5 Republican Presidents that make Barack Obama look like Rush Limbaugh

Ever since they first appeared early in 2009, the Tea Party has had it out for Barack Obama, and the Democrats. This obviously independent group of freethinkers insisted that the President's policies on government spending, taxation and regulation of industries were breaches of power heretofore unseen. It was because of the aforementioned reasons that the Tea Partiers overwhelmingly backed the Republican party. They were the party that understood the value of balancing budgets and job creation (despite the last Republican administration having the worst track record on the economy in the past 80 years), as well as (coincidentally!) agreeing with them on issues of abortion, gay rights, illegal immigration, and pretty much anything else.

Now, it's just my little ole' opinion, but I don't think Tea Partiers are really well informed about...well, anything. Especially something like history, otherwise they would realize that many of their supposed Republican heroes would have no place in today's Republican (or Tea) Party. Here are 5 of the most famous Republicans that betrayed what the Republican Party is supposed to stand for.


<strong>5. RICHARD NIXON</strong>

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"Oh, come on. Nixon practically made contempt for humanity into an art form. Plus he shared the Tea Partiers perpetual delusions of persecution. Why wouldn't the tea party like him?"

Certainly Nixon didn't seem to like a lot of people, and was exceptionally paranoid, but he was also a very complex person. Given his Saturday morning cartoon villain persona, it's truly shocking that he supported a surprising amount of progressive policies.

Let's start off with the economy.  <a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html">The top marginal tax rates under Nixon were a whopping 70%!</a> He expanded many social programs like social security, medicare, and increased welfare spending, while DEcreasing defense spending. He also decided to start deficit spending to create jobs and once proclaimed: "Now I'm a Keynesian" (After which, the tea baggers of the 1970s demanded  to see his birth certificate). Oh, and he was the president that took us off the gold standard, and thus set us on a path to one world currency. Nixon was so involved in the economy that <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitextlo/ess_nixongold.html">Herbert Stein, one of his economic advisors said: "Probably more new regulation was imposed on the economy during the Nixon administration than in any other presidency since the New Deal."</a>

One of the big things that happened last year was Obama's health care plan being passed and signed into law. The tea baggers decried it (like pretty much every other policy that Obama would like to initiate) as SOCIALISM, despite the fact that it's actually a blowjob to private insurers. Of course, such details are completely irrelevant since any government involvement in medicine is wrong (especially medicare). Yet despite this current mindset, the idea of universal health care wasn't a foreign concept back in the 70s. Indeed, Nixon himself was open to the idea of universal health care. And you know what? His plan actually went even further than Obama's did. Under Nixoncare (doesn't exactly sound comforting, does it?), all employers would be forced to provide health insurance to their employees. Ironically, the reason we didn't get health care sooner was because the plan was killed, not by Nixon, but by Ted Kennedy and the Democrats in congress, who thought they could get a better deal.

When it came to the environment, Nixon was quite the treehugger. <a href="http://ecopolitology.org/2010/01/08/americas-most-important-environmental-law-turns-40/">He initiated the "Environmental Decade" by signing into law the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1972. He was the guy that created a little department called Environmental Protection Agency.</a> The Clean Air act was one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever signed. Yes, believe it or not, there was a time when Republicans thought that it was okay to be pro-breathing.

When it came to civil rights, Nixon's track record was quite impressive. His presidency brought about the first large scale integration of public schools. He implemented the Philidelphia Plan, the first major federal affirmative action program. He also supported the Equal Rights Amendment and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission whose job it was to eliminate discrimination in the work place.

What about foreign relations? Nixon helped open up trade with China, and negotiated with the Soviet Union to actually limit the number of nuclear missiles by signing the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.That's right, Nixon negotiated (i.e. surrendered ignomoniously) to not one but TWO communist powers.

It's probably no coincidence that Noam Chomsky called Nixon the "last liberal president". George Washington must be rolling over in his grave.

