# 10 things I hate about Ronald Reagan **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 5, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840 "2004-06-05T19:06:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/21 "2004-06-05T20:31:54Z")
Good list, but Watt was Secretary of the Interior, not Energy. Actually, he would have been far less damaging and dangerous at DOE than he was at Interior. (I think we’ve discovered our new moron-du-jour in this thread. Gee, I hope she sticks around.) ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/22 "2004-06-05T20:35:52Z")
I don’t see any reason why Reagan’s failing health should be a cause to elevate the man to sainthood (in the eyes of his admirers) or to hold him in especial contempt (in the eyes of his detractors). Last week, Reagan was still an ex-President. Next week, when he may be dead, he will still be an ex-President. We will still have opinions on his efficacy or lack thereof as a world leader. Maybe I just find it contemptible that the news media has nothing better to report than that an ill man has become slightly more ill and they are each waiting around for the other shoe to drop. Somehow the media feels that we need a play-by-play of the man’s decline. Dear CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX: tell me when he’s dead. (“We have updated Ronald Reagan’s status as ‘too close to call…’”) By the same token, if I thought he was a judgemental, incompetent fool last week, then I will think him so today and next week. That he’s dying doesn’t score points: we all are. But last week, I didn’t say a word about the man or my opinion of his deeds, so next week, I won’t either. I see no particular reason that my opinion of him should be more newsworthy _today_. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/23 "2004-06-05T20:38:59Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > When he does go the pubbies will make you think God him/herself had died. Yeah, that’s going get tiresome very quickly. In 1999 some politician proposed his face be put on Mt. Rushmore. No doubt we’ll hear this idea tossed around again. ---
**Author:** ![SallyStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SallyStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyStar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/24 "2004-06-05T20:43:22Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Yeah, that’s going get tiresome very quickly. > > In 1999 some politician proposed his face be put on Mt. Rushmore. No doubt we’ll hear this idea tossed around again. I thought they were going to put Carter’s or Clinton’s face there when they die? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/25 "2004-06-05T20:44:47Z")
I voted against Reagan twice, but by comparison with the last 3.5 years, his administration doesn’t seem as bad as it did at the time. When Ed Meese was around, I remember thinking, “I guess this is the worst Attorney General I’ll ever see.” Ha! ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/26 "2004-06-05T20:45:47Z")
> [@SallyStar](#): > > I thought they were going to put Carter’s or Clinton’s face there when they die? Cite? I’ve never heard such a proposal from anyone. The “Reagan on Rushmore” notion, on the other hand, was seriously proposed by some of the folks connected to the “Legacy Project,” IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/27 "2004-06-05T20:48:57Z")
Here are [the awful details](http://www.reaganlegacy.org/articles/nyt.02.11.01.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/28 "2004-06-05T20:51:59Z")
I just heard on the radio that he died. Let the retrospectives commence. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/29 "2004-06-05T20:53:19Z")
I think something just dawned on me: it isn’t always necessary to take offense. ---
**Author:** ![SallyStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SallyStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyStar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/30 "2004-06-05T20:54:13Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > I just heard on the radio that he died. Let the retrospectives commence. He did … this thread is a disgrace to this MB … :mad: ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/31 "2004-06-05T20:55:21Z")
> [@SallyStar](#): > > Oh, and the demmies won’t think Carter was the greatest either when he dies? :smack: The point is they have a right to, these men served our country. I hope one person here will step up to do the same. Following up on your reply to Reeder, if you’re suggesting that the fact that he “served” as President of the U.S. justifies treating someone as being above criticism, I have to say I disagree. The quality of the leadership is critical. If one judged based on the fact of service alone, one could similarly point out that Stalin “served” as leader of the U.S.S.R. or that Idi Amin led in Uganda. Note that I’m not attributing the traits of either Stalin or Amin to Reagan, but pointing out the flaw in considering the fact of national leadership alone. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/32 "2004-06-05T21:00:45Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Reagan had no compassion for those dying of AIDS. Reagan underfunded AIDS research, prevented Surgeon General Koop from mentioning AIDS until 1986 I’m curious as to how he “prevented” Koop from “mentioning AIDS.” Was there some sort of executive order that said “Don’t mention AIDS”? ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/33 "2004-06-05T21:03:04Z")
**SallyStar** , the freedom of speech is one of the most prized (and prised-at) establishments in the Bill of Rights. Reagan, as a former radio broadcaster, actor, and President, knew that better than anybody. We Americans would be remiss if we encouraged others to forfeit our rights to free speech simply because some Republicans don’t like to hear criticisms against Republican leaders. You may consider anti-Republican or anti-Reagan sentiment to be a disgrace to this message board. I consider your anti-free-speech attitude a disgrace to this **country**. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/34 "2004-06-05T21:05:07Z")
He’s actually dead now. Isn’t there an old saying, “say nothing but good of the dead”? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/35 "2004-06-05T21:05:27Z")
