Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Who's a Clown?

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) called the newly-certified senator from Minnesota, Al Franken, a "clown" on Wednesday...

What does that make the Republican "god" Ronald Reagan then? An ape boy?

Reagan was just a pathetic B-movie actor who had to work with apes to earn a living.

5 comments:

Cowcharge said...

Ronald Reagan was:

"unusual in his opposition to racial discrimination, and recalled a time in Dixon when the local inn would not allow black people to stay there. Reagan brought them back to his house, where his mother invited them to stay the night and have breakfast the next morning." (in the 20s, this was)

"His first job was as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon, in 1926 (15 years old). Reagan saved 77 lives, noting that he notched a mark on a wooden log for every life he saved.[13"

He served in the miltary from 1937 until the end of 1945.

He was elected President of the Screen Actors' Guild 8 times.

During the Communist scare of the late 40s and 50s, he said before Congress:"I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment."

He wrote: "You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down—[up] man's old—old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.

In this vote-harvesting time, they use terms like the "Great Society," or as we were told a few days ago by the President, we must accept a greater government activity in the affairs of the people. But they've been a little more explicit in the past and among themselves; and all of the things I now will quote have appeared in print. These are not Republican accusations. For example, they have voices that say, "The cold war will end through our acceptance of a not undemocratic socialism." Another voice says, "The profit motive has become outmoded. It must be replaced by the incentives of the welfare state." Or, "Our traditional system of individual freedom is incapable of solving the complex problems of the 20th century." Senator Fullbright has said at Stanford University that the Constitution is outmoded. He referred to the President as "our moral teacher and our leader," and he says he is "hobbled in his task by the restrictions of power imposed on him by this antiquated document." He must "be freed," so that he "can do for us" what he knows "is best." And Senator Clark of Pennsylvania, another articulate spokesman, defines liberalism as "meeting the material needs of the masses through the full power of centralized government."

Well, I, for one, resent it when a representative of the people refers to you and me, the free men and women of this country, as "the masses." This is a term we haven't applied to ourselves in America. But beyond that, "the full power of centralized government"—this was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don't control things. A government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy."

Cowcharge said...

For Comparison, Al Franken was on Saturday Night Live.

Cowcharge said...

Oh, one other thing. If Reagan hadn't gone into the Army right after making King's Row, he would have had a much better career.

Lou said...

Reagan has been in my lifetime the most successful president we have seen. He truly brought all the needed skills, experience and talent to the office even if you didn't agree with all his ideology. The man certainly gave a great speech even without a teleprompter.

csm said...

Reagan gave good speeches. His policies, ah, not so much. He is perhaps the most overrated president of my lifetime.