After the flurry of news about Jimmy Carter’s acknowledgment that he has metastatic cancer, the media attention has died down. The former president has started receiving his first treatments to deal with the disease, and he’s even back to teaching Sunday school.
But by all accounts, Carter is facing an uphill battle from a combination of an aggressive disease and advanced age (he’s a month away from turning 91).
When it comes to gay issues, Carter is probably best known for saying just last month that Jesus would have been perfectly fine with marriage equality. (Carter came out in favor of marriage equality in 2012.) His comments attracted some attention, but Carter has been relegated to the category of elder statesman (a nice way of saying irrelevant) for so long, that what he thinks doesn’t stir up my controversy any more.
What may matter more is what Carter was able to accomplish when he was in office. Even his most ardent admirers would be hard put to place him in the top echelon of presidents. But when it comes to gay rights, Carter deserves a fair amount of credit. He was really the first president to take positive (and concrete) steps to acknowledge the importance of gay rights.
During his administration, the Foreign Service lifted its ban on gay and lesbian personnel and the Internal Revenue Service lifted its requirement that any LGBT nonprofit state that homosexuality was “a diseased pathology.”
His administration was also the first to invite gay activists to the White House, at the height of the Anita Bryant fear-mongering. The move was controversial and ultimately contributed to Midge Constanza, the official who issued the invitation, deciding to step down. But Carter didn’t quash the meeting either, which would have been the politically easy thing to do.
Like many another politician, including the current White House occupant, Carter went back and forth on gay issues. He was on record supporting gay rights as early as 1976, but caved when it came to supporting a plank in the Democratic party platform. During his re-election campaign, he refused to commit to issuing an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination. The political reasons for his waffling were easy to understand (if not forgivable), given that the Democrats were still stinging from George McGovern’s defeat in 1972, which pundits widely attributed to the party’s leftward drift.
Still, for at least two reasons, Carter’s willingness to offer support to the cause was important. For one, the times were very different, and the modern LGBT movement was just beginning to emerge. The support of the president offered a legitimacy that was much needed to spur the movement’s advance.
The other reason is one that is easy to forget. Carter is an evangelical and has been very upfront about the importance of faith in his life. He proved that supporting gay rights didn’t fly in the face of all religious belief. Since Carter’s defeat in 1980, evangelicals have largely cast their lot with the Republican party and evangelical leaders have made gay-bashing their bread and butter. But it wasn’t always so.
Carter may not have been anyone’s idea of the perfect president. But it’s not hard to imagine that the country’s early response to the AIDS epidemic would have been very different if Carter had been re-elected. (It could hardly have been worse.)
As Carter enters the last stage of his life, only a low-life would spend time badmouthing him. (Needless to say, there are Republicans ready to duke it out for the title. ) It’s worth remembering the groundwork that Carter laid as president for the gains we’re finally seeing now. He was too timid at times, but he moved the argument for gay rights forward, and forty years later, still continues to do so.
For that he deserves our respect.
Markie-Mark
This article is revisionist bs. I was there. President Carter was no friend to lgbt people.
Kieran
Ignorant people who like to put ALL gays, or Jews, or ALL Christians, or ALL Muslims, or ALL blacks, or ALL republicans etc. in neat little boxes should read this and learn.
badtungsten
@Markie-Mark: You are hardly alone in having been there. We are often guilty of looking backward through the lens of our modern understandings and casting blame. Of course Jimmy Carter wasn’t an unabashed ally of the nascent LGBT rights movement in the 1970s. Would you have really expected otherwise? However, as with all groups of marginalized people, Carter treated everyone with respect. That is far, far removed from how the 1980s turned out, or do you not recall that decade?
onthemark
Thanks for the recap. You put everything in perspective. And I certainly haven’t heard the name Midge Costanza since the ’70s (no relation to the fictional George, I hope).
As a somewhat self-aware gay teenager in 1976 I regarded Jimmy Carter with deep suspicion. He just seemed too religious. Too Southern. Too weird.
When he got to be president, Carter seemed mostly alright to me. With a few exceptions (the drug war and paraquat – ugh – talk about sh*tting on your own voters). He had good intentions. But as Tip O’Neill put it, “the poor bastard used up all his luck getting here.” (to DC) – I wish it had all turned out differently.
martinbakman
Gay and lesbians in the armed forces suffered more dishonorable discharges during the Carter and the Clinton administrations by far than any Republican presidency. Carter was not much of a friend.
Njmtpa
I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Cartet Center. He and Rosalyn were nothing but respectful to anyone they had contact with. His accomplishments post Presidency should be a example for all Presidents after they leave office. Way better than W finishing off a bottle of Jim Beam each day.
Realitycheck
Different times, different values, it is so easy to look in retrospective and
claim one way or the other, truth is anything is done in baby steps.
The only real flaw I see with Carter, he was the one that went to Bill Clinton and
convinced then president Bill clinton to industrialize China.
Reason being, China is too big to be ignore”.
Well Mr Carter we now have created the biggest polluter on the planet, quickly developing the strongest army on the planet, and they are not peaceful they are extremely belligerents. Chinese now have the fastest super computers and have free hacking pathway to every nation, and nobody can stop China, and let not start talking about the consequential armament of all the near by neighbors and the construct ruction of artificial island in the China sea.