I wonder… How many of you here who think Reagan ‘hurt America a lot’ were actually out working and participating in the economy when he was elected? Reagan inherited a MESS. The U.S. was in far, far, worse shape than it is now. Let’s go down the list: Double-digit interest rates. Double-digit inflation. Unemployment near 10%. Big deficits already. No growth (“Stagflation”). “Malaise”. Hostages in Iran. The Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan. The cold war was icy cold. Unrest at home. 70% tax rates. An energy crisis. A military in decline and under-funded. America was in very bad shape, and getting worse. After Reagan left office, the top tax rate was 31%. Inflation and interest rates were low. The economy was expanding at a rapid pace. Unemployment was low. The back of the Soviet Union had been broken. There was no more ‘Malaise’, and people actually felt good about the U.S. again. Yes, Reagan ran up some big deficits, but part of that was because the military needed a big injection of funds, and because he lost significant revenue from ‘Bracket creep’ when tax rates and inflation came down. But by the end of his second term, the deficit was falling rapidly as a percentage of GDP as the U.S. grew out of its debt problem. This is why Reagan will be remembered as a great president. That’s also why he’s hated by so many. He was a transformational figure. Like Thatcher in England, he presided over sweeping changes in the country. Now for the list… > [@](#): > > 1. Ed Meese as attorney general. The “War” on pornography. No argument. > [@](#): > > 1. Reagan visited the SS graveyard in Bitburg, West Germany If there were ever an overblown issue, this is it. Bitburg was not an ‘SS Graveyard’. It was a graveyard containing 2,000 soldiers, of which 49 were members of the _Waffen SS_. His advance people didn’t notice that, because when they scouted the location the headstones were covered in snow (they might not have noticed anyway). Reagan was invited there as part of the ceremony surrounding the 40th anniversay of D-Day, and he did so as a personal favor to West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who had been a strong supporter. When the media picked up on the fact that some SS were in that cemetary, and demanded that Reagan not go there, the German people got very upset. 72% of them supported Reagan’s visit, and they rightly pointed out that pretty much every German cemetary was likely to contain some SS members. From [this cite:](http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id342.htm) > [@](#): > > The Chancellor’s aide, Horst Teltschik said: “Once we knew about the SS dead at Bitburg – knowing that these SS people were seventeen to eighteen years of age, and knowing that some Germans were forced to become members of the SS, having no alternative – the question was, Should this be a reason to cancel?” Reagan aide Robert McFarlane said: “Once Reagan learned that Kohl would really be badly damaged by a withdrawal, he said ‘We can’t do that; I owe him.’” Prior to sending Deaver back to West Germany for the third time, just two days before the scheduled visit, Reagan told his deputy chief of staff: “I know you and Nancy don’t want me to go through with this, but I don’t want you to change anything when you get over there, because history will prove I’m right. If we can’t reconcile after forty years, we are never going to be able to do it.” In fact, the smearing of Reagan over this and the attempt to link him to the atrocities of the Nazi regime were despicable. Reagan was about as far from being a Nazi as you can get. > [@](#): > > 1. The appointment of James G. Watt as Energy Secretary A bad choice, but is this really a good reason to hate someone? I don’t hate Clinton because he was dumb enough to choose Joycelyn Elders and Donna Shalala. > [@](#): > > 1. The War on Drugs and “Just Say NO” Everytime you pee in a cup for a job, you can thank Ronnie No argument. > [@](#): > > 1. SDI- A waste of money and a violation of the ABM treaty Big disagreement. SDI was a big part of the reason Reagan got so many accomodations from the Soviets, including the removal of tactical nuclear missiles in Europe. SDI was also instrumental in convincing the Soviet Union that they could not defeat the U.S. militarily, which helped lead to the collapse of the most depotic regime the planet has ever seen. > [@](#): > > 1. The appointment of Rehnquist as Chief Justice and the appointment of Scalia. Hard to tell what a Supreme Court justice is going to do once appointed. He also appointed Sandra Day O’Connor. > [@](#): > > 1. The support of the Contras in Nicaragua. For which I am glad. There was a cold war going on, and the Sandinistas were not just evil bastards, but within the Soviet sphere of influence. Opposing them was the right thing to do. The contras weren’t so nice themselves, but this was _realpolitik_ with very high stakes. > [@](#): > > 1. The firing of the air traffic controllers Which was the right thing to do. The strike was illegal, and Reagan upheld the law. I believe also that sending this signal early on was instrumental in avoiding the kind of over-the-top union control that caused Britain so much grief. > [@](#): > > 1. Unprecedented deficits-High military spending and a failed economic policy High military spending which helped win the cold war. His economic policy was not ‘failed’ - it was tremendous. The deficits were bad, but as I said, by the time he left they were already falling rapidly. > [@](#): > > 1. The Iran Contra affair. Reagan should have been impeached for this. Perhaps. At the very least he should have been on top of the situation. Even he admitted that he failed on that score. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/36 "2004-06-05T21:07:51Z")
Just heard that he died. RIP, Mr. Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/37 "2004-06-05T21:08:13Z")
The legacy of Reagan will live on!.. [http://www.natcath.com/NCR\_Online/archives/011003/011003f.htm](http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/011003/011003f.htm) > [@](#): > > Three tarnished Reagan figures have hands in Bush foreign policy > By BART JONES > > Their names were synonymous with the U.S. “dirty wars” in Central America in the 1980s and the Iran-contra scandal. Today, Otto Reich, Elliot Abrams and John Negroponte have resurfaced and are helping run U.S. policy toward Latin America again. > > The re-emergence of the Reagan-era hardliners is causing dismay among human rights activists and some Latin America experts who fear the United States is returning to the Cold War days when it backed brutal dictatorships, covertly supported coups and sabotaged leftist movements. “There isn’t a single democratic leader in Latin America that doesn’t reject and deplore the role that our government played in Central America during the 1980s,” said Robert White, a former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador. “To choose men like Elliot Abrams and Otto Reich is an insult.” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/38 "2004-06-05T21:08:57Z")
Where’d I put my dancin’ shoes? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/39 "2004-06-05T21:12:57Z")
> [@SallyStar](#): > > Oh, and the demmies won’t think Carter was the greatest either when he dies? Are you on crack? Reagan’s dead, and the only tragedy in it is that it happened twenty years too late. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840/40 "2004-06-05T21:16:15Z")
I was glad to hear that his family has come together. CNN is reporting that all three children are now at the home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-things-i-hate-about-ronald-reagan/248840.md?page=3)