# Ronald Reagan's Birthday **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 6, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948 "2010-02-06T20:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/281 "2010-03-24T10:25:53Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Supporting South Africa=/=Racist. Supporting the Apartheid regime was supporting the brutal oppression of the majority of South Africa’s people. Who just so happened to be not white. QED - de facto racist in outcome, if not intent. Not that Reagan wasn’t racist, that’s been shown time and again, not just in foreign policy but also in his election speeches. “State’s Rights” in the South? Please! ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/282 "2010-03-25T02:20:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Supporting the Apartheid regime was supporting the brutal oppression of the majority of South Africa’s people. Who just so happened to be not white. QED - de facto racist in outcome, if not intent. Not that Reagan wasn’t racist, that’s been shown time and again, not just in foreign policy but also in his election speeches. “State’s Rights” in the South? Please! He also renewed the civil rights laws-the “states’ rights” stuff was just campaign rhetoric. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/283 "2010-03-25T02:29:54Z")
Like when he directed the Justice Department to support Bob Jones University’s bid to regain tax exempt status? Or opposed the Civil Rights Restoration Act (not to mention opposing the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts)? Or opposed equal housing opportunity legislation as governor? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/284 "2010-03-25T02:45:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Like when he directed the Justice Department to support Bob Jones University’s bid to regain tax exempt status? Or opposed the Civil Rights Restoration Act (not to mention opposing the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts)? Or opposed equal housing opportunity legislation as governor? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political\_position\_of\_Ronald\_Reagan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_position_of_Ronald_Reagan) > [@](#): > > In 1980 Reagan said the Voting Rights Act was “humiliating to the South,”[37] **although he later supported extending the Act.** [38] He opposed Fair Housing legislation in California (the Rumford Fair Housing Act),[39] **but in 1988 signed a law expanding the Fair Housing Act of 1968.** [40] Reagan was unsuccessful in trying to veto another civil rights bill in March of the same year.[41] Reagan supported South Africa in spite of apartheid, but yielded to pressure from Congress.[42] **At first Reagan opposed the Martin Luther King holiday, and signed it only after an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate) voted in favor of it.**[43] Congress overrode Reagan’s veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988.[41][44] Reagan said the Restoration Act would impose too many regulations on churches, the private sector and state and local governments.[45] > > **Reagan did not consider himself a racist, and dismissed any attacks aimed at him relating to racism as attacks on his personal character and integrity.** [32] In general he seems to have ended up supporting most civil rights legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/285 "2010-03-25T02:51:13Z")
Did you _read_ that before you quoted it? ---
**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:** [March 25, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/286 "2010-03-25T02:52:00Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political\_position\_of\_Ronald\_Reagan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_position_of_Ronald_Reagan) > In general he seems to have ended up supporting most civil rights legislation. Of course, we should ignore the insignificant detail that even your cite points that usually he ended up doing it only after there was no good way for him to continue opposing it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/287 "2010-03-25T04:57:39Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > In general he seems to have ended up supporting most civil rights legislation. No, in general he had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to any possible pro-CR legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/288 "2010-03-27T01:57:35Z")
Not really, he continued to oppose some civil rights legislation even after Congress passed it thus it seems to have been very much conviction. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/289 "2010-03-27T02:30:23Z")
Did you forget which side you’re arguing? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/290 "2010-03-27T02:43:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Did you forget which side you’re arguing? My point is that Ronald Reagan did not oppose all or even most civil rights legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/291 "2010-03-27T02:45:12Z")
Your own quote directly contradicts that position. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/292 "2010-03-27T03:17:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Your own quote directly contradicts that position. Which is because Reagan changed his mind on many laws and the states’ rights stuff as said was mostly campaign rhetoric. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/293 "2010-03-27T14:13:57Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Which is because Reagan changed his mind on many laws He didn’t change his mind, he was just overruled. > [@](#): > > and the states’ rights stuff as said was mostly campaign rhetoric. Suuuuure it was.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/294 "2010-03-27T15:40:31Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > He didn’t change his mind, he was just overruled: If he was really opposed he would have vetoed it anyways. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/295 "2010-03-27T16:14:11Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > If he was really opposed he would have vetoed it anyways. If it was clear that the veto would be overridden, why bother? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/296 "2010-03-28T02:44:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > If it was clear that the veto would be overridden, why bother? Than why did he in reality did veto a bill that was going to be overriden by Congress (see my cite)? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/297 "2010-03-28T19:02:14Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > If he was really opposed he would have vetoed it anyways. Because he bowed to pressure from his party, who knew how it would look - some of them had re-elections to worry about. BTW, your cite doesn’t exist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948.md?page=14)