More importantly the shift of technology and cash from all around the world to China and it super low cost and often toxic products have create a world wide recession by simply putting out of their jobs works everywhere from the USA to Europe and so on.
1EqualityUSA
Is W drinking again? What do you mean by W finishing off a bottle of Jim Beam each day (post president)??? I can’t stand him nor what he did to our country, but I wouldn’t wish that on him.
Jimmy Carter is a true gentleman and the world is that much more beautiful with him in it. My most ardent prayers go out for President Carter…and the Republican from Texas too, if, indeed, he has turned to the bottle. wow.
stevenb
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/27/jimmy-carter-gay-marriage_n_6055322.html
Njmtpa
@1EqualityUSA: that’s the word around Dallas. Must be all the gilt he’s taking on for “The Dick Cheney”
1EqualityUSA
Njmtpa, He was played. Alcohol is so gross. Guilt for all of the lives lost must plague his conscience. The weight of the world must be on his shoulders. The thought of him beating himself up so badly is really disturbing. Of the two fates, President Carter’s seems kinder.
Markie-Mark
I do, indeed, remember the 1980’s. There are people who argue that if President Carter had not mishandled several important issues he would have been re-elected. But, getting back on the subject: Carter was elected in 1976. Carter changed his mind and decided in 2012 that gay people could get married. That does not equal 40 years of support. The title of the article is innacurate. And I stand by my previous statement that President Carter was no friend to lgbt people.
Giancarlo85
Carter was not in favor of same sex marriage until recently, but he did favor us over the shitty Reagan adminstration. People like to credit Reagan with the so called “economic recovery”, but the nation already begun to recover economically towards the end of Carter’s administration it was just too little too late for him.
His campaign in 1980 was also badly misrun… allowing one of the worst Presidents to take office in the history of this nation. An asshole who destroyed unions and ultimately led major deregulation.
Giancarlo85
@Realitycheck: China’s economy though is completely overheating right now and inflationary pressures are becoming evident. The current Premier has engaged in a corruption crackdown that exposed serious flaws within the system. For years, their growth was vastly overstated.
It is said China will also have a demographic crisis in the next few decades. Their population is aging a lot faster than most developing countries (they are not yet a developed country). And it wasn’t really Bill Clinton that industrialized China. That was a process started in the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping. And it was really Nixon that opened up China.
The other problem China has now is it could actually be overtaken by a different regional power… India. China could be heated into another 1998-esque financial crisis that gripped Asia. India in the meantime could surpass them. Both of them are big polluters though… so you’re spot-on with that point.
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/paradox-of-a-dwindling-world-economy-and-a-growing-india/article7594283.ece
jwtraveler
Carter demonstrates that it’s possible to be a devout Christian and accept people’s differences and respect their rights. It’s possible, but rare.
Bob LaBlah
@Markie-Mark: What’s really ironic is what happened after he was elected. People suddenly realized that it was Gerald Fords awkwardness, not his politics, that lost his reelection bid. Ford was not a bad president, he was just awkward in public but behind the scenes he was the right choice to step in to replace Nixon. I loved how he got rid of Nelson Rockefeller after he realize he made a mistake in his selection as vice-president. He simply ignored him until he got the message and left. I mean PUBLICLY ignored everything Rockefeller suggested and had even quit inviting him to cabinet meetings.
Carter has been a good ex-president. He meant well, but in the international arena it takes as asshole to deal with assholes. Enter Ronald Reagan and the “kitchen cabinet” that ran the country while he amounted to nothing more than a good script reader. Only in America folks.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: You once described yourself as a “Reagan democrat” and said the Log Cabin group wasn’t right wing enough for you. How funny how you change your tune all the sudden.
stanhope
If one can give Obama a pass on gay rights then President Carter deserves nothing less. The times were different then and what he did, while not enough for some, was far more than any of his predecessors did. I’d argue that Biden is our true hero more so that Obama. When I met President Carter and Rosalynn, they could not have been nicer or more gracious. Save your scorn for Reagan, Cheney, Bush, and a host of others.
Billysees
@1EqualityUSA:
” Jimmy Carter is a true gentleman and the world is that much more beautiful with him in it. My most ardent prayers go out for President Carter… ”
A good and kind comment.
@jwtraveler:
” Carter demonstrates that it’s possible to be a devout Christian and accept people’s differences and respect their rights. It’s possible, but rare. ”
But it shouldn’t be ‘rare’ if more Christian folk will practice important scripture verse towards the LGBT community like these examples —
1. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another…..Romans 14:13
2. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God…..Romans 15:7
3. …all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble…..1 Peter 3:8
4. Be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone….Titus 3:2
Alan David Smith
this articale is ok. but saying he was not in the top echalon of president’s. is way off the mark. he was a president who was ahead of his time. he was the only president to put hts mouth into action. and while his plans didn’t work out the way he hoped. he was enviro-mental before it was “in” he is pro-women. he worked to bring peace to a world that was crazy. including the camp david accord. he was on the phone trying to get the hostage’s out of iran right up till the moment took office.and as far as i know no president has ever had a higher retro-active approval rating. he now stands at 54% that is a 22% increase. just because he never worked for profit’s stuck by his conviction’s.and his faith.truthfully if he threw his hat in the ring tomarrow. even with his age, cancer and everything else. i’d vote for him over every other canidate.
