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Ronald Reagan Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 23, 2016 145 Comments
Donald Trump has a "favorability" problem. Poll after poll shows Trump doing poorly against Hillary Clinton head-to-head, perhaps reflecting Trump's historically low levels of favorability (and high levels of unfavorability) for a leading major party candidate. In response, a meme was created and spread far and wide earlier this month that Trump's favorability is no worse than Ronald Reagan at a similar point in time in his challege to Jimmy Carter. The conclusion being that if Reagan could overcome that obstacle, so can Trump. So, the theory goes, those of you Republican national convention delegates who worry about Trump being a general election disaster who could cost Republicans the presidency, House and Senate have nothing to worry about. A post by Gallup (discussed below) explains why that is not accurate, and why Trump's favorability is much worse than Reagan's. But equally important is to examine how it came about that Gallup even is discussing the issue.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 25, 2016 5 Comments
In 1983, President Reagan recorded a radio address to the country on the observance of Easter and Passover. "This is a time of hope and peace, when our spirits are filled and lifted. It's a time when we give thanks for our blessings-chief among them, freedom, peace, and the promise of eternal life," he said.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 06, 2016 9 Comments
Just breaking, more to follow. https://twitter.com/ReaganWorld/status/706522349571612672 https://twitter.com/ReaganWorld/status/706528130014580736

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 19, 2016 7 Comments
Non-partisan organization, PoliTech, a student organization from Texas Tech University in Lubbock ventured out to George Mason University with a very basic man on the street test: Can students identify three public figures? To their credit, PoliTech appears to sample student from various majors, including an international politics major who had no clue who Joe Biden was, at least not when looking at a photo.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 31, 2016 21 Comments
Many conservatives opine that what we need after Obama's disastrous presidency is the same cure we had after Jimmy Carter's disastrous presidency: a Ronald Reagan. This desire isn't lost on the Republican candidates for president.  Many are comparing themselves to President Reagan in the hopes of stoking, even fulfilling, that hope.  One such comparison to President Reagan was recently made by Donald Trump who compared his very recent Democrat background to that of President Reagan. The Hill reported at the time:
In response to questions about the business mogul’s previous status as a card-carrying Democrat, Trump said that he was in good company. “If you look at Ronald Reagan, and he was a Democrat, he was actually, Don, he was a Democrat with a very liberal, or at least a pretty liberal bent, and he became a Republican with a somewhat conservative — I wouldn’t say very, but he was a conservative Republican,” Trump said.
Watch:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 11, 2015 5 Comments
Sifting through the expansive collection of Veteran's Day speeches and memorials, I struggle to find one that tops President Reagan's words from November 11, 1985. In 1985, President Reagan gave his Veteran’s Day Address at Arlington National Cemetery. With the Cold War a fresh threat, Reagan emphasized the importance of peace while insisting, “strength is a declaration that cannot be misunderstood. Strength is a condition that declares actions have consequences. Strength is a prudent warning to the belligerent that aggression need not go unanswered.” There is never enough we can do for our veterans who willingly sacrifice so much. Their selflessness was not neglected by Reagan who told this story:
Sometime back I received in the name of our country the bodies of four marines who had died while on active duty. I said then that there is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a serviceman, for we’re never quite good enough to them-not really; we can’t be, because what they gave us is beyond our powers to repay. And so, when a serviceman dies, it’s a tear in the fabric, a break in the whole, and all we can do is remember.
This Veteran’s Day, we humbly offer our utmost gratitude to all who have fought to preserve the greatest country man has ever devised. While words hardly seem sufficient, we can offer this: we remember.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 07, 2015 3 Comments
On this day in 1984, President Ronald Reagan won 49 of 50 states and 525 of 538 electoral votes, winning reelection in an historic landslide.  His Democrat challenger Walter Mondale carried Minnesota, Mondale's home state, and Washington DC for a total of 13 electoral votes. http://electoralmap.net/PastElections/past_elections.php?year=1984 [Image via ElectoralMap.net] Watch Reagan's January 1984 announcement of his candidacy for a second term:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 24, 2015 18 Comments
Earlier this week, Ted Cruz appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  It was an interesting appearance in a few respects, but what stood out to me is how confident and relaxed Cruz remained in the face of Colbert's questions and an often hostile audience. When faced with Colbert's regurgitation of common talking points among the left about Ronald Reagan (he raised taxes and supported amnesty), Cruz took the questions in stride and explained his own stance on both issues and on conservatism more generally. Watch:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 08, 2015 17 Comments
The wonderful thing about progressives is that they always seem to find worthy causes to rally behind. Racism? They have a solution* for that! Economic inequality? You bet they can fix** it! The latest cause the progressive establishment has chosen to rally around involves the unpardonable crime of...adding a former president's name to DC's local airport? You better believe it! Progressive social action group CREDO has a bone to pick with Republican leadership over the recent renaming of Mount McKinley to Denali. Their self-professed desire to "beat back right wing assaults" has manifested in an attack on Ohio-native John Boehner over his opposition to the renaming; and they've decided to hit back by demanding the Speaker revert the name of "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport" back to "Washington National Airport." According to the petition, "John Boehner and his fellow Republicans in Congress weren’t so hesitant to remove a president’s name from a public landmark when they decided to rename Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan." The shame of a nation, ladies and gentlemen. From the petition:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 07, 2015 7 Comments
Welcome to Labor Day---the calendar's signal that the August doldrums are behind us, and that it's time for a long slog toward "The Holidays" and the inevitable pedal-to-the-floor pace of an election year. It's sometimes hard to remember that almost none of the political battles we've fought over the past 8 months are over novel issues. Jobs, the economy, dealing with foreign governments---it has all been done before, in some form or another. Today, let Ronald Reagan's 1984 Labor Day message remind you why conservatives should fight for principles---not just for or against haphazard policies that come and go with each new President or Congress. Give it a read---you'll find some familiar themes. [Emphasis mine]:
Today, we pay tribute to America's working men and women, and I join with all Americans in celebrating the dignity and productivity of our working people. Labor Day brings a fitting opportunity to salute those who built our great nation and whose spirit, hard work and courage are now building a new era of lasting economic expansion filled with greater opportunities for all our people. America is on the move again. We're witnessing the fastest rate of job creation in the world—7 million jobs in the last year and a half—and today, more Americans are working than ever before. The erosive effect of inflation on workers' paychecks has ended, and the increase in after-tax personal income is the largest in our history.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 07, 2015 6 Comments
During my family’s visit of Berlin, Germany yesterday, an American president was prominently featured as part of the tour we took. Our guide spoke glowingly of a speech that he heard, and one which still resonates with him to this day. As we passed the Bradenburg Gate, he quoted Ronald Reagan's 1987 speech by saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Our guide lived 3 blocks away from the infamous Berlin Wall, the remnants of which are covered in art and graffiti or which are boxed up as souvenirs of a seemingly distant era. While the entire speech is iconic, reviewing Reagan's words again, I was struck by this passage:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 14, 2015 5 Comments
On Saturday, June 13, 2015, I was fortunate to take a tour of the Reagan ranch, high in the hills above Santa Barbara, California. The 688-acre ranch is now owned and maintained by the Young America's Foundation, which also has a Reagan Ranch Center in downtown Santa Barbara where there are exhibits regarding his life. The tour was part of a two-day conference for a small group of faculty to talk about issue of being conservative on campus. We took the 45 minute ride which culminates in a white-knuckle drive up a road winding along the side of the mountain. Reagan Ranch Satellite Map Region As you can imagine, maintaining the full secret service and military presence at the location when President Reagan was there was quite an undertaking given the difficult access and surrounding woods and hills. The ranch was an amazing place to visit.

