Ronald Reagan Statue Vandalized In Newport Beach

November 6, 2011 5:25 PM

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NEWPORT BEACH (CBS) — A bronze statue of former President Ronald Reagan was vandalized early Sunday, according to officials.

Police received a call at approximately 5:30 Sunday morning about a possible vandalism in progress at the Bonita Canyon Sports Park.

A witness saw a suspect tie something around the top of the statue and the other end to the front of his vehicle. The witness said the suspect then got into his vehicle and put it in reverse in an attempt to pull the statue down.

The suspect, described as a male in dark clothing, fled the scene before officers arrived.

Police said the vehicle was a tan pickup with an extended cab, circa early 2000s.

It’s not known if the suspect was trying to simply cause damage to the statue or steal it, but officials believe the vandal may be a thief who hoped to take off with the statue and sell it as scrap.

City workers were called to assess the damage to the statue and decide it had to be removed because it was compromised.

There is no word from officials on when the statue can be replaced and put back on its pedestal.

The statue debuted last month during a dedication memorial to celebrate the former president’s 100th birthday. It is reportedly worth $60,000.

Ronald Reagan Statue Vandalized In Newport Beach

http://losangelesforme.com/2011/11/ronald-reagan-statue-vandalized-in-newport-beach/ Ronald Reagan Statue Vandalized In Newport Beach | Los Angeles for Me

[...] A statue of former President Ronald Reagan was vandalized early Sunday, according to officials. More from: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com… [...]
cletus van damme

vandalized? They probably tried to steal it.

sothatsit

yep,thats prolly all this actualy is. A metal thief. Been a lot of that going on lately. I’ve seen articles about people stealing manhole covers, street lights, parking meters, copper tubing in houses, even power lines in some places have been stolen. Guard rails on the highway…anything metal. A bronze statue I guess would be a major score.

Shrikant Gupta

watch Poonam panday hot video ========================http://www.thechetna.com/Scandal.aspx
pammalou

Yep…it reminds me of when NPR said the gubbermint noticed how much people were spending on their dogs,and they weren’t buying (revenue) licenses! All of the sudden on local news only there were “pit bull”attacks all over the country!
Then new tough legislation was introduced where I lived and even cats need licenses now.
Keep in mind thanks to all the “metal thieves”and bizarre thefts,Louisiana is banning cash sales for like craigslist,and garage sales…
http://ackelandassociates.com/cash-transactions-banned-by-louisiana/
So I will guess we will see a lot of these stories until we all clamor for cash being banned in our states too! Criminals use cash !Reagan was a goof anyway.He got rid of the last usury laws,and he didn’t know the Wall was there to keep communism out! Haha
Caligula

This is an Obama shovel ready job…and Reagan would laugh. These idiot Obama voters couldn’t even do THIS job right.
Jaye Southworth

I saw a pic the other day of two men kissing the pole they were trying to steal wire from. They both got fried. Too bad Reagan’s statue didn’t fall on them crushing them to death. That would have been a golden moment.
Alan Whitney

Even the bronze or copper doors off mausaliums… Turns out they are worth up to five grand.

Sheesh…
Casper

Hey pammalou, couldn’t you at least move out of mommie’s basement before you embarrass her with you idiocy?
teaisstronger

HE IS HATED FOR DESTROYING THE USSR

He changed world history.

TEA

Spanky

This is a metaphor for what the Dems are doing to the USA.
Fanny Forbes Franklen

“The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” – Margaret Thatcher

http://911essentials.com
LLeone

Two birds with one stone: entrepreneurial theft and vandalism and a political statement.

The Left never misses a trick, do they?
Pinki

“It’s not known if the suspect was trying to simply cause damage to the statue, or try and steal it, as there has been a recent spike in thefts of bronze and copper items across the country.” Note that CBS News places the word ‘vandalized’ inthe headline to imply malice toward a person or philiosophy and then way down in graph 6 says they aren’t sure if it’s theft for the metal. Now let’s cogitate on the bias there.

statesrule

Both are criminal…and of course you do understand why folks would believe this to be a political statement with our President going around demonizing others across the 50 states. He’s an instigator of this type of behavior..are you proud of him?
Caligula

you mean 57 states. i know it can be hard to keep count.

Joseph

It’s only a matter of time until vigilantes start bringing back some order to a society that is breaking down as we watch. The government is failing in nearly every facet of it’s responsibilities. There is no leadership. People will do what they must to restore and maintain civilization. Attempts to curtail this movement will result in the overthrow of what has become a thoroughly corrupt and unresponsive government. Just my opinion.

mewp

I agree, except that I don’t think that theft is restoring anything.

