Dear Romneyites, Reagan Was NOT an Abortion Supporter!

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the things that many Romney supporters are using to explain away their decision to ignore Romney’s many flip flops is Ronald Reagan’s one-time support for abortion and his signing of the Therapeutic Abortion Act as governor of California in 1967. But this comparison is a non sequitur. Reagan’s support of that abortion bill and his subsequent turn against it is less like a flip flop than Romney’s about face on the issue. In fact, a review of the two men’s record on abortion makes Romney look worse for the effort, not at all “just like Reagan.”

The first thing to realize about Reagan’s 1967 signing of the California abortion bill was that the whole national debate on abortion was, if you will, in its infancy. It was then not much of a national issue. The arguments for and against abortion had not crystallized into the well-worn positions we now know so well. After all, Roe v Wade wasn’t to catapult the issue to national prominence until 1973.

When this bill came before him in 1967, Reagan was admittedly unsure of what to do with the thing. He dithered for a long time before finally signing the bill because he simply had never given much thought to the issue. He quickly regretted placing his signature on the bill and firmly decided that hence forth he would be pro-life. He never supported an outright pro-abortion measure again.
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Dear Romneyites, Reagan Was NOT an Abortion Supporter!”


At Heartland’s Celebration of Milton Friedman’s 99th Birthday

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last week I attended a great talk given by University of Chicago economics professor Allen Sanderson in celebration of economics giant Milton Friedman’s 99th birthday. The talk was sponsored by the Chicago-based Heartland Institute.

We are humbled by the fact that in his life and long career at the University of Chicago, Friedman declared himself a friend and fan of our organization, calling us “a highly effective libertarian institute.” Today’s luncheon address was delivered by University of Chicago economics professor Allen Sanderson, who was a colleague of one of the brightest minds of the 20th century. We’ll have video of Sanderson’s entertaining and enlightening presentation up on our website next week.

Professor Sanderson was a colleague and friend of the great economist and related several funny and interesting stories about his days with the Friedman’s.

The Free Lunch Myth

Reason Magazine Celebrates Friedman

Ronald Reagan on Milton Friedman

Visit The Heartland Institute for more interesting and edifying videos and information.
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At Heartland’s Celebration of Milton Friedman’s 99th Birthday”


A Time for Choosing

“So we have come to a time for choosing,” warned Ronald Reagan in his famous speech nominating Barry Goldwater for President in 1964. It was one of the most important speeches in American history — and remains terrifyingly true today.

Millions without jobs. American values under attack. Bailouts, deficits, and debt that threatens the future for our children and grandchildren. Will the citizens of this great country allow it to continue?

America truly faces a time for choosing in November 2012. Stand with us to retake America and win one for the Gipper.


What Did Reagan Do and How Have Other Nations Solved Their Fiscal Problems?

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation at CATO has made a few videos that help us understand how we have fixed some of our fiscal troubles in the past. In part two they also looked at a few foreign countries. Now, I have to admit that I am not much interested in what other nations do about anything. They aren’t America. Still, in part two below the folks at the CATO Institute have pointed out a few things that are instructive, if not a tad wonky.

These videos are worth taking a look at.

Spending Restraint, Part I: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton

Spending Restraint, Part II: Lessons from Canada, Ireland, Slovakia, and New Zealand

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What Did Reagan Do and How Have Other Nations Solved Their Fiscal Problems?”


Superbowl Fail: Superbowl’s Ronald Reagan Video All But Ignored

-By Warner Todd Huston

As Superbowl XLV began a video celebrating the life of Ronald Reagan was played on the jumbo tron screen in the stadium for the sports fans there to enjoy. It was only fitting seeing as how the game was being played on Reagan’s 100th birthday. But the national audiences were never made aware that this video was played. For the millions of folks at home, Reagan’s birthday was ignored.

This video was part of the Superbowl programing, certainly as official as Christina Aguilera’s mangling of the National Anthem and the Black Eyed Peas’… well, whatever it was the Black Eyed Peas were doing. Yet the folks at home were left ignorant of the airing of the Reagan video.

It couldn’t have been a squeamishness about politics. After all, the Black Eyed Peas were allowed to stick a plea to Obama to institute more socialism in one of their “songs” during the half time segment (I hesitate to call it a “show”). So why was Reagan’s birthday video ignored?

In any case the video is a great compilation of Reagan moments and is but a few minutes long. It was sponsored by The Reagan Foundation.

