Grant or Reagan?

[bueno bob]

The $50 question: Grant or Reagan? - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/03/reagan.fifty.dollar.bill/index.html?hpt=Sbin)

(CNN) -- Should Ulysses S. Grant, the legendary Union general and 18th president of the United States, be bumped from his 96-year stint on the $50 bill?

Yes, according to one North Carolina Republican.

Rep. Patrick McHenry announced that he will introduce a measure that would replace Grant's face with Ronald Reagan's, just in time for the 40th president's 100th birthday next February.

"President Reagan was a modern day statesman, whose presidency transformed our nation's political and economic thinking," McHenry said in a statement. "Through both his domestic and international policies he renewed America's self confidence, defeated the Soviets and taught us that each generation must provide opportunity for the next."

McHenry says it's only logical for Reagan to replace Grant on the $50 bill because several historians have ranked Reagan as a much better president than Grant. McHenry specifically cites a 2005 Wall Street Journal survey of scholars who placed Reagan at No. 6 and Grant at No. 29.

"Every generation needs its own heroes," McHenry also said. "One decade into the 21st century, it's time to honor the last great president of the 20th and give President Reagan a place beside Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy."

Franklin Roosevelt's face currently appears on the dime while John F. Kennedy's image is on the half-dollar.

But not so fast, says Dr. John Marszalek, the executive director and managing editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association.

Calling him a "beacon" of the 19th century, Marszalek said Grant deserves to keep his prominent spot on America's currency.

"His work in battling against inflation and getting the currency on stable footing opened the way for the economy boom of the late 19th century, Marszalek told CNN. "I don't know why he wouldn't be included, except people forget. It's been a long time."

Marszalek also named a host of other Grant accomplishments, including efforts to promote the rights of freed slaves and native Americans, as well as his post-presidency, two-year tour of the world during which he negotiated the settlement of a dispute between Japan and China.

But the Grant administration was also beset by major scandals -- close to a dozen in all -- which is a primary reason that Grant had difficulty working with Congress and why many modern historians continue to rank the 18th president relatively low.

Still, Marszalek says Grant's death in 1885 was a "national phenomenon" and is "still the biggest funeral any American has had to this day."
Every generation needs its own heroes.
--Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina

Grant supporters can rest easy for now, though -- the future of the legislation is highly in doubt. It would first have to clear the House Financial Services Committee where at least one Democrat is already expressing his opposition to the move.

"History has made its verdict," Rep. Brad Sherman of California told CNN. "Reagan's policies are controversial. Grant was in favor of winning the Civil War and keeping the Union together. The currency is not a place to score cheap political points."

It's not the first time Republican lawmakers have sought to immortalize Reagan's image on American currency. In 2004, Rep. Mark Souder introduced legislation to put Reagan on the dime in place of Roosevelt. Souder dropped the move after Nancy Reagan publicly opposed the measure.

In the years since Reagan's death, GOP lawmakers have also considered, though abandoned, legislation placing Reagan on the $10 bill, in place of Alexander Hamilton, and on the $20 bill, in place of Andrew Jackson.

[bueno bob]

I've got a better idea, actually. Let's put Reagan's face on the penny.

No, seriously.

After we do that, we'll finally have perfect reason to discontinue pennies.

[jhale667]

I fucking almost lost my lunch when I heard this yesterday. Fuck that. Reagan doesn't deserve to be on anything besides toilet paper. :mad:


Yeah, like Reagan's cooler than the General that saved the Union....rriiiiiiiiiight. :rolleyes:

[FORD]

Looks like the Confederacy still can't get over their hatred of General Grant.

Not that he was a great President. But Reagan wasn't either. And since I didn't live through Grant's fucked up presidency, it really doesn't bother me that much. But any member of the BCE on money would be completely intolerable. :barf:

[Bob_R]

But Reagan wasn't either. And since I didn't live through Grant's fucked up presidency, it really doesn't bother me that much. But any member of the BCE on money would be completely intolerable. :barf:

Nail on the head. Crazy Ron is in the Top 3 worse Presidents ever.

They should put his face on toilet paper like J suggested.

[Nitro Express]

Reagan used the cold war as an excuse to spend, spend, spend. He ran up huge deficits on the military machine that is now wreaking havoc worldwide. It's time we got out of Asia (they want us to go and have the money to take care of themselves). We need to get out of the Middle East (they want us to go too). Let Israel fend for itself, they have been sucking on the US tit too long. I mean reel it all in, because we have enough technology and resources back home to take car of ourselves without running around the world bothering other people. Thank's partly to Reagan we are a war based nation. The weapons industry is pretty much the only thing we have going because we've outsourced the private sector. So basically, we've become the Soviet Union which used to spend all it's money on the military and make nothing commercially. That's what we do now.

