Reagan's Legacy is Full of Things He Never Did

Sarah Palin, who used to be governor of the third least populated state in the union until she quit in the middle of her term so she could go make millions of dollars as a motivational speaker and a contributor to Fox News, spoke at a 100th birthday tribute to Ronald Reagan last Friday.  Palin told the attendees that unless, and until, President Obama gets instep with the values of Reagan we will continue down a path of ruin.

In her speech she made numerous references to socialism, big government, less liberty and how Reagan fought against all of it.  She's quite insane to say the least.

It's almost as if all Republicans in 2011 were not alive or were on another planet during Reagan's two terms.

Reagan is hardly the embodiment of  small government or fiscal conservatism.  He tripled the national debt.  He ran chronic budget deficits for 8 solid years. He increased spending by 25% in 8 years.  He ballooned the size of government-- heck he created the Dept. of Veterans Affairs which is a ginormous expansion of government.  

The public workforce grew under Reagan.  He didn't shrink anything.  And get this, instead of privatizing Social Security like he pledged to do in every speech he ever gave, he gave it a $165 billion bailout.  He raised taxes numerous times.  He compromised with our bitter enemies, the Soviets, instead of engaging them.  He sold Iran arms for hostages and he aided and funded both bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.

The only other post-WWII president who added more to the national debt, grew government larger and emboldened terrorists more was George W. Bush.

What explains the Republican love affair with Reagan then?  As Steve Benen puts it, they have no one else.  There's Lincoln and then 120 years later they get Reagan. They simply have no other presidents to be proud of, and they don't even like Lincoln for the most part.  So that's leaves them with Reagan.  Since there is only one, they have to lump all of their so-called principles onto him.  Given the reality that Reagan never shrunk government, never reined in spending, never paid down the debt, never privatized Social Security, never cut taxes without paying for them; just never did anything Republicans give him credit for, it's hard to imagine why they celebrate him so much.

With much respect and credit to Benen, my answer is a much, much simpler one. In the Republican Fantasy World none of what Reagan did ever happened.

[for more of The Fold's "Never Happened" series click here, here, here, here, here, and here.]