On Fox News Sunday, NPR's Liasson claims Obama casts his progressive policies "in the rhetoric of conservative traditional values"
April 12, 2009 11:42 am ET
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The problem with the radical extremist right that Fox panders to is that they have zero concept of "traditional values". The radical right uses the co-called "traditional values" as a wedge issue to divide the country and stir up hate among their vile and myopic base (see Tea Baggers for a perfect example). Ronny Raygun is long dead and the only thing radical right has is to attempt to make Ronny into some sort of legend. The fact remains is that Ronny was a taxing raising moderate who did not embrace the Christian radicals, and even more so, he was a terrible president who hated the middle class. The radical reich-wing worship Ronny Raygun because he wasn't a Nixon or a Bush I or II.
REich-wing hacks who worship Raygun, like Hannity, don't even know their Raygun history.
Ever hear REich-wing hacks say that Raygundoubled the social security withholding tax ?
Ever hear REich-wing hacks say that Raygun raised taxes 7 times ?
In 1982 alone, he signed into law not one but two major tax increases. The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) raised taxes by $37.5 billion per year and the Highway Revenue Act raised the gasoline tax by another $3.3 billion.
According to a recent Treasury Department study, TEFRA alone raised taxes by almost 1 percent of the gross domestic product, making it the largest peacetime tax increase in American history. An increase of similar magnitude today would raise more than $100 billion per year.
In 1983, Raygun signed legislation raising the Social Security tax rate.
This is a tax increase that lives with us still, since it initiated automatic increases in the taxable wage base. As a consequence, those with moderately high earnings see their payroll taxes rise every single year.
In 1984, Raygun signed another big tax increase in the Deficit Reduction Act.
This raised taxes by $18 billion per year or 0.4 percent of GDP. A similar-sized tax increase today would be about $44 billion.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 raised taxes yet again.
Even the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which was designed to be revenue-neutral, contained a net tax increase in its first 2 years.
And the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 raised taxes still more.
The year 1988 appears to be the only year of the Reagan presidency, other than the first, in which taxes were not raised legislatively. Of course, previous tax increases remained in effect. According to a table in the 1990 budget, the net effect of all these tax increases was to raise taxes by $164 billion in 1992, or 2.6 percent of GDP. This is equivalent to almost $300 billion in today's economy.
http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp
I saw the title of the item and I figured this'll be rich, them Fux are simply "projecting" what it is they do, namely to speak "in the rhetoric of conservative traditional values", that they're simply "projecting" their own standard technique onto the President... but when I clicked the video clip, it was something entirely different that struck me.
Pleas tell me them Fux took Sen. Schumer out of context?
The clip from the MSNBC show that Sen. Schumer appeared on (and that Fux was here excerpting), had him speaking about something he called "the old Reagan philosophy", which is bad enough on Sen. Schumer's part (as what sensible thing can he possibly have to say, about the empty and meaniningless nonsense termed as "the old Reagan philosophy"?), but where Sen. Schumer for some strange reason has to dive into that "old Reagan philosophy", it then appears in the way that Fux edited the MSNBC clip, that he said:
"...traditional values kind of arguments [he made "air quotes" at invoking "traditional values"] and strong foreign policy [he made a fist and a mock-rage face when saying "strong foreign policy"], all that's over."
That's what the Fux carefully selected out from Sen. Schumer's appearance on the MSNBC show, that he said "...traditional values kind of arguments and strong foreign policy, all that's over."
Please tell me the Senator was merely speaking about rhetoric itself, and about the political posturing of Republican politicians... please tell me that was the context of what he said, and that Fux edited out any appearance of that context, in the way they carefully edited the MSNBC video... edited out the context of "rhetoric" and "politics", to actually make it appear that the Senator said:
"...strong foreign policy, all that's over."
The only thing to indicate the true context (true I'll guess) of rhetoric and politics, was where the Senator said "[those] kind of arguments".
And so two things struck me: one, them Fux sure do know how to sharply edit a video clip, in order to select something that serves them Fux, select it out of it's true context.
And two, Democrats will never cease to amaze me, that they think anything and everything talked about in public, no matter how stupid or irrelevant, is an invitation for them to give their ill-considered opinion on, and to flap their mouths about...
Giving an opinion in public about "the old Reagan philosophy", is akin to giving an opinion about the tooth fairy or Santa Claus, or on this particular day, about the Easter Bunny: as those various fantasies are every bit as real, as the thing the Senator called "the old Reagan philosophy".
"The Old Reagan Philosophy"- talk constantly about smaller government while making government bigger. Talk constantly about cutting taxes for the Middle Class while cutting taxes for the Upper Class and raising them for the Middle Class. Talk tough on foreign policy while trading arms with hostages and cutting and running from Lebanon. Talk about the Rule of Law while breaking the law by arming the Contras.
And always, ALWAYS talk in BS soundbites that can be used by your fawning media supplicants to show future generations what your "Principles" were. and never you mind what your actual POLICIES were. This is why Hannity, etc. can blather on and on about "Reagan Values" and "Getting Back to Reagan" while ignoring what Reagan actually DID, which almost NEVER matched up to his rhetoric.
Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com