<strong>4. Dwight D. Eisenhower-</strong>

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"Eisenhower? Oh, come on. Dude was a 5 star general and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. He helped win fricken WWII! Whatever policy differences a Tea Partier would have with him would most certainly be minor. And if those differences do turn out to be NOT so minor, well with a resume like his, he's allowed to have some leeway."

All right, let's see how much leeway one is allowed for kicking Nazi ass.

Most people know that Eisenhower was virulently anti-communist. During his presidential campaign, Eisenhower promised to crusade against "communism, Korea and corruption". Surely no one would question his pro-capitalism bona fides, right? Well, if the litmus test for being anti-communist is to make sure that the richest people paid the least amount in taxes as possible, then Eisenhower fails miserably. <a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html">The top marginal tax rate under Eisenhower was (you may want to tell any children in the room to vacate before you continue any further) a whopping, Stalin-envying NINETY ONE PERCENT (91%) Those rates are almost three times as high as the top marginal rates under Obama (it's currently 35%).</a>

But it gets worse. Eisenhower expanded many of the New Deal programs, particularly social security, and created a brand new cabinet level department called the Department of Health, Education and WELFARE (ed. note: capitalized for emphasis). Oh, and he did this while he cut defense spending after the Korean War. Eisenhower also signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which was the biggest federal (read GOVERNMENT) work program in history up until that time. Regarding certain safety nets, in a letter to his brother, Eisenhower wrote:



<blockquote>"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid. "</blockquote>


Ouch! Oh, and did you know that Eisenhower supported universal health care (haha, rhetorical)? <a href="http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=194115">The proposal was called 'reinsurance'.</a> Under his plan, the government would cover private health insurers who extended benefits to uninsured Americans, if insurers incurred excessive costs. In other words, Eisenhower was perfectly okay with the government getting involved in health care! Now, the proposal died in congress, but the fact that someone like Eisenhower didn't see any issue in simply offering a suggestion like this is astonishing in the modern age.

But what about Defense? Surely as a military man, Eisenhower loved any opportunity to ratchet up our forces and bomb whatever country looked at us funny, right? Fraid not. Unfortunately, it turns out Eisenhower didn't just hate the troops, he despised them. In his farewell address, Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the cozy relationships between the Pentagon, congress and defense contractors, which he dubbed the military-industrial complex. The idea that such an industry would greatly profit from endless wars. In his farewell speech, Eisenhower also said:



<blockquote>"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense, a theft. The cost of one modern, heavy bomber is this: a modern, brick school in more than 30 cities."</blockquote>


Why oh why did Eisenhower hate America?

<strong>3. Teddy Roosevelt</strong>

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"Okay, so I don't know anything noteworthy about Teddy Roosevelt other than the fact that he was probably named after the Teddy bear, and was a Rough Rider, which is probably good enough to prove he was no flaming lib!"

When the BP oil disaster happened last year, did you find yourself offended at the suggestion that BP were in some way responsible for the situation? When Wall Street was bailed out in 2008 to the tune of $700 billion, did you find yourself enraged that some people suggested that the CEOs shouldn't be allowed to give themselves bonuses for, you know, nearly destroying the economy? When Wright County Egg recalled 228 million eggs because they may have made you release bloody diarrhea for a week, did you find yourself disgusted beyond belief that people were too lazy to develop a resistance against salmonella?

If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned questions, well, you can thank Teddy Roosevelt. See, Teddy was president during this little period called the Progressive Era, and he was the first progressive president. Turns out that these millionaires and billionaires known as Robber Barons, weren't exactly liked by most people (despite their heroic sounding titles). They were the Ken Lays, Tony Haywards, and Lloyed Blankfeins of their time, and shockingly enough, most working class people DIDN'T go to bat for these guys.

