Everybody Loves Reagan

By Kristin Shields

This week, we celebrated President Ronald Reagan’s 101st birthday. Conservatives around the nation celebrated with blogs and tweets honoring the wonderful icon and role model for right-thinking men and women everywhere. He did wonders for the nation during his eight years in office, saving the U.S. from the economic doom.

President Reagan became president in 1980 following President Jimmy Carter, who served just one term. In the four years he was in office, President Carter was able to successfully increase inflation, decrease funds to the military, bail out failing businesses, raise taxes, and basically encourage economic hardships.

Sound familiar? It should.

President Barack Obama is the near-equivalent of Carter. Carter, Jr., if you will. In all too many ways, he’s Carter on steroids. I will assume that you have not been living under a rock for the past three+ years – since his election in 2008 – and have some understanding of the economic hardships that continue to this day. Hardships that, by many measures, have been driven to unprecedented depths by his left-wing policies that have also ensured the economic downturn continues longer than any this nation has seen since the Great Depression.

While in office, President Obama has insisted on repeating and one-upping the failures of President Carter when it comes to solving the economic crisis. Instead of lowering taxes and encouraging job creation, he is raising taxes and eliminating jobs. Rather than promoting economic and civil liberties, he is removing our fundamental constitutional freedoms little by little. None of his economic or social policies are helping in any way. To the contrary, in fact, they are only encouraging more economic failure, job loss, and diminished freedoms. Just like President Carter 

It is time for change. That should also sound familiar, but I actually mean what I say. President Reagan “saved the day” in 1980 when he won the election over Carter’s incumbent bid. He lowered taxes, promoted job growth, and reduced the size of the federal government to enhance individual liberties. As a result, the United States enjoyed the longest period of sustained economic growth in our history. 

As we approach the 2012 elections, it is important to keep these ideals in mind. Our nation is in dire need of a leader who will not keep the country on the road that leads inevitably to longer and deeper economic turmoil. We need someone – a Reagan, Jr., if you will – to yet again save the day and make President Obama a one-term president.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

-President Ronald Reagan