A Reaganesque Metro station

April 28, 2001 10:02 AM

A Reaganesque Metro station The airport, the subway station... What's next?
posted by matteo (33 comments total)

George Will actually has some coherent thoughts on this subject.

Many Republicans in Congress, Bob Barr being the worst offender, are scrambling to use what little majority they have to plaster Reagan's name and image on anything they can think of: Mount Rushmore, currency. There was even a proposal that would have mandated a Reagan memorial in EVERY ONE of the country's counties. That's moving beyond hero-worship to something like necrophilia.

The Democrats have JFK, whose legacy the Republicans have always contested. I suspect the same will go for Reagan. There will never be agreement, only endless revisions upon revisions.Funny, though, the most significant thing either of them ever did was get shot.
posted by Dr. Boom at 10:26 AM on April 28, 2001

I believe I read within the past day or so that the GOP was beginning to back off on some of the Ronnie stuff. A solution: take advantage of the Bush tax givebacks. On thousand dolloar bills, put Ronnie (we won't see it cause we won't get it) and on 5 and tens , put Jesse J: he gets around a lot. King would have been ok but now his foundation (family) is earning bucks by selling ads so he is out. Time for Tom Paine, the most neglected of the great ones.
posted by Postroad at 11:27 AM on April 28, 2001

Let's put Paine on the 20! That way, we can get rid of Jackson -- a man of no small infamy.
posted by silusGROK at 11:39 AM on April 28, 2001

Given that the name of the airport is officially Regan National Airport, it would make sense to call the station Regan National Airport...

I think in the end, this little issue is a nice bargaining chip for the guy on the committee. He may not get this, but he'll get something.
posted by Witold at 3:02 PM on April 28, 2001

Let's put Paine on the 20! That way, we can get rid of Jackson -- a man of no small infamy.

forget all those guys, Reagan, Paine, etc. Let's put John Coltrane on the 20, Miles on the 10, Monk on the 5, and Bird on the 1.
posted by Dr. Boom at 3:19 PM on April 28, 2001

Is anyone interested in getting FDR off the dime? Anybody would be preferable Truman, Stalin, Satan.. anybody.
posted by thirteen at 3:42 PM on April 28, 2001

what's the beef with FDR?
posted by owillis at 3:51 PM on April 28, 2001

I say at least one mental hosptial per state should bear Reagan's name as a reminder.
posted by jragon at 4:59 PM on April 28, 2001

I'm guessing the GOP's logic is that Reagan is as good as dead anyway (mentally, anywho), so they're honoring him as if he'd already died.

Or maybe they're just impatient. I'm going with the latter.

What's so bad about FDR? Even Republicans think he was a great president.
posted by lannie628 at 5:35 PM on April 28, 2001

Treading on sacred ground there thirtreen . . . .

I for one would like to see a bit more of old FDR - he's certainly far more deserving of a national airport than Reagan.

Anyway, as Reagan isn't dead yet, all this clamoring on the part of Republicans reminds me of that sketch from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - "I'm not dead yet!!"
posted by aladfar at 12:35 AM on April 29, 2001

Actually, that's from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, there, aladfar. If they're going to name anything after Reagan, shouldn't it be a well?
posted by bradlands at 1:03 AM on April 29, 2001

The Democrats have JFK, whose legacy the Republicans have always contested.

The Dems have FDR, whose monument is the entire country, to some extent.

Though I'm still waiting for some enlightened soul to rename London Heathrow to "Frank Whittle Airport".
posted by holgate at 1:50 AM on April 29, 2001

> Funny, though, the most significant thing either of
> them ever did was get shot

Yes, but Kennedy did it better.

> If they're going to name anything after Reagan ...

it should be an

Shit. I forget.

> I'm still waiting for some enlightened soul to rename
> London Heathrow to "Frank Whittle Airport".

That wouldn't be wrong-- he was "the father of the jet engine" and all -- but the name Heathrow is historic, famous, and one of the few pleasant and relaxing things about that huge, noisy crush of machines and people.
posted by pracowity at 5:09 AM on April 29, 2001

Some of the items that the GOP wants to dedicate to Ronnie require he be dead 20 years (like a monument in DC). Does this mean he actually died when he was shot? It this tantamount to Paul McCartney died? Was there a cover-up that the GOP has been harboring for years? Or can they just not count or take a pulse? Could explain GOP stances on education and health care.

As far as the airport goes, the name change on the Metro signs has to be requested by the local government, which has not requested the name change as they would have to cough up the money (a little over $400,000). Most people around the DC area still call it National Airport, the alternative is a mouthful and cab drivers may take you to the most expensive government building ever erected, the Ronald Reagan building (although this has nothing on the Big Dig).
posted by vanderwal at 8:23 AM on April 29, 2001

> Funny, though, the most significant thing either of
> them ever did was get shot

Beg to differ: Peace Corps.

JFK 1, RWR 0
posted by ratbastard at 8:37 AM on April 29, 2001

I think FDR was a scumbag who trashed the constitution, and I think that more than half the trouble we have with government today originated in his twisted administration.

Oh how I dislike that FDR!
posted by thirteen at 8:46 AM on April 29, 2001

Sounds like trolling to me, thirteen. I think I'll pass on the history lesson I was about to administer.
posted by jennaratrix at 9:28 AM on April 29, 2001

It's not trolling, and I'd wager that thirteen knows his history as well as you do. He just has a particular take on American history that you (and, admittedly, most of us) don't share. I disagree with it, but it's a legitimate viewpoint, not a troll.
posted by rodii at 9:42 AM on April 29, 2001

"Tear down that wall."

