If you were born after 1989, you've never heard of Ronald Reagan.
That's a little too much! Let's say that you've heard of him, but you don't know much about his legacy! Practically you've read it in history or civics class. And practically, young voter don't care about it either.
It's a damn shame that the Republican Party is still stuck on the 20th Century. They've fallen and they can't get up! Seriously, the Republican Party is tone deaf to the changing demographics.
Young voters can only remember at best George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And thanks to the controversial issues fed through the junk food media, the tide is turning. Things that we used to shun in general are now more open and people are tolerating it.
The young voters are a key demographic that is ripe with fresh votes. The Democrats have taken advantage of this by moving forward. The Republicans may have just sealed their fate. Still living in a generation that keeps
overpaid agitators rich and the young voters tuned out.
Gay marriage is coming!
They're lighting up the weed!
Sundays aren't in the church! They're in the bed.
The immigrants are moving into the cities, the suburbs and the gated communities!
It's getting browner and yes, it's because of interracial births and open relationships.
The junk food media feeds young voters issues that revolve around celebrities and gotcha moments from politicos.
The social networks are killing off the cable television, newspapers, books, DVDs and music CDs.
We don't have to watch television anymore. We can view our shows on the internet or through our gadgets.
The rich are about to lose their perks! The tax havens and money funneling to other countries are on the verge of coming to an end.
Many Americans have war fatigue. The war drums are not as loud! They don't want to waste more blood and treasure in the Middle East. Even the threat from North Korea isn't moving the needle. The crisis in North Africa isn't appealing to the American people. People don't care about the conflicts in Libya, Egypt, Israel, Syria and the undisputed Palestine territories.
The threat of terrorism exists everyday. But more Americans worry about their neighbors more than some guy in a turban and garb.
So far, the young voters only care about finding jobs, homes, cars, luxuries, and college.
They don't care about the talk about debt, taxes and firearms. The debt is only important when they've maxed out their credit cards or owe student loans. That stuff is a turn off to the general public.
Hence, the Republican Party's outreach. An outrage that fails to see this. A political party that continues to take marching orders from overpaid agitators and half-term former governors.
Yes, Republicans do have young voters in the fold. Some young voters who vote Republican do attend some form of school. You may find a young voter in public school, private school, being homed-schooled and taught religious or non-religious education. But are they losing this fold too?
Even some of their young voters are warming to gay marriage, marijuana legalization and are experiencing war fatigue.
I was born in 1980. I was born around the time when Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States was getting his clocked cleaned by former California governor named Ronald Wilson Reagan.
People remember him as a radio announcer and later an actor who played roles in movies and sitcoms. A man once palled with a chimpanzee named Bonzo and told the team to win one for The Gipper.
His first wife was Jane Wyman, a fellow actress. After the marriage turned sour, he went on to marry another leading lady named Nancy Davis.
Who would of thought an actor would become the President of The United States?
I remember the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. I was young and didn't care about his politics. I didn't care about the president's political party he represented. I just knew him as our president.
Whatever he done, wasn't affecting my life. I was a kid so I was more aware of the playmates than the Iran-Contra affair. I don't remember John Hinckley shooting him. I was too young. I do remember Christa McAuliffe and the six astronauts dying in the Challenger tragedy.
I knew the only thing that kept me going was the playmates, the 1980s-themed television programs and a weekend (or summer break) off from school.
I give Reagan credit, he was a popular president. He managed to run the country for eight years. He won two landslide elections and survived a near fatal shooting. He was a friend, foe and father to many.
I grew up during the days of sitcoms and cartoons that featured public service announcements.
I grew up in the days where urban plight was the driver of White flight.
I grew up watching the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy in 1986.
I remember the Cold War talk and the Red Scare out of Moscow.
I remember talk about the Berlin Wall. A wall that divided Berlin into two separate cities. One for the Western nations and the other allied to the Soviet Union. One theme that Reagan presented was the famous quote: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
I could remember the talk about Ronald Reagan and his best friend Margaret Thatcher, then prime minister of Great Britain. They managed to drive conservatism into the mainstream. It also allowed overpaid conservative agitators to drive the AM dial even further to the bottom.
I don't remember everything that happened while I was young but I knew that Ronald Reagan had made people feel good about themselves. He's considered a "rock star" among the Republican faithful.
The legacy of Ronald Reagan is memorable. He was the oldest elected president. At age 69, many Americans assumed that his health was going to deteriorate during his term. According to his son, Ron Reagan, he thought his dad was showing signs of Alzheimer's disease after his second term.
My biggest concern with the Republican Party is the constant rewrite of history. They've taken credit for things they've never supported. Let's take for example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Republicans claim they were solely responsible for passing the law. It was the choice of two Democratic presidents, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Kennedy was assassinated by an extremist. Johnson faced opposition from the conservative Democrats (Dixiecrats) and Republicans. Once this was passed, Democrats ended up losing the South. To this day, many states in the South have went to Republicans easily.
Some of the themes by some in the conservative agitating media generate the condescending rhetoric about how young voters are "idiots" and "low information voters". That right there turns off voters and makes it even harder for the Republicans to win over young voters.
Another reason for the deficit of young voters is Republican parents home schooling young minds into bigotry and hatred of other!
Why on earth would any family member try to inject politics into their young children?
With all the anti-Obama rhetoric from those in the Republican Party, one is to believe that they're the party of fiscal responsibility. One is to believe the party is more tolerant of race, gender, sexuality, religion, education, political and economic standings. One is to believe the Republican Party was the party of civil rights. The way they're going today will make the Republican Party a party of White people and freaking idiots!
Republicans didn't care about the debt and massive spending. They didn't care about the tax increases. They didn't care about the incidents that lead to deaths of Americans. Sure they were some politicos and consultants who worried, but conservatives were lockstep in whatever Reagan done. Regardless of it being right or wrong.
I mean it's over 30 years since his presidency, and the Republicans still continue to run on this narrative that his policies worked. If his policies have worked, why hasn't a Republican won the presidency since George W. Bush?
Republicans skip through the forest when it came to disasters of previous Republican presidents.
Are you afraid to mention James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, George H.W. and George W. Bush?
Republicans can only endorse Reagan and Abraham Lincoln as the saviors of the Republican Party.
If they were alive today, these individuals would be marched right out of the party. They've would have been considered too liberal for the current establishment.
