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Remembering Reagan as Democracy teeters on edge

By Paul Collins - For The Telegraph | Aug 20, 2022

Several months ago I watched Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a far right conservative and very vocal champion of populism, deliver as an update on the current state of the Republican Party; a political report card of sorts. As I listened to him I was struck by the tone of his remarks and his blatant attempt to rewrite history by articulating his view of America being in lockstep with former president Donald Trump. Of course this was not unexpected, however, what was more than a little bit shocking to me was Senator Cotton’s assertion that the vision that he and Donald Trump have for America was also shared by Ronald Reagan, the late 40th President of the United States who served two terms in the White House.

In my mind, that view expressed by the Arkansas Republican is indeed a mighty long stretch on the very best of days. Both Reagan and Trump were Republican presidents who cut taxes, and who took aggressive steps to take federal regulations off of business as a means to promote growth and create a more business-friendly climate between the federal government and the business community. The similarities between the two leaders ended there. I don’t believe that anyone with a pulse would give any credibility to the view of Cotton, a long-time Trump ally and supporter, that Reagan and Trump had much of anything in common with each other.

For years, Republicans have been trying their best to connect the twice impeached Trump, arguably the most unpopular president since Richard Nixon, to Reagan, a popular Republican president who, during his eight years in office consistently reached across the political aisle to work with Democrats in doing the people’s work. Looking back at the two presidents through the lens of hindsight what is crystal clear is that Reagan was a man who united people while Trump was, and is, a divider. The presidencies of the two men played out in vastly different ways across their years in power.

When I look back at Ronald Reagan, I remember a man who assumed office at time when America was facing a series of daunting challenges across all fronts; a time when nothing seemed to be going right for our country. It was a low point in American history when our national self-esteem appeared to be at rock bottom, and many people had lost our confidence in our country and our belief in ourselves. The image of Reagan that still resides in my mind is that of weathered Californian clad in a denim shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat who was at the vanguard of a conservative revolution. While presiding over the White House with an often slack hand, he proved that he was definitely not the cavalier Hollywood actor that his critics attempted to portray him as being. While he did not project that larger than life image of FDR, or the style and flair of JFK, however, he had his own gutsy brand of leadership and forthrightness that endeared him to Republicans and Democrats alike. In the waning days of the cold war he stood tall on the world stage in Berlin and demanded that the leader of the Soviet Union to “tear down this wall.” Reagan implemented a tough foreign policy that ultimately bankrupted the Soviet empire.

Ronald Reagan came along and united this country by renewing the American spirit and restoring our faith in our nation at a moment in time when that faith was in very short supply. Like all presidents, he made his share of mistakes, however, he always owned up to them. In my mind, America’s 40th president was a good and decent man who always loved his country more than his political party.

With respect to the other former Republican president, the questions that beg to be answered are, who is Donald J. Trump? Why, even when having been out of office for two years, is he still so powerful, and how did he manage to become such a domineering force, and hold such sway over so many people? Simply put, I believe that when all is said and done, Donald Trump is a master at getting inside the fears, insecurities and hatred that has been rising in millions of discontented people over the last decade.

His narrative has always tapped into all of the frustrations and unhappiness that are festering inside many people. The missive that he preaches to the masses is one that amplifies the message that real hard working Americans are being held down by the powerful, wealthy, and highly educated elitist’s. He takes a match to this wide social gulf in our society and lights the fuse by bending and shaping his message into dark conspiracies that play right into the anger and insecurities in people. His message plants the seeds of anger in people by providing them with someone to lash out at; the rich and powerful people who are in positions of authority in government and the private sector who are holding them down. He divides people while sowing the seeds of discontent.

So who is Donald Trump? Well, when all is said and done, he’s a born and bred product of that segment of the elite society that he publicly rails and rants against. He’s an adult spoiled child billionaire who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The man grew up in an exclusive bubble that saw him attend the finest boarding schools and colleges, and then, when he came of age, have a lucrative business empire handed over to him by his father who saw him as the golden child. In truth, he is light years away from those who he calls “his people,” and has absolutely nothing in common with them. He never did and never will. And yet, in the face of having been the only American president to have been impeached twice, a man who is embroiled in more law suits and legal entanglements than Al Capone, his base still follows him like a Pied Piper. When all is said and done, what the underlying component in his hold on power is can be summed up in a single word; fear. He’s a bully and people fear him. Time and time again he has proven that he cares for nobody except himself.

His track record is one of always shifting blame to others; always finding someone else to take the fall for him. Many of those, including his former long-time personal lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen, have paid a hefty price for their misplaced loyalty to him. Through a series of scathing tell-all books, testimony before congressional investigation committees and media interviews, many of those people who had been loyal members of his White House staff, or part of the Trump corporate organization’s inner circle, have spoken publicly of who he really is All have painted a most unflattering picture of the former president. Can everyone be wrong about him? Can any and all criticisms, or negative comments made about the 45th president always be “a witch hunt,” fake news,” “a hoax,” or a “political hit job” all the time?

In remembering Senator Tom Cotton’s glowing words that attempted to tie Trump and Reagan together like political bookends to each other, I’ve also asked myself some questions. Was our 40th president’s leadership style ever called into question as Mr. Trump’s has been? Was there an endless barrage of criticisms around the questionable moral compass and inappropriate conduct of our 40th Commander-in-Chief ever scrutinized in the public arena, and was Ronald Reagan impeached twice? In a word, no.

My intention is not to paint Ronald Reagan a saint, or to make him bigger in death than he was in life. He wasn’t perfect for sure, and as I say, he made many mistakes in office as all presidents do. However, when I think back on his presidency, the image and memory of him that hangs in my mind is one of a good and decent man who loved America and believed in her greatness. A man who brought people together displaying a humanness that was palpable. By the personal example that he set, he lifted the American spirit, restored faith in our Democracy, and nurtured our belief in who we are. President Reagan led a Republican party that no longer exists in 2022.

To attempt to create a false comparison picture of Reagan and Trump being anything like each other is simply ludicrous. When I think of Donald Trump, I feel that perhaps the title of a book written by Republican political strategist and media consultant Rick Wilson, a man who knows Donald Trump, captures the essence of the man, his operating style and who he really is far better than any of my words could. The book is entitled, “Everything Trump Touches Dies.” In these politically perilous times in which we live our Democracy is indeed teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.

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