In response to my comments on Reagan and being a Reaganite, or Reagan Republican, a reader writes,
You’ve sparked a bit of introspection in me, about the precise day I became a Reagan Republican. In November 1980, I cast my first presidential ballot. I voted to reelect Carter.
Now flash forward to the day Reagan was shot. I was at Kent State University. I came back to my dorm to see the TV lounges filled with students fervently wishing for the president not to survive the surgery. The worst of will was being expressed toward “Ronnie Ray-gun,” to use just one of the epithets.
Right then, I knew that, whatever side I belonged on, it wasn’t the one where people were wishing for the death of the democratically elected president. For the first time, I started to pay real attention to American politics, and to investigate what American conservatism really was.
Though I lean much more toward the libertarian side of conservatism, I’ve known since that day that I wasn’t under any circumstances – ever – going to be part of the Left. And much to my father’s disgust, I have proudly called myself a Reagan Republican. His irrational hatred of the 40th president was another straw, but that’s another story.
There is a lot in this letter that’s very, very familiar to me. Allow me to excerpt a speech I gave, long ago:
I had many turning-points — a great many (if it’s possible to have more than one) — but one of those was the assassination attempt on Reagan. I saw the bravery, the grace, the humanity. I could never again accept the cartoon of Reagan as an empty-headed, soulless nuclear cowboy. I saw that all those drawing that cartoon were either dumb or lying. Besides, my grandparents liked him, and they were the best people I knew — so how bad could he be?
I could go on (and, of course, have).
My dad is one of the irrational Reagan-haters.
I give Obama a lot of credit for making him, in his words, forget why exactly he hated Reagan so much.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJay's reader makes the perfect point with regard to American politics. There are good and bad ideas on both sides and everyone has a right to enthusiastically support the side he or she prefers, but there is no place in American politics - or a civilized society - for people to wish for the death of their political opponents. Radical Muslim terrorists do that, not democratic Americans.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Right then, I knew that, whatever side I belonged on, it wasn’t the one where people were wishing for the death of the democratically elected president."
As someone who vividly recalls Reagan being shot, I deplore the sentiments of the people who wanted the president to die.
But conversion stories like these always seem a bit ridiculous to me. Does the reader not recognize the same irrational hatred directed at President Obama today on the right that was directed at Reagan back then on the left?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDear Rcade: Perhaps somewhere out there you can find someone, somewhere in the fever swamps, who is openly wishing for Obama to be assassinated.
But you will not find an entire political class of supposedly "normal" people who are wishing that.
That is the difference.
(However, of course, Republicans are the "mean-spirited" ones. And so on.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOne of the most foolish things in politics is the belief that your own side is reasonable and fair while it's the other side that engages in all of the bad acts.
There are numerous examples of Obama hatred today as rabid as the Reagan haters who converted the reader to conservatism. There will be numerous people who wish death on the next elected president, too.
Whether you're on the left or the right, you should recognize that some of the people on your side are engaging in reprehensible speech or conduct.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf these examples are as numerous as you claim, it shouldn't be hard for you to cite a dozen or so.
If you can make them as agregious as the well documented examples of liberals cheering when they heard that Reagan had been shot, that would be good as well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't see this being the case, and you offer no support for your statement. I hear plenty on the right who think their fellow Americans were pretty dumb to vote for Obama, and plenty who are wishing fervently that this president is defeated in 2012. But I don't hear any conservatives wishing someone would murder him. This sounds like the same line of reasoning we heard from the Left when Rep. Giffords was shot and "everyone knew" it was because of Sarah Palin's cross-hairs map and vitriol from the Right.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI love the way liberals define disagreement as irrational hatred.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThey do have a monopoly on "reason" and "fact." Don't take my word for it. Ask them. They'll tell you.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusercade: I believe you are missing something. There may be a great deal of dislike for Obama, disgust with his policies and disdain for the man, but I have yet to see the viseral hate that the left has exhibited for Reagan, Bush, Cheney and the list goes on. Never, have I seen a conservative wish the man dead. Contrast that to the Left's treatment of most anyone who disagrees with them. To compare the statements of even the "leaders" of the left (Pelosi; Reid; Rahm and on and on) with those on the right's statements on Obama requires relativistic gymnastics beyond belief. Your statement doesn't wash.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn my opinion, the main difference between the irrational hatred on the right and the left is how far you have to go to find it. Sure, there are crazy wack-jobs on the right, but you generally don't find them congregating around televisions in major college dormitories.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNot to mention teaching at said colleges.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYet another in a long line of leftist "Well you do it too!!1!" excuses. Regardless of whether or not disliking Obama is "irrational" - when have Republicans wished that President Obama would die? Death wishes for political opponents is something that's almost entirely confined to the left.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYet another in a long line of leftist "Well you do it too!!1!" excuses. Regardless of whether or not disliking Obama is "irrational" - when have Republicans wished that President Obama would die? Death wishes for political opponents is something that's almost entirely confined to the left.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo . . . ("Reagan will destroy the world" rhetoric) + (Reagan getting SHOT) = (anti-Obama rhetoric ).
Should that be a 'equals' sign or just an 'equivalence' sign?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe really need a notation for moral equivalence. I nominate the follwoing:
=?
That is pronounced as "the same as? Really?" with intonation and pitch indicative of extreme incredulity.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen there are (award-winning!) plays, books, and movies about the assassination of Barack Obama, then we'll talk.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRe: rooting for Reagan's demise, when Ted Kennedy passed away a friend's teenage son made a smiling comment in celebration of his death. I told him he should NEVER be happy to hear that someone has died, especially if the reason is as petty and meaningless as political differences. He was just a kid, so he's probably not going to keep that mindset.
What a disguting thing to see people massed together around a television hoping for the death of another human being. As if holding a differing political opinion than theirs warranted a death sentence, as if they believed the ultimate crime was to hold a different point of view than theirs.
But onto cheerier thoughts: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, may the roads and skies be clear for all who are travelling in the coming days!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat I perceive is a hatred justified not by a difference in political view. Leftists view their opponents as criminals, the equivalent of murderers or rapists.
Of course ACTUAL murderers and rapists don't deserve to die, but that's a whole 'nother thing...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIrrational hatred has become the defining characteristic of the modern liberal.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse