Quote:
Originally Posted by Strangelet
bas_I_am, if you don't have time to argue, then you really don't have the time to insult either. Awful that I have to do the job of dialog for you, and I sure as hell wouldn't be doing that if I weren't predisposed to your position.
Its no accident that hannity calls himself a "reagan conservative". They belong to a slice of conservatism that is largely considered "corporate" and not just by the left, but by other types of conservatives like the libertarians. The same problems british have with margaret thatcher, americans have with reagan. Both politicians shored up a populous movement based on nebulous ideas about private, individual enterprise being the fountainhead of prosperity when government leaves them alone. Which sounds awesome, but is vague enough to enable large corporate favoritism, rise of the military industrial complex and imperialism.
As you are watching the demise of the GOP, bear in mind what you are witnessing is the demise of reagan conservatism, hastened by the bush administration's poor performance.
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I would not agree that Reagan Republican = Bush Republican. Although Reagan did loosen up restrictions on corporations, such as corporate income taxes, he also significantly lowered personal income tax brackets, and not just the top bracket; the entire code was simplified, bringing all the tax brackets down. There were also more tax loopholes closed during that time period.
Another great thing Reagan did was 'Star Wars'. He was a genius. He knew that there was no feasible way to create a satellite weapon that could fire lasers at Russia, but did Russia know that? He scared the living crap out of the Kremlin, who, in response, began to hasten their own side of the arms race to catch up with the United States, while the US just waited for their communist system to completely run out of money because their government could only last for so long, since their topheavy government depended on consistent revenue from the citizens, who had no reason to work because a doctor made the same amount of money as a janitor.
Reagan knew that the USSR would eventually collapse, but his actions sped up the conclusion of communism across Europe.