General Discussion

Drunken Irishman

(34,857 posts)

12. They needed their JFK...

Tue Jul 10, 2012, 04:08 PM

Jul 2012

Reagan was built up because he was a popular president who won two landslide elections. For Republicans, who have constantly been looking for their FDR and then their JFK, Reagan fit the mold. He's the president they can point to and say, "Hey, we've got a great one too!"

It wouldn't work for Eisenhower because the party had strayed dramatically from where it was under his leadership.

Nixon's presidency ended in disgrace, so, no go there.

Ford was never elected and didn't hold office long enough.

H.W. Bush was a one-termer perceived to be too weak for anything.

Reagan, though? He beat an incumbent in a landslide. He then went out and won reelection in a landslide. He dominated and defined the 80s. That was their guy to finally throw up against Kennedy. It's all about image and Reagan had it. His mystique has grown through time and 'greatness' was born out of it.

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Why do Republicans worship Ronald Reagan ?? [View all] kentuck Jul 2012 OP

He ended Cold War.. nmbluesky Jul 2012 #1

As I recall... kentuck Jul 2012 #3

yeah, whatever credit he gets, gorby gets about 50 times that. unblock Jul 2012 #8

But he wasn't there when the wall came down. kentuck Jul 2012 #11

I pretty sure I remember some CIA analyst that wrote a book saying that the real turning point brewens Jul 2012 #53

The Cold War ended when Mikhail Gorbachev realized hifiguy Jul 2012 #31

agreed oldhippydude Jul 2012 #54

Really, Afghanistan ended the cold war. We are on our way ....nt nanabugg Jul 2012 #110

Oh he did not. Zoeisright Jul 2012 #70

History repeats itself ... GeorgeGist Jul 2012 #91

Do you suppose that's why Osama Bin Laden was... Blanks Jul 2012 #95

no he didn't. it was ending anyways. pansypoo53219 Jul 2012 #105

Another GOP reagan lie. n/t Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #106

Yeeeeeeah....no. Tommy_Carcetti Jul 2012 #136

Nixon CBGLuthier Jul 2012 #2

And they were never able to shed the weight of Hoover kentuck Jul 2012 #9

W should have the same effect rurallib Jul 2012 #22

Obama was supposed to be the next Hoover... kentuck Jul 2012 #26

No idea. They always seem to forget him giving millions of illegal aliens blanket immunity.. truebrit71 Jul 2012 #4

Don't forget the "Cut and Run" from Lebanon. 11 Bravo Jul 2012 #20

241 Marines massacred. kentuck Jul 2012 #23

had a Democrat lost that many men we would still be hearing about it!!! oldhippydude Jul 2012 #57

The Grenada invasion was ordered as a go before the Barracks in Lebanon. braddy Jul 2012 #68

How do you explain? kentuck Jul 2012 #74

It isn't my job to explain that to you. braddy Jul 2012 #111

Just as I suspected... kentuck Jul 2012 #113

Why attack me in a personal way because you don't know things? braddy Jul 2012 #114

You insinuated that you knew something that no one else knew... kentuck Jul 2012 #115

I never insinuated any such thing you aren't making any sense. braddy Jul 2012 #117

From Google kentuck Jul 2012 #118

Great, now you can do your own research and learn that the invasion and barracks had no connection braddy Jul 2012 #119

Margaret Thatcher disagreed with the invasion.. kentuck Jul 2012 #120

The Grenada invasion was ordered as a go before the Barracks in Lebanon. kentuck Jul 2012 #121

I'm sorry, but you just aren't making any sense. braddy Jul 2012 #122

Perhaps we can agree...? kentuck Jul 2012 #123

followed by the incredibly heroic invasion of Grenada rurallib Jul 2012 #24

well he did have some help oldhippydude Jul 2012 #56

They worship their image of Reagan. Archae Jul 2012 #5

I'd say it's your fith paragraph Populist_Prole Jul 2012 #6

+1 and I would that his ravings about welfare queens gave them..... wandy Jul 2012 #19

They don't recall... Blue Owl Jul 2012 #7

He's dead so they can create their own Reagan reality without anybody to answer to.... cbdo2007 Jul 2012 #10

Really shows the power of a compliant media rurallib Jul 2012 #25

They needed their JFK... Drunken Irishman Jul 2012 #12

And yours is the winning answer. It was all about JFK, they had no one..n/t monmouth Jul 2012 #34

"Made them feel like winners" is my guess. moondust Jul 2012 #13

Saint Ronnie must be deified by the true believers: after all, he was the architect of the mountain indepat Jul 2012 #14

Stupid loves stupid! Yavapai Jul 2012 #15

It was his ability to lie and get away with it. alfredo Jul 2012 #16

they worship him because he was a winner WI_DEM Jul 2012 #17

He's the last Republican they remember who could speak relatively coherently Scootaloo Jul 2012 #18

well, as long as he had his index cards in front of him or teleprompter. WI_DEM Jul 2012 #27

Co/uple of Things Iggy Jul 2012 #21

There is some inaccurate history in that post. braddy Jul 2012 #112

I get it, but Iggy Jul 2012 #131

Why would any human "worship" another human? I've lived long enough to learn even the greatest among jody Jul 2012 #28

Very true. kentuck Jul 2012 #29

Hey, they named the most disfunctional airport in America after him. HopeHoops Jul 2012 #30

And every air traffic controller in the US still calls that airport "National." The Velveteen Ocelot Jul 2012 #35

Hell, I still call it "National". You can't get more fucked up than that place. HopeHoops Jul 2012 #36