Bob LaBlah
@Realitycheck: Isn’t it also ironic how China has now become more capitalist than communist? China is a communist that relaxed restrictions on private ownership of property and businesses while at the same time claiming communism. I bet the same thing happens in Cuba.
Imagine a country that vowed to bury our ideology but instead buys our debt so that we can keep buying their goods. The world turned upside but it turns out it was a good thing. The idea of the Chinese blowing us away is ludicrous. They know damn well how much we consume and if we didn’t exist they would be finished. They know damn well the young people of the country (China) don’t give one flying fuck about that little red book that talks about how the world should be that Mao tooted while he was around. Isn’t the world a strange place these days?
ParisNat
What a truly great president he was!
Curty
I don’t know about Carter and gay rights, I know he is ally now… but hos service after his one term has been remarkable. His humanitarian efforts have done so much good and should be commended. He seems to have a lot of love and compassion in his heart. We all could learn a lot from Carters lead. Godspeed his fight against cancer.
Jim Guinnessey
Thank you for all you have done for so many, President Carter!
Bob Cowan
He was an honorable President and is a man with integrity.
Steven Skelley
He was an honorable man in an impossible situation. At his first meeting with the Repubs after the American people elected him, he asked how they could work together to help the American people. The Republican leaders replied that they had no intention of letting him achieve anything. Sound familiar?
Vicky Budd Sharp
He is indeed an honorable man willing to listen and share and expand his mind….when we do that, we can learn from each other and accept each other.
Sylvien Vårten
I wish him Well!
Steve Dunn
He was better than Reagan!
Liah Ellerbe
He is a compassionate man who tried to do real good on a number of issues. He just faced an impossible task.
Ike AfCarlstèn
We All Need Democratic Way Of Thinking, Don`t We ?? !!!!!
Colin Johnson
I think he embodied what a President should be. Diplomatic representative inclusive. A champion for the ideals of human rights to this day.
A humble man in many ways.
Mark Schumacher
He is too good of a man to do all the dirty work our President has no choice but to do
Wayne Preston Jones
I wish him well.
Jessica Goeller
Again illustrating my belief that one can be an excellent human being or an excellent politician/industrialist/top-tier celebrity, but very seldom both.
trilingual1946
I was a supporter of Carter when he ran for President, and I worked as office administrator at his California primary campaign HQ. I was openly gay and it was never an issue for any of the other staff, who included many out-of-state people, not just San Franciscans.There were other gay people on staff, some of them part of the national staff who were assigned to California for the primary campaign. The Carters and their family were genuinely non-judgmental and even supportive of LGBT rights. Carter’s son Chip and his wife spent several weeks in San Francisco at the height of the primary campaign. We were trying to raise the campaign’s visibility in the LGBT community and Chip (who was a very cute and fit twenty-something in those days) volunteered to participate in the annual Polk Street tricycle race, which was a fund-raiser for kids charities sponsored by the Bay Area Reporter, the largest local gay weekly paper. Nobody in the campaign raised any objections, Chip rode a tricycle in the race and, of course, it got a lot of publicity because as far as we knew this was the first time any presidential campaign had made such an outreach effort to our community. Chip also had a great time in the race and I’m sure it’s been a lasting memory for him! After Carter was elected he did make efforts to advance equality for LGBT people and he appointed a White House staffer to act as liaison to the community, the first time in history that had happened. I stayed in California after the elections, but on a few occasions I spoke to the LGBT liaison at the White House about issues that were causing problems for the community and the problems were always considered seriously and, in some cases, actions were taken to resolve them.
Historically, Carter’s administration is now considered to have been more successful than people have believed until recently. He had some notable achievements, but he did have difficulty working with Congress and getting all of his program through, and he had the extremely bad luck of having the effort to rescue the hostages in Tehran fail spectacularly at the very end of his administration, so that’s what everybody has ended up remembering about him. But there’s no question that his administration, among other things, was the first to reach out to LGBT people and make efforts to move equality forward. His administration made it possible for succeeding administration to talk about LGBT issues in non-discriminatory ways and as serious matters, and that made a huge difference in later years as our movement grew in strength and visibility. By the standards of 2015 this may not seem like a lot, but in the late 70s it was a big deal and it helped beyond measure in legitimizing the movement for equality so that it could advance in the decades to come.
Christopher Cleary
He also lived the Christian teachings. Not just lip service, not just as a political manipulation.
Sean Duchinsky
i voted for the first time in my life in 1976. i liked carter then and i really like him now. highly venerable and a genuinely great man.
Judy Dyer Harris
A So. Baptist right! A follower of Jesus!
Jay Johnson
respect I’m proud to have volunteered for both of his Presidential campaigns.
Sue Susie Katperson Koch
It’s cos he is a man of integrity, kindness and compassion for ALL human beings.
