Who did the most damage of the last 6 Republican Presidents?

[Baji Boxer]

Yeah, but what they learned from the Nixon failure was how to weasel out of it. Roger Ailes largely built Fox News as a response to the media painting Nixon as so terrible he had to resign. He wanted a propaganda network so that would never happen again. And it worked.

The party kept building the party on top of Nixon's ideas. That's what the southern strategy is.

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Good point on Fox News and the Republican propaganda machine. It was a Nixon era propaganda strategy that Ailes implemented. It pretty much enabled all of this horrible stuff to persist for generations, and get progressively worse. It created the Republican cult we see today.

 

[Vic Damone Jr.]

Reagonomics decimated the middle class and the American Dream. He gave power to Osama Bin Laden, and strengthened cartel power in Central and South America.

Basically, most of the bad things in our modern America were born during his presidency.

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This is what I've been lead to believe. He set us upon this path.

 

[arcadepc]

Even up till Reagan's presidency worldwide politicians were regarded as leaders with everything revolving around them. Same for France, Germany and UK.

This trend began to change in the 90s , with politics becoming less and less revolving around one leader. In that sense GW Bush had to be one of the most indecisive presidents ever, perhaps the only one totally overshadowed by his staff who were far more experienced and influential than him. Trump has far more control, but he does not even want staff better than him in the office. In order to judge Trump, better wait for the election results. With a second term, he may surpass GW Bush too.

It's easily George W Bush. The way he was elected, the way our brains collectively broke after 9/11, the big brother authoritarian surveillance he set up, normalizing never ending wars and torture, etc.

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tbh that trend started with B.Clinton's scandals, distracting the public from the main national, economical and international issues. This brought shame to American politics as well.

 

[Deleted member 23381]

Either Reagan or W, Trump doesn;t even compare.

 

[Chaos Legion]

Nixon was kicked out of office. He was so terrible that people had to admit he was terrible. He's officially, unequivocally terrible. That kind of terrible can be learned from. But the terribleness of Reagan, who is still touted as an American hero? That's much worse. Instead of learning from his failures, the party built its platform right on top of his cancerous ideas.

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Yeah. Learn from Nixon's horrible terrible idea of:
- Establishing the EPA
- Ending the Draft
- Title IX
- Lowering the voting age
- Native American self-determination
- War on Cancer
- Attempted to push universal healthcare
- Continued integration

Homie was a crook, but not a single Republican on this list did a fraction of the amount of good as his agenda did.

 

[Mathieran]

I voted for Reagan because he laid the ground work for all that has happened in the last 20 years

 

[DanSensei]

Bush was a murderer who embodied the worst of imperialism and nationalism, yes, even worse nationalism then Trump. Bush's imperialism was a symptom of nationalism. Unless trump starts a war, which I doubt he will, it's Bush.

 

[cnorwood]

Bush body count is incredibly high.

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The fact that Trump is winning this shows how many people just view them as brown people "over there". Its GWB and not even close

 

[-PXG-]

Reagan.

 

[BigMack]

I picked Reagan simply due to his "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help" line.

The reason we can't get big things accomplished anymore is bc of this. One major polictical party and more than 50% of the country believes the govt giving everyone healthcare is bad bc he planted the seeds of the govt being evil and not trustworthy.

 

[GungHo]

Looking at Trump and May/Johnson and comparing them, in any way, to the scale of intentional fuck up that was Reagan/Thatcher or unintentional fuck up that was GWB/Blair is fucking amazing.

 

[Kevinception]

No one has devalued the office of the presidency, mocked the Patriotism of veterans, demeaned the United States intelligence community, dismantled the effectiveness of the free press, infantilized the checks and balances of Congress, caused greater division among citizens, spread more disinformation, encited as much hate and fear and racism, lowered general discourse as low, trampled as much over the US constitution, distanced the US so far from Western allies, and generally made the United States of America so...small...in the eyes of the world than Donald Trump.

No one on that list has done so much (in 3 years no less)...it's not even close. I really don't think it will ever get back to where it was, that's how much damage has been done and how much discourse and the way we view things have eroded.

This is worst so far.

 

[GamerJM]

W. Bush for the Iraq War alone.

Reagan is the worst in terms of the precedent he set for future Republican presidents, and Trump could have potentially been the worst if he were elected under slightly different global socioeconomic conditions (if Trump were in office in 2000 instead of 2016 he could have been just as bad if not worse than GWB).

 

[Deleted member 32561]

Toss up between Bush Jr. and Reagan for international and domestic issues respectively. Trump has potential to be the most damaging along both lines if we don't manage to get him out of office this November, though.

