Friendly reminder that Ronald Reagan was called senile so often it became a running gag on SNL and the late night shows. He then won 49 of 50 states in the 1984 election.
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Reminder that the collective hive mind we call society is NOT, in the slightest, like it was back in 1984. We've become dumber, and I'm fucking terrified of what's to come.
Totally wrong analogy. Dem challenger in 1980 was weak, far too liberal for the country, and ran a very poor campaign. Reagan was over a decade younger than Biden and very well liked by the right and center
Yeah, but that was fucking scary. Trump is scarier, but there is definitely a scenario where something happens after 7PM and our president is unable to act coherently, very much to the peril of American lives. We’ve never had two worse choices. This is so super fucked up. Terrified over here.
The nation wasn't fucked because he had dementia...it was fucked over because he implemented Republican policy preferences. Anti union, trickle down economics, anti environmental, pro military-industrial complex, defunding primary public education, "states' rights"....
I don't even know what to make of this. You apparently don't realize that Turd is the Reagan in this analogy? The Dems need some sort of Force majeure moment here to swap candidates. Otherwise, we're looking at a lot fascism about to bubble up like a clogged septic tank.
We will never see anything even close to this kind of US election result in our lifetimes. I was 9 when this election took place, so I can assure you, the country was an INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT one (for reasons both good and bad) back in '84.
Reagan would be way too liberal for the modern GOP.
I didn't say he was liberal, just that he would be considered too liberal for the modern GOP. Newt Gingrich tore him apart in the late 80's for sitting down with Gorbachev. He also broke up AT&T. Don't get me wrong, Reagan is one of history's greatest monsters. Still too lib for the GOP today.
This is true, but only because no president will have any desire to try. I think a lot of people forget that Biden was extremely popular for his first 100 days
well for one you don't actually need to, he's at ~40% favorability right now; the best way to win an election is to appeal to those who don't have a candidate yet
that being said if you do want to appeal to trump voters he's winning on every issue except abortion right now so he could work on that
It is true Ronald Reagan managed to counter-attack the concerns for his age, being 73 during the election. However I think Mondale’s vague campaign platform and choice of vice president did more major harm to his chances at the white house.
With a big boost from a limp dishrag of a campaign from Mondale who walked on eggshells around Reaganism and would not challenge some pretty egregious stuff. He was going to lose anyway, he should have been outspoken.
His age and competence did come up as early as the GOP primaries, however. His senility wasn’t as obvious in 1980, but evidence of something wrong started piling up well before the 1984 campaign.
It was just 6 months in when he didn’t recognize a Cabinet Secretary.
I lived through this (though I was a minor and technically in another country) and I still don't know how the hell this could've happened. Especially knowing what we know about Reagan and how people felt about him.
How?
that's right. I love to compare my candidate of choice I'm trying to defend with ronald reagan. please do not ask me why I'm comparing my candidate of choice with ronald reagan because every answer I could give would not be great
I do not recall his senility being prominent in major news coverage. I remember thinking it was wildly under reported. He was also
the candidate of the oligarchs. So this friendly reminder offers little comfort.
Reagan never, in public, showed his Alzheimers until he was out of office. Became clear at the 1992 convention but he never looked like Biden while in charge. There's a whole thing that went on in his 2nd term, regarding his competence.
Yeah look I like the idea of democracy, dictatorship is bad, everyone getting a vote is good, but we don't seem to be properly educating people on the political system, voting policies not people, and large scale economics/benefits of immgration etc etc
That’s the first election I was old enough to remember (I was six). Neither of my parents were pleased at the outcome, let me tell you — especially my mother, Minnesotan from birth. Her DFL loyalties clearly stayed intact.
Well, like Biden, Reagan was almost certainly senile heading into the 1984 election. But, unlike Biden, Reagan was very popular. Therefore... Umm... Biden could totally win... If he was popular.
(Also if it was 1984 and there were more than 6 or so swing states, probably).
Not sure how to feel about this post, since both Biden and Trump are called senile very frequently and it is a running gag for both of them in political media... either this is a warning to brace for a Trump win if people don't up their game or to relax and not panic Biden has great odds to win.
And? What a terrible example. Ronald Reagan was a piece of shit. Personally, I think we need a strong candidate to beat Donald Trump but who knows maybe I’m wrong and we can just put forward senile old man who can barely talk and barely walk. I’m sure that’ll work out fine.
I'm trying to understand if you're using Reagan as a favorable comparison to Biden or not.
If so....
REAGAN, of ALL FUCKING PEOPLE?!?