Gene Poole

Or replace it with a statue of Stalin.

George Bush

It was Obama he wanteda statue of himself in that spot!!
GunnerLee

But then you would have half of California tieing up traffic on their pilgramage to pay tribute and whorship it.

Jack Roth

This is so typical of the new breed of the liberal/socialist left.

Mune Shadowe

Or ignorant Communist/NAZI immoral leftists

tanklv

Typical Ignorant repuke comments.

Nazi’s were EXTREME RIGHT WING – JUST AS FASCISTS ARE.

Communists and Socialists are “left wing”…
BigV

Sorry, the last time I checked NAZI is National Socialist Workers Party. Socialist is LEFT. National Socialist is LEFT. National Socialist WORKERS is LEFT. Fascist can be Either right or left. Fascism is extreme nationalism with strict governmental control. Learn your political tree before you go spouting things, it will make you seem ever so much more intelligent, as difficult as that may be.
URStewpid

Nazis are national SOCIALISTS, communists are world SOCIALISTS. Now who are you calling ignorant? You have placed socialists on both ends of the political spectrum. The extreme right would be anarchy. Public school fail.
kicklibsout

It’s way more complicated than that but the Nazis were basically socialists. American “progressives” are obviously fascists.
Gene Poole

Well put, they are nothing but vandals.

John Clark

Nice quip. However the right has respect for Reagan. Unlike the left who respect nothing except what they can steal from others in the form of taxes and redistribution.

jane

Reagan stole the most, after all he raised taxes. Biggest tax and spend President of his time.
Barry Levy

Reagan cut taxes, income to governement nearly doubled, but congress decided that they would spend more and more, showing that those in government never have enough of other people’s money.

Nice to know that you are so ignorant of the facts of the tax cut, and the increase to the government.
Jim in Houston

What planet are you from? You need to go back to go back tosleep.

Jason

Thank you! You’ve just proved Jack’s point.
obb

Not likely. If they’d used a pickup truck, it would have been pulled down. So that means they were probably using a Prius. Also, the statue is now leaning to the left. With those two pieces of evidence, I’d say it was definitely a liberal. ROFL

DL

And if it stayed like that and rocked back and forth in the wind, you could say a swing voter did it……

John Campbell

Ignorant is those who attempt to use “Redneck” as a demeaning title. Suggest getting out a little more and finding out the actual meaning of “Redneck” and where it comes from instead of buying into and peddling perverted leftist political trash.

Posted by a proud Redneck. Take the racist & uneducated garbage and shove it.
YeahRight

uh… you mean right of Ron Paul??
Republicrat

Indeed. Regan was responsible for the first wave of illegal alien amnesties. He’s no hero in my book.
Al Tango

You may be a tad bit right of Saul Alinsky but you are probably just like him. If you are a conservative and do not respect Reagan, you have no values, just like all liberals.
bubbles

You might be to the right of Karl Marx, but to the left of Obozo The Clown
David Thibeaux

Yor a fuc. K. Ing liar if your on the right. You may sit on the right of obamas face
Frank M

You can’t possibly be ‘on the right’… and have no respect for Reagan. That statement is simply impossible to advocate. You’re a mixed up little girl…
Ron

If you have no respect Reagan, then you are a liberal.
TLC

All Leftists are liars and cheats.

Their need to be imposters stems from their inability to become human beings.
joey zasa

the jagoff banned automatic weapons for civilians.

“The bill was subsequently passed and signed on May 19, 1986 by President Ronald Reagan to become Public Law 99-308, the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act”

P. Amboy

Dolt. Automatic Weapons have been “banned” since 1934 (National Firearms Act), but if pay the $200 tax and register the weapon you can possess any Automatic Weapon. Now if you talking Semi-automatic weapons, they have never been fully banned. There was the typical reactionary Clinton era Assault Weapons ban that was effectively a limit on the number of rounds in the magazine (and some other innoculous limitations).
Crazy_Redneck

@P. Amboy – “Dolt. Automatic Weapons have been “banned” since 1934 (National Firearms Act), but if pay the $200 tax and register the weapon you can possess any Automatic Weapon”

Not 100% true. The stipulation is that said automatic weapon must have been registered prior to (I can’t remember the exact date) 1986. This limits the number of automatic weapons that are available on the market to about 175,000. Of course, do the math. Because of limited supply and availability, you can’t get one for less than $10,000…IF you can find someone willing to sell.