Roosevelt stepped up, and enacted many new regulations. He also went after and broke up many companies that were 'trusts' (i.e. monopolies) This earned him the title of "Trust Buster". Put this in perspective, the likes of Goldman Sachs helped bring us to the brink of worldwide, utter economic destruction that probably would have taken us even longer to get out than the Great Depression, and they (along with other Wall Streeters) actually got REWARDED for it. And this is by supposedly the most anti-business president in history! If Roosevelt were alive today, the most generous thing he'd give Lloyed Blankfein would be a 5 minute head start.

There's many reasons for an average tea bagger to hate this particular Roosevelt, but perhaps the most egregious offense would be his tax policies. Not so much what he accomplished (because he didn't get it done under his administration), but because he sowed the seeds for policies that would be enacted later on. This is from Roosevelt's <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2202950/">"New Nationalism" speech from 1910:</a>



<blockquote>"We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used. It is not even enough that it should have been gained without doing damage to the community. We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community. … The really big fortune, the swollen fortune, by the mere fact of its size, acquires qualities which differentiate it in kind as well as in degree from what is possessed by men of relatively small means. Therefore, I believe in a graduated income tax on big fortunes, and … a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion, and increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate."</blockquote>


A graduated income tax. Not just an income tax, but a graduated one. Also known as, a PROGRESSIVE income tax. It wouldn't be until Woodrow Wilson where this idea would be implemented, via the 16th amendment, but Roosevelt was the one that got the ball rolling. So if you think about it, in many ways, he was the one that put this country on the high speed rail towards communism.

Oh, and he was a major treehugger and was the <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/mar/05/barack-obama/Obama-goes-back-to-his-Republican-roots-on-health-/">first president to suggest universal healthcare for Americans.</a>

<strong>2. Ronald Reagan</strong>

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"Lord Reagan?! The patron saint of modern conservatism?! Surely you can't be serious!".

Oh, I am indeed serious. <em>Deadly</em> serious, in fact. Oh, sure the tea party has lots to like about Reagan. He was a strong proponent of cutting taxes, cutting government, deregulating industries, being tough on unions and despising poor people. As admirable as those traits were, even Reagan was not without his faults.

Everyone and their mother knows that Reagan was a great big, manly man when it came to national security, right? He wouldn't pussy out of a country like Obama wanted to do with Iraq, right? Well, if by 'pussy out' one means <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-10-15-beirut-barracks_N.htm">withdrawing troops 6 months after almost 300 marines were killed from a terrorist attack</a>, then yes, yes he would. Yes, Reagan allowed all those poor American deaths go unavenged. We call this "cutting and running".

You think THAT'S offensive? Well, hold on to your medicare powered scooters. Get this: <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0326/Nuclear-weapons-free-world-a-vision-of-Kennedy-Reagan-Obama">He wanted to RID THE WORLD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.</a> Let's keep something in mind. We're living in a world where certain people think that something even seemingly innocuous as bowing to Emperor Akihito as a sign of respect would embolden the Japanese to re-invade Manchuria. And they're our ALLY! Imagine what could be going through Bin Laden's mind! Now what would these same people think the equivalent of getting rid of our entire nuclear arsenal would be? Exhuming George Washington's corpse from his grave and replacing it with the remains of Malcolm X? Replacing the Declaration of Independence with an issue of Ebony Magazine that happens to have Tyler Perry on the cover? Help us out here, people.

But wait, what about TAXES? Aside from winning the Cold War single handedly, lowering taxes is the most important thing he's known for, right? Taxes are the one area where he would never waver from, no matter what the consequences, right? Well, I hate to say it (well, okay, I'm lying), but even holy tax cuts weren't so holy to the Gipper.
Now it is true that he cut taxes in his first year in office. But shortly after he cut taxes in 1981, <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/print_treasury_tax_expert_to_bush_clintons_increase.html">he also was responsible for the biggest tax INCREASE up until that time.</a>. Reagan's tax increase wiped out 1/3 of the original tax cuts he enacted. Oh, and not just that, but although he lowered the top tax rate, the tax rate was still 50% for the top brackets, which is 15 percentage points higher than what the current tax rates are. Oh, and this sort of thing wasn't a one off event. Reagan raised taxes 6 out of the 8 years he was in office. A total of 11 times!