John Malin
Jimmy Carter is a great humanitarian. He has done wonderful things with his life and cares for all people. He is a shining example of what real faith is all about. Thank you Mr. President!!!
Merl Heinlein Jr
I’m tired of the damn popup ads on my phone as I scroll down an article. Bye.
Roberta Echelson
President Carter was and is too honest to be really successful as a politician. The system couldn’t operate with his high standards so the insiders did everything possible to undermine his presidency. He didn’t play on the same team. But he has been kind, thoughtful, and dedicated. Couldn’t have asked for more or better. A true mensch.
Pk Hill
It may be true that Jimmy Carter will never make the top echelon of presidents but this man and his wife both easily take the number one spot for in top echelon of compassionate, loving, accepting, good, and spiritual people in this world. Go Jimmy.
Giancarlo85
The economy started improving under Carter’s later years in office too. But it just wasn’t enough… and he did mishandle his campaign against Reagan. When Reagan took office it was devastating to this entire country, as he destroyed what was left of labor unions and proceeded to destroy regulation and the environment. Really one of the worst President’s in modern history right up there with Herbert Hoover and Warren Harding. Carter was completely misjudged during his Presidency and during the campaign of 1980. People should have given him another chance. If Carter won re-election instead of Reagan, this country wouldn’t be as fucked up as it is now with corporations ruling everything.
Bill Schultz
Carter was a great President and IS even better human being
Randy Flores
What a great humanitarian! I Admire Jimmy carter so much! A soft spoken kind smart President and American! Love you Jimmy Carter and get well soon! Randy Flores
Phyllis Gorman
He created a gay & lesbian community liaison position, a lesbian named Midge Costanza held the position. I hosted a visit here in Columbus Ohio during Carter’s term as president.
Betty Sterner
Be well President Carter.
Greg Wood
I love Jimmy!
Bauhaus
@ParisNat:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc
Jennifer Landreth
He is one of the best-hearted presidents we’ve had… Love him for that!
Robert Pezanowski
GREAT MAN.
youarekiddingme
@Markie-Mark:
Carter was the first president to address the topic of gay rights (Wikipedia–President Jimmy Carter).
President Carter opposed the Briggs Initiative, against the asshole Governor Reagan in California and in support of Harvey Milk. The initiative won!
Carter, of course didn’t support gay marriage in the 80’s in the Whitehouse because it was a non-issue in the LGBTQI Community until the 1990’s.
Kimble McSweeney
You’re in our thoughts, Mr. Carter!!!
Jose Eisenstein
Thank you!!, Mr Carter.
Daniel Brewster
Wonderful legacy
Chad Michael
Get well soon!!
Tracy Buie
President Carter is the best president of my lifetime. He and his wife have truly embodied the ideal of public servant, which is what every politician is supposed to be.
Harry Gorkin
the only thing i give him credit for is his anti semitism
Noel Medaille
He may not have been one of the Presidents , but he certainly one of the best men to occupy the Oval Office
Kristopher Demi Michaels
Worst president we ever had. Way to dumb to be in office that is why he only last one term. His brother made a laughingstock out of the USA for a long time.
Faustin Reeder
We are in Carters fourth term.
Faustin Reeder
Dima, he hates the Jews.
Tarawa Chu
Great President, great man. President Jimmy Carter, Sir.
Michelle De Marco
Easily one of the best ex presidents, if not the best!
Charles Tuma
Million of Americans lost their home, farms and businesses because of his mean and cruel 22.5 percent prime interest rate. Hard no like this man. Their will no monuments in his honor.
Gabriel Domenech
My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go to Jimmy Carter; this man is a true gentleman, a giver, an equalizer, an intellectual in its truest manifestation
Camille Reeves
Thank you, President Carter!!
Helen Lottridge
A man of integrity and honor.
Roger Bowen
MR.PRESIDENT, Thank you!
Joshua Erni-Salmans
I’m sorry: the more I read about him, the more I think he supersedes the top echelon of presidents.
Manny Rosatase Linabog
A GREAT AND BRILLIANT LEADER WITH TRUE FAITH OF HUMAN EQUALITY A GODLY BLESSING
David Johnston
He is certainly in the “top echelon of presidents”. Examine the record and ignore the Reagan PR machine.
Robert Hart
he deserves that fourty years of credit
Mark Shank Knipstein
Thank you Mr. PRESIDENT
Edward Franco
May he still live long and prosper from this experience.
Alistair Wiseman
@Giancarlo85:
“…the nation already begun to recover economically toward the end of Carter’s administration…”
Really? In what aspects did the Carter administration begin to recover economically?
Was it unemployment soaring into double digits, the double digit inflation, or was it the double digit interest rates with a prime rate peaking at 21.5%, possibly the poverty rate climbing to an astounding 33%, the fall in median income? Should I continue?
So please let me know how the Carter administration was recovering when Reagan took office. Just list the top five.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2011/05/05/reaganomics-vs-obamanomics-facts-and-figures/
Alistair Wiseman
@youarekiddingme:
Wow! Talk about a failed post. You got virtually all of it wrong.
You are correct that Jimmy Carter opposed the Briggs initiative. However, Ronald Reagan also opposed the initiative, but with much bigger results. Once Reagan, then former California governor and promising 1980 presidential candidate, forcefully opposed the initiative the voters rejected the Briggs initiative by more than a million votes.