Joe

Nihilist huh? Must be hard
NotFondOfLibs

You’re probably another idiot that was born at night. Last night. Go pound sand you jerk.
Tim Lucas

They’ll B-tch slap you around here. Liberals are traitors. They are liars, thieves and a poor represenative in guarding the nations coffers. Liberal greed, plain and simple. Government isn’t the solution, Government is the problem.
Hey Obama, GTFO

If you have no respect for Reagan, you are NOT on the right.
Hey Obama, GTFO

And you sound a lot more like a wishy-washy progressive than someone who “claims” to be on the right
George W. Axl Rosebush

Probably some thief supporting their drug habit. Lots of druggies on the left. The thought of a free ride and all…

Steve

Not mutually exclusive.
E

Yeah Rush Limbaugh. What a leftie.

The Avenger

joey zasa…you have a right to respect anyone you choose. You do not have the right to make an assinine oxymoronic statement “I’m on the right and I have no respect for reagan”…because President Ronald Wilson Reagan, affectionately known as “Ronaldus Magnus”, was and will be THE greatest conservative (that means being on the ‘right’) president of the 20th century.
klmdia

I believe the only point that you brought to this discussion is the one atop your head.
George Renfro

I wonder if anyone has ever done a survey of the people in prison to see what percentage of them are liberals and what percentage are conservative. Anyone here have any figures for this?

Jean Poole

97% to 3%
Rhonda Rogers

George ^ here is a German survey of outpatients with chronic mental
illness living in therapeutic residential
facilities that responded to
an opinion poll to determine
their voting preferences for the
2002 federal election.
The poll found that the
outpatients were significantly
more likely than the general
population to prefer
left-wing parties (78 percent
compared with 56 percent). I can’t find any reliable statistics of prison inmates but I’m still looking. I hope this helps. Here is the website : http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=89447 please feel free to post this whenever necessary.
dlw

Hey Rhonda, Maybe my math is a bit off but 78% plus 56% is way more than 100%. Did some of thes loons vote twice? Or are you pulling stats out of your ass?

William R. Smith

but the Gipper was tough and fought back!

Team me

That’s probably why the suspect ran.
alpha1six

What a very dumb comment. It makes absolutely no sense at all. But I guess that is what is to be expected these days from the left.

pammalou

Yeah….you aren’t a bi polar 2 party moron are ya? I pity the mentally ill such as yourself.

shut your hole, communist

Having spent your life on drugs and welfare and as close to death as you are, it may be time for you to stop making stupid, incoherent, assinine public statements and just shut the flock up. Nobody has EVER cared what you think about canned peas, much less politics. Your only contribution to any conversation is to act as an exhibit supporting the argument that stupid, drugged out liberals should be neutered and disallowed the vote. Now, shut your stinky piehole and go sleep in the dirtiest corner of a public toilet where you won’t draw unusual attention to yourself.
Jim in Houston

Do you take stupid pills or do you come by it naturally?
G Smith

sadly, this person is dead right… reagan was head of the labor union and his entire pre-political career was backed by ge… and he did lay a wreath at the grave at bittburg.. sadly, you people claim that we have taken our stupid pills. what drabble… that type of thought process is no different than the gullible left. luckily judgment comes to us all and will be on an individual basis and not based of what others told you
Alice Ramirez

You are incoherent. Typical lefty libturd tool.
TheRealKingMax

Pammalou, after reading your inane leftist ranting in this blog, and giving them careful, objective consideration:

I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re definitely a chunk of human waste.

Folks, now if you’ll please pardon me:

I have to go take a large Pammalou.

pammalou

Is that all you can come up with? I don’t buy into your LEFT RIGHT Bi Polar mental illness.
The 2 party system is for morons,and repeating their talking points makes you look like the ultimate imbecile.
Get a brain will ya?

Max723

You’re a moron.

Gary Mcquate

what do people think.. ahhh yes i t is .. they dont think.. they need more than just punishment.. there needs to be an example made of this person when caught.. like …. shot at dawn or something.. people have not fear today because there is not punishment

Rj Petrucci

really DEATH ?
so much for thou shall not kill

Jubal

The original wording of that commandment was “Thou shalt do no murder [as in murder by stealth]” Somehow, so many people are mislead by others’ agendas. Also please keep in mind that Jesus never said to be a door mat. His last admonition to the disciples in the garden was “If you do not own a sword, sell your [cloak/coat] and buy one.”
Coldcajun

He said SHOT! not executed… and I would be fine with that…
Out in the Country

You are 100% correct.

