Tim Russert's False Statement About Reagan's Legacy

CLAIM:

"One other political point, the Republicans achieved control of the United States Congress for the first time in 70 years, of both houses, under Ronald Reagan."
- Tim Russert, 6/10/04

FACT:

In 1994, six years after Ronald Reagan left office, "The Republicans took control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1954." Both houses of Congress were never controlled by Republicans during Reagan's term.
- Encyclopedia Britannica

Dishonoring Reagan's Memory

Conservatives' efforts to politicize the death of Ronald Reagan have gotten so out of control that they are now stepping all over Reagan's own wishes, and the wishes of people who knew him best. See this backgrounder from the Center for American Progress on how conservatives have hijacked what should be a solemn time for the country.

At Least Someone Has the Guts to Say It

"I would suggest that if they're going to name something, it should be the Ronald Reagan Bureau of Public Debt."
- U.S. Rep. David Obey, Page 9, CQ Today, 6/9/04

Give some props to Obey (pictured left) - he's got the guts to point out what conservative lawmakers are trying to whitewash with their new efforts to rename buildings after Reagan. As Forbes magazine pointed out, "the Reagan years added $1.4 trillion to the federal debt." Similarly, the Washington Post reported that "In January 1981, when Reagan declared the federal budget to be 'out of control,' the deficit had reached almost $74 billion, the federal debt $930 billion. Within two years, the deficit was $208 billion. The debt by 1988 totaled $2.6 trillion. In those eight years, the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the largest debtor nation."

5 Votes No One Knows About...But Should

My latest column for In These Times analyzes the five congressional votes every voter should know about, but probably doesn't. They go over everything from the war, to taxes, to corporate welfare. Check it out here and let me know what you think in the comments section on my blog.

More Cheney Criticism of Reagan

More from Cheney, the man who is scheduled to memorialize President Reagan and is now saying he admired "the conviction and the moral courage of Ronald Reagan."

CHENEY SLAMS REAGAN IN 1987: Cheney said Reagan was "tolerating a decision-making process in the upper reaches of the Administration that lacked integrity and accountability." [Source: National Journal, 8/8/87]

Reagan's Words & the 2004 Election

Here is a statement President Reagan delivered in 1980. If Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) read this famous speech word-for-word, he would deliver a stinging indictment of President Bush's record, as the majority of Americans would answer a resounding "no."

OCTOBER 28, 1980: "All of you will go to the polls and stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better of than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? If you answer all of those questions 'yes,' why, then, I think your choice is very obvious as to who you'll vote for. If you don't agree, if you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you'd like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have."

Cheney's Harsh Criticism of Reagan

The White House says Vice President Dick Cheney will speak at memorial services for President Reagan. Question: will Cheney echo the high-profile criticism of Reagan's defense policy that he unleashed during the height of the Cold War? Despite the Bush administration's praise for Reagan's strong defense policies, it was Cheney who was a vocal critic of them at the time:

CHENEY IN 1984: According to the 12/16/84 Washington Post, Cheney said if Reagan "doesn't really cut defense, he becomes the No. 1 special pleader in town." Cheney urged Reagan to cut defense spending, saying "the president has to reach out and take a whack at everything to be credible" and said that absent a raid of Social Security or a tax increase, "you've got to hit defense."

CHENEY FOLLOWS THROUGH ON CRITICISM: Six years after his criticism, it was Cheney who bragged to Congress about shifting the direction of U.S. defense policy from the Reagan years. On 2/1/90, he told Congress "since I became Secretary, we've been through a fairly major process of reducing the defense budget." He bragged that during the first year of his tenure, he "cut almost $65 billion out of the five-year defense program" and that subsequent proposals would "take another $167 billion out." He trumpeted the fact that "we're recommending base closures," "we're talking about force structure cuts" and "we've got a military construction freeze."