Overall, look at what the Republicans have to choose from: Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, Ford and Nixon. Every single one of their presidents has hurt our economy, doesn't relate well to the average American and, frankly, they haven't been much of a brain trust. All the GOP can point to as a president they can halfway be proud of is Reagan.

[Rex]

47. Reagan took a big crap on the US Constitution.

I have a hard time feeling sorry for the man who loved the Greed is Good Era. About as smart as a sack of anvils. Ran up the largest debit in American history, that was until Junior came along and broke all records for failure.

I'll say this for Raygun, I liked him a lot better than the Nixon cockroaches scurrying around under Juniors feet. At least Ronny was smart enough to hate Poppy and his cursed ilk. That is the ONLY instinct he had right.

[Blue_Tires]

51. ttt nt

[EFerrari]

52. Serial killers also have natural instincts. n/.t

[Arugula Latte]

53. Two Words: Revisionist History

What utter bullshit...

[CreekDog]

54. Deification or defication?

I think it's both.

[bamacrat]

56. Because if pukes dont worship Reagan all the have left is Bush 1&2 and Nixon so...

I dont understand this either, the man was not a great president, better than shrub, but only slightly, The 80's were one of the worst times in US economic history.