Fox News celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. day in its own unique and ironic way. The article “Ronald Reagan – More of a Friend to Blacks than Obama?” by Michael Reagan (president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation), claims that Ronald Reagan did more for blacks than Barack Obama. But the article does it using crude sniping, especially its conclusion:
Today, as our nation honor’s [sic] Dr. King, less than a month before the hundredth birthday of Ronald Reagan, it’s fitting to note that Ronald Reagan did more to improve the lives of African-Americans than any other president since Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that America’s first black president has made life worse for us all—and especially for black Americans. History does not judge presidents by the color of their skin, but by the content of their policies.
So are we to forget about the Ronald Reagan who aligned himself with the apartheid government of South Africa? Or the Reagan administration which famously classified ketchup as a vegetable so they could cut funding for low-income school lunches? Or the Reagan who opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (calling it “bad legislation”), and fought to restore federal tax exemptions to schools like Bob Jones University who discriminated against blacks? The Reagan who pandered for racist votes? My family was personally affected, when as governor of California he cut funding for the Head Start school that my mother ran, which studies had shown actually saved the state money by keeping disadvantaged kids in school.
So how does Michael Reagan support his argument that his father was a friend to blacks? Yup, you guessed it, using stories that show that some of his father’s best friends were blacks. sigh
8 Comments
Ronald Reagen’s Urine also cured Cancer.
I liked the part where it’s stated the unemployment rate for AfAms dropped over the last six 6 years of the Reagan admin. Why not just use the first two as in Obama’s quoted numbers?
How about we re-elect Obama and see how his last 6 turn out?
I just love it when numbers are cherry picked to validate the absurd.
*sigh*
Just a side note that isn’t directly related. I was born on April 4, just a few years before MLK was assassinated.
Every year since then, I would wake up in the morning, turn on the news, and be reminded that MLK died that day.
So sad. But it probably made me a better person. As a kid, I was required to watch the news every morning and evening and to be able to talk intelligently about current events. MLK’s message is pretty deeply burned into my head.
(My birthday also has been on Good Friday/Easter as well as MLK’s assassination anniversary, which can make the news very weird.)
I was able to read MLK’s sister’s book to my Grandchildren yesterday. We discussed things in it. They were appalled at any discrimination by skin color ever existed. I told them that in the south, it still exists. Again they were appalled.
If I get the chance next year, I’ll explain that we descend from a long line of abolitionists.
(and also slave owners)
Surprised he didn’t mention that Ronald Reagan also had black friends.
You know, after every story from Fox that makes the (what I would assume) average person shake their head and scoff at the absurdity of such a “news piece”, I have to still remember that there are literally millions of people out there that watch the same piece I watch and nod their head in agreement. It seriously baffles me that there is a massively large group of people who take Fox not only very seriously, but almost gospel-like in that there must not be any other way to look at a situation than the way it is spun for my viewing pleasure. What is absurd about this piece is that I’m sure the people who are interested in politics these days weren’t nearly as concerned about them in President Reagan’s days. Or at least they didn’t follow everything the President did then like everyone does with the President does now.
What I mean is, I’m sure Fox ran this piece to circumvent the recollections of Mr. Reagan that millions of Americans actually have in order to insert THEIR retelling of who Ronald Reagan was and what Ronald Reagan used to be like. They’d rather have their viewership remember what they want them to remember than have any actual memories or old news reports of how the man used to really be.
You know I gotta hand it to them (Fox), they really are the most reliable source of information there is. Reliable in the sense that every time I watch, I just believe the exact opposite of whatever they “report.” If Megan Kelly said the sky was blue, I would get a second opinion.
It hurts me to see such ignorant people in this world. The fact that one obama has hurt the United States so much and people still cheer him just because he is black is scary. While fox news clearly has a slant it is no worse than CNN or msnbc when it comes to the news. The really disheartening thing is that people think that the daily show reports the news truthfully. They are a comedy show people. They put whatever on tv that gets them ratings. Some people will never get to a level of maturity that shows them how right fox news is.
Black, that last line of yours is the funniest thing I’ve read all week. Fox News may be “right” in the sense of being conservative, but they are certainly not “right” in the sense of being truthful or correct. They lie, purposely, and even repeat the lie when it has been shown to be false. If it takes maturity to believe a liar, then count me out.