Instead, the person should be put in an unlit box where they cannot fully stretch out and always feel like they’re going to suffocate, when in fact they are not. Once a week they’re taken out, hosed down to keep them clean, and put back in the box.

A month punishment would suffice, and nobody needs to die. See? Win-win! Everyone’s happy except the filth that did this, which should be okay, right?
TroyG

Actually, there is a translation error in the Bible. The commandment doesn’t say “Thou shalt not kill.” The real commandment says “Thou shalt not murder.” Totally different. The death penalty isn’t forbidden by the Bible.
@jubal

@Jubal, fool, no he did not. When the Apostle Peter attacked a man with a sword, Jesus turned towards him and said put your sword back in its sheath. For those who live by the sword will DIE BY THE SWORD! Funny, he said he had the power to call twelve legions of angels, yet he did not. That goes to show if Jesus Christ could let people spit, mock, persecute, ridicule, torture, mame, and crucify him, and yet not offer up 1 spiteful word, shouldn’t we try to imitate that? Lastly, his last ADMONITION to his father GOD, was to forgive the ones who put him on the cross. “Forgive them father, for they know not what they are doing.” These are the examples we should strive to follow
yanks123

“those who spill the blood of man shall have their blood spilled by man” the holy bible
Casper

It’s more like stepping on a roach.

Voice of Reason

I like the idea of a public lashing, perhaps fifty lashes in downtown Newport Beach.
statesrule

When folks commit a crime and thrown in prison, they should never be told how much time they have to serve for a crime. I believe the not knowing would help deter crime.

statesrule

An unsettled mind will forever be changed.
John

I like it.

The world just needs more immediate, shotgun justice. Criminals know that the worst that can happen to them is that they get free room, board, health care, entertainment, heat, electric, water, etc in an environment where they have no responsibilities or work.

Why *wouldn’t* they commit crimes?

But if people started swinging from trees 60 minutes after they were caught…

pammalou

I think if we outlaw cash transactions like Louisiana did !
That will fix them!
http://ackelandassociates.com/cash-transactions-banned-by-louisiana/
Let’s all get angry because St.Reagan’s holy image was attacked,trust me…the government already has a solution for these thefts.
That solution is banning cash transactions at resale shops,craigslist,garage sales and more!
Anywhere there is an underground economy that poor people use.
This is a nice way to demonize any maniac wanting to buy or sell something with cash.
The Louisiana law requires you keep records of anything you sell and you keep records of the license plates of the vehicle that delivered it to you.
But hey! Roland Reagan’s statue was accosted!
We need tough new tools for the police and banning cash transactions is the solution!
It’ll be great for the private prisons!
Hehehehehehe
Keep talking like a tough guy !
There’s plenty of punishment out there but not for the big time crooks who spend your money on wars and killing people and bailing out the banks.
Let’s take it out on the little guys because they are easier to beat up!

George Renfro

What on earth are you saying? Do you think every time something is done illegally that you just pass another law? That’s what the Democrats have been doing for years and years. Instead of solving the problems with crime by enforcing existing laws, they just pass another bunch of laws which won’t be enforced. Now you want to ban cash? What the h##@ kind of solution is that?

This is the way all our liberties are being taken from us. Your mindset is at the very best foolish, more likely you are just an idiot. Just ban cash–jeeze what a genius.
Kent

I am in Louisiana and all I can ask is WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I have already made two cash transactions this morning.
911Survivor

pammy-poo, or palumalu, or whatever: You’re just jealous because thet didn’t tear down your tinfoil statue of jimuh cahtuh, the original dweeb-president. Bugger off, silly twit…
pammalou

They ALREADY have passed the Law in Louisiana.
http://ackelandassociates.com/cash-transactions-banned-by-louisiana/
I am not here espousing my OPINION like y’all thinking that your foolish opinion on these boards mean squat.
You people are really not too smart are ya?

kurgee

good riddance

Fred Lopez

you are an IDIOT

kurgee

We don’t need statues honoring racist fascists. Mission accomplished.
Allen

Ol’ Kurgee proves your point nicely below using words he cannot correctly define.
Who meets the definition of fascist (i.e., a proponent of dictatorship by government of a country, often involving hostile nationalistic attitudes, racism, and private economic ownership under rigid government control)? A.) The late President, who was for smaller government and individual rights and responsibilities; or
B.) The current President, who regulates cow f arts and light bulbs and has appointed Czars to control everything anyone can think of.
Ronnie Raygun

Right on ALLEN!
jane

Yea Allen because deregulation works so well, LOL., what a moron,
Skeete

kurgee also thinks I have a right to an opinion as long as it agrees with his. We don’t need dictionaries or history books either for that matter. Liberal propaganda will take care of all that. You’re a good little lib Ms kurgee.