[hideyoursheep]

Reagan used the cold war as an excuse to spend, spend, spend. He ran up huge deficits on the military machine that is now wreaking havoc worldwide. It's time we got out of Asia (they want us to go and have the money to take care of themselves). We need to get out of the Middle East (they want us to go too). Let Israel fend for itself, they have been sucking on the US tit too long. I mean reel it all in, because we have enough technology and resources back home to take car of ourselves without running around the world bothering other people. Thank's partly to Reagan we are a war based nation. The weapons industry is pretty much the only thing we have going because we've outsourced the private sector. So basically, we've become the Soviet Union which used to spend all it's money on the military and make nothing commercially. That's what we do now.

The US is like the Soviet Union?! Christ, man....get a grip. With the exception of Ollie North (see Ronald Reagan), the US has been a bit more selective with it's customer catalogue, unlike the former USSR, which sold anything to anybody with a Ruble.

[BigBadBrian]

Reagan for sure.

Easily the US's best POTUS of the 20th Century.

Stared down the Russian Bear and brought about it's downfall.

Roosevelt was a progressive in conservative clothing. A RINO.

Put Ronnie, the Great Communicator, on America's Legal Tender.




In God We Trust.

All others are scrutinized, especially Democrats! :hee:

[Nickdfresh]

Reagan for sure.

Easily the US's best POTUS of the 20th Century.

But he had the unfair advantage of Nancy's Ouija Board!


Stared down the Russian Bear and brought about it's downfall.

Oh please. The Soviets had been failing since the early 60's at least. Their military strength was greatly exaggerated for budgetary purposes and things were critical for them by the late 1970s. You could more plausibly argue that Ford/Carter brought about their downfall...


Roosevelt was a progressive in conservative clothing. A RINO.

Wut?


Put Ronnie, the Great Communicator, on America's Legal Tender.

Right! Like the dollar, he was doddering and deteriorating before our eyes in his later years. If the shoe fits, wear it!


In God We Trust.

As long as I can see the green it's written on, fool!


All others are scrutinized, especially Democrats! :hee:

Assplayer...

[Kristy]

But he had the unfair advantage of Nancy's Ouija Board!

Ouija boards, numerology, astral charts, consultanting with clairvoyants which makes you wonder what was really running the country back from 1982 to late 1988. As for the dude being on a $50 bill is a bit much when there has already been libraries, medical centers, high schools and even airports named after him but none of that shit eases the mind of the Rethuglican party who seems more desperate than ever to have a figurehead imprinted everywhere to save face.

Reagan was good for only that - image and image substance with the whole patriotic blinders of "I love U.S.A" let's all wave the flag on our main streets and forgot about the Bush Senior death squads in Central America and Afghanistan which the Rethugs loved. Apart from Commie-hating paranoia he loved to instigate Reagan never had a clue as to what he was doing, the man was more senile than grandpa Simpson.

[kwame k]

The other thing about Reagan is he totally dropped the ball on AIDS. He setback research and funding because it was thought to be a morality disease that only afflicted gays and black people.

His administration caused more deaths because of their lack of responsible handling of the disease than any other administration. It wasn't until middle class whites started getting infected that they did anything about it.

What about Nancy's dumb ass "Just say No" campaign.......

Reagan was a great orator, which is funny because they say the same thing about Obama but.......in reality he wasn't all that great of a president. His policies are what got us in this mess to begin with. He ran up a huge deficit when in reality he could of let the USSR implode all on it's own.

[knuckleboner]

grant or reagan? i voted short round.


http://broken-reality.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/short-round.jpg


fitty dollar bill!

[FORD]

Reagan for sure.

Easily the US's best POTUS of the 20th Century.



That title can only belong to one man..........

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/fdrfire.jpg

Defeated fascism twice. First the domestic kind, then the foreign.

And as long as his reforms were in place, this country was at its best.

The decline of the last 30 years is a direct result of the systematic destruction of those reforms by the BCE, and their moles in the Democratic party known as the DLC.

[bueno bob]

Reagan for sure.

Easily the US's best POTUS of the 20th Century.

Stared down the Russian Bear and brought about it's downfall.

Roosevelt was a progressive in conservative clothing. A RINO.

Put Ronnie, the Great Communicator, on America's Legal Tender.




In God We Trust.

All others are scrutinized, especially Democrats! :hee:

God, you're such a fucking moron. I would tear this apart, but frankly, Nick already did it better.

