Reagan vs. the Clintons


"'People began to evacuate, but an announcement over the intercom said everything was all right, no need to evacuate.'"--Michelle, who worked in Tower One . Others: "The reason we got out was because we didn't listen."   

Voting for Hillary Clinton now is like returning to your desk in the Trade Center on 9/11.

"If you want to vote for a lady, here she is!"

In 1994, Reagan took on Bill Clinton and Hillary's secretive Socialized Medicine scheme:

"I must say that returning to Washington today really brought back memories. As our plane headed toward the airport, I looked down on the White House, and it was just like the good old days...the South Lawn, the Rose Garden...David Gergen. I looked over a couple of blocks, and there was the Internal Revenue Service--bigger than I ever remembered it. When I looked down at the enormous United States Post Office building, I could just see the excitement on the faces of the bureaucrats--knowing they would soon be managing our national health care system! Up on Capitol Hill, I saw that big, white dome, bulging with new tax revenues. I instinctively reached for my veto pen and thought to myself, "Go ahead, make my day."

You may have seen President Clinton draw his own veto pen on television just last week. The difference is that his pen doesn't have any ink in it! Unless, of course, you're talking about red ink. And we all know the Democrats have plenty of that! ...

[Jan. 25, 1994: Clinton tells Congress, "If you send me legislation that does not guarantee every American private health insurance that can never be taken away, you will force me to take this pen, veto the legislation, and we'll come right back here and start all over again." The Big Lie: If it can't be taken away, it's not "private".--ed.]

Now, as most of you know, I'm not one for looking back, I figure there will be plenty of time for that when I get old. But rather what I take from the past, is inspiration for the future. And what we accomplished during our years in the White House must never be lost amid the rhetoric of political revisionists.

When we came to Washington on that bright sunny day in January of 1981, we shared a dream for America. Back then, the reach of government had become intolerable. It was a time of rampant inflation and crushing interest rates--when hope was scarce. It was a time when cold, ugly walls divided nations and human rights were trampled in the name of evil and corrupt ideologies. It was a time when the nuclear arms race was spiraling out of control and a blinding mistrust stood between East and West. We believed that for the future of America and the free world, this could not stand. And together, we insisted that this great nation must once again behave as such.

In our America, most people still believed in the power of a better tomorrow. So together we got the government off the backs of the American people. We created millions of new jobs for Americans at all income levels. We cut taxes and freed the people from the shackles of too much government. And the economy burst loose in the longest peacetime expansion ever. We brought America back--bigger and better than ever.

It was a time when America was a bright beacon of hope and freedom to oppressed people everywhere. The world looked to us--not just because of our military might--but because of our ideas of liberty and freedom. And, they knew we were willing to defend and promote those ideas in every corner of the earth. We rebuilt a demoralized, underfunded and unappreciated military. And we made it the most modern and respected force in the world. And who can forget those so-called "experts" who said our military build-up threatened a dangerous escalation of tensions? What kind of fool, they asked, would call the Soviet Union an "evil empire"? But as events have shown, there was nothing foolish in my prediction that Communism was destined for the ash heap of history. After decades of struggle, and with the help of the bold leadership of Margaret Thatcher, democracy won the Cold War and the Berlin Wall came tumbling down.

The world watched with amazement as we put our house in order and took our rightful place as the most dynamic country in the world. And I firmly believe that history will record our era as one of peace and global prosperity.

"Don't ever abandon the Ukrainians, Donald."

However, our task is far from over. Our friends in the other party will never forgive us for our success and are doing everything in their power to rewrite history. Listening to the liberals, you'd think that the 1980s were the worst period since the Great Depression--filled with greed and despair. Well, you and I know better than that. Although the political landscape has changed, the bold ideas of the 1980s are alive and well. Republican candidates swept every major election across the country last year. From New York to Texas--from New Jersey to my home state of California. And as a result, it seems that our opponents have finally realized how unpopular liberalism really is. So now, they're trying to dress their liberal agenda in a conservative overcoat.

After watching the State of the Union address the other night, I'm reminded of the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Only in this case, it's not flattery, but grand larceny--the intellectual theft of ideas that you and I recognize as our own. Speech delivery counts for little on the world stage unless you have convictions and, yes, the vision to see beyond the front row seats. The Democrats may remember their lines, but how quickly they forget the lessons of the past. I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over a Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond?

In the end, it all comes down to leadership. That is what this country is looking for now. It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile because they might just wind up lowering our flag." ................

"This democracy of ours which sometimes we've treated so lightly, is more than ever a comfortable cloak,
so let us not tear it asunder, for no man knows once it is destroyed where or when he will find its protective warmth again."--Ronald Reagan, 1957