Rick H.

I’ll bet you don’t even know what a fascist is.

LiveFreeOrDie

Right you are. He needn’t look any farther than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’s current occupant (occupier?) to see a real-life racist fascist, but this clown is too busy libeling the finest president of the last 150 years.

Liberals are some of the ugliest, most hateful and vile people.
Christina Bdba

LOL Idiot does not even know that fascists were the left not the right.So much for public school indoctrination….
Google OBAMA FAILED E-VERIFY

Ben Fuct

Topple it like they did poor ol’ saddam hussein’s statue.

John_B

This country has really started to follow the great swirl down the toilet when people can say the things they do on this sight and expect others to believe it. There is a truth and it is absolute. Ronald Reagan was a great man as well as a great president.

pammalou

For a guy with Alzheimers who was so freaked out after his strange assassination attempt he made all his decisions according to what his flaky astrologer said.She told him he would meet a Pisces named Gorbachev and sign everything over to him! She told him it would be his lucky day if he visited the Nazi SS officers graves in Bittburg!
I don’t think he was so great…it was more the way his astrologer told him what to do to make him look good to you.
Nancy was a genius too because she was the one who got Joan Quigley the genius to pull Roland Reagan’s strings.

I wish people would worship the one Real God instead of these weird meat puppet gods like Reagan.They hired the astrologer to improve their image and judging by the comments here it was taxpayer money well spent.
The guy was a goof.I am not a Democrat or a Republican BTW ….That 2 party rope a dope is for suckers! Wise up.All the Presidents have been garbage since Kennedy,and you have to wonder about him too…
I farht in Roland Reagan’s general direction and statues in general.It was a waste of taxpayer money to build statues of any politician if you ask me.

Not My Government

I’d wager illegals looking for metal. It’s who’s doing most of the bold thefts here. There’s a reason everything of any value is behind razor wire and electric fencing in Guatemala. We’ll be there soon enough however.

Crazy_Redneck

At face value, one would think it was illegals looking for metal. However, this refutes your suspicion:

“Police said the vehicle was a tan pickup with an extended cab, circa early 2000s.”

It says the pickup was tan…not tan, red, black, grey….

It also says the pickup was “circa early 2000s”, not circa early 80s to mid 90s.

It also said the pickup was “extended cab”, not regular cab. Additionally, it did not say that it had a 5 gallon igloo water cooler bungeed to a rusty headache rack.

Attention to detail…

Hank Hill

Got a news flash for you: most illegals drive flashier/newer vehicles than gringoes anymore, because it’s easier to for them buy these when someone else is doing the heavy lifting: healthcare, groceries, housing, etc. all paid for by the taxpayers, while the illegals sneak across, squirt out an anchor baby and reap the benefit of being untouchable because their kid is a citizen.

Just sayin’…
Crazy_Redneck

You don’t live in southeast Texas, do you, Hank?

how2findtruthTube

it might be fake a hoax,, they want to ban recyclling for the common person they will put it in the fine print that you cant own gold or silver with some sweeping legislation as usual but it could be some mexicans idk isnt there alot of illegals in LA?

JuanValdez

Illegals trying to steal some metal for cash at the recycler.

joey zasa

some wombato probably

Buck Ofama

There you go again.
Crazy_Redneck

“It’s not known if the suspect was trying to simply cause damage to the statue, or try and steal it, as there has been a recent spike in thefts of bronze and copper items across the country.”

Really? Seriously?!?!?!?!
John

Ronnie still leans to the right . You can.t stop someone with princples.

