Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birthday of our 40th President, St. Ronnie of Hollywood. Since the end of his second term in 1989, conservatives have been on a Crusade -- literally -- to plaster St. Ronnie's name on every building, bridge, airport and mountain as a way of saying, "St. Ronnie's our FDR/Truman/JFK, so suck on it, Dems!" 2011 is expected to be an orgy of commemorations of St. Ronnie's birth by his right-wing cult followers, hoping that some of St. Ronnie's magic mojo rubs off on them. Ironically, if St. Ronnie were to run in a primary in the Rethuglican / New Confederate Party, he might not be conservative enough for the reactionary base.
In the midst of all this puffery, it might be well to step back and review his record, which both diverged from right wing orthodoxy in some ways, and reinforced it in others. Think Progress has a nice summary of that record; the naughty Wonkette has a more pungent video record.
So, not to be totally churlish, we wish the departed St. Ronnie a happy birthday, and we're even sending him an asbestos suit as a birthday gift.
(photo: A conservative supporter, left, embraces St. Ronnie)
