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Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator

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Few presidents have connected with the American people like Ronald Reagan did. Through a combination of persuasion and policy, our 40th president turned a depressed nation into a confident one. Scott Walker, former governor of Wisconsin and president of Young America’s Foundation, explains how he did it.

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Script:

Ronald Reagan fashioned his political career and his presidency around three things. 

Lower taxes

Smaller government

Strong defense

In doing so, he almost single-handedly resurrected and redefined the modern conservative movement. But he did much more than that—he resurrected and redefined America.

If that sounds like an impressive feat, it was. And it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Reagan who could have done it. Known by friend and foe alike as The Great Communicator, even Democrats conceded that no one could connect with the American people like Reagan. Whenever he went on TV—which was often—to promote a policy, he invariably swung the American people his way. When he explained something, it just made sense.

Fittingly, it was a TV speech in 1964 entitled “A Time for Choosing” that launched his political career. He delivered it on behalf of Republican Presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater. Here’s just one of his many memorable passages.

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size… Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.”

This was pure Reagan: a basic truth delivered with humor.

Born in a small Midwestern town on February 6th, 1911, Reagan honed his communication skills as a radio announcer and then, as an actor. He was a genuine Hollywood star and celebrity for over two decades before he got into politics. Tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome with a golden voice, he was well-respected and well-liked by his peers. He was also seen as a natural leader. From 1947-52, he was President of the Screen Actors Guild, deftly guiding it through the blacklist era.    

In 1965, encouraged by the positive response to his “A Time for Choosing” speech, Reagan decided to run for governor of California. He won easily. The victory immediately established him as a major figure in the Republican party. By 1980, he was their overwhelming choice for President.

That year, he soundly defeated President Jimmy Carter. The incumbent lost because his pessimistic approach to problem-solving mirrored the justifiably sour mood of the country. The economy was going nowhere, caught in the double grip of inflation and stagnation.

In contrast, Reagan—ever the optimist—offered a way out. It wasn’t the American people who were to blame, he told voters, it was the government. Reagan would get it out of the way. He would lower taxes and cut red tape.

He did both.

The media dismissed his plan, calling it “Reaganomics.” But it worked.

From 1982 to ’87, the American economy, defined as GDP adjusted for inflation, rose an astonishing 27 percent, manufacturing 33 percent, and the median income by 12 percent.

An estimated 20 million new jobs were created. All income classes and all racial and ethnic groups benefited from the Reagan economy.

The dark decade of the seventies, a time in which it looked like America was in a terminal eclipse, faded away. It was, as Reagan put it, during his 1984 re-election campaign, “Morning in America” again.

Every bit as transformational as his work on the economy, was his approach to foreign policy, specifically the Soviet Union. It’s easy to forget, but when Reagan came to office in 1981, Soviet-style communism appeared to be as strong, if not stronger, than American-style democracy.

Whereas Reagan’s predecessor had taken a “we just need to get along” approach, Reagan saw it much differently. He didn’t mince words. In March of 1983, he called the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” The media and the Democrats wailed that the phrase was reckless, but it was typical Reagan. Simple, clear, and true. What else do you call a totalitarian system that had deprived millions of people across the globe of their freedom?

When asked what his strategy was for fighting the Cold War, Reagan replied. “We win. They lose.”

For the complete transcript visit: https://www.prageru.com/video/ronald-reagan-the-great-communicator

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40 Comments

  1. I miss the Cold War. I miss the Soviet nuclear threat. I miss it all because it united us as a nation. We could point our finger at “the evil empire” from a position of moral authority and claim to be a free country. People appreciated being American, and respected Judeo Christian values. Even the Leftists were sane rational people back then.
    Not like now.

  6. I was curious how much propaganda would be in this video. Turns out almost the whole thing lol. Reagan did some good things sure but he was awful if you actually know what you’re talking about

  7. Ronald Reagan set the wheels in motion to absolutely destroy this country – debt began spiralling out of control, the middle class began to disappear under reaganomics – 30 years later there's nothing left of it, crime peaked. He does not deserve to be seen as a hero.

  16. "Last night, I tell you, to watch that thing on television, as I did, to see those, those monkeys from those African countries — damn them — they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!" — 1971, Reagan in a Phone Call about the African UN delegation. What an inspirational man!

  18. Weird how Reagan exchanged weapons for hostages to radical islamists, let the big govt CIA smuggle crack into the states, had record employment of federal employees, a huge national debt, and his aids confirmed that he indeed had a form of dementia….

    Curious why none of this was mentioned by Prager U.

  27. I was tragicly born 145 days TOO LATE to vote for the Gipper's re-election on Nov 6 1984! I was a strong supporter of Reagan even then. I listened to his speeches back then. He is the first to put me on a path to conservativism.

  29. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan did not solve the illegal border crossings from Mexico and he gave amnesty to at least three million illegals continuing the trend of making white American citizens a minority in their own country. The same could be said of every American president since 1965. America is now held hostage by non-white foreigners within their own borders. I am stunned at the stupidity and ignorance of most of the comments below this video failing to recognize this issue as the most important issue facing the United States since the Revolutionary War. It is a fact that the founding fathers, including Abraham Lincoln, would be rolling over in their graves when learning that by 2040 white Americans will be a minority in their own country. And for those of you who don't care about race, understand this fact that 65% to 90% of all minorities vote for the Democratic Party. They are your political enemy siding with the most vile political party against you.

  30. He also support Osama bin Laden and other freedom fighters🤣 to destroy Afghanistan…
    And ironically in 9/11 those freedom fighter become terrorist because those so called freedom fighters also killed innocent Americans.

  34. I watched this after saving it on my "Watch Later" playlist. After it was over, Youtube autoplayed a video that was not on my playlist. It was an anti-Capitalism, pro-Russian, pro-Chinese, anti-American speech at the University of Chicago.

  35. From Wikipedia: “PragerU is frequently criticized for presenting misleading or factually incorrect content in its videos, particularly those that question climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and racism, as well as those that oppose immigration.[9][10][11][12]”

  36. This video is propaganda. He was a lovely man and with great sense of humor, who instituted horrible polices that crushed working people, killed gay people, and his cronies were so toxic, that we are dealing with the repercussions today. That said, he was a lovely man, a decent guy, had a great sense of humor, and today’s GOP wouldn’t elect him dog catcher. They’d kick him out for being too liberal. His decency would rule him out of a GOP that exists today. It’s sad.

  37. Democrats are loyal to their party. Considering how woke and far left they are now leaning, they no longer represent the people. Their party illustrates why everyone should NOT get a trophy. Reagan would jail most of them as traitors to our country, committing crimes against our people. All the grown ups in this country have died or no one is listening.