Judicial Activism in the One Prisoner-One Cell Debate: Reagan in Retrospect

Thirty years ago today, President Ronald Reagan frustratingly noted in his diary:

A federal judge has ruled that more than 1 prisoner in a cell constitutes cruel and inhuman punishment.  We actually have states unable to send a convicted man to prison unless they release another prisoner in his place.  Bureaucracy is still messing things up.

This represented but one shot in the ongoing war over the definition of the Constitutional prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”  Though this particular instance of Left wing judicial activism was effectively squashed by an 8 to 1 Supreme Court ruling, the battle rages on. 

After all, if one’s political opponents contend that the Constitution is a “living breathing document” (i.e.,  a piece of literary play-doh to be molded and shaped into whatever form the political masters deem best) then surely nothing as inconsequential as precedent need be adhered to. 

Obama & Reagan: Sorry, I’m Not Seeing Any Similarities

Ever since 2008, there have been attempts to depict President Obama as the modern-day incarnation of past Presidents, including:  Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and even—shockingly--Ronald Reagan .

Twenty-five years ago today, President Ronald Reagan made an entry in his diary that illuminates not only the gravity and seriousness with which he took his duties, but the remarkable contrasts between himself and our current Chief Executive:

Reagan:  April 14, 1986

Our 1^st meetings (staff) had to do with what happens tonite [sic].   For one thing I can’t go to Paul Laxalt’s Basque B.B.Q. at 7 P.M. our time.  [Air Force] F-111’s from an English base, and planes from our 6^th fleet carriers will hit [military] targets in Libya.  It wouldn’t be seemly for me to be out socializing…

Obama: March 20, 2011

Less than one day after announcing U.S. military strikes against Libya's government, Obama made time to kick a soccer ball around with kids in a shantytown…By morning, he spoke with his security team about the international assault against Moammar Gadhafi's defenses; by night, he was to stand atop a mountain and admire Rio's world famous statue of Jesus…It was all summed up by one image: Obama, adeptly juggling a soccer ball, as his aides helped him juggle his agenda…On Sunday, he was determined to be with his family, get among the people and feel the culture.  Obama and his family visited the City of God shantytown that gained fame through a movie of the same name…Obama, his wife Michelle and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, watched young children pound on drums and perform a dazzling acrobatic dance. And then all the Obamas took turns at a little soccer...

Reagan:  April 14, 1986

Over to E.O.B. for a secret meeting with bipartisan leaders of [the] House and Senate to tell them what was going to happen tonite [sic] in Libya…

Obama:  March 20, 2011

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., joined…protesters, saying he was angry that Congress was not consulted before the military strikes.

Reagan:  April 14, 1986

…the attack took place right on the nose 7 P.M. our time—about 11 minutes—over the target areas.  Preliminary report—all planes withdrawn but 2 of our F-111’s are reported…One thing seems sure:  ours was a success.

Obama:  April 12-13, 2011

No Cease Fire, No Search for Real Solutions in Libya

New Battles in Libya, Strains in NATO Campaign

Libya: Death Stalks the Streets in the Living Hell of Misrata

Deadly Struggle for Survival is Wages in West of Libya

In Embattled Libyan Town, Africans Fear the Mob

Libya War Cost the US $36 Million per Day in First 17 Days

Libyan Rebel Commander Admits His Fighters Have al-Qaeda Links

Colonel Gaddafi is not getting the message to go

To paraphrase a line from the late Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen:  I knew Ronald Reagan.  Ronald Reagan was a friend of mine; And Mr. Obama, you’re no Ronald Reagan. 

Reagan in Retrospect: March 18, 1983

A wise person once said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  Few places prove the truth of this proverb more than Washington D.C.  As the budget battle continues over the next few weeks, and the Democrats decry the “draconian” cuts proposed by Republicans, it’s worth recalling that these guys really haven’t changed all that much.  Democratic economic proposals have nothing to do with whether the economy is up, down, or flat—they are pure expressions of political ideology…one might actually call it “political religion.”  No set of circumstances—not even +10% unemployment and $5 a gallon gasoline will convince the Left that their policies have not worked and that free market alternatives need to be embraced.  Just consider this diary excerpt from twenty-eight years ago:

Met with House Republicans regarding the Democratic budget that came out of committee on a party line vote.  Our guys were all gung ho and ready to do battle.  The Democrats...know they can’t get their budget but [Speaker] Tip [O’Neill] said it was a moral statement of Democratic beliefs.  I think they’ve handed us an issue.  They would reduce or repeal everything we have done.  They’d cut defense more than $100 billion over 5 years, but they’d increase social spending $181 billion and increase taxes $315 billion.  On Monday, Commerce will announce G.N.P. growth for the 1^st Quarter of 1983 as 4%--highest since the 1^st Quarter of 1981.  Our program is working…

The upshot of realizing you’re dealing with fanatics is the realization that there will be no “compromise” unless it means you rolling over and giving them everything they want.  Fanatics cannot be reasoned with…they have to be defeated.

Reagan in Retrospect: March 16, 1981

What does Harry Reid have in common with Ronaldus Magnus?  “Nothing!” you shout?  Not so quick, dear reader, as it turns out they share a profound love of cowboy poetry—the one for funding it, and the other for actually reading it.  Here’s an excerpt from Reagan’s presidential diary, dated 16 March 1981. 

Paul Laxalt came by and played Santa Claus with gifts he’d received for me, including the most beautiful western belt buckle I’ve ever seen.  He had a letter from an Irishman in [Nevada] who complained because he didn’t think I knew the [Robert William] Service poem, The Shooting of Dan McGrew. We put in a call to Nevada and after I convinced him I really was who I said I was I recited the poem to him.  He’s a Democrat who I think may now turn Republican.

This is just one more example of a quality in Reagan that has been lacking in far too many Republican presidential hopefuls since then—an authentic connection to the common American.  Reagan not only claimed to like the poetry of the blue-collar man, he actually did!  He could recite it from memory.  There’s nothing more terrible than a patrician finagling for votes, except a patrician finagling for votes while trying to masquerade as a plebeian. (think John Kerry’s walking into the Village Grocery Store in Buchanan, OH and asking, “Can I get me a hunting license here?”)  

Here’s hoping that the GOP puts up a candidate in 2012 who can pump his/her own gas, correctly load and fire a shotgun, make a grilled cheese sandwich without help, and memorize something other than their own political talking points.

In case you’re now curious, here is…The Shooting of Dan McGrew:

For Further Reading:

Pandering is Bad, But Bad Pandering is Atrocious (INDC Journal)