"Well, I felt pretty bad until somebody told me that Joe and Holly had expected tonight's speaker to be an actor from California who had dedicated his life to public service. And when I walked in, Holly said to Joe, "Hey, that's not Clint Eastwood." [Laughter]
But I do want to thank Clare Luce for that wonderful introduction. I can't say enough about Clare, and I certainly can't say anything more than I used to in all those telegrams I sent her years ago when she was a successful playwright and I was an actor looking for work. [Laughter]
One of the most valuable lessons that history has to teach us is that after the most terrible frustration and discouragement sometimes change can come so quickly and so unexpectedly, it surprises even those who have made it happen. This is particularly true in Washington. One Cabinet member in a former administration put it very well: "The toughest job in Washington," he said, "is being able to tell the difference between the tides, the waves, and the ripples." Well, actually that's been the problem with the perceptions of many of the experts and the pundits; they concentrate so much on the ripples, they can't see the waves and the tides.
An analogy that I've used before on this point has to do with March of 1943. In that terrible month it became clear that the allies were losing the battle of the Atlantic. It was the only development, Churchill said, that ever really frightened him during the war. More than 500,000 tons of allied shipping went down; thousands of merchant seamen lost their lives. England was left with only a 2-month supply of food and material, and the experts in the British Admiralty seriously doubted that England's lifeline across the Atlantic could be kept open. But then suddenly—only a month later—it all changed. Innovations in the convoy system, escort training, radio and radar use, long-range aircraft had a sudden cumulative weight. Suddenly the U-boat wolfpacks sustained enormous losses. Hitler's admirals were conceding the defeat in the Atlantic, and by June it had all turned around. The experts were confounded. In a little over 60 days, the looming catastrophe had turned to decisive victory. Allied convoys crossed the ocean without the loss of a single ship. I first used that analogy back in 1982, when the same people who said the oil shortage would last for decades were talking gloom and doom about America's economy. They claimed that huge, new tax increases were the only way to get the economy moving again. Back then, they used the term "Reaganomics." And maybe you haven't noticed—they're not using that anymore. [Laughter] But the larger point is this: Being too close to the data can sometimes mean missing its significance and the chance to change it for the better.
Let me say simply to those who wish us ill: We are Americans. We love our country, we love what she stands for, we will always defend her. We live for freedom—our own and our children's—and we stand ready always to protect our birthright and guard our patrimony, as our fathers did before us. Thank you. God bless you."--President Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Heritage Foundation Anniversary Dinner, April 22, 1986 (Text) (Video)
"You understand that human progress must be built upon a firm foundation of timeless truths. These truths are immortalized in our founding documents and the most important truth, our founders understood was this, freedom is not a gift from government, freedom is a gift from God.
And that is why we’re here tonight, to rededicate ourselves to the defense of our God-given rights. We’re here to insure that we defend this legacy from any threat, foreign or domestic, that would seek to weaken our values, diminish our freedoms, or dissolve the bonds that hold us so strongly and firmly together. As our nation has responded in recent weeks to a series of heartbreaking tragedies, from the catastrophic storms to the devastating wild wires to the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas, we are reminded that no destructive force on earth is stronger than the courage, character, and love of the American people.
This is a time of great challenge for the world but also a time of great opportunity. We can unleash the creative power of our citizens, unlock new frontiers in science and medicine, and usher in prosperity for communities all across our land. But to achieve these great things, we must hold fast to the values that define who we are as a people and as a nation. Everyone here tonight is united by the same enduring beliefs. We believe that the Constitution is the greatest political document in human history, and that judges should interpret the Constitution as written.
We believe we should preserve our history, not tear it down. Now they’re even trying to destroy statues of Christopher Columbus, what’s next? Has to be stopped, it’s heritage. We believe that America is a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws and we support the incredible men and women of law enforcement. We believe that our great American flag should be treated with reverence and respect and that young Americans should be taught to love our country, honor our anthem, and proudly recite the pledge of allegiance.
We have it, in our power, to build this future together, and we will build upon the firm foundation of our great American heritage. As long as we remember who we are, and what we are fighting for, then we will never ever fail. And as long as we have pride in our country, confidence in our future, and faith in our God, then our best days are yet to come. Our values will endure, our communities will flourish, our people will prosper, and America, the land we love, will thrive as never ever before."--President Donald Trump, Heritage Foundation, Oct. 17, 2017
Gateway Pundit: Conservative Heritage Foundation Rates Trump’s First Year Better Than Reagan’s
(Quoting the Times) "Heritage said that 64 percent of those items were enacted by the administration either through executive order or another means of enforcement, or included in Mr. Trump’s budget, which has not been voted on by Congress.
In Reagan’s first year, only 49 percent of Heritage’s wish list items were embraced by the president or enacted. At the time, Heritage identified a familiar problem for why the administration’s policies were wanting. In almost every federal agency, Heritage said in November 1981, “delayed appointments, unqualified or misqualified appointments, or the appointment of individuals who are not committed to the President’s goals and policies” had delayed or thwarted policy changes.”".......
Heritage: Trump Administration Embraces Heritage Foundation Policy Recommendations "One year after taking office, President Donald Trump and his administration have adopted nearly two-thirds of the policy recommendations from The Heritage Foundation’s “Mandate for Leadership.”".......
Comparisons are difficult because we all stand on the shoulders of giants, but here goes.
Although Reagan is now considered the Republican standard, at the time he was thought of as an insurgent outsider not unlike Trump. Reagan had a Democrat House, though there were still some conservative Democrats at that time. All but extinct today.
Trump has a nominally Republican Congress, but with many fake conservatives, who, for example, bragged about "leading the fight to repeal and replace Obamacare!" to get elected, but didn't mean a damn word of it.
The press was liberal and hostile then, but still had some professional standards. Again, those standards are all but extinct today.
Both took over from the worst presidents we've ever had.
But unlike today, Jimmy Carter didn't have Reagan wiretapped and framed by the FBI and the Justice Dept. to thwart the 1980 election.
Considering the ongoing Cockroach Coup against President Trump by the Perma-Blob, he's done marvelously, even magnificently well. Even better than a permanently hostile bureaucracy will admit.
President Reagan would surely approve.
"In the 1980s under Reagan, a phrase was coined: “Everything that is supposed to be going up is going up and everything that is supposed to be going down is going down.” Once again, that phrase is resonating. Meanwhile, power is shifting from the corrupt liberal media to the ethical conservative media. The reality is that if there was a time where the ideals of liberalism were the true aim of the activist Left, that time is long past. Classical liberalism as an ideology — and if the trend continues — will be remembered as just another archaic philosophy consigned to history classes; that is, if the militant Left will permit it to be taught. Otherwise, like Soviet communism, it too will join the ash heap of history."--Historian Craig Shirley, We’re Winning, They’re Losing, Here’s Why
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| Historian Craig Shirley: "HERE IS HOW REAGAN AND TRUMP ARE SIMILAR IN THE MOST IMPORTANT AEGIS OF ALL: THEY ARE PART OF A DIALECTIC OF AMERICAN HISTORY. EVERY GENERATION OR TWO HAS EXPERIENCED A POPULIST UPRISING WHICH IS ANTI-ELITE, ANTI-STATUS QUO AND THE CENTRALITY OF THE ARGUMENT IS ANTI-CORRUPTION. THE TRUMP ELECTION WAS NOT FORETOLD OR INEVITABLE, BUT HE HAD A MUCH BETTER CHANCE THAN WE REALIZED, IF ONLY BECAUSE HE FOLLOWED THE TRACK OF AMERICAN HISTORY." |
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