The issues
Ronald Reagan:
• Gave Amnesty to Illegal Immigrants
• Negotiated with Terrorists (Traded Arms for Hostages with Iran)
• Raised Taxes on a Large Scale Four Times (After Initially Lowering Them)
• Negotiated with the "Evil Empire" without Pre-conditions
• Made a Decision to "Cut and Run" From Lebanon After Our Troops Were Attacked
. . .
Barack Obama:
• Escalated the Afghanistan War (Added 30,000 More Troops)
• Escalated the Afghanistan War (Added 30,000 More Troops)
• Has Ordered Drone Strikes (Assassinations) on US Citizens Outside the Country
• Gave Drug Companies Near Monopoly Power by Barring Imports, Extending Patents and Not Allowing the Government to Negotiate Better Prices
• Funneled Billions into the Biggest Banks in the Country After They Crashed the Economy
• Stacked Deficit Commission with Fiscal Conservatives
• Lowered Taxes Significantly (Stimulus Bill)
• Ordered Increased Offshore Drilling Before BP Spill
were not addressed. I will address the issues raised with under Bush addressing the Obama issues as they apply.
Yes Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that gave amnesty to illegal immigrants. But look at the whole act:
* required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to certain illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously
* made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants (immigrants who do not possess lawful work authorization)
* granted a path towards legalization to certain agricultural seasonal workers and immigrants who had been continuously and illegally present in the United States since January 1, 1982
The whole act was anti-immigrant. Amnesty was only given as a means of dealing with a small number of immigrants so that the larger goal of preventing illegal immigrants into the country because of employer hiring could be addressed. In short the law was anti-immigrant not pro-immigrant as Cenk Uygur implies.
To continue Cenk Uygur says Ronald Reagan "Negotiated with Terrorists (Traded Arms for Hostages with Iran)." Did Reagan negotiate the trading arms for hostages with Iran? I believe he unconstitutionally did. The hostages returned as Reagan was taking the oath of office. For Ronald Reagan to negotiate with any foreign government before taking office is treasonous. We only have one president. No conclusive proof has ever been offered. Iran-Contra was another illegal debacle. Reagan skated on impeachment for Iran-Contra with Oliver North taking the fall.
Is Cenk Uygur suggesting that President Obama commit illegal acts. No, he is suggesting that Obama negotiate with Iran. President Obama is doing more negotiating with Iran than Bush ever conceived. The difference between Reagan and Obama are two little things. One is nuclear weapons and the second is Israel. No way would Reagan negotiate today. To suggest so is nonsense.
Moving on to "Raised Taxes on a Large Scale Four Times (After Initially Lowering Them)." One of the tax hikes was social security. This changed social security from a pay as you go to a pay as you go and save for the future. Republicans have been trying to use this as an excuse to get rid of social security ever since. Worse, there was only a tiny impact on high and ultra high income workers, with not impact on those whose income did not come from employment. Increasing energy taxes also had minimal impact on the rich and a huge impact on the rest of us. Yet another "tax hike" was really closing tax loop holes. Those are the three tax hikes I remember. I don't recall a fourth.
The next point was that Reagan "Negotiated with the "Evil Empire" without Pre-conditions." How easily we forget the Nixon/Khrushchev debates of the fifties. Somehow I remember President's Obama and Medvedev going to lunch not long ago. Okay he really means Iran. But, I have already covered Iran. Oh well, repetition is the highest form of flattery.
The last point is "Made a Decision to "Cut and Run" From Lebanon After Our Troops Were Attacked." This is said as if Carter put troops in Lebanon. Reagan did. No Lebanese ever attacked the US homeland. To compare this with the US attempting to make certain that terrorists do not have a safe haven in Afghanistan is so mistaken as to be pathetic. Yes, I believe we should get out of Afghanistan. But, not like we did in Lebanon.
To put a bottom like on this, President Obama is a liberal and Reagan is a reactionary who lived in the past.
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