Yesterday marked the 8th annual Young America’s Foundation Reagan Forum, a panel discussion held once a year on Capitol Hill to commemorate the life of our nation’s 40th President, Ronald Reagan.
This year’s forum focused on contrasting the visions of government held by Reagan and President Obama, to counter the popular liberal media narrative that, regarding policy, the men were mirror images of one another.
Always a popular event among Hill staff and other D.C. interns, yesterday’s lecture was no exception, as large masses of young conservatives filled the room to capacity.
The event featured several senior officials from the Reagan Administration, including Frank Donatelli, Assistant to President Reagan for Political Affairs, Ambassador G. Phillip Hughes, a former adviser to President Reagan’s National Security Council, and Current U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R- MI), who worked in the Office of Management and Budget during Ronald Reagan’s years in the White House.
Each of these men shared several memorable experiences from their time spent working with President Reagan, and also took the opportunity to refute the mischaracterization of him by the mainstream media as someone who had policies that were nearly identical to President Obama.
To set the record straight, these men noted that the two presidents held drastically opposite political views, and implementation of policies, based on these differing views, have had radically different effects on the prosperity of America.
It is well-known that Ronald Reagan signed the largest tax cut in U.S. history. Barack Obama actively campaigns for the Buffett Rule, which would increase taxes on millions of Americans.
In terms of foreign policy, President Reagan stood up to the Soviets, and was not afraid to take action to ensure the safety of Americans, while condemning other countries that deprive their citizens of basic human freedoms. President Obama is not so patriotic, instead preferring to apologize for military actions taken by the United States to defend freedom.
The differences between the two men can actually be very simply summarized by their perspectives of government. President Reagan favored small government, and was quoted as saying “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”
In contrast, President Obama has shown himself to be a champion of big government, with policies that increase taxes, increase spending, and effectively increase the amount of government intrusion into the lives of the American people.
