# Good Things Accomplished By Republicans **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 20, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208 "2016-12-20T04:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/1 "2016-12-20T04:26:58Z")
Title explains thread. Lincoln does not count. Nixon and China too easy. No sarcasm please. Well, okay, just keep it minimal. Let’s hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/2 "2016-12-20T04:42:59Z")
George Bush the elder, and the liberation of Kuwait. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/3 "2016-12-20T04:45:57Z")
Winning the cold war. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/4 "2016-12-20T04:47:47Z")
I assume you mean the modern republican party. For me, one of the nice things is that absurd weapons laws have been reversed. Switchblades used to be banned in my state because they ‘look like weapons a criminal would use’ but now they are legal to own and carry. Under W Bush I can think of the following things -Medicare D (imperfect program, but better than nothing) -Increased funding to fight disease in Africa -Second chance act giving convicts a chance to re-integrate into society Of those 3, I’m not sure how much support W got from the GOP legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/5 "2016-12-20T04:52:24Z")
So you want to exclude the obviously good things Republicans did to set bait for more marginal accomplishments? Those are some impressive ground rules for any event. I can still work within them though. Reagan and George H.W. Bush handled the end of the Cold War well. We may not be debating this bullshit today if they hadn’t. Nixon was one of the most environmentally friendly Presidents of all time. He helped usher in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 which set the stage for further environmental policies with real teeth. Eisenhower is one of the most underrated Presidents of all time. He recognized the need for the vast area of the U.S. to become united by a vast system of limited access roads like the German autobahn except much bigger. That gave us the U.S. interstate highway system. It is difficult to overestimate the effect that has had in all areas. It is basically the internet of transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/6 "2016-12-20T04:53:21Z")
Missed the edit window: COBRA Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/7 "2016-12-20T05:01:39Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > So you want to exclude the obviously good things Republicans did to set bait for more marginal accomplishments? Those are some impressive ground rules for any event. > > I can still work within them though. Reagan and George H.W. Bush handled the end of the Cold War well. We may not be debating this bullshit today if they hadn’t. Nixon was one of the most environmentally friendly Presidents of all time. He helped usher in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 which set the stage for further environmental policies with real teeth. > > Eisenhower is one of the most underrated Presidents of all time. He recognized the need for the vast area of the U.S. to become united by a vast system of limited access roads like the German autobahn except much bigger. That gave us the U.S. interstate highway system. It is difficult to overestimate the effect that has had in all areas. It is basically the internet of transportation. As to the first point, I just wanted to get them out of the way because they were too obvious. In the sense that even I could think of them. As to the rest of your comment, bravo, these are things that need to be said, in my opinion. I don’t think Reagan had as much to do with the end of the Cold War as many believe, though. I still remember, in the 1970’s, my parents, as US journalists, were allowed a rare tour of Russia as part of a special international journalists group. They came back shaking their heads at how frightened the US government was at such an obviously dysfunctional and failing country. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/8 "2016-12-20T05:02:47Z")
If you at it from a lower level, you have Republicans like Rudy Giuliani (former mayor of NYC) that helped turn a former hell-hole into a veritable Disneyland. He is a little embarrassing today but I do think his “broken window” approach to management helped turn NYC from somewhere where you wouldn’t want to be caught alone at night into one of the safest large cities in the world. His successor, Michael Bloomberg, is technically a Republican too and helped keep the largest city in the U.S. functioning well. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/9 "2016-12-20T05:07:06Z")
Eisenhower beat Hitler ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/10 "2016-12-20T05:09:03Z")
George W. Bush’s [efforts](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/george-w-bushs-legacy-on-africa-wins-praise-even-from-foes/) against AIDS and malaria in Africa. Nixon and signing the Clean Air/Water Acts and overseeing the creation of the EPA. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/11 "2016-12-20T05:28:38Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Eisenhower beat Hitler He wasn’t a Republican then; he was not involved in politics and had no party affiliation. He didn’t identify as a Republican until 1951, Plus, if you’re going to credit an individual general with defeating Hitler, it probably has to be Georgy Zhukov. He wasn’t a Republican either. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/12 "2016-12-20T05:44:49Z")
I love how many things brought up in this thread are things which today’s republicans would fight tooth and nail against. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/13 "2016-12-20T05:48:57Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > I love how many things brought up in this thread are things which today’s republicans would fight tooth and nail against. Yes, but if we go there we’ll just devolve into desperate screaming and wailing. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/14 "2016-12-20T07:45:33Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > -Medicare D (imperfect program, but better than nothing) The program may be good, but I consider it a prime example of the fiscal recklessness of modern Republicans; passing a vast new entitlement program, with no attempt to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/15 "2016-12-20T08:17:50Z")
Getting rid of the stupid national speed limit. Though endorsed by a Republican (Nixon) a Democratic congress passed it, Democrats loved it and never would have dumped it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/16 "2016-12-20T08:55:30Z")
> [@ganthet](#): > > George W. Bush’s [efforts](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/george-w-bushs-legacy-on-africa-wins-praise-even-from-foes/) against AIDS and malaria in Africa. …After Reagan, 20 years earlier, totally ignored the problem of AIDS in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/17 "2016-12-20T09:44:13Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > …After Reagan, 20 years earlier, totally ignored the problem of AIDS in the U.S. Often said. Mostly untrue. He did order significant resources to be devoted to GRID and then AIDS care, problem was for the first 5-10 years, there was little anyone could do. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/18 "2016-12-20T09:44:37Z")
The fact that Hillary Rodham Clinton will never be the President of the United States should rank as one of their greatest achievements. (Although to be fair to her Clinton did a lot of the heavy lifting herself on this one.) ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/19 "2016-12-20T09:53:02Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The fact that Hillary Rodham Clinton will never be the President of the United States should rank as one of their greatest achievements. (Although to be fair to her Clinton did a lot of the heavy lifting herself on this one.) Why? Particularly when you consider that the alternative is Donald “I don’t bother with security briefings” “Allepo is already lost” Trump, it seems to me you’re praising the republicans for wiping out a terror cell operating out of brooklyn with a tactical nuke. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208/20 "2016-12-20T12:45:37Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Why? One reason suffices for all. The Supreme Court. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208.md?page=2)