And what about spending and the deficit? Well, sadly not much luck in either department. He vastly increased spending (though it was mainly in defense), and he tripled the national debt. I know teabaggers enjoy mocking Obama for the deficits he inherited, but just to drive this point home, Obama still has $16 trillion to go before he supplants Reagan as the ultimate 'fiscal conservative" (Obama came in when the total national debt was around $10 trillion and is currently around $14 trillion). In fairness, although overall spending increased, Reagan probably did cut spending for welfare queens, which is really one of the few spending policies teabaggers actually give a shit about anyway.

Y'all have probably heard about the bruhaha going on in Wisconsin about how those fat cat teachers, thanks to their little unions, are living the high life, what with driving their Kias and fancy dining at Outback Steakhouse. If Reagan had been alive, he would have crushed these snotty thousandairres just like he did with the Air Traffic Controllers Union back in the 80s, right? Not exactly. See, Reagan may not have been a fan of unions (despite ironically being a union president in his early life), but he did think they had certain positive aspects. Such as - wait for it - collective bargaining rights! <a href="http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/9.1.80.html">In his own words:</a>



<blockquote>"They remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost. They remind us that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. You and I must protect and preserve freedom here or it will not be passed on to our children and it would disappear everywhere in the world. Today the workers in Poland are showing a new generation how high is the price of freedom but also how much it is worth that price."

"Collective bargaining in the years since has played a major role in America’s economic miracle. Unions represent some of the freest institutions in this land. There are few finer examples of participatory democracy to be found anywhere. Too often, discussion about the labor movement concentrates on disputes, corruption, and strikes. But while these things are headlines, there are thousands of good agreements reached and put into practice every year without a hitch."</blockquote>


Also, if that's not enough to make a teabagger queasy, Reagan's record on immigration would have them going into convulsions. Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which granted amnesty to any illegal immigrant that entered the U.S. after 1982. The legislation <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128303672">provided amnesty to nearly 3 million illegal immigrants.</a> To keep things in perspective, we need to understand that the teabaggers absolutely loathe the idea of amnesty to anyone, including children who were brought here by their parents, and through no fault of their own. I imagine they wouldn't be too thrilled at Reagan for such a piece of legislation.

I understand if you teabaggers would like to take a minute to regain your composure. I imagine it's not easy to find out that the star of the conservative movement was a bigger commie than the guy currently in the White House. It's okay, though. I know how it feels when somebody is actually a different person than you expected. It's the same way I felt when I heard Obama was a Christian.


<strong>1. Abraham Lincoln</strong>

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Uh...actually, I guess this one is probably self explanatory.

Well, then...

Okay, so a few months ago, my blog died and I was just simply too lazy/indifferent to do re-launch it again. Well, okay, that's not totally fair. Sure, it was mostly laziness/indifference, but it was also the realization that I had paid for a year's worth of hosting (as well as paying for the stupid domain name), yet I hardly found myself doing any actual blogging.

So I decided that perhaps the intelligent thing to do would be to use a free hosting service, like blogger (despite how crappy it is), so that when I run into periods of torpor (and there will be many), I don't have to worry about kicking myself for wasting hundreds of dollars that could have gone towards something useful, like taking a long overdue visit to the dentist. Or eating.

I've also decided to switch gears just a bit. I was primarily focusing on politics before, but I think I'm gonna blog about pretty much whatever tickles my fancy. For those of you that cared deeply about politics (all two of you), fear not, as I think that will still be a prominent focus, but it'll just be interlaced with a variety of other topics.

So here's to starting off the New Year RIGHT for once!