Dawn

Thread winner!

pammalou

You Bi-Polar Left Right people are HILARIOUS ! Scary….but Hilarious.
You’re like watching a baby being surprised every time the left right paradigm yells PEEK A BOO !
There is Right and wrong….your two party peek a boo game defines insanity.
Doing the same thing over and over and over hoping for different results.
You just stick with your Bi Polar left right diatribes and see where that gets you!

pics

It was illegals.
pemberton

Mr. Illegal, tear down this statue!
irving nussbaum

this is the kind of thing you can expect from today’s democrats

dicedfroggy

Norman Thomas said this in a 1944 speech:

“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of “liberalism,” they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” He went on to say: “I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democratic Party has adopted our platform.”
pammalou

That’s the kind of comment you can expect from today’s Bi-Polar 2 party sucker.
Too bad you can’t see that both parties they allow you to have is the old English throw the bums out tactic.Both parties are corrupt.Both parties are bought and paid for.I feel sorry for you Bi-Polars.

JayCeezy

I wonder if the pickup truck was insured.
Carlys

This World Is Going Crazy!! How Disrespectful Can People Get???

Casper

Very magnanamous of you to refer to left-wing nuts as people. Rodents is more accurate.
pammalou

Yea….worshiping Roland Reagan,and statues instead of God.
God laughs at people like you.He will spit you out.Enjoy the trip.

Carlys

Just Because there is a statue of someone does not mean it is to become an idol of worship. I pray to God and God alone and he will judge us all not anyone posting here including you pammalou!!! Hello!!!

Rj Petrucci

Didn’t American’s start becoming poorer when Reagan got elected once he broke the Unions?

Didn’t Wall Street Crash during his Presidency and cause a recession that did not end until Clinton was elected?

Sad this is the best Republicans have to worship.
Oh right THE top 1 Percent got richer. They must be the ones here bashing everyone else.

Carlys

Not FAIL!!!
Mike

Eric, Rj, you DEFINITELY need to learn on your own and not from what people TELL you is the truth. Look at life under Carter (seems a worse today IMHO) and then at the end of Reagan’s Presidency…you don’t have to be honest with anyone but yourself

bob

I’ll take Carter anyday over St Ronnie.
Hank Hill

Bob, you’ve forgotten your meds again….
Mikey

It’s obvious that Bob is too young to remember the gas lines and “misery index”.

dan

get your facts straight….even the poor are richer than they were in the 60′s and 70′s

how many on welfare do not have an xbox? not many

Didn’t Wall Street Crash during his Presidency and cause a recession that did not end until Clinton was elected? once again get your facts straight….technology drove the increases of the 90′s…clinton did not until his hand was forced in 94 to cut govt spending

Gwen Marsh

You people sure don’t get yur facts straight. Probably reading too many lefty blogs. when Reagan took office from Carter, the country was in disarrey, gas lines went for blocks, hostages had been held for almost two years, the world had NO respect for America (I believe we were called a paper tiger), for those who could buy a house the interest on said mortgage was a whopping 18%. When Regan took over the hostges were promptly returned, mortgage rates came down and ther was suddenly plenty of gas and best of all USSR fell. Now nearly 30 years later we are in another democratic mess yet again. All these observations are correct as I lived through them. Reagan’s good works are being flushed down the toilet. Don’t question my observation because I lived the nightmare.l

Crazy_Redneck

“Didn’t American’s start becoming poorer when Reagan got elected once he broke the Unions?”

Dunno ’bout that. I do know my family became poorer when United Steelworkers of America threatened to strike in the mid 1980s against the phony ENA, to which they agreed. The problem was US Steel was losing market share to foreign producers and USW wasn’t willing to make the concessions necessary to keep the company competetive, not to mention the plant open in Baytown, TX in 1986.

My dad had worked at that plant since returning from Vietnam/Thailand in 1970 and was a shift supervisor. The USW threatened to strike which resulted in the lockout at this plant, which was never reopened. This affected a lot of other kids’ families with whom I went to school. Many of us couldn’t even play football throughout high school because our dads were unemployed or underemployed for a great deal of time and didn’t have health insurance for their families. Reagan didn’t bust USW. USW busted itself.

That said, Reagan, in my opinion, was not a great president. As Ron Paul correctly pointed out in his letter of resignation from the Republican party in 1988, Reagan didn’t live up to the image of Reagan. But to claim Reagan as a union buster, is weak at best. It is my own personal experience that he failed miserably.

If membership were ever a condition of employment in the State of Texas, I would remain unemployed. I advance myself on my own merit. My talent is such that if I weren’t happy with the position, pay or benefits befitting said talent, I would go elsewhere and get the compensation I deserve. Unions, while at one time in our history had a noble calling, have outlived their usefulness. Unions, whether they like it or not have no immunity from the laws of economics…free market economics…not that Paul Krugman BS.

