The Reagan Revolution

[zorba1010]

My question to anyone and everyone is this: how on earth did Ronald Reagan become such an icon in the republican attack machine? All I hear from republicans on talk shows is ''the Reagan Revolution''. Are they referring to the ''trickle down economics'' which made the rich even richer, and created more poor out of the middle class than ever before? Or maybe it's the fact that Reagan tripled the national debt in his eight years as President? There was also the deregulation of the savings and loan industry which brought that industry to its knees, and precipitated one of the great stock market crashes in U.S. history. In 1982, Argentina's brutal military junta unleashed an attack on Britain's Falkland Islands. The Brits lost 1700 servicemen in that war. Reagan did not assist Britain, because Argentina was our friend. Republicans never met a dictator they didn't like. Reagan's invasion of Grenada was also lauded by republicans because, in Reagan's words, ''there are Cubans on the island''. Reagan should have invaded Miami if that were the reason for war.
Iraq invaded Iran and Reagan was right there supplying Saddam with arms, and when the Iraqis used chemical weapons against the Kurds and Iranians, killing thousands of them, Reagan continued to embrace the dictator, despite the outcry from around the world. During that war Reagan committed the crime called "Iran/Contra'', selling arms to an enemy and giving the money to a brutal rebellion force in Nicaragua. But Reagan was still their hero, so Reagan suffered no consequences.
Early in Reagan's term, the Soviet Union shot down a Korean Airliner because it had strayed into Soviet territory. Reagan was outraged, went on television and condemned the act, as well he should have. But in 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner with 290 aboard, killing all including 30 children, just a few miles from Iranian territory. The captain of the ship lied about the incident and no American paid for that crime. Reagan said nothing.
Now, republicans like to say that Reagan defeated the Soviet Union because ''we outspent them''. They will never believe anything else. In 1978 I bought a book by Helene d'Encausse, titled ''Decline of an Empire'', detailing how the Soviet Union will collapse. We had nothing to do with their collapse. It was primarily nationalism. I will not lend this book to a republican for fear of its destruction.
So, why is Reagan so revered in the republican party? My take on this phenomenon is this: back in the 1920's the great playwrite George Bernard Shaw said, with his finger pointing at the conservatives, ''a 100% American is 99% idiot!" In 2004 when they announced that George W. Bush won a second term, the headline in a leading newspaper in London read, ''How can 55 million people be so dumb?" And I say this,''there are no more Americans. Liberals are too smart to be American. Conservatives not smart enough.''
Simplistic, but true!