 

[SquirrelSr]

People need to remember that it was Reagan that started the trend of Republican candidates secretly soliciting aid to win their elections. Reagan was involved with the Iran hostage crisis that sank Carter's presidency.

 

[gutter_trash]

historical answer: Reagan

 

[Luap]

The knee jerk reaction may be Trump or George W, but the answer is Reagan.

Stolen from a reddit comment:

Obligatory "Reagan In A Nutshell"

Criminal:

• Iran-Contra treason.
• Lied to Congress - set the standard for avoiding responsibility: "I don't recall."
• Likely encouraged Iran to keep US Embassy hostages until he was into office.

Fiscal:

• Supply-side economics (lower taxes on rich, and it will somehow "trickle-down" to the poor)
• National debt tripled.
• $12 billion trade surplus --> $100+ billion trade deficit.
• Deregulated savings and loans, precipitated huge economic crisis.
• Raised taxes eleven times.
• Taxed the poor, cut taxes for the rich.
• SDI "Star Wars" boondoggle.
• Military spending increased to match imaginary spending in USSR.
• Deregulation caused oil bust.
• Broke air traffic control union.

Social:

• Gutted social welfare.
• Dismantled the mental healthcare system.
• Release of mental patients without recourse, homeless population up.
• Ignored AIDS crisis.
• Abstinence-only sex education.
• Strengthened ATF, banned automatic weapons, blamed Democrats for it.
• Privatized the prison industry and made incarceration a profitable industry.
• Increased spending for War on Drugs.
• Increasing national drinking age from 18 to 21, then threatened to pull federal funding from states if they challenged him.
• Underfunded NEA.
• EPA Superfund grants manipulated to help Republicans in local elections.
• Deregulated kids' tv, initiated 22 minute toy ads.
• Killed energy programs (even removed solar panels from White House).
• Legalized abortion in CA as governor, prior to Roe v. Wade.
• Supported gun control
• Crack in the ghettos. (? Due to support for Contras and Noriega?)
• Though Richard Nixon created the DEA and started the "War on Drugs", Reagan and his wife kicked the campaign into a full-scale media frenzy with "Just Say No".

Foreign:

• Wars all over Central America, incl Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras.
• Promoted Iran-Iraq war.
• Sent Marines into Beirut, abandoned mission after terrorist bombing.
• Broke detente with USSR until Gorbachev personally made things better.
• Backed Contras in drug running schemes.
• Supported right-wing dictators and movements everywhere, including:
• Apartheid regime in SA.
• Marcos regime in Phillipines.
• Saddam Hussein and Baathist regime in Iraq, even after Kurds gassed.
• Taliban in Afghanistan.
• Invasion of Panama (condemned by the OAS & Geneva Conventions) to extract former CIA operative Manuel Noreiga.
• Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
• Called African delegates at the UN "Monkeys"

Concepts:

• Welfare queens.
• Trees cause pollution.
• Ketchup as a vegetable.

Appointments:

• 30+ convicted appointees.
• Ed Meese at Justice, porn freak.
• James Watt at Interior, idiot, corrupt.
• William Casey at CIA, religious nut, strikes into Afghanistan.
• HUD a corrupt mess in general.
• Politicised CIA.
• Robert Bork to SCOTUS (failed), segregationist and asshole.
• Antonin Scalia, same but he got in.

Personal:

• Unfit to serve due to Alzheimer's disease by term's end.
• Paid shill by GE and insurance industry to lobby against government healthcare.
• McCarthyite.
• Backed Moral Majority.
• Pardoned Robert Walker, who went on to kill his wife.
• Started presidential campaign at racist murder crime scene in Philadelphia, MS.
• Laid wreath and made speech at SS cemetery in Germany.
• Vietnam War a "noble cause."
• Helped start right-wing noise machine, by promoting myth of liberal media and destroying Fairness Doctrine
• Hated sex, made Ron Jr. feel like a sissy and quit ballet.
• Believed in astrology and used it to run government.
• Innovated "talking points" cue cards.
• "I don't recall" to weasel out of press questions.
• Confused movies with reality.
• Joked about bombing Russia during a mic check, which inflamed the rest of the world.

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Almost every bullet point is something awful.

 

[Psittacus]

Reagan is the root cause of all the rest. It's obviously him.

 

[SquirrelSr]

Reagan only supported gun control after the Black Panthers armed themselves and marched into the CA state Capitol.

 

[vemodalen]

I'd vote for W until Trump starts Civil War II. Personally, I'd give us one chance in three.

 

[Moose the Fattest Cat]

1. GWB — the body count
2. Reagan — the influence
3. Trump — the humiliation
4. Nixon — the shadow
5. GHWB — the banality
6. Ford — the uselessness

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Reagan >>> GWB >> Trump >> Rest

 

[Neo C.]