I call it "DCA" or "National." Pool Hall Ace Jul 2012 #87

they worship an image of him that never existed JitterbugPerfume Jul 2012 #32

Same way they hate Democrats. moondust Jul 2012 #44

Union busting. patrice Jul 2012 #33

He won two elections, big. hifiguy Jul 2012 #37

Reagan wins by process of elimination? kentuck Jul 2012 #39

Pretty much. hifiguy Jul 2012 #41

And then there was that one guy . . . HughBeaumont Jul 2012 #89

Well, Incurious George seems to have been erased from hifiguy Jul 2012 #94

I can think of about a thousand DUers who have never posted a critical word about him in ten years NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #38

He let the modern Republican Party be the openly racist party they always yearned to be. Ikonoklast Jul 2012 #40

Every problem this nation has today started with a Reagan policy. liberal N proud Jul 2012 #42

GOP's "Reagan Legacy Project" ErikJ Jul 2012 #43

compared to Bush, Rmoney, Newt, Cantor, Bachmann and the rest think Jul 2012 #45

Because.... jberryhill Jul 2012 #46

The Republicans have never had any heroes. They had to create one. Zen Democrat Jul 2012 #47

Bingo! They finally had someone that a nutjob considered worth shooting. nt aka-chmeee Jul 2012 #50

The Gipper was chipper--probably because he was losing his mind even early on--perfect for Repugs. diane in sf Jul 2012 #48

cause compared to the bushes, ford and nixon, he looks like a fucking genius...i guess spanone Jul 2012 #49

Because Nixon resigned, Ford didn't win election, Bush didn't win in '92, Eisenhower was too craigmatic Jul 2012 #51

I guess they admired his business savvy, trading guns for hostages and cocaine ... struggle4progress Jul 2012 #52

Shit knows its own, is all I can say..... lastlib Jul 2012 #55

I have been asking this question for years. MissMillie Jul 2012 #58

I was just a kid and I loved Reagan at that time Abra Jul 2012 #59

Much of what we believe is a product of the propaganda at the time, in my opinion... kentuck Jul 2012 #60

Because he followed the despised Jimmy Carter Prophet 451 Jul 2012 #61

When the truth of the matter... kentuck Jul 2012 #64

+1,000,000,000,000 Odin2005 Jul 2012 #66

Who the Hell else do they have beside Ike? OmahaBlueDog Jul 2012 #62

Because he was a 2 termer who left office with his public perception dignity in tact. phleshdef Jul 2012 #63

Ronald Reagan, Enabler of Atrocities Agony Jul 2012 #65

Thanks for that interesting link...i didn't think I could despise him more than I already did... truebrit71 Jul 2012 #97

No one discussing Ronald Reagan should be allowed to forget the Salvadoran Baby Skulls LongTomH Jul 2012 #67

Corporate media propaganda organ of the elites upi402 Jul 2012 #69

Stupidity. Rewriting history. Lies. Zoeisright Jul 2012 #71

Because he was the incarnation of greed, corruption, ignorance, and evil. Zorra Jul 2012 #72

Reagan tamed inflation. BT021 Jul 2012 #73

So they waited until Bush Sr was President before they picked up their hammers... kentuck Jul 2012 #75

people and presidents from Truman to ... BT021 Jul 2012 #79

Also, we should not forget the role of Paul Volcker... kentuck Jul 2012 #80

Inflation was a problem all the way back to Nixon. Blanks Jul 2012 #98

Guns and Butter started inflation BT021 Jul 2012 #129

I googled guns and butter and... Blanks Jul 2012 #132

"Guns and butter" is a classic phrase.... LongTomH Jul 2012 #133

Why would that create inflation in the pre-Nixon era? Blanks Jul 2012 #134

carter appointee volker did this by jacking rates up sky high. unblock Jul 2012 #85

Carter tamed inflation. ieoeja Jul 2012 #116

your numbers are just made up BT021 Jul 2012 #130

Interesting thread kentuck NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #76

Thanks Don! kentuck Jul 2012 #77

... Zorra Jul 2012 #103

LOL NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #126

He is all they have. Motown_Johnny Jul 2012 #78

Because Reaganites know how to tell a story (especially a fictional one) JHB Jul 2012 #81

Sounds like you have this figured out pretty well NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #82

He was inaugurated amid much uber-patriotic flag waving on the a split screen lunatica Jul 2012 #83

lack of alternatives? unblock Jul 2012 #84

Tell your GOP friends this one - that Reagan would never have endorsed free trade with China. reformist2 Jul 2012 #86

I can't believe some poster hasn't claimed Reagan put the first man on the moon yet NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #88

In CA it was believed goclark Jul 2012 #90

Indeed, he did have the IQ requirement dropped that included the mentally handicapped. kentuck Jul 2012 #109

He made all their right wing extremism marketable RFKHumphreyObama Jul 2012 #92

On the 7th day he pardoned George Steinbrenner Capt. Obvious Jul 2012 #93

The idiots loved his movies.n/t Autumn Jul 2012 #96

Ronnie Was Essentially a Grifter Straight Out of Central Casting Kurt Sperry Jul 2012 #99

The question is did Reagan handle the press... Blanks Jul 2012 #100

Reagan was anti-gun, so his minions followed in his footsteps. Tejas Jul 2012 #101

He didn't even know he was president. He was a figure head. demosincebirth Jul 2012 #102

Towards the end Nacy was the Co - President goclark Jul 2012 #125

he could`t get the republican nomination today. madrchsod Jul 2012 #104

Because they had been trying to sell their crazy-ass "trickle-down" economics and racists BS maxrandb Jul 2012 #107

and maxrandb Jul 2012 #108

Anti-unionism too NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #127

they wanted a post-Nixon era hero to worship lanlady Jul 2012 #124

Who else can they worship??? RegieRocker Jul 2012 #128

Short answer: because they were still ashamed of Nixon. Tommy_Carcetti Jul 2012 #135