JFK 1, RWR 1
posted by netbros at 9:52 AM on April 29, 2001

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth..."

JFK 2, RWR 1
posted by owillis at 10:04 AM on April 29, 2001

For all I know, thirteen has a PhD in history, but using inflammatory language (i.e., "scumbag" and "trashed the Constitution") to post an unsubstantiated, unpopular opinion on an unrelated topic thread is practically a textbook definition of trolling. My apologies if I in any way misread "scumbag" and it is actually a legitimate viewpoint backed up by historical analysis.
posted by jennaratrix at 10:35 AM on April 29, 2001

Unrelated? In a thread that's about people's opinions of presidents? His FDR-bashing merely followed up the Reagan/Kennedy/Andrew Jackson-bashing. This thread isn't actually notable for careful analysis; it's just that no one gets pissed when Jackson gets dissed. (Hey, a rhyme.)

By all means, post your history lesson. I'm just saying thirteen's not a troll. He's contributed here for a long time and backs up his opinions, SICK AND WRONG though they be. We play the "troll" card too easily here.

I'm a Polk man myself.
posted by rodii at 11:50 AM on April 29, 2001

Whoops.
posted by rodii at 11:52 AM on April 29, 2001

to go way way off topic for a moment, i have recently come to the conclusion the peace corps is only nominally a service organization and the amount of good that it accomplishes is way, way overstated. i come to this conclusion after talking to a whole bunch of people who did volunteer in africa. it's really good for the american twenty-somethings in the program and it's generally not too destructive to the communities that they are placed in.
posted by palegirl at 1:44 PM on April 29, 2001

Thanks Rodii. I have a colorful vocabulary. If it makes everyone feel better, I think all the Bushi are scumbags too.

I do like Teddy Roosevelt, whom I believe would travel through time to shoot his kin with an elephant gun if he could.

In the future we will all be called trolls for 15 minutes.
posted by thirteen at 8:11 PM on April 29, 2001

> In the future we will all be called trolls for 15 minutes.

Next!

There should be tighter rules limiting the political games politicians play with naming things. Americans constantly proclaim their distrust of and even hatred for politicians, and yet politicians continue to name apolitical things after politicians.

The airport in Washington -- you're stuck with that name, but there's no reason to carry on that game -- the airport in the US capital should be named something like Washington Flight Center and the official ceremony and documents should emphasize that the Washington in question is the city, not a dead president.

> the peace corps is only nominally a service organization
> and the amount of good that it accomplishes is way,
> way overstated.

That's what I've been told, too. It seems as if it would be much better to train in-country trainers and then never send another American except to make sure the money isn't being misdirected. Shipping someone from Milwaukee to live in Mali and tell the folk in Mali how to irrigate their crops is not sensible, not after the first group of Malians are taught. And if further US training is required, why not bring a few Malians to the US to study?
posted by pracowity at 4:44 AM on April 30, 2001

Here in DC, law states that a monument can be built after the honored person has been dead for at least 25 years. (Reagan National is in Virginia, so the law didn't apply.) This can be overridden by Congress. (Sonny Bono Memorial Park was bought and paid for by a private citizen.)

Republicans tried to build Ronnie *another* memorial -- this one on the National Mall --but our non-voting Congresswoman opposed it. She cited the time period required. The law was created for good reason; let time pass and let history decide who should be remembered.

I'm glad the Republicans blinked. Bob Barr, do you even know how much it costs to go from Capitol South to Reagan National on Metro? I didn't think so.
posted by jennak at 10:40 AM on April 30, 2001

All this Reagan vs. JFK vs. FDR is not the point. The point is that the airport (like it or not) is named Reagan. So, obviously, the subway stop should be called that as well. The NYC subway stop isn't called Idlewild, is it? Anyone who is opposed to this common sense change is blinded by politics.
posted by ljromanoff at 9:55 AM on May 1, 2001

Anyone who is opposed to this common sense change is blinded by politics.

Beg to differ ljromanoff. Those who would name everything that isn't moving after Reagan are the ones blinded by politics. Hell, the man isn't even dead yet (except for the brain.) The reason nuts like Bob Barr have such a turgid member for Reagan is because he, against his advisors, paid tribute to the Nazi SS troops while President. That makes him a hero for all facists, neo-nazis and KKK members and will always be above reproach in their eyes.
posted by nofundy at 12:57 PM on May 2, 2001

Beg to differ ljromanoff. Those who would name everything that isn't moving after Reagan are the ones blinded by politics. Hell, the man isn't even dead yet (except for the brain.) The reason nuts like Bob Barr have such a turgid member for Reagan is because he, against his advisors, paid tribute to the Nazi SS troops while President. That makes him a hero for all facists, neo-nazis and KKK members and will always be above reproach in their eyes.

OK, whatever. Republican = fascist, I get it.

If the airport had been renamed for a left-wing president like Wilson or FDR, I'd still say that the sensible thing would be to rename the subway stop as well.
posted by ljromanoff at 6:13 PM on May 2, 2001

The point is that the airport (like it or not) is named Reagan. So, obviously, the subway stop should be called that as well.

Well, another way to look at it is that the Metro Station is called "National Airport." So, like it or not, the airport should be called that as well. Eh?
posted by crunchland at 6:48 PM on May 2, 2001

Well, another way to look at it is that the Metro Station is called "National Airport." So, like it or not, the airport should be called that as well. Eh?


That is another way to look at it. A stupid way, but yes, another way.
posted by ljromanoff at 10:29 PM on May 2, 2001