Remembering President Reagan

"Build the damn fence, (between the U.S. and Mexico)."

'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!'  That is what I remember President Reagan saying about walls between people.  Yet, today's republicans forget that notion, and exclaim that we must begin to control our borders.  How can you control the whole of your borders, in a country this size?  Every great empire wasted resources, and utterly collapsed trying to wall itself off from outsiders and invaders.  China's Great Wall and Rome's Hadrian's Wall immediately leap to mind.

America is the world's greatest marketplace.  If you have products and or services to offer, the U.S. is the best place to try to sell them.  Instead of building walls around us, we should be building high speed railways in.  We should make the process of citizenship instantaneous, and not the 3-5 year, thousands of dollars, arduous task it is now.  America benefits by having hard working entrepreneurs come here and invest themselves in our economy.  So, why isn't someone calling conservatives for this trespass upon the seminal moment of Reagan's Presidency?  Why do conservatives forget everything about President Reagan besides the letter that appeared by his name?

One could even go further, and point out the fact that President Reagan realized that budget shortfalls are cured by tax increases, not cuts.  He realized that cutting government spending meant that some Americans would bleed as a result.  So, the only way to balance the budget, without harming Americas, is to raise taxes, something President Reagan did as the situation required.

I was in junior high, when President Reagan held office, and was only faintly aware of politics in general.  What I remember were the moments he was a part of, like his remarks about the Challenger disaster, and when he spoke directly to Soviet Union, demanding the re-unification of Germany.  What I learned later in high school and college was that he was a middle of the road conservative, who had great support from many independent liberals, because he could and did compromise.

Today's conservative republicans are nothing like President Reagan, and they are currently working in direct opposition to his efforts, yet they herald the man's name to no end.

President Reagan would have very little in common with the republican agenda, and would not support nor receive support from the Tea Party.