This blind worship of Ronald Reagan galls me. I am also galled at the blind worship of Bobby Kennedy. People must appreciate what these politicians did for us so we can learn to set them aside and to move on. . .
Bobby Kennedy joined Eugene McCarthy in disconnecting the "working man" from the "fighting man" within the liberal movement with their anti-Vietnam campaign in 1968. Leaving "hawkishness" to the Republican Party (or so-called conservatives) has sent us back in time to the McKinley era where we will only engage in imperial, "splendid little wars". No more WWI, WWII, Korea or Vietnam where we "liberally" spend the nation's blood to save the world. Bobby Kennedy, no doubt, got his dovishness from his father, Joe. Joe Kennedy was the "conservative" in FDR's administration. He became our ambassador to England in the 1930's and supported Neville Chamberlin's dovish approach to dealing with Hitler. So "dovishness" is truly a policy for real conservatives (like Ron Paul) who believe in keeping America from becoming involved in foreign entanglements.
Ronald Regan took federal spending from a tight band of 17% to 19% of US GDP and raised it to well over 22%, only previously seen when we were fighting WWII. In addition to that he passed the biggest tax cut in history. In addition to that he fired Fed Chairman Paul Volker, the man who beat inflation, and replaced him with Alan Greenspan, the guru of "laissez-faire" and the man who would not prick asset bubbles. So Reagan, in effect, destroyed fiscal responsibility for America and changed us from the greatest creditor nation in the world to the greatest debtor nation in the world.
I think we have to get used to the fact that the traditions of "liberalsism" and "conservatism" that guided us very well for over half a century have been tossed aside by Bobby Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Today, America looks to the "conservative" movement for strength of military, and hawkish foreign policy. Today, America looks to the "liberal" movement for fiscal responsibility.
We are hurting!

guinnes,
I lived in Russia from 1997 to 1999. One of the things that really shocked me was the love of Leonid Brechniv. I was born shortly after Stalin died, so I had no experience of him other than historical. But of all the communist leaders of the Soviet Union that I was aware of (Kruschev, Kosygen, Andropov, Breshnev and Gorbachov. . . and please forgive my spelling), Breshnev seemed the most "evil" to me. Thus, I was intrigued to learn about this nostalga for him.
In addition to being the last "strong" anti-America leader, Breshnev is credited for the first experimentation with consumerism. The building of many "magazins" (stores), first privatisation of apartments and homes, and his great love of western, decadent goods. My driver and housekeeper had their apartments "privatized" at this time. What happened?
Before Gorbahov, before Reagan, it seems that the Soviet Union started shifting its GDP from its military/industrial complex to consumerism during the 1970's for the first time since Lennin took over Russia in 1919. The firs anti-ballistic treaty negotiated by Nixon and Kissinger, plus the U.S. drawdown in Vietnam started by Nixon and Kissinger precipitated all of this. Soviet citizenry started to indulge in consumerism.
And then the Soviets invaded Afghanistan (1979), again before either Reagan or "Mr. Gorbahov". When the Soviet Union asked its citizenry to once again sacrifice for the next generation and started to shift GDP back towards militarization, the Soviet Union began to unravel. . . Gorbachov with Perestoika and Glasnot followed all of this.
What I learned while living in Russia was that the first "commie basher" (i.e. Richard Nixon and the Algier Hiss trial preceded Joe McCarthy) was truly responsible for winning the Cold War.
America loves to hate Richard Nixon. In addition to his accomplishments being credited to Reagan (winning the Cold War, "Reagan Democrats instead of the Silent Majority", bringing over the "Solid South" from the dems after the Civil Rights movement, bringing over LBJ's oil money to the Republican coffers, etc.), Nixon probably paid too strongly for his abuse of executive power (Ellsberg and Watergate breakins and coverups) when America was probably trying to even the score for a change in a motorcade route around Dealy Plaza in 1963 or a fabricated incident in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964. If Richard Nixon wasn't such a dark and sleazy character while Reagan was so smooth and charming, your accolades, above, would rightly be placed upon him.

I did...Carter lowered the lending laws...Clinton opened the door for people who couldn't afford loans to buy homes, Bush 43 and McCain tried to impose regulatory plans to oversee but the dems said no several times and now try to blame them...

The Dems forced the lending institutions to make bad loans and deals. Nost of you CAPITALISTS on WALLS STREET gave donations to Christopher Dodd and to Barrack Obama as well as did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...What the republicans did was appease the deams and spend like drunken democrats, and sat back and didn't fight...so don't you dare tell me I don't know what happened.

Also yes socialism does remove peoples riights...it does it one by one making you too dependant on the government. Once you are so dependant on themm and they've been putting in laws to "PROTECT and HELP" you (Gun control, socialized medicine, Fairness doctorine, GPS Systems in cars to monitor your driving, smoking bans, environmental actions...et al) then they have the control over you as an individual.

The BEAST (Socialism, Fascism, Communism, Marxism, Taoism) always hated the same thing...religion, a free press, intelectual inquiry, artistic expression...anything that elevates or empowers the individual. And all who call out the BEAST are villified, ridiculed, and called war mongers.

Stalin said that "It would not matter if 3/4 of the human race perished...the important thing is that the remaining 1/4 be communist."

You my friend are like the frog placed in cold water that is slowly heated till the water is boiling and the frog is dead. I don't know what it will take for you to wake up and see what is happeniung right in front of your eyes...but then again, society does what it does best...it appeases and hope the BEATS walks by the door and doesn't bother them...but it will attack and I am going to do all I can to not let that happen...

Ahhh...contraire...I do. If you followed anything concerning it...you'd know the facts. It is all there in black and white...all you have to do is follow the path. Now...I am not saying the republicans are not culpable in any of this...what I am saying is there is more than what you or told. If you think having the same idiots that put us in this situation be the ones to get us out...you are the fool. I don't think the weak-kneed republicans can do it either.

This country was founded for the freedom of religion and I do think it has as much right in the policies of government and the governing body. To deny that is to deny everything this country was founded on. Liberal education and the bastardizing of constitutional meanings has led to this mindset of the Separation of Church and State...that tennant is and was intended to keep congress or any governing power from establishing a one nation religion...and allow all who want to worship, to be able to worship without persecution.

Can YOU tell me the first and only book that was allowed as historical text for schools and education? Probably not...It was the Geneva Bible brought over from Europe on the Mayflower. It is the book this country was founded on.

I will leave you with this...“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” Quoted from Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate and member of the American Civil Liberties Union. 1940, 1944 and 1948

God Bless and have a wonderful day granted to you by God and His wonderous love.