Reagan Foundation: Ronald Reagan- ‘A Time For a Choosing (1964)’

Source:Reagan Foundation- private citizen Ronald W. Reagan speaking in favor of Senator Barry Goldwater, in 1964.

“The Speech” is what Ronald Reagan called it. Today we call it, “A Time for Choosing,” and it was a pivotal turning point in Ronald Reagan’s life.

Ronald Reagan began a long side-career of public speaking as his acting career closed out. He traveled across the country meeting Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce and any other civic-minded local groups. This continued and intensified during his service as the General Electric spokesperson while hosting their sponsored television series. “The Speech” was delivered in various forms and to different audiences as each word was honed, measured and memorized.

During the 1964 Presidential campaign, Republican party officials in California, who knew Reagan’s powerful message and delivery, asked him to film a speech on behalf of the Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater. The speech was aired on October 27, 1964 and it was electrifying. Donations to the Republican party and candidates increased dramatically.

The Republican Party took note and they targeted Reagan as a candidate from that point forward. He agreed in 1966 to run for Governor of California. He won two terms, and eventually won the Presidency.”

From the Reagan Foundation 

The so-called Reagan Revolution of 1980, that brought Ronald Reagan to the presidency and thirty or so new House Republicans and the Senate Republicans winning control of the Senate for the first time since 1952, actually started in 1964 under Barry Goldwater. Ron Reagan just had the personality to sell American conservatism to the country and show Americans that it wasn’t scary. It took really sixteen years for the Republican Party to control both the White House and at least one chamber of Congress.

But all of these steps were put in place starting in 1964, when the message was put together. When Republicans started winning in the South consistently in 1966, a big reason Richard Nixon was elected President in 1968, won a landslide in 1972, because Southerners were becoming Republicans. The Democratic Party was losing its grasp on the South and hasn’t gotten it back since. Congressional Republicans lost overwhelmingly in Congress in 1974, but a lot of that had to do with Watergate.

Republicans lost again in at least partially due to Watergate 1976 and Ron Reagan ran for President in 1976. And came damn close to winning the Republican nomination from President Gerry Ford and kept this message of individual freedom and personal responsibility alive. The tax revolt of the late 1970s, especially in California, all of these things were part of the Goldwater/Reagan Revolution. Thanks to Barry Goldwater, the Republican Party was changing from a yes fiscally conservative, socially moderate party.

The GOP was mostly in the Northeast and Midwest and became a party that was able to communicate this message across the country and take this message to the South. The only thing with the South, is they brought in the Religious-Right to go along with Republicans who are more libertarian than statist when it comes to social issues. But the GOP understood that they were simply too small and had to grow their base to compete with Democrats in the future. 

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CNBC: 'Paul Ryan Talks Health Care With Howard Dean & John Sheils'

Source:CNBC- Governor Howard Dean (Democrat, Vermont) John Sheils and U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (Republican, Wisconsin) debating health care reform on CNBC.

"Paul Ryan: Governor, the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] is telling us that the House bill doesn't address health inflation. Youve been very outspoken on that, and I want to compliment you on that, but the House bill doesnt address health inflation. According to the CBO, the expenses of the public plan go up 8% a year - thats more than even Medicare and Medicaid grow.

So what the CBO is telling us is were creating a huge new unfunded liability that even if this thing is paid for in the first ten years [which it wont be], after that youre going to a massive new unpaid-for entitlement on top of all the other ones weve already got. It wont address health inflation.

I worry that were not actually addressing the root cause of our problem, which is health inflation, which you and I really want to tackle." 

From Speaker Paul Ryan

I think the key points here are choice, competition, and a level playing field when it comes to health care and health insurance reform in America. And you could do that with allowing non-seniors to pay into Medicare and use it as their main health insurer, as well as letting the states, instead of the Feds, manage this expansion of Medicare for their non-seniors, including young working adults, unemployed workers, as well as juveniles. But that this Medicare expansion or public option has to compete fairly and play by the same rules as every non-profit health insurer in America.

Richard Nixon Foundation: 'President Richard Nixon's 1974 State of The Union Speech'

Source:Richard Nixon Foundation- President Richard M. Nixon (Republican, California) addressing a joint session of Congress in 1974. Vice President Gerald R. Ford (Republican, Michigan) and Speaker of the House (Democrat, Oklahoma) in the background.

