Reply #19: man..you are the devil's advocate!

[flaminbats]

I will respond to each of your arguments in the order you presented them.

I deny that Reagan's taxcuts stimulated the economy in the 80's, just as I will deny that Clinton's tax increases did that in the 90's. Carter deregulated our economy and ended price controls in 1979, Reagan had almost nothing to do with it! Oil is not produced, that is why it is called nonrenewable energy. Reagan was a great cheerleader, but like Bush he nearly bankrupted this country! Sorry but I'm not going to let any cheerleader control my wallet, nor will I use coke or meth just to get high. Jimmy Carter, JFK, Bill Clinton, and even Gerald Ford made me proud to be an Aemrican..but the foolishness of the Reagan and Bush years is the main reason I'm not a Republican today! Not only did Reagan get us into unnecessary conflicts, but he failed to raise the revenue needed for his large increases in defense spending. Reagan had nothing to do with the Persian Gulf war, but the quagmire it's has now become hardly makes it a victory for either side! You claim that Carter decreased military spending, actually he increased it..just not to the reckless degree that Reagan and Bush did. I would hardly call the 1980 boycott of the Moscow Olympics or the grain embargo, lifted by Reagan, being too nice to the Soviet Union! Regarding the funding cut for the B-1 bomber, Carter was right to stop those tax dollars from being wasted on outdated technology and to invest that in things like Cruise Missiles and the Stealth Bomber. But Reagan was willing to waste our money on anything just to get votes and campaign contributions! Carter was much more than just another sleazy neocon using religion to win votes, Carter lived and governed by the Christian values he actually had faith in. Regarding the Shah in Iran, I am glad our tax dollars were not wasted to support a dictator who was no better than Saddam Hussein or those who now control Iran. Carter was perfect for the time he was in office, but the Republicans who proceeded him were not. We are still paying the price for their recklessness with billions in wasted tax dollars and American casualties. Carter deserves credit for not getting us into a bloody war to back the Shah while successfully using diplomacy for the return of the American hostages, held in Iran, alive!

In regards to Clinton, not only did he reduce defense spending..but he saw that every dollar spent on defense was paid for in taxes. Regarding our deployment in Bosnia, he deserves credit for stopping bloodshed or the potential of widespread war in that part of Europe. He was right to end the mass murder of innocent Muslim civilians in that region, just as the allies should have united sooner against Hitler to stop his massacre of the Jews. Regarding the Monica and Clinton scandal, that makes me laugh compared to the failures of Bush to be slightly compassionate or even conservative!

The biggest source of tax dollars wasted today is the interest we pay for the money borrowed under Reagan and Bush. I still believe if Reagan and Bush had never been elected, the federal government would be seeing yearly surpluses today..even with this war in Iraq!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_energy_crisis