Their past antics might not lend them credibility as presidential critics, but CNN's Suzanne Malvaux and Carol Costello threw water on the GOP veneration of President Reagan on Friday. Echoing the liberal media of the Reagan years, the duo cast his conservative legacy as "revisionist history."
"And it's almost like revisionist history here. Back in the day, there were a lot of people who were suffering under the Reagan era," Malveaux insisted about GOP candidates invoking Reagan's name on the campaign trail. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]
Costello made the simplistic argument that "Mr. Reagan raised taxes," and thus would be at odds with Republicans today who want to cut taxes.
CNN, of course, failed to report the big picture of Reagan's presidency. During his tenure in office, the top income tax rate fell from 70 percent to 28 percent. Reagan also cut corporate tax rates and worked to simplify the tax code with the 1986 Tax Reform Act.
To read more, and for a full transcript, click here.
A brief transcript of the segment, which aired on January 27 at 11:05 a.m. EST, is as follows:
CAROL COSTELLO: Gingrich isn't the first politician to fight over who carries Reagan's mantle best, but does it really mean anything? Ronald Reagan is an icon, but he was elected president in the disco era. What, three decades ago? Many young Republican voters scratch their heads. They're into Ron Paul, and he barely mentions Ronald Reagan. And you could argue President Reagan dealt with the economic woes of his time in a way Republicans are not willing to do now. Mr. Reagan raised taxes.
(...)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX: It's interesting, Carol, you know. Because I remember Reagan, I was kind of a young person at the time. And it's almost like revisionist history here. Back in the day, there were a lot of people who were suffering under the Reagan era. Some people believe that this is now rewriting the history books, if you will, and as people's memories kind of tend to make it more, I guess, fantastical. Yeah.
