Disrespectful Republicans

[SoDesuKa]

It shouldn't take a week to bury Ronald Reagan. Republicans are exploiting Reagan's death for political advantage. Why else would Friday be a federal holiday?

It's wrong to claim that Reagan was universally beloved because he wasn't. The people who buried Nixon were honest enough to acknowledge Nixon as controversial. Today, the Republicans demand that we participate involuntarily in a National Week of Mourning. If we don't go along, they denounce our refusal as "tasteless" or "insensitive". But it is they who are provoking the backlash.

In many ways, Reagan was as controversial as Nixon. His domestic policies were mean-spirited, and his foreign policies involved covert criminality for which he might have been impeached. This man was not a great president. Bury him in three days like everybody else. Don't drag it out for political gain, it's a disrespectful exploitation of his death.

[thebigidea]

1. why, the Republicans are PLAYING POLITICS with his death...

That would be a fun cry to hear from all the mediawhores... can you imagine the Tweety/Fineman/etc brigade in an alternate universe, saying such stuff?

[Walt Starr]

2. And some people complained about a few DUer's posts on the subject

www.georgewbush.com

Yep, mopaul was absolutely right.

[CatWoman]

3. I stopped at the first sentence

I work for the federal govt., and we were given the day off for Nixon's funeral, too.

Not to take anything away from your excellent rant, tho.

:D

[BeFree]

7. Friday off, eh?

Now, if we could shut down the whole country that day....hmmm

Think about it... tell your boss that you feel so bad about RR that you need a day off to mourn (what has happened to our country).

Why, the prez thinks we should, and you just want to unite with him in mourning!

Friday June 11, national day off to mourn America!

[LuminousX]

4. All Presidents who die, get this respect

Except Nixon, I think. I can't remember directly what was done for him, but I recall reading that the NYSE has shut down for every Presidential funeral since it had been created.

Such is how things work.

[theboss]

8. Nixon's was strange, which is fitting

I don't know if he was forbidden from lying in state or if he didn't because of family requests. We have to remember, that before him, the last president to die was Johnson in 1973. We are a little out of practice on this.

[leftofthedial]

5. personally, I think a week isn't long enough

they should hang his body from the Capitol flagpole and let the crows do the dirty work.

[theboss]

6. We need to accept the fact that Reagan was popular.

We can't understand politics unless we accept certain facts.

He won two landslide elections.
His VP won a landslide election (the first sitting VP to win in over a century).
He left office with the highest approval ratings since FDR.

And a week to bury a President is hardly unprecedented.

[Zen Democrat]

Wrong about Reagan's approval ratings ...

Even CNN acknowledged today that Reagan's popularity averaged 53%, lower than every modern president except Nixon and Carter. His poll numbers dropped 15 points when Iran/Contra broke, and the numbers never recovered.

Remember, by the time Reagan left office, we had a big homeless problem for the first time since the Depression. And even the conservatives were criticizing him because he raised taxes four times after the initial tax break in 1981. A decent stock market and low interest rates didn't create an economy that was great for the average American worker. Reagonomics proved that trickle-down does not work. History is repeating itself.

The CNN discussion concluded that Reagan's popularity only rebounded AFTER it was announced he had Alzheimer's in 1994. Time has been kind to his legacy.

[theboss]

10. That was his average approval rating.

He won 58 freaking percent of the vote in 1984. 5-8. That's just a stunningly huge number for a national election.

[BeFree]

9. I dunno, boss

I kinda like the "run 'em up the flagpole" idea!

Now, I understand politics just fine. I also understand that it will cost millions for this little funeral. Tell ya what, boss, let's give the soldiers in Iraq all take a day off, and it's a deal!

Still, the flagpole/crows would be more fitting, doncha think?

[kaitykaity]

11. There is always backlash to the Repub arrogance

and it seems to happen faster and faster now.
Let them have their shiny moment--it will feed the
redmeaters and alienate everybody else.