Honoring Reagan In The Land of The Lost

By Gene King

KingNewsMedia.com

The setting was most poignant but extremely ironic. There she was–Nancy Reagan–sitting in Statuary Hall of the Capital Building, listening to various speakers wax poetic about her husband, the 40thPresident of the United States,  Ronald Reagan.  As Mrs. Reagan glanced beyond the front rows of personal, family and political friends of her and her husband, she saw a packed rotunda filled with many members of Congress and among them, many of the Democrats that now hold an untouchable vise-grip on Washington, D.C. 

Publicly gracious, Mrs. Reagan kept the smile on and offered brief remarks to the audience in attendance to see the unveiling of a seven-foot statue of her husband that will share the room with the likes of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The former First Lady emphasized her appreciation to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s work in organizing the event and became teary, emotional and for passing moments silence as she struggled to compose herself once she shared the fact the last time she was in the room was for the state funeral of her husband.

I am sure there were many in the room who were also solemn but for an additional reason. In the midst of holding a ceremony to honor the 40th president, they looked at the statue, looked at Mrs. Reagan, set their eyes upon guests and speakers from President Reagan’s administration and realized that in some ways, the unveiling of a statue to honor their hero –and for many the primary influence for careers in politics or public service–was taking place during one of the darkest periods for Republicans and Conservatives is some time.

The irony of it all could not have been greater. Reagan, the Great Communicator– the champion of small government, less intrusive government, lower taxes, an embracer of Faith, individual rights (including speech and gun ownership), an aggressive foe of Liberalism, entitlements and foreign enemies of the nation–was being lauded with a gorgeous statue when the government he once led could not be farther away from what he once stood for and worked hard to achieve.

The Reagan Revolution was real and lasting. President Reagan took a battered Republican Party and reshaped it to his ideals. He took a giant listless population of Democrats unhappy with their party and won them over with economic, social, political and military policies that made sense for them to embrace. He took a nation down on itself and licking wounds from Watergate, inflation, unemployment and humiliation from Iran and excited it again. He made Americans believe in America again. He made the armed forces believe in itself again. He, in effect, breathed new life into the nation and woke it up by shaking it out from its depression, victimized attitude and self-doubt.

The irony of the ceremony could not possibly have been greater. Sworn into office in 1981, one can make a sound case that his  ‘revolution’ lingers right into today by all those who champion his ideals and oppose what is going on in the White House and Congress today. But for all intents and purposes,  President Reagan’s active legacy in Washington today is basically a withered candlestick with a small, faint flame flickering in a wind that threatens to snuff it out.

I am sure that the contradiction of it all weighed on the minds of many at the ceremony who looked around the room and saw Democrats today who would (and probably do) demonize Mr. Reagan whenever they can do it. Let us not forget that during his presidency, the Democrats aggressively attacked Mr. Reagan for policies, actions and even his thoughts that he shared which in many instances did not take long for him to be proven correct.

Be sure to remember that President Reagan was severely criticised by Democrats for one of his most glorious moments. When he stood at the Berlin Wall and demanded for it to be taken down, Democrats rushed to the media to bash him and call him reckless and warmonger. It was one of the defining moments for one of the greatest American anti-Communists this nation has ever had and the Democrats took that moment to trash him and display their very policy of accommodation, appeasement and weakness on the international stage and with military foes that sunk our standing around the world.

Be sure to remember that President Reagan was soundly attacked by Democrats for calling the Soviet Union “the evil empire” publicly and for clearly stating his intention of doing everything he could do to defeat it without firing a shot. So, he did all he could to fan the flames of democracy in Poland. He built up NATO. He built up the American military and he professed commitment to researching a space defense system that would protect us from incoming Soviet missiles. It became known as the “Star Wars Program” and Democrats mocked it. Soviets shook in their boots. In the end, Reagan won.

President Reagan was also unafraid to praise his country. He was a proud flag-waver and through his enthusiasm generated a country to follow him and exhibit pride again through flags, songs and even red-white-blue apparel. Democrats offered snide remarks. The people loved it. It made them feel good and have hope again. Once again, Reagan won.

The litany of things President Reagan believed in, fought for and accomplished is long and with nearly every single one of them I can counter it with the protests of a Democrat Party that was growing more and more radically liberal–and therefore more and more out-of-touch with Americans as Reagan’s presidency went on.  The man was clear on many things including his resolve that he did not trust government. It was, according to him, literally the problem and not the solution. He was clear that he did not support taxes. To Mr. Reagan, the ever-increasing size of taxes served only to keep the government’s control over people and make them nothing more than needy wards of the state who were hooked on handouts.  These are the reasons and many more too, that to this day Democrats cannot hide their anger, contempt and sheer disrespect for the man.  President Reagan was not only one the most aggressive anti-Communists of the past century, he was also one of the most strident opposers to the Democrat Party too. The fact that he openly and repeatedly shared with Americans the story of why he left the Democrats was just salt in their eyes as well.

It is funny how historical happenings converge. In the shadow of the Reagan years the seeds for a far more liberal Democrat Party–ever bordering on Socialist or even Communist tendencies–were being planted. What we are experiencing today is the reaping. Looking back, Bill Clinton was in the end a moderate Democrat that,  I believe connected withthe masses and still enjoys deep popularity because he was not the ultra-liberal ideologue that the current president is and has filled his key positions withtoo.  Now, maybe some will say that the only reason why President Clinton was a moderate was because he had no choice and had to work with a Republican Congress. That may very well be true. But a sheer ideologue, like President Barack Obama, would not care about such things. At least President Clinton worked with the situation at hand after an American public became spooked over having an entire government under the control of the Democrat Party and voted in Republicans for balance. 

The lack of balance today along with one of the most partisan and liberal governments the country has ever had is what disturbs and worries so many that were in the Statuary Hall for the Reagan dedication. President Obama truly is the anti-Reagan by nearly every conceivable measure.  The president has radically increased the size of government–and its cost–to record breaking proportions in a matter of months. The president has given the government more power than ever before in meddling withbusiness and has rapidly moved this bloated and powerful government to more Socialist leanings than ever before as well with the “investment” (some would say taking over) of AIG, General Motors and Chrysler to name a few. 

Our current president apologizes for our country so much or offers self-criticism so often to foreign nations that it is embarrassing. Instead of offering why America felt and acted the ways it did over the years, our current president would rather go on apologist tours and practice the same olive-branch and idealist policies from Democrats past that have almost always resulted in motivating our enemies to gain strength and courage to attack us.  Can you even imagine President Reagan listening to that?

Many have labeled President  nothing more than “Jimmy Carter Two” and they may be right. Normally, I would say several months into anyone presidency is too soon to cement labels and develop a finite decision but the sheer number of moves this president has made in such a short time to grow the size, cost and power of the government is frightening. There are numerous traits the current president and his administration share with the disastrous Carter government and that is frightening too. Both men embrace large government, costly government, entitlement programs, a naive world view of our enemies,  a lack of focus and respect for the military and strong defense, a more intrusive government in people’s personal lives and the benefit of having a Congress in their hands to pass whatever they want to push.

We know that in the end, the Carter years had sunk the nation into a pit of economic, social and military molasses. We have, at the very least, nearly four years more of President Obama. One can only hope that that some of that Reagan magic is still around and that there are future leaders who embrace his form of government that will protect that withering flame and transfer it to large and tall candle and make the fire glow strong again. The nation needs it.

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