New Book: "Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics..."

[ck4829]

"Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future"

"In this provocative new book, award-winning political journalist Will Bunch unravels the story of how a right-wing cabal hijacked the mixed legacy of Ronald Reagan, a personally popular but hugely divisive 1980s president, and turned him into a bronze icon to revive their fading ideology. They succeeded to the point where all the GOP candidates for president in 2008 scurried to claim his mantle, no matter how preposterous the fit.

With clear eyes and an ever-present wit, Bunch reveals the truth about the Ronald Reagan legacy, including the following:

# Despite the idolatry of the last fifteen years, Reagan's average popularity as president was only, well, average, lower than that of a half-dozen modern presidents. More important, while he was in office, a majority of Americans opposed most of his policies and by 1988 felt strongly that the nation was on the wrong track. Reagan's 1981 tax cut, weighted heavily toward the rich, did not cause the economic recovery of the 1980s. It was fueled instead by dropping oil prices, the normal business cycle, and the tight fiscal policies of the chairman of the Federal Reserve appointed by Jimmy Carter. Reagan's tax cut did, however, help usher in the deregulated modern era of CEO and Wall Street greed.

# Most historians agree that Reagan's waste-ridden military buildup didn't actually "win the Cold War." And Reagan mythmakers ignore his real contributions -- his willingness to talk to his Soviet adversaries, his genuine desire to eliminate nuclear weapons, and the surprising role of a "liberal" Hollywood-produced TV movie.

# George H. W. Bush's and Bill Clinton's rolling back of Reaganomics during the 1990s spurred a decade of peace and prosperity as well as the reactionary campaign to pump up the myth of Ronald Reagan and restore right-wing hegemony over Washington. This effort has led to war, bankrupt energy policies, and coming generations of debt.

With masterful insight, Bunch exposes this dangerous effort to reshape America's future by rewriting its past. As the Obama administration charts its course, he argues, it should do so unencumbered by the dead weight of misplaced and unearned reverence."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/141659762X/crooksandliar-20/ref=nosim%2065.11.146.66

Reagan's 'legacy' caused so much harm to this country; when we invaded Iraq, weren't we looking for some of the same weapons of mass destruction that Saddam was trained to use by the Reagan Administration?

[Mike 03]

1. Sounds fascinating. "Add to Cart." Thanks for calling this to our attention.

Kick and Rec.

[Wapsie B]

2. It's as if I'm listening to stories about Paul Bunyon

when I hear a repug gush over the legacy of Reagan. :eyes:

[bulloney]

3. And you can add these myths to the Reagan legacy:

Reagan was a fiscal conservative. Wrong. Reagan never submitted a balanced budget to Congress, added more to the national debt than all preceding presidents COMBINED, and had the largest budget deficits in history, only to be exceeded by those under George W. Bush.

Reagan shrank the size of government. Wrong. Government growth continued under Reagan, contributing to the record deficit spending.

Reagan was the personification of conservative family values. That may be true, given the behavior of modern conservatives. Reagan remains the only divorced president in history. His marriage with Nancy was a shotgun wedding. Daughter Patti was born only about 6 months after the wedding. God forbid if Clinton, Obama or some other Democratic president had a similar story.

[frylock]

4. thanks!

just one-clicked that. can't wait to read and loan to my folks who have both been fooled by the myth, despite the fact that we were welfare recipients during that glorious period.

[tanyev]

5. Thank you!

I'm now the first person in the queue for it at my library.