Long-time Democratic gay activist David Mixner met with Reagan in 1978 to personally lobby him on the Briggs initiative, recalling, “Never have I been treated more graciously by a human being. He turned opinion around and saved that election for us.” Mixner said. “We would have been in deep trouble. He just thought it was wrong and came out against it.”
http://spectator.org/articles/42050/reagan-and-milk
youarekiddingme
@Alistair Wiseman: Wiseass, I’m not afraid to admit when I get the facts incorrect. Reagan did oppose the Briggs Initiative along with Carter. Don’t get too misty-eyed though…your own article quotes Reagan as saying the following about teachers rights and homosexuals: “Since the measure does not restrict itself to the classroom, every aspect of a teacher’s personal life could presumably come under suspicion.” Reagan then asks, “What constitutes ‘advocacy’ of homosexuality? Would public opposition to Proposition 6 by a teacher — should it pass — be considered advocacy?”
So Reagan is asking if opposition to Prop 6 — should it pass — would that be considered advocacy of homosexuality? His answer is of course NO! His answer (as still a libertarian) is that it infringes on the teacher’s rights to privacy. Rights which cannot be infringed on.
I have no problem with his support of the proposal. Glad it helped. His motives were clearly NOT to help the gay community. Carter had no such motives.
Reagan’s future lack of action in the Whitehouse speaks for itself.
youarekiddingme
@youarekiddingme: The article you quoted where Mixner gave his emotional support of Ronald Reagan as the one who “saved the election for us” is a bit simplistic to be factual. Another major figure who came out in opposition of the Briggs Initiative at the same time as Reagan was Howard Jarvis. His impact on the outcome also could not be discounted. According to UCdataberkley, they said the following about the change in support to the Briggs Initiative:
“The public’s change of direction on Prop. 6 appears to be due to
the increasing number of influential voices now being raised against the measure. Many prominent state office holders, candidates, and editorialists on the State’s major newspapers, TV and radio stations have come out with strong cautionary voices or outright opposition to Prop. 6”.
They do a BIT more scientific research/polling data than Mixner did and although Reagan had some impact, it’s clear that others had some significance to the outcome as well. Reagan was no friend to the gay community regardless of his position on this proposition.
Alistair Wiseman
@youarekiddingme:
The gays hatred of Ronald Reagan sometimes clouds the reality of the man, his character and his presidency.
Thank you for admitting your error.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: Economic figures started to recover towards the end of his administration. And Reagan was a fucking disaster. Please don’t cite that conservative rag forbes. Is that all you do? Look up conservative rags and post them as fact?
Reagan was one of the worst Presidents in this nation’s history, and destroyed this country’s economy… that’s why his successor failed in his re-election.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: Reagan was one of the worst Presidents, who had a record number of criminal convictions of staff and should have been impeached himself. His economic record was a disaster, his foreign policy was piss poor (look into Latin America for example), and he declared war on American workers.
youarekiddingme
@Alistair Wiseman: Just FYI, I was/am not a fan of the Reagan Presidency. As I said in my post, he was against Prop 6 only because of his Libertarian views on the constitutionality of individual freedoms being encroached on and where the Proposition might lead to. He clearly stated that voting no on Prop 6 was NOT an ADVOCACY for HOMOSEXUALITY.
He was no allly of the gay community when he was against Prop 6 and he definitely was nothing but a strong opponent of the gay community during the entirety of his administration (especially as it pertained to the AIDS Epidemic).
Regan’s economic policy (“voodoo” or “trickle down”) economics have been proven in economic and historic texts to have failed miserably…sending the economy into a tailspin. The economy under his administration (as you know) has little to do with his efforts, but with the efforts of the previous administration(s). Many government economic policies can take years to make their full impact on the economy.
Alistair Wiseman
@youarekiddingme:
History does not bear out your claims:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2014/09/18/the-obama-economy-vs-the-reagan-economy-its-literally-no-contest/
http://www.aei.org/publication/is-it-unfair-to-compare-the-obama-and-reagan-economic-recoveries-no/
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/04/131256-simple-graph-compares-reagan-obamas-recoveries/
Alistair Wiseman
@Giancarlo85:
You stated, “Economic figures started to recover toward the end of his administration.”
Yes, you said that before. I asked for the examples of where this took place. You provided none, because they don’t exist.
If they do, please list them.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: Garbage websites from wingnut sources. Forbes is a right wing source. History does support his claims. Reagan was an economic disaster. Also a criminal who hired well known convicted criminals to serve in his cabinet.
Alistair Wiseman
@Giancarlo85:
D-E-N-I-A-L
Alistair Wiseman
@Giancarlo85:
Still no examples to back up your claim? Instead of 5, just give me 3.
youarekiddingme
@Alistair Wiseman:
You are using that right-wing publication (magazine) Forbes as a source? Here’s an actual source:
The National Review and a very well renowned economist Thomas Sowell.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/367682/trickle-down-lie-thomas-sowell
“While there have been all too many lies told in politics, most have some little, tiny fraction of truth in them, to make them seem plausible. But the “trickle-down” lie is 100 percent lie.”