One question remains, though -

Did your parents have any children who actually SURVIVED?

[Nitro Express]

Ouija boards, numerology, astral charts, consultanting with clairvoyants which makes you wonder what was really running the country back from 1982 to late 1988. As for the dude being on a $50 bill is a bit much when there has already been libraries, medical centers, high schools and even airports named after him but none of that shit eases the mind of the Rethuglican party who seems more desperate than ever to have a figurehead imprinted everywhere to save face.

Reagan was good for only that - image and image substance with the whole patriotic blinders of "I love U.S.A" let's all wave the flag on our main streets and forgot about the Bush Senior death squads in Central America and Afghanistan which the Rethugs loved. Apart from Commie-hating paranoia he loved to instigate Reagan never had a clue as to what he was doing, the man was more senile than grandpa Simpson.

Not to mention that awful hair he had. I met Reagan at a press conference in 1988. He had charm, and frankly he was very unintimidating to ask a question to.

[Nitro Express]

What saved the US during the times of Reagan was the personal computer revolution. The US was going downhill hard in the 1970's and then personal computers became huge and everyone was buying them. The US was the center of the PC universe making hardware and software and selling it around the world. That was huge and fortunes were made and that went into the economy. Reagan had nothing to do with it.

[Nickdfresh]

...

Roosevelt was a progressive in conservative clothing. A RINO.
...

Sure. Just like Reagan was a closet progressive liberal that funded and expanded welfare and whose perennially optimistic outlook has more in common with modern liberalism than it does authoritarian-conservatism...

[hideyoursheep]

Reagan for sure.

Easily the US's best POTUS of the 20th Century.

Stared down the Russian Bear and brought about it's downfall.


Eisenhower was a better Republican President than Cowboy Ronnie, if that's what you're going for here.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I always am perplexed why there is so much reverence still for Reagan, especially considering how many anti-Republican acts he did, namely raise taxes, as opposed to the their answer for everything that ails in America, which is cutting taxes....

Good summary of the many Reagan tax INCREASES - Democratic Underground (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x624951)

In 1982 alone, he signed into law not one but two major tax increases. The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA - the largest tax increase in American history) raised taxes by $37.5 billion per year, and the Highway Revenue Act of 1982 raised the gasoline tax by another $3.3 billion.

According to a recent Treasury Department study, TEFRA alone raised taxes by almost 1 percent of the gross domestic product, making it the largest peacetime tax increase in American history. An increase of similar magnitude today would raise more than $100 billion per year.

In 1983, Reagan signed legislation raising the Social Security tax rate. This is a tax increase that lives with us still, since it initiated automatic increases in the taxable wage base. As a consequence, those with moderately high earnings see their payroll taxes rise every single year.

The following year, Reagan signed another big tax increase in the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984. This raised taxes by $18 billion per year or 0.4 percent of GDP. A similar sized tax increase today would be about $44 billion.

[GAR]

I say leave Grant onboard, and Reagan ripped me off of my nonfiled tax returns I hadn't filed for in 87 because he signed a bill saying that if you don't file your returns in 3 years, the IRS can keep the return monies because unfiled returns "cost the government money to keep books on it."

My ASS it costs money to book money! First of all, the shit's out of circulation which cuts the money supply and actually helps the Government with less currency being floated. Second, if they got it booked already, they keep interest on it and you don't.

I lost over 300 bucks, that wasn't fucking fair. I had too much going on and didn't pay attention to that shit, and got fucked.

Grant didn't do anything to me: he's welcome by me to stay on.. he wasn't an actor.. "Mr Gorbacheov, tear down this wall" G-d how embarrassing that was!

Idiot!

[lesfunk]

Who gives a shit who's on a fifty dollar bill? It's still only worth $30.00

[Nickdfresh]

I say leave Grant onboard, and Reagan ripped me off of my nonfiled tax returns I hadn't filed for in 87 because he signed a bill saying that if you don't file your returns in 3 years, the IRS can keep the return monies because unfiled returns "cost the government money to keep books on it."

My ASS it costs money to book money! First of all, the shit's out of circulation which cuts the money supply and actually helps the Government with less currency being floated. Second, if they got it booked already, they keep interest on it and you don't.

I lost over 300 bucks, that wasn't fucking fair. I had too much going on and didn't pay attention to that shit, and got fucked.

Grant didn't do anything to me: he's welcome by me to stay on.. he wasn't an actor.. "Mr Gorbacheov, tear down this wall" G-d how embarrassing that was!

Idiot!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/194984934_d6962feae9.jpg

Then file your returns, dicklick.