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Superbowl Fail: Superbowl’s Ronald Reagan Video All But Ignored”


Ronald Reagan: Father of the Tea Party

-By Warner Todd Huston

We are still living in Ronald Reagan’s era, despite the constant refrains from Democrats and the left that Reaganism is long dead. As we observe his 100th birthday, it is also beneficial to point out that in many ways Reagan is the father of the Tea Party Movement. It was his great success, his sunny optimism that gave the Tea Partiers the grounding and confidence that they could, indeed, make a difference.

Like many politically active people today, Ronald Reagan is my favorite president in my lifetime. For me, he was also the first president for whom I could vote and I did so with glee.

In fact, if it weren’t for Ronald Reagan I may well have entered my voting age with too much cynicism to overcome in order to make me feel invested in the system. I’d posit that this is true for most Tea Party patriots older than 40, too. I would also argue that the Reagan effect is responsible for giving Tea Partiers the feeling that they could affect government like Reagan did and that without Reagan there’d be no Tea Party movement at all.
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Ronald Reagan: Father of the Tea Party”


Celebrating Reagan’s Legacy‏

From Congressman Peter Roskam (Ill., 6th District)…

This Sunday, February 6, marks the late President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday. Particularly given our country’s current economic challenges, it is fitting we take some time to reflect on the legacy of this great American.

When President Reagan took office in January of 1981, our country was experiencing great hardships – not unlike today, he faced an economic recession and record unemployment. However, unlike the current Administration, President Reagan approached these challenges with a conviction that the American people could pick themselves up – as long as government stayed out of the way.

Take a minute to watch this video from the Heritage Foundation:

Reagan’s years in the White House were marked by a determined drive to shrink the size and cost of government and make America strong again. As a result, he ushered in one of the greatest periods of prosperity in the history of the United States.
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Celebrating Reagan’s Legacy‏”


GOP Honors Reagan’s 100th With New Website

Happy 100th Birthday President Reagan

This Sunday, February 6th, marks the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan, our 40th President, and a towering, visionary figure in the history of the Republican Party, the United States and the free world.

The Republican National Committee is celebrating this milestone with a special website devoted to President Reagan. The website will feature video tributes to The Gipper throughout the week from Republicans leading up to his birthday. I hope you will join in the Centennial Celebration by signing our birthday card to President Reagan and joining the conversation about keeping his legacy alive using the Twitter hashtag #Reagan100.

GOP On Twitter: http://twitter.com/RNC


Reagan and Obama – NO COMPARISON

-By Warner Todd Huston

A lot of left-leaning Old Media types are trying desperately to pump Barack Obama up into the new Ronald Reagan. But, if anyone takes the time to really compare the two, Obama seems far more like the anti-Reagan than a Reagan redux.

Ronald Reagan was a truly great American President. Barack Obama is simply the second Carter and no better… he may be worse, but we won’t know that for sure until his finally leaves office.
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Reagan and Obama – NO COMPARISON”


Illinois Reagan Centennial Commission: Great Idea Horrible Logo

-By Warner Todd Huston

The website for the Illinois Reagan Centennial Commission seems to be about complete and running now. It can be seen here: http://www.illinoisreagancentennial.com/index.html.

The effort is being run out of Reagan’s boyhood home of Dixon, Illinois. Dixon is west of Chicago a few hours north of I-88 and is the town that Ronald Reagan lived in between 1920 and 1932.

The town has some great festivals, meetings, walking trails, and other events scheduled to celebrate Reagan’s life through 2011.
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Illinois Reagan Centennial Commission: Great Idea Horrible Logo”


Why Do You All Keep Saying Obama Killed Reagan?

-By Warner Todd Huston

The pundits and talking heads have settled on a sensational meme: Obama killed Reagan. To the Old Media and the pundit class, it’s got all the requisite characteristics of a great story. New beating old, liberal trumping conservative, it has power, pathos and amazement. But, it is also pure hyperbole and, well, a load of horse puckey.

Before I get too much further along here, it would be silly of me to claim that it could never happen that Obama will supplant Reagan as the miracle worker of the Oval Office. We have but to look at the long-term success of Franklin Roosevelt’s turning of America from a capitalist republic to a democratic socialist system to see that it is entirely possible that Obama’s next four years (or 16 if we’re talking FDR redux) could “re-make” the country once again. Not that what FDR did was a good thing, mind you, but it cannot be denied that it was a political success and was entirely transformative.

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Why Do You All Keep Saying Obama Killed Reagan?”