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/367682/trickle-down-lie-thomas-sowell
“The “trickle-down” theory cannot be found in even the most voluminous scholarly studies of economic theories — including J. A. Schumpeter’s monumental History of Economic Analysis”
No comparisons (never brought up Obama’s economic record…just talking trickle-down). Simple facts. Economic truths. As I stated (not proven in economic or historic texts). No magazine articles, American Enterprise Institute (conservative pub), no Independent Journal (another conservative publication).
As they put it so eloquently in the National Review…Why would you give something to person A, with the hopes that they would give it to person B. Why not get rid of the middle man and give it to person B directly?
Please don’t change the subject. The subject was Carter vs Reagan.
My point was that Reagan was no fan of the gay community. He opposed Prop 6 because of his Libertarian Views. He wanted to state clearly that his opposition did not mean he ADVOCATED HOMOSEXUALITY. He did nothing to help in the height of the AIDS Crisis…
My Final Point was that Reagan’s Economic Policy was a disaster and “trickle-down” economics was a proven failure (and quite frankly not even a recognized economic theory). Stay Focused now.
Alistair Wiseman
@youarekiddingme:
First of all, you have it backwards. Forbes is not necessarily a conservative publication, but National Review and Thomas Sowell are both notably conservative.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2001/03/the-real-reagan-economic-record
http://capitalismmagazine.com/2006/06/the-trickle-down-left-preserving-a-vision/
“Trickle-down economics” was made-up language used by Democrats in a destructive way to attack President Reagan’s economic policy combination of tax rates and some relaxation on federal regulations.
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/06/05/op-ed-gay-truth-about-ronald-reagan
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: And what examples would those be? I could post a huge list of all the republican criminals that were convicted of crimes in the Reagan administration. Some sold weapons to terrorist groups.
@Alistair Wiseman: Heritage is garbage! You don’t even know what you’re citing. Same thing with capitalismmagazine. Reagan’s economic policy was disastrous to this country. These are the facts.
Cutting taxes the way Reagan did, along with his disastrous deregulation left this country vulnerable to major downturns. This is why George H.W. Bush lost his re-election bid. The policies implemented during the Reagan administration started to fail at a catastrophic level.
By that op/ed should have never been published in the Advocate. That article is a pile of unsupported steaming shit.
Ronald Reagan’s economic record was absolutely catastrophic and increased the gap between the rich and the poor. Any economic growth during the Reagan administration was centered at the top 5%. Most others experienced downturns in incomes and increasing poverty rates.
Some startling facts about the Reagan record (not from a sleazebag site like Heritage):
Giancarlo85
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2011/02/06/the-disastrous-legacy-of-ronald-reagan-in-charts/
Obama’s economic record is vastly superior to what happened under the Reagan administration.
Ronald Reagan savagely attacked Jimmy Carter for his “free spending” ways, yet it was Ronald Reagan who spent more than Carter, Ford or even Nixon. Reagan drove this nation into a massive deficit that future generations had to pay off.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/opinion/21krugman.html?_r=0
http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4544777/rep-bernie-sanders-reaganomics-disaster-people – Even Bernie Sanders exposed the dangers of Reagan/Bush economic policies.
Reaganomics gutted the middle class, impoverished the poor, increased crime rates (crime rates SKYROCKETED during his administration) and destroyed regulation that was needed in this country.
Giancarlo85
Obama’s economic record far exceeds the Reagan administration. Take notice… the economy started went into a tailspin during Reagan’s second term in office. Of course Reagan didn’t even know his own name by then and couldn’t even tie his own shoes.
If the democrats had someone better than Dukakis in 1988, George H.W. Bush would have never won the White House.
Don’t listen to the Reaganomics lies. Obama’s economic record is better in every way. Reagan’s “economic recovery” was only a recovery for the rich. Underemployment skyrocketed, manufacturing collapsed, and poverty skyrocketed.
youarekiddingme
@Alistair Wiseman:
Thanks for making my point. Sowell and National Review are Conservative and yet they are well-respected economic researchers who still held that Reagan’s trickle-down economics was total crap.
Heritage Foundation Magazine not conservative. Seriously? What about this from the front page of YOUR LINK?
Rush Limbaugh says “The Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell is just terrific!”
Unless Rush Limbaugh suddenly became a Liberal, I would say you’re probably WRONG. Heritage is most definitely Conservative.
Capitalism Magazine views itself as, “neither conservative nor liberal”, however most in the literary world consider this magazine to be very conservative. Again, another magazine. Opinions. No scientific information or facts.
The advocate. That’s laughable!! That was an op-ed piece written by a guy with NO BACKGROUND in economics or politics.
