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[-] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 158 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If I could wave a magic wand and undo a Presidency, it would be Reagan's.

Trump was a big loud stupid animal, but almost completely ineffective at legislative work. McConnell carried all the water of his few cruel "accomplishments." All Trump wanted to do was hear/see himself talk/tweet. He thankfully got in his own way a lot.

Reagan, on the other hand, was competent evil, and his malice towards American peasants is felt by most of us every day whether we realize and acknowledge it or not. One of the few people I can say without an ounce of guilt or shame deserved the traumatic way he died and far worse.

[-] Nietzsches_moustache@lemmy.world 78 points 1 year ago

I see a lot of comments posted about Reagan, like this one, that infer that he was the mastermind behind reaganomics. The evidence though suggests otherwise. It more likely that Reagan was the perfect headpiece to the administrators that pulled the levers.

There’s a great story that was told by former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, about how on his first trip to the USA he had dinner meeting with Reagan to talk about economic matters globally, and domestically between the US and Australia. Hawke told of how once the pleasantries were over and they started to talk shop, Reagan handed the conversation to the advisors, who were also present, whilst Reagan sat there munching on his steak. Hawke said Reagan looked oblivious and was uninterested in the discussion.

Destructive president, absolutely. Evil genius, not so sure. I think that title silts squarely on Maggie Thatcher.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 32 points 1 year ago

James Garner was Reagan's Vice President when Reagan ran the Screen Actors' Guild. Garner said that Reagan could barely handle that job, when he was much younger.

[-] Madison420@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

There's no suggestion. He was almost certainly demented already save on several occasions referred directly to his "handlers" about speech and question preparation.

My favorite is the televised address where he was asked a question and they turned out the lights and shuffled Reagan offstage but not before he says something to the effect of "my handlers have told me not to answer that".

[-] Clent@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

Perhaps that's where this timeline went off the rails.

He wasn't supposed to survive.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There was a urban myth called the Zero Theory. Lincoln was elected in 1860, died in office. 1880 President Garfeild died in office, 1900 McKinley died in office, 1940 President FDR died in office, and 1960 President JFK died in office. The 1980 President should have died in office...

edit...skipped Harding, elected 1920 and died in office.

[-] PugJesus@kbin.social 14 points 1 year ago

You forgot Warren G. Harding, elected 1920, died in office.

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[-] seitanic 16 points 1 year ago

Don't forget the AIDS crisis.

[-] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Oh, my friend, I never did.

I made a point of not itemizing his innumerable sins against humanity, because I have in the past, and I didn't feel like taking an hour on my reply.

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[-] blackbelt352 11 points 1 year ago

I'd say Nixon, without the Southern Strategy, the republican party wouldn't have been basically taken over by the subsumed Dixiecrats.

[-] chaogomu@kbin.social 22 points 1 year ago

Andrew Johnson. He reversed the reparations that were starting to happen, and put the former slaveholders back in power in the south. By the time Grant got into power, the slaveholders were firmly entrenched again.

All the problems of the modern day conservatives date back to not finishing the civil war, and Andrew Johnson is the reason why.

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Reagan and certainly Nixon are two we could have done without. Pretty much every ill and evil of the modern conservative movement can be traced back to one or the other, or both.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 63 points 1 year ago

The sad part is that some of those kids probably grew up to vote for Trump.

[-] GreenMario@lemm.ee 38 points 1 year ago

It's Oklahoma they absolutely did.

Source: lived in Tulsa for a few years. That whole state can just get sent to the shadow realm and nothing of value would be lost.

[-] Madison420@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Send a warning first but use plain English and add in a random LGBT or democrat slogan.

[-] GreenMario@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago

Bernie Sanders presents

The WOKE-A-PALOOZA

Located just over the border

All Democrats/liberals/leftists and Antifa get in FREE

Oklahoma is merging with Outworld so bring your whole family! Quick! For reals.

Sprinkle in some acts and features that would make fashies skin crawl so they stay away and hey one big ass party while OK implodes into non existence. Then we add Puerto Rico as a state so we don't need to update anything.

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[-] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago

His presidency was probably the single biggest inflection point in this country's history in the last 50 years, second only to 911.

Shame that JHJr wasn't a better shot.

[-] nickwitha_k 31 points 1 year ago

Having been around during 9/11, Reagan was a bigger inflection point. He was directly responsible for ramping up the arming of the groups that would go on to form al Qaeda. But, that's a small contribution compared to overseeing the decoupling of productivity from pay and his war on labor.

[-] Etterra@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Yeah he did more damage, IMO, than can be literally calculated.

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[-] pottedmeat7910@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago

These are children.

What excuse do modern Republicans have? When they made jokes about Pelosi's husband getting beat with a hammer?

[-] PugJesus@kbin.social 17 points 1 year ago

I mean, for a given value of vileness, I don't see anything wrong with being privately amused about a person in a position of power getting some form of suffering inflicted upon them, though calling for it is nothing less than a plea for civil war. The problem with the whole Paul Pelosi incident was:

  1. Republicans openly make calls for political violence and then take no responsibility when it happens.

  2. Paul Pelosi wasn't a politician or anyone of serious note. He simply had the sheer gall to be a member of a politician's family.

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[-] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 25 points 1 year ago

Fun fact: John Hinckley is out of prison. He has a YouTube channel where he records cute little love songs and he sells art on eBay.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I hope he's gotten over Jodie Foster.

[-] pigup@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago
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this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
638 points (96.2% liked)

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