Has The Grand Old Party Abandoned Ronald Reagan?

One of the most famous Ronald Reagan quotes is: "I didn't leave the Democratic party. It left me."

And, now, just months after he'd have celebrated his 100th birthday, he has been abandoned again, this time by the party that publicly reveres him as the patriarch of modern American conservatism while running away from who he was and what he did.

FEAR Factor

Increasingly, it seems that the extremists who have seized command of the party that Lincoln built are governed less by genuine principle and more by raw FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real).

1. Taxes

Like the foul tempered Queen of Hearts in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, any Republican daring to contemplate---much less consider---raising taxes on the richest Americans to help pay America's debt is met with the chorus: "Off with his head!"

Like Alice, Mr. Reagan would certainly have shaken his head in disbelief.

In fact, he increased taxes eleven times while in the White House, including four times in two years.

Yet, the "myth" of Reagan as the great tax cutter lives on.

FEAR.

2. America's Deficit

President Obama has been relentlessly attacked by Republicans for America's expanding debt.

No matter that it is mostly the result of Republican decisions and actions before Obama was elected. During President George W. Bush'es eight years as President, the country's deficit skyrocketed nearly 6 trillion dollars even as Vice President Richard so blithely dismissed it "Deficits don't matter."

Obama's policies are projected to increase the deficit by about a trillion and a half dollars---less than 25% of the deficit run up by President Bush.

Yet the "myth" persists that Democrats are big spenders and the country should hearken back to the days of that wise deficit hawk, Ronald Reagan.

But, fact is, in Reagan's eight years in office, the deficit increased more than $3,000,000,000,000 (are you beginning to see a Republican pattern here?) which was more than the combined deficits for all his 20th century predecessors put together (and twice as much as they are projected to increase if Obama is president for eight years).

While it is fair to observe that Obama is a big spender, he's a relative piker compared to either Mr. Bush or President Reagan.

FEAR.

3. Immigration

Like taxes, the mantra of anti-immigration riles the blood of almost all red-blooded Republicans.

And President Reagan? Here's where he stood: "I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally."

He believed so strongly about it that he granted amnesty to more than 3,000,000 people who had come to America illegally, put down roots,and had families.

FEAR.

4. America's Debt Ceiling

We all vividly recall the GOP brinksmanship that nearly put America into default---and which led one of the credit agencies to downgrade America's credit standing for the first time in American history.

Some reactionary legislators even went so far as to call for default.

What would Reagan have thought of this? In a 1987 nationwide address, he told the country:

"Unfortunately, Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest markets would skyrocket. Instability would occur in financial markets and the federal deficit would soar.

"The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. It means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility -- two things that set us apart in much of the world."

Indeed, during President Reagan's two terms, the debt ceiling was raised 17 times.

FEAR.

Which leads me to this. Of all of the Republican presidents in the last half century (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, and his son, George Bush) why is it that the Republican Party has abandoned its most revered icon?

Whatever happened to "Win One for the Gipper? ".

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Has The Grand Old Party Abandoned Ronald Reagan?