His warning about the value of freedom and danger of big government is even more relevant today!
“A Time for Choosing” otherwise known as “The Speech” was delivered in a broadcast in support of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential election. The name of the program, “Rendezvous with Destiny” marked the beginning of Reagan as a national political figure. It turned out to be Reagan’s rendezvous with destiny…
Yes Ronald Reagan, a former New Deal Democrat, by his own admission was converted to Conservatism by Whittaker Chambers an admitted former Communist (capital C), and former Soviet spy, and his book Witness.
Whittaker Chambers was a complex man, early in life, he became caught up in the idealism of Soviet Communism and its purported benevolence toward the common man. Whitaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers April 1, 1901. He was raised in a household with a mentally ill maternal grandmother that caused dissension and apparently drove his father to leave his family. His father supported the family with weekly checks of eight dollars from that time.
Whittaker attended Columbia University, but left school after creating controversy by writing and reviewing his own play, A Play for Puppets, as the editor of the school’s literary magazine Morningside; the play led to a controversy among faculty and students that eventually ended up in the New York City newspapers; the play was considered blasphemous and the notoriety eventually drove Chambers away from academia.
During this period Chamber adopted his mother’s maiden name Whittaker, he later used the name David Chambers.
In 1924, he read Lenin’s book, Soviet’s At Work, he found it to be a compelling book that reflected his family experience that reflected his family’s experience as he wrote “in miniature the whole crisis of the middle class.” He became a Marxist in 1925 and joined the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). He wrote for and edited The Daily Worker and The New Masses newspapers. Read the rest of this entry »
A bittersweet moment and a reminder of what real class is like!
Former first lady Nancy Reagan wipes a tear as she stands with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) in front of the newly-unveiled statue of her late husband, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, during a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington June 3, 2009.
I took the above on October 12, 1984 when President Reagan took one of the last “Whistlestop” train tours through Ohio. Somehow, the bus tours of today just don’t have the same feel as the classic whistlestop using the Ferdinand Magellan, or Car One. Train buffs may find the history of the Ferdinand Magellan here.
The speech (sixth item here) was classic Reagan and it’s themes are just as valid today. Just substitute Obama for the name Mondale: Read the rest of this entry »
When the Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar told Bush that in Europe he was “nearly as unpopular as Ronald Reagan” Bush replied, “I’m keeping pretty good company”.
President George W. Bush is pictured during his final news conference in the Brady press briefing room at the White House in Washington, January 12, 2009.
REUTERS/Jason Reed
Ronald Reagan was one of the few who looked straight at this pitiful wreck, grasped the big picture, and refused to accept it. He was no genius like Churchill, no all-conquering statesman-politico like Roosevelt, but his depth of vision and sheer courage were comparable to theirs, and he belongs with Roosevelt and Churchill among the world-changers. He was even attacked in the same ways they were: He was supposedly a charming lightweight bubble-brain like FDR and a fanatic warmongering ideologue like Churchill. Today we have another president who aspires to look the world in the eye and change it, and all we can say is God help him and may he prove to be as big a man as Ronald Reagan.
The 21st anniversary of the speech that later brought real change and peace to a scarred and divided Europe!
52 second excerpt
Ronald Reagan has been in the news again lately. Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama has attempted to redefine the Regan legacy to suit his foolish idea of direct presidential negotiations with the Iranians and other tyrants without preconditions.
So, on this 21st anniversary of the speech where Reagan laid out his vision for peace with justice and freedom in Europe it’s worthwhile to reflect on the true legacy Reagan left and how it can be a roadmap for the future.
If you only watch part of this, start from about 7 min 30 sec. But it’s worth 10 minutes of your time.
Memo to Mr. Obama: This is the America your preacher damns. We ARE the good guys and sometimes, when talking doesn’t work, you just have to go kill the bad guys. Learn your history.