Trump's cultural impact has been underestimated because it's in the present, but I'm afraid that the US won't entirely recover from his presidency.

 

[Remmy2112]

People need to remember that it was Reagan that started the trend of Republican candidates secretly soliciting aid to win their elections. Reagan was involved with the Iran hostage crisis that sank Carter's presidency.

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Nixon went through back channels to the South Vietnamese government to get them to not attend peace talks with the North so that Democrats would not have a peace deal, tentative as it might have turned out to be, to tout during the election. He actively kept our soldiers at war to bolster his election chances. He told the South Vietnamese that they'd get a far better deal under his presidency.

They were both utterly corrupt pieces of shit.

 

[ToddBonzalez]

It's got to be W. Bush for the Iraq war, right? Though Reagan is certainly up there too. Trump's solidly in 3rd.

 

[Untzillatx]

They're all terrible, especially from a third world perspective, like all American presidents since WWII

 

[LastCaress]

Bush body count is incredibly high.

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About that

 

[Tabaxi]

You don't have GWB or Trump without the damage Reagan and his ilk caused.

It's Reagan by a mile.

 

[Mezentine]

Reagan was worse for America and GWB Jr was worse for the world

 

[Deleted member 25606]

I think the correct answer was Reagan, but now on 3.26.2020, trump got a grand case not just for recent R's but for all time.

 

[Arkanim94]

trump deciding to speed run te poll at the last second smh.

 

[turtle553]

I voted Trump, but now maybe think Nixon. If he didn't betray the trust of the American people, there may not have been such a cynical view of the government that led to the rise of Reagan, Bush, or Trump.

 

[CthulhuSars]

Reagan opened the gates to stupid. Trickle down economics, policies allowing social security to be raided he pretty much opened the gates to Bush Jr and Trump.

 

[Lyrick]

It's Reagan

proof: Buying power - Median income v S&P500 index since 1984 to 2016 (DEC 2019 S&P500 was at 3200, median household income was at 65.7K)

stolen from https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/7vkkc9/how_the_sp_500_grew_compared_to_us_median/

 

[Moppeh]

I'd say Reagan. His success has made the Republican Party what it is today.

It's so mind boggling to picture how he was and still is so beloved.

 

[Tawpgun]

About that

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lmao this was a very relevant thread bump. My vote was Reagan with W Bush as the runner up but holy shit Trump with the last second comeback to stay in the race

 

[bionic77]

Overall it was Reagan.

Bush (W) might have done the most damage to other countries.

And Trump probably is the worst for minorities (and best for Neo Nazis and white nationalists).

 

[Angelus Errare]

All I know is if you gave me a time machine I'd kidnap baby Reagan, Goldwater, JBS, Roger Ailes and send them to another country (Iceland) so they never rose to power in America in the capacities that they did.

 

[Kasey]

And Trump probably is the worst for minorities (and best for Neo Nazis and white nationalists).

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Reagan is still in the running there as well.

 

[TAJ]

Trump isn't possible without Reagan.

 

[BobLoblaw]

George W. Hundreds of thousands dead or seriously injured because of his Iraq war with just about as much corruption as Trump's administration.

 

[BadAss2961]

Would've probably said Reagen before this month, now I don't know. Trump was already fast approaching, now his mishandling of the coronavirus puts him in a class of his own. Dude literally has the country's fate in doubt and would gladly get us all killed if it meant his re-election.

 

[Keldroc]

It's still Reagan, if only for the AIDS deaths.

 

[Host Samurai]

Trump. He also comes with his god awful cabinet picks. All a bunch of greedy grifters.

 

[TAJ]

Though I did vote for Reagan, we're not even halfway through Trump's reign of terror.
He's a lock for reelection with Democrats eating themselves over Biden (like Trump) being a rapist.
We've also had more time to appreciate the damage from Reagan. Trump letting agencies rot will probably have huge, unforeseen downstream effects.

 

[Arta]

Trump. And we're only the season finale of term 1 titled "Recession".

Spoiler

S02E01 is "Depression"

 

[FaceHugger]

While I think Reagan did a lot to pretty much undermine everyone who wasn't rich or a corporation, George W. literally threw parts of the world into chaos for decades now, leading to the loss of countless lives. He and his administration made a kaleidoscope of bad decisions that kept compounding. We're still dealing with those failures now.

 

[Wolven Hammer]

It's between reagan and dubya.

 

[AbsoluteZero0K]

Nixon implemented the Southern Strategy, which created the Solid South. Reagan has Nixon to thank for his "legacy."

 

[Chindogg]

Since Reagan both Republicans and Democrats have tried to uphold his vision for America and emulated him during campaigns.

It's Reagan by a landslide.