"January 30, 1974: President Nixon gives the State of the Union address." 

From the Richard Nixon Foundation

I'll give President Nixon credit for one thing here. Similar to his White House farewell address, it must have taken a lot of personal strength and courage to give this speech, with all the pressure that he was under at this point where he knew that this could be the very last time he addressed Congress about anything, even though he still had 3 years left on his 2nd term.

President Nixon's 1974 State of The Union sounds to me more like a closing argument that he was trying to make to the American people in why he should remain President and not be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, essentially fired by Congress. 

What President Nixon is telling Americans is where the country was when he gave his first State of The Union address in 1969 and where the country was five years later. And what he would wanted to do as President if he were allowed to remain as President. It was the old don't give up or surrender until you've thrown all of your punches and have shot all of your bullets approach.

But I think as smart as a politician as Richard Nixon was, he probably knew that his days as President were numbered, even though he still had things on his agenda that he wanted to accomplish, At this point he still had three years to go on his 2nd term and still had health care reform, what later became known as Welfare to Work, energy independence and negotiating a peace deal between Israel and Egypt that actually started under the Nixon Administration in the early 1970s. But with all of the evidence that was about to come out as it related to the Watergate scandal, that was not going to happen.

President Nixon was trying to make the case that now it's not the time to remove the President, with all of that he's accomplished. And everything that he still wanted to accomplish for the country. That instead we should come together as a country and get together to finish the work of the country, instead of firing the current President and once again starting over and trying again. But that was not going to happen. 

By early 74, the President was fighting not just Congress, but now the U.S. Supreme Court, that ordered him to give up tapes that proved his involvement in the Watergate coverup. So his days as President were certainly numbered at this point.

Uncommon Knowledge: Peter Robinson- Interviewing Milton Friedman: President Bill Clinton (1999)

Source:Uncommon Knowledge With Peter Robinson- with Professor Milton Friedman in 1999.

“Milton Friedman vs Bill Clinton (1999) Debunking Climate Policy, The FDA & More!” 

From Basic Economics 

I disagree with Professor Friedman’s comments about the Reagan economy versus the Clinton economy. The reason for the economic boom of the mid and late 1990s wasn’t because Ronald Reagan. Reaganomics gave us the high inflation, high interest rates, the deficits, and recession of the early 1990s. The Reagan boom was from 1983-89 and then the economy slowed down dramatically starting in 1990 and then we’re in recession by 1991.

The economic boom of the 1990s happened because of the new tech boom, the free trade agreements that were passed and negotiated by President George H.W. Bush and President Clinton of the early 1990s, as well as the deficit reduction acts of that period from both President’s and two Congress’s in 1990 and 93. Not because President Reagan and Congress cut taxes and regulations in the early 80s. 

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You can also see this post at The New Democrat, on WordPress.

You can also see this post at The Daily Post, on WordPress. (No pun intended) 

You can also see this post at The Daily Post, on Blogger. (No pun intended)

Thom Aschi: 'The Army-McCarthy Hearings Documentary'

Source:Thom Aschi- U.S. Senate Oversight Committee Arm/McCarthy Hearing in 1953.

Source:The Daily Post

“Joseph McCarthy Congressional Hearings” 

From Thom Aschi 

The West with the help of Russia wins World War II and agrees to give Europe the resources that it needs to rebuild themselves after Nazism and what Italian Fascists did to the continent. The West, America and Europe was now somewhat at peace. But in America and Europe you had this huge liberal democracy in America and all of these mid-size developing social democracies in Europe, against this gigantic, totalitarian, Communist State in the Soviet Union in Russia. And the two dominant visions of the world being the Liberal Democratic America, versus Communist Russia.

And because of the emergence of the Cold War, Americans especially those who perhaps very well-educated about communism became afraid if it. And were worried about communism taking over America and Communists running America. And that is where Senator Joe McCarthy and his allies and colleagues in Congress starting in the House in 1947 with the Un-American Activities Committee and then in the Senate with Army-McCarthy hearings, emerge to look like they were stamping out Communists in the U.S. Government.

Senator Joe McCarthy becomes a political star very early on, especially as a junior Senator. He becomes Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee in the Senate in 1953 after Republicans win back Congress again, after only being in the Senate for five years. But his political skills at least early on and his power as a speaker gave him a following to move up quickly and a platform to investigate supposed Communists in the U.S. Government. And to look like the strongest anti-Communist around and to advance his political career. 