Here’s the info on that writer: JAMES DUKE MASON is an actor, writer, and political activist in Los Angeles. Wtf does he know? Op-ed? Opinion-Editorial…
Trickle-down economics was NOT made up language by the democrats in a destructive way to describe Reagan’s economic policy. If you read the link to the National Review (with Economic Facts inside) you would see the term listed in there. It’s bullshit, but it is mentioned in the report as bullshit. If you don’t want it called “trickle-down” then call it whatever you want. When you give to person A and hope he gives to person B, why not just give to person B and eliminate the middle man? HOPE that person A will do the right thing and give to person B…doesn’t sound like good economic advice
Back on the SUBJECT! Reagan only voted down Prop 6 because of his Libertarian Views. He made it clear that his opposition did not mean that he was an ADDVOCATE for HOMOSEXUALITY. Reagan’s motivation to vote down Prop 6 were entirely different that Carter’s. Reagan (regardless what that op-ed piece said…it’s groundless) did NOTHING during the AIDS Crisis. His failure to act in a humanitarian manner cost the lives of many, many innocent victims. Anyone who says anything different, wasn’t there or is full of steaming shit!
Giancarlo85
He is not capable in making a coherent argument. He will just disappear as he always does when confronted with the facts.
Giancarlo85
Alistair ran away with his tail between his legs… what a coward.
youarekiddingme
@Giancarlo85:
Fuckin typical asshole. Quotes his bullshit magazine articles like they’re “gospel” and when he’s proven wrong he doesn’t have the balls to admit it!
I hate his shit about Reagan. Saying that moron actually supported the LGBT Community is a joke. Proved him wrong on that one too. Again, nothing but crickets. Why do I even bother!!
Alistair Wiseman
@youarekiddingme:
I said I would respond when I had the time. After all the nasty snide remarks, I don’t know why I am bothering.
You stated, “Reagan only voted down Prop 6 because of his Libertarian Views. He made it clear that his opposition did not mean that he was an ADDVOCATE for HOMOSEXUALITY.”
What difference does that make? I am a conservative with a strong libertarian streak. So was Reagan, so are a lot of conservatives. Conservatism and Libertarianism are not mutually exclusive. I wish the Republican party would get back to their more libertarian leanings of self-reliance and extremely small government. However, that is hard to do when your opposing party says, “If you vote for our Democratic candidate we will give you welfare, and WIC, and food stamps, Obamaphones, etc.”
You stated, “…his opposition did not mean that he was an ADDVOCATE [sic] for HOMOSEXUALITY.” Hilarious! It was 1978, what major political leader was “advocating” homosexuality? It’s 2015 and only very recently have we had any politicians “advocating” homosexuality. Acceptance has been around for a while, but not advocating.
I think that it is important to remember, that Reagan was 3 years removed from the governorship, Reagan was the anointed hero of American conservatism and the presumptive 1980 Republican presidential nominee, what did he have to gain by getting involved with Prop 6?
Reagan’s political handlers advised him to steer clear, but gay Republicans privately asked him to get involved, as did some Democratic friends and some Hollywood pals.
Intensive politicking by the California’s liberal establishment had lessened Proposition 6’s support from a whopping 75 percent to 55 percent, but that’s where the needle stayed—until Reagan spoke out. In September of 1978, he told reporters of his opposition, and followed up with an op-ed saying Proposition 6 would do “real mischief.” Support for it eroded, even in Briggs’ home county, and it lost handily.
It was also at this time, due to Prop 6 and Ronald Reagan, that the Log Cabin Republicans was first formed.
Alistair Wiseman
@youarekiddingme:
I have to do these in separate posts because you have thrown so much opinion my way, they are too long. Also, Queerty LOVES to censor my posts.
You stated, “Reagan (regardless what that op-ed piece said…it’s groundless) did NOTHING during the AIDS Crisis. His failure to act in a humanitarian manner cost the lives of many, many innocent victims. Anyone who says anything different, wasn’t there or is full of steaming shit!”
This reminds of the saying, “Repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.” I was around during the AIDS pandemic and the Reagan Administration.
We are repeatedly told Reagan never mentioned AIDS for the first seven years of his presidency. Although this falsehood is easily checked, it has spread, like its own kind of virus, into official government documents, liberals’ institutional memories, and countless news accounts from organizations with contrary evidence in their own files. It’s a fabrication with consequences.
For the record, Reagan first mentioned AIDS, in response to a question at a press conference, on Sept. 17, 1985. On Feb. 5, 1986, he made a surprise visit to the Department of Health and Human Services where he said, “One of our highest public health priorities is going to be continuing to find a cure for AIDS.” He also announced that he’d tasked Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to prepare a major report on the disease. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, Reagan dragged Koop into AIDS policy, not the other way around.
The real Reagan record on AIDS funding. AIDS funding skyrocketed in the 1980s, almost doubling each year from 1983 – when the media started blaring headlines – from $44 million to $103 million, $205 million, $508 million, $922 million, and then $1.6 billion in 1988. Reagan’s secretary of Health and Human Services in 1983, Margaret Heckler, declared AIDS her department’s “number one priority.” While the House of Representatives was Democrat-dominated throughout the 1980s, which Democrats would quickly explain was the source of that skyrocketing AIDS funding, Reagan clearly signed the spending bills that funded the war on AIDS. (There is a link below to a government graph and report.)
The below is from the attached article, but I really loved it.
“The Reagans are also tolerant about homosexual men,” Kaiser wrote. “Their interior decorator, Ted Graber, who oversaw the redecoration of the White House, spent a night in the Reagans’ private White House quarters with his male lover, Archie Case, when they came to Washington for Nancy Reagan’s 60th birthday party — a fact confirmed for the press by Mrs. Reagan’s press secretary.” (Possible)gay sex in the Reagan’s private White House quarters? Escandalo!!!