Posted by Jay Caruso on May 25, 2015 12 Comments
Ronald Reagan could deliver a speech almost like no other President. 31 years ago, Reagan delivered an address to commemorate an unknown serviceman in the Vietnam War. Never one to make such moments about himself, the speech is a brief 9 minutes long. The text of the speech follows: --- My fellow Americans: Memorial Day is a day of ceremonies and speeches. Throughout America today, we honor the dead of our wars. We recall their valor and their sacrifices. We remember they gave their lives so that others might live. We're also gathered here for a special event -- the national funeral for an unknown soldier who will today join the heroes of three other wars.

Posted by Amy Miller on July 03, 2014 20 Comments
A Quinnipiac University National Poll released today confirms what conservatives across the country have known since 2008: that Barack Obama is a dreadful president. Via Quinnipiac University:
President Barack Obama is the worst president since World War II, 33 percent of American voters say in a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today. Another 28 percent pick President George W. Bush. Ronald Reagan is the best president since WWII, 35 percent of voters say, with 18 percent for Bill Clinton, 15 percent for John F. Kennedy and 8 percent for Obama, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Among Democrats, 34 percent say Clinton is the best president, with 18 percent each for Obama and Kennedy.
Meanwhile, just under half of voters polled believe that America would be better off with Mitt Romney at the helm:
America would be better off if Republican Mitt Romney had won the 2012 presidential election, 45 percent of voters say, while 38 percent say the country would be worse off.
There are two takeaways from this poll, and only one of them has to do with the fact that the majority of Americans are experiencing some serious buyer's remorse over all the "hope and change" happening down on the border/in Benghazi/at our VA hospitals.
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