Sorry so long winded. When I hear someone defending unions, I just have to relate my own personal experience.

John Q. Jones

Ron Paul is an idiot and just as insane as his lunatic following. He’s an opportunist of the 1st order and hypocrisy runs through his veins. Reagan espoused American Ideals better than anyone in modern-day history, period. To even mention Ron Paul in the same sentence as Ronald Reagan is akin to blasphemy. IMO…
Luis

I have to say, this is the most well thought and realistic comment about how poisonous unions can be in modern society. I applaud you for pointing out the obvious truth without resorting to using terms like lefty, socialist, commie, etc. If only more people were willing to discuss the nation’s issues without making things caustic and personally insulting.
janeporto

You are mistaken if you think our nation or any nation on earth will ever really be a true free market economy. There will always be a need for government and some form of regulation to control greed and the resulting development of a dictatorship.
Crazy_Redneck

@janeporto – I’m not mistaken at all. You cite that “There will always be a need for government and some form of regulation to control greed and the resulting development of a dictatorship”, however, you don’t back it up with any evidence. As a matter of fact, you fail to realize that the government solution, quite often, winds up being worse than the problem it tries to solve.

Take the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. It has a dual mandate; to maintain the value of our currency and to implement monetary policy so as to foster maximum employment. From the early 1800s to early 1900s, an ounce of gold was worth between $17 and $23/oz. From the beginning of the Bretton-Woods Agreement in the 1940s until Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, an ounce of gold was fixed at $35, leaving the value of the dollar completely in the hands of the Fed. As I write, gold is sitting at $1771/oz. Wow. What a colossal success that’s been!

In numerous cases, it IS the large corporations who lobby FOR the regulations. That seems counterproductive, doesn’t it? What winds up happening is the large companies either don’t have a problem complying with the regulation or it is exempted. This leads to increased expenditures by smaller companies to comply with the regulation, instead of being able to spend that capital on growth. The end result is the larger company has a growth advantage over its smaller competitors.

You think corn ethanol is a sound investment? Of course not. If not for subsidies, it would not exist. Subsidies are a form of regulation. If the market thought it was a cost effective alternative fuel, it would not require subsidization.

Look at the Amish farmer who is currently under investigation for selling his customers a product they wanted — raw cow’s milk. This isn’t marijuana (which also shouldn’t be illegal, but for big pharma/government collusion). It’s MILK. Look at the heart of those regulations and I’d pretty much bet big agri-business is behind it.

Look at Monsanto (frankenfoods) and all the regulations that are written in their favor to crowd out the little farmers.

You argument says that regulation is there to “control greed and the resulting development of a dictatorship”. Evidence says regulation is there to encourge that which you fear.
Ol’ Ranger

CrazyRedneck, I worked in that mill from the mid to late 70′s. You’re correct on your statement. I finally had sense enough to get out of there and found a much better job in Baytown and am now retired.
I can’t say I agree with everything else you stated, but the part about USW is 100% correct.
Crazy_Redneck

@Ol’ Ranger – I don’t think any two people are going to ever agree 100% on everything. I actually spelled out my displeasure with Reagan in another post citing specifics, but it looks like it got lost in la-la land.

Reagan was certainly head and shoulders above Carter, however, I personally think his personna is greatly overstated. Even in his memoirs he cites a lot of regrets he had over actions he took as president. I think that is what makes him great. I do agree with Reagan that “libertarianism is the very heart and soul of conservatism”. I was a hardcore conservative up to about 6 years ago, and then I started studying things on my own. I came away with a different point of view.

I’m glad you got out of the Baytown mill before things went south. It’s good to hear from someone else who has had similar experiences. My dad is 67 now and is currently head maintenance for a school district west of Baytown…dunno if he’ll ever retire…don’t think he wants to. LOL.

God bless.
eleryd

Good for you!!
Casper

Hey Janeporto, we have them already. They’re called ‘laws’.
Casper

Hey BRAINWASHED, no you are!

Atlas Yawned

RJ Petrucci you are possibly the dumbest person I’ve seen commenting on posts in, well, probably forever. Typical brain dead lefty- “Don’t let the facts get in the way of my radical ideology!” You’re a patheitc loser- no hope for morons like you.