To sum this up, the argument can be made that Reagan and his administration did not do enough in the early years of the AIDS pandemic, but to say they did nothing is just ignorance of history.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/304207/gay-left-lies-about-reagan-again-deroy-murdock
http://global.nationalreview.com/uploaded/u25930/2011/pic_article_062812_PB_murdockgraph.jpg
http://fas.org/spp/civil/crs/96-293.pdf
youarekiddingme
@Alistair Wiseman:
What difference does it make that Reagan didn’t vote against Prop 6 because he was not advocating (his words) homosexuality? Kind of important in disputing your argument that he supported gay community. He did NOTHING to support the community. He didn’t want anyone to think he was pro-homosexual…that point he made clear. His motives were personal and political. He ignored us during the AIDS Crisis until he was FORCED to act. By the time he finally acted, thousands of people had died!
“I wish the republican party would get back to their more libertarian leanings of self-reliance and extremely small government. However, that is hard to do when your opposing party says, “If you vote for our Democratic candidate we will give you welfare, and WIC, and Obamaphones, etc.”
Wtf does the republicans geting back to their libertarian “leanings” have anything to do with what the Democrats are doing? The republicans do what the hell they want. They are not bound by what another party is doing. Your argument is groundless.
Read the above about the turnaround of Prop 6. The FACTS are listed from UCdataBerley.com. Read the article sited above on the contributions of those who really made the difference on Prop 6. You make suppositions instead of presenting facts.
Magazine articles, Op-Eds and broad generalizations do not equal facts.
youarekiddingme
@Alistair Wiseman:
Allistair, I wonder why Queerty CENSORS YOUR POSTS?? Hmmmmmmm?? Let me think?????? That’s a tough one……ANTI-GAY! RIGHT WING. LIES.
Here. From Wikipedia: “Possibly in deference to the views of the powerful religious right,[citation needed] which saw AIDS as a disease limited to the gay male community and spread by immoral behavior, Reagan prevented his Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, from speaking out about the epidemic.[91] When in 1986 Reagan was highly encouraged by many other public officials to authorize Koop to issue a report on the epidemic, he expected it to be in line with conservative policies; instead, Koop’s Surgeon General’s Report on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome greatly emphasized the importance of a comprehensive AIDS education strategy, including widespread distribution of condoms, and rejected mandatory testing. This approach brought Koop into conflict with other administration officials such as Education Secretary William Bennett. In 1988, Koop took the unprecedented action of mailing AIDS information to every U.S. household. This information included the use of condoms as the decisive defense against contracting the disease.
Social action groups such as ACT UP worked to raise awareness of the AIDS problem. Because of ACT UP, in 1987, Reagan responded by appointing the Watkins Commission on AIDS, which was succeeded by a permanent advisory council.”
That asshole did fail to act quick enough. Thow all the money in the world. It doesn’t change the fact that he never spoke out soon enough. His inaction, killed people. Money doesn’t mean shit. Blood Money!
Interior designer…right, whatever. More made up bullshit. I had slaves come over to my house last night too. All bullshit!!
1EqualityUSA
Alistair Wiseman, I was there during the AIDS crisis, on the front lines, in the trenches, elbow deep in death. Fistfuls of AZT was all we had to offer. Reagan drags his heels. From a medical standpoint, it wasn’t until it became a political liability that this President acted. Go away, gnat. You don’t know what this community went through.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: And the foaming at the mouth idiot continues to post more unsupported crap because he can’t come up with a proper argument. And he posts more garbage sources. Alistair must be 12 or 13 years old at most.
@Alistair Wiseman: Three more garbage verbal diarrhea sources.
I wonder why Alistair suddenly showed up to this article again? I think it has to do with his ego. He wants to get the last word and hope we don’t shut him down again. He’s a catastrophic failure at debating. And his sources never amount to anything at all. Ronald Reagan was a catastrophic failure as a President… on the economy, on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, on foreign policy… basically at everything. His administration had a record amount of indictments and convictions. More of his cabinet ended up behind bars than any other sitting President (including Dubya).
Reagan was not someone with a “libertarian streak”. Nor are you. You are a brainless idiot who was indoctrinated by right wingers. You have nothing libertarian about you. You remind me more of Pat Robertson. You are nothing more than a talking head.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: And all this brainless moron can bring up about Reagan was a ridiculous story about an interior designer. Brainless stupid fool. Reagan was anti-gay and had the backing of the christian right. Yes, total made-up bullshit from the bullshit master himself.
Reagan wanted to hinder the fight against HIV/AIDS because that fulfilled his political agenda. He prevented his own Surgeon General from doing his job quickly. If his own Surgeon General was allowed to act immediately with urgency, then maybe less people would have perished.
Reagan is nothing more than a criminal who harbored criminals in his administration. It doesn’t surprise that you support him. His administration was wretched to this entire country and the gap between the rich and poor grew astronomically during his administration.
1EqualityUSA
Alistair Wiseman, “You’re gone!!!”