The Daily Caller: Nicholas Ballasy- 'Kathleen Sebelius: Paul Ryan’s Medicare Reform Plan ‘a Serious Proposal'

Source:The Daily Caller- White House correspondent Nicholas Ballasy.

"Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told The Daily Caller that the Medicare reform plan put forth by Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan is a “serious proposal” but President Obama has “made it clear” that it is not the right direction for the program.

In 2010, however, President Obama spoke highly of Ryan’s plan.

“I think Paul [Ryan], for example, the head of the Budget Committee, has looked at the budget and has made a serious proposal. I’ve read it. I can tell you what’s in it and there’s some ideas in there that I would agree with but there’s some ideas we should have a healthy debate about because I don’t agree with them. The major driver of our long-term liabilities, everybody here knows, is Medicare and Medicaid and our health care spending. Nothing comes close,” said President Obama at the GOP retreat on January 29, 2010." 

From The Daily Caller

I'm willing to give Representative Paul Ryan (Republican, Wisconsin: Chairman of the Budget Committee) credit for offering a serious plan when it comes to Medicare as well. I just don't think that's saying much. 

Giving Representative Ryan credit for offering a serious plan, is sort of like giving credit to a parking attendant who parks your car in the right spot and then remembers where he parked it and brings your car back when you are ready to leave and you reward him for that with a big tip.

Paul Ryan is Chairman of the House Budget Committee. If he's not offering serious plan when it comes to the government's finances, what the hell is he doing there at taxpayer expense. 

Representative Ryan would cut costs in Medicare by turning it into a voucher system and forcing seniors to get private health insurance. You could argue that would save Medicare a lot of money. But the problem you are saving money at the expense of quality health care and insurance and cutting back on choice for how seniors get their health insurance.

CSPAN: Barry Goldwater Speaks Out (1964)

Source:CSPAN- U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater (Republican, Arizona) campaigning for President in 1964.

Source:The Daily Post

“Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was shown in New Hampshire, campaigning for the 1964 Republican presidential nomination. Clips from speeches about foreign policy, the United Nations, Social Security, and economics were included. Also shown were video clips of New Hampshire residents being interviewed.

This film is titled Barry Goldwater Speaks Out and was produced by the Goldwater for President Committee.” 

From CSPAN 

The Goldwater Presidential Campaign movies might of not have been the most professionally made movies. But they were somewhat ahead of their time, because they were made by the Goldwater Campaign and gave Senator Goldwater the opportunity, 15-20 minutes on network television to layout exactly where he was on the issues and what he wanted to do as President. And to show Americans that he wasn’t crazy. That he wasn’t the person that President Johnson and his campaign were trying to make him look like. As well as other Democrats that were trying to make Senator Goldwater look crazy.

Senator Goldwater believed in things like individual freedom and personal responsibility. If I was alive and old enough to vote in 1964, instead of being born eleven years later, I would’ve voted for President Johnson, because of Civil Rights. That he believed individual rights over states rights.

Southern Democrats as well as some Republicans in Congress like Barry Goldwater, believed in the opposite. And when President Johnson was against getting American Armed Forces involved in the Vietnam War, of course that changed later in 1965, but in 1964 President Johnson was the peace candidate, but Senator Goldwater wasn’t crazy. But a Classical Conservative who believed in individual freedom.

This film of course is a propaganda film by the Goldwater Campaign. An opportunity for them to layout where he is. Get out the message of what they want Americans to think about Barry Goldwater and not hear the other side. But this film does give people an idea of where Barry Goldwater was politically. That he believed in individual freedom and personal responsibility, peace through strength, that his foreign policy of course would’ve been different from President Johnson.

Senator Goldwater would’ve taken a much harder approach to the Vietnam War and would’ve not only had sent American troops there, but we would’ve been there to win the war, even for Vietnam itself. Which I believe would’ve been a very bad mistake, because that would’ve left us there to occupy that country, similar to Iraq. But with a President Goldwater we wouldn’t have seen the Great Society and perhaps more of a free market approach to solve those problems.

I would’ve love to of seen a presidential debate between President Johnson and Senator Goldwater. It wouldn’t have been an interesting as a presidential debate between Barry and President Kennedy. But it still would’ve been a very good debate, because we would’ve seen both men as they are. Rather than how the media portrays them and Americans would’ve had a clear choice in who to vote for.