YOUR BRAINWASHED

No sir, you are the dumbest person commenting buddy. You just throw a bunch of name calling that you hear daily from Rush, FOX & Friends, and the drudgereport. You have no facts to support your case in attacking RJ. You just sit there and call him a “Brain dead lefty”, while you are not making a single point on why you believe he is a moron. Just because he does not agree with your ideology, does not make him anything that you called him in your stupid pathetic little rant. People like you make me sick to my stomach because you have no context in your argument and just use cliche right wing name calling for your point. You sound like a brainwashed fool who listens to too much talk radio and watch WAYYYY too much FOX News. You are a puppet of the right wing propaganda machine, and I laugh at your inability to understand that you are just a pawn and you don’t even realize it. Please sir, educate yourself some more, and make a valid point before posting. Also, try to open up your eyes and realize that you have been hypnotized by so much propaganda that you can’t even think for yourself anymore. you just spew out anti Democrat (aka liberals) rhetoric in an auto response straight from the right wing propaganda machine. Educated people who want to have an intellectual debate don’t want to have to read your nonsense ramblings of hatred. If I were a Republican I would be embarrassed for my party when reading your comment.
pammalou

Lefty lefty lefty…..haha There’s no hope for the Bi Polar Two Party rope a dope fools that think either of the only two party Coke Pepsi parties have anything to offer but more corruption.
Put your faith in men,not God.As a Bi Polar no one can fool you !
{eg}Perry was a Democrat but now he calls himself a Republican and the Bi Polars jumped on his bandwagon to stand up against the other Democrat labeled Kenyan.
Keep drinking the 2 party Left Right Kool Aid !
Doing the same thing over and over will get you real results!

BigV

As I recall, the recession began under Jimmy Carter, when Reagan took office we had double digit unemployment and interest rates were around 20% and taxes were through the roof. Reagan came in, cut taxes heavily, this allowed businesses to keep money, allowing them thereby to hire more people, meaning that there were more people to pay taxes, meaning tax revenues went up, allowing interest rates to come down, allowing that pay check to stretch just a little further. Stop whinging about the 1% until you’re part of the 54%.
TroyG

Rj you appear to have a problem with people getting rich.
Hey, you could go join Hugo Chavez…he’s looking for a few good communists.

This is America, and anyone who works hard enough, and has half a brain can become wealthy.

It’s all about envy with you lazy dorks. Someone needs to tell you that life isn’t fair, and someone will always be poor, and someone will always be rich.
Dave

Reagan inherited double digit inflation, double digit unemployment, and double digit interest rates when he took office. When he left office,it was completely reversed. He accomplished this by lowering taxes and de-regulating industries. Oblama has it easy compared to Reagan. So what is Oblama doing to fix the economy? Exaclty the opposite of what Reagan did, with the anticipated results. Liberals only lie when their lips move or when they type ontheir computers.

pammalou

Boy! You guys with your excuses for the guy your television tells you is the real President are amazing!
Today they Obama inherited his financial problems from Bushie.
You really think Roland Reagan who was saturated withAlzheimers ever did anything but read his teleprompter like Obama does?
The guy was an actor with Alzheimers.
Carter was put in place by Soros(just like Obaaaama) and it’s all a show for the stupid Americans who really believe there is ONE MAN in the White House that really really thinks up all the policies the TV tells you he does.
Hehehehehehehe
Worship the statue of the actor!
Talk about them as if they really run the country!
As if they really make the tough decisions….for the good of the country! LMAO

http://www.fastnews.tv/?p=107341 Vandals Try Pulling Bronze Reagan Statue Off Perch With Truck… | Breaking News

[...] (Second column, 1st story, link) [...]
boozy

OK..we have put up with there sh** for a couple weeks..now they are attacking a hero of this nation…the gloves are off….these Obama Nazis’s need to be destroyed…they have taken one step to far…mmm mmm good Herman Cain 2012
John Trotter

Looks like these roaches even failed at this most basic task! Get yor butts back to flippin’ burgers – that is about all you are good for! And that is pushing it!!
Luis

The Gipper looks like he could use a V8.
nomoregore

Does Nazi Pelosi have an alibi?
Magneto

This is why Democrates need to deported to the North Pole with a Mexican under each arm. And remember to punch one in the face if it tries to talk to you.
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/news-current-events/22975-http-losangeles-cbslocal-com-2011-11-06-ronald-reagan-statue-vandalized-newport.html#post364315 http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/11/06/ronald-reagan-statue-vandalized-in-newport- – Political Wrinkles

[...] [...]