Notes To The GOP Hopefuls: Um, Evolution Is True and Reagan Was NOT A Great President

[Hissyspit]

Oh, dear. Not the Reagan lust again. Sigh. O.K...

Evolution not the truth? WRONG. That wrong-ness being perceptible to any cognitively functioning human being who has paid any real attention to what scientific consensus has been for much of the modern era. I'm not even going to waste my time going over this again with you.

Almost as ridiculous as rejecting the firmly established validity of evolutionary theory and the easily confirm-able processes of natural selection is the continued deification of Ronald Wilson Reagan as "a great president." There is perception based on truth and there is perception based on illusion.

Reagan a great president? WRONG.

This guy is your hero? Am I missing something? I mean, I know you guys (and by that I mean OLD RICH WHITE GUYS) are doing your best to distance yourself from "Dubya," but is the false legacy and mythology of Ronald Reagan the best you can do? Did you really buy all that stuff said about him at his funeral? It was a funeral, for cripes sake! Alright, let's hit refresh and recapitulate the material...


THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR/AMERICA'S UNCLE?: The great communicator? Let me tell you he always creeped the hell out of me. He reminded me of that guy from high school who was popular with everyone, pretty good looking, came across as likable - and so when you or someone else was being bullied unjustly and immorally, in public, one would think that he was the one who come to your aid, call everyone out on their insensitivity and unacceptable behavior, or at least break it up a diplomatic touch. But it turned out he thought it was all pretty funny, too, and laughed and walked away... There wasn't any true communist infiltration threat in the 1950s, but you couldn't have told Mr. Reagan:

In this position, he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) on suspected communist influence in the motion picture industry. The Screen Actors Guild, he claimed, was being infiltrated by communists.<30> In private he and his first wife, Jane Wyman, met with FBI agents in 1947 to name "suspected subversives." A 2002 Freedom of Information Act request<31> revealed that those he allegedly named included actors Larry Parks, Howard Da Silva, and Alexander Knox, each of whom was later called before HUAC and subsequently blacklisted in Hollywood.

ENDED THE COLD WAR?: No. No, he didn't. He just happened to be president when the Soviet Union went belly up. But what about the "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech? Yes, very heroic of him. Pulled a Guiliani, if you don't happen to see that. Not only was it pretty much politically safe at that point to make such a speech, Gorbachev was already predisposed, in his mind and character, at least, to pressuring East Germany to remove the wall, and pretty much anyone else who might have been president at the time would have made that speech. Carter and Brzezinski have as much right to make a claim on ending the Cold War with the Soviets as anyone. Actually, that's not what I mean. They have a TRUE claim.

GREAT ACTOR?: Look, I saw "King's Row" not too long ago and he sucked. Really.

INTEGRITY?: An incredible number of Reagan administration officials were indicted and involved in TRUE scandals. Remember Iran-Contra, when the president went on TV and looked Americans straight in the eye and lied to them? You know, about something important? In 2006, historians ranked the Iran-Contra affair as one of the ten worst mistakes by a U.S. president. (wikipedia)

REAGONOMICS/FREE MARKET CAPITALIST?: Expanded the Economy? Sure, easy to do when you EXPLODE the deficit to its largest size in the country's history.

Why is it that no one ever mentions the Savings and Loan scandal? I sure as hell haven't forgotten about it:

The Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s was a wave of savings and loan association failures in the United States in which over 1,000 savings and loan institutions failed in "the largest and costliest venture in public misfeasance, malfeasance and larceny of all time." The ultimate cost of the crisis is estimated to have totaled around USD$150 billion, about $125 billion of which was consequently and directly subsidized by the U.S. government...

I believe that I have to conclude that, no, I'm not missing anything. Apparently Reagan-lust IS the best you can do. The Ronald Dubya Reagan disinterment (which I realize, despite my lecture here, is going to get worse) is indicative of the now firmly ingrained Reagan Republican paradigm that the truth does not matter (most recently made tragically and sadly evident by the travels and travails of John McCain), no matter how much the ignorance of the truth harms America or its citizens, as long as it rejection keeps the right-wing in power or reconfirms a worldview that appeals to the most infantile of authoritarian impulses. And you are all desperate to stay in power and reconfirm those infantile impulses. I get it.

But remember, when Stephen Colbert satirizes 'truthiness,' he is mostly making fun of people like you. Most American voters are, in their desire to put as much road between George W. Bush and them, thinking more and more like the real Stephen Colbert, not the character, and there is a real chance that they will recognize that your 'truthiness' with regards to Reagan is really just symptomatic of your connections to the truthiness of W. Bush.

For more research, not-bloody-likely-presidents-to-be, and for what Bill Maher thinks of your Gipper fetishization, guys, check out Rachel Maddow here: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/51461

[wakeme2008]

1. And what they are also forgetting about Reagon is a lot of voters

do not know who he is. It is almost 20 years since he was in office. :shrug:

[Lobster Martini]

2. Love that 30% of GOP candidates disagree with Darwin

Apart from giving GOP candidates a chance to show that they don't give a hoot about scientific evidence, why was that question even asked? Don't recall Democrats being asked about evolution. Maybe that was while I was making popcorn.

Not going to touch Reagan-lust. Never understood it, never will. Reagan is the reason I dove into politics. I found myself smacking my forehead in disbelief so often that belittling him in writing was therapeutic.

[Hissyspit]

4. Their hero was early-stage Alzheimer's. None of them have mentioned that.

The evolution question was one that was submitted by citizens and voted on at politico.com. I think they wanted it asked so that some of the Rethugs would make asses of themselves, which they did.

The governor of Arkansas doesn't believe in evolution. Did this guy go to college? Is he even a grown-up?

[shenmue]

3. Great title

Right on both points. :rofl: :patriot: :applause:

[Hissyspit]

5. I could just kick myself...

and so I will.

:kick:

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

6. Thanks

That sums it up pretty well

[Hissyspit]

7. .