I don't want 4 more years of "Enables Israel's genocide of Palestinians, continues to allow Cop Cities to be built and doesn't do anything for the people."
“Why doesn’t the federal executive control red state priorities?” is really more of problem with your understanding than it is a problem with the President.
Yes, but he got shot 3 months into his first term, and never really recovered, mostly stuck to making speeches while VPBush did most of the work.
Which is why I decided in 1984 that instead of voting third party I needed to vote for the very disorganized Dems who only had Walter Mondale to offer us.
If it wasn't obvious, that wasn't because of Reagan's condition, it was because Bush would probably get us into more wars after the 1983 Grenada invasion, and would probably get elected as Reagan's successor.
But my vote for Mondale just encouraged the Dems to pick Dukakis next time.
In the one state Reagan didn't get electoral votes from, Minnesota, he was roughly 0.25% away from winning the state, and this is with the Democratic Party's nominee being from Minnesota.
He was nowhere near winning in DC, so it wouldn't have been a sweep.
Although he had been president for four years when he defeated Mondale. He was up against Carter in 1980. (And yeah, we thought he was senile then, too.)
He was certainly a rapist, as detailed in Kitty Kelly’s book, and a criminal who sold out his own union to General Electric in exchange for some lovely money and later campaign contributions for his gubernatorial and presidential runs.
The American “Left-Wing” in 2024 has an economic policy closer to the American Right-Wing of 1984
The only thing that the part has that people call it leftist is its social views. Pro-choice, pro LGBT, black lives matter (but double down on police funds) and that’s it pal.
To the rest of the world, we don't have a true left-wing party. We have a far-right party and a center-right party. We have a few people on Congress (Sanders, Warren, AOC), who are center-left. But that's it.
This is what happens whenGenX keeps waiting for their parents (Boomers) to bail them out, rather than taking responsibility and seizing the reins of power.
I do not believe that American politics are the same as they were in 1984, he *was* senile and was one of the most evil men in history, and also the Republicans do not care about such things, they just want an evil racist, not a man with a good brain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5wfPlgKFh8 it was the source of their skits of him being malicious as being absurd ex:
"President Reagan (Phil Hartman) acts hopeless and clueless in public, but in private he's an evil mastermind who knows every detail about everything happening in his administration."
The worm piloting the husk of Robert F. Kennedy junior will finally bring the bureaucratic duopoly of Washington down, and bring preventable diseases back to the American public!
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(I might be a bit of a catastrophist, though...)
[AR narrator:] Walter was unable to capitialize on this advantage.
Reagan would be way too liberal for the modern GOP.
High water mark was about 55%.
that being said if you do want to appeal to trump voters he's winning on every issue except abortion right now so he could work on that
It was just 6 months in when he didn’t recognize a Cabinet Secretary.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reagans-testy-moment-in-the-1980-gop-debate/
How?
I’m afraid you just reinforced the opinion that Biden is too damn old and should step aside.
the candidate of the oligarchs. So this friendly reminder offers little comfort.
Was he senile?
Did that lead to positive, or negative outcomes?
"My heart tells me that we did not give weapons to Iran and the Contras."
(Also if it was 1984 and there were more than 6 or so swing states, probably).
If so....
REAGAN, of ALL FUCKING PEOPLE?!?
I don't want 4 more years of "Enables Israel's genocide of Palestinians, continues to allow Cop Cities to be built and doesn't do anything for the people."
Nothing is off the table with him.
Which is why I decided in 1984 that instead of voting third party I needed to vote for the very disorganized Dems who only had Walter Mondale to offer us.
But my vote for Mondale just encouraged the Dems to pick Dukakis next time.
He was nowhere near winning in DC, so it wouldn't have been a sweep.
He also presided over years when prices stayed the same between one trip to the store and the next one.
Way to go
Minnesoto
..For real
Statehood for you
SODA!!!!!!!!!!!
The only thing that the part has that people call it leftist is its social views. Pro-choice, pro LGBT, black lives matter (but double down on police funds) and that’s it pal.
Obama was a sure loser after his first debate vs Romney.
"President Reagan (Phil Hartman) acts hopeless and clueless in public, but in private he's an evil mastermind who knows every detail about everything happening in his administration."
https://bsky.app/profile/2facedjanus7927.bsky.social/post/3kvynjkemyq2v
So they will vote for the asshole, I guess!
(You're not allowed to say anything about them and Trump, though.)
🤔🤔🤔
No. This is a false equivalency. We all know what we saw and how it made us feel.
"Trust your gut".