Put "St. Ronnie" On The $50 Bill ?

It's no secret that right-wingers literally worship former president Ronald Reagan. Take one of them to task over one of their silly ideas or statements, and you're sure to to see them immediately bring up the specter of their "St. Ronnie". They refer to Reagan in the same hushed tones that liberals once used to talk about JFK.

The politicians of the right have already named an airport, a freeway, an aircraft carrier and a federal building after him -- not to mention dozens of schools across the country. Now they want to put his image on United States currency.

This is not a new idea. In the past, they have tried to put his likeness on the dime, the $10 bill and the $20 bill. Those efforts all failed, but they are still trying. This time it's Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-North Carolina). McHenry has introduced legislation that would take President Grant off the $50 bill and replace him with St. Ronnie.

I'm not sure whether this is worship of Reagan or hatred for the "Yankee general" that defeated the South over 140 years ago. Some Southerners still carry a grudge over losing that stupid war of insurrection fought to defend slavery. Anyway, changing the president on the $50 bill is a silly idea.

But a couple of friends and fellow bloggers have come up with some ideas to help these right-wing politicians. Over at Reconstitution 2.0, Jolly Roger thinks he has found the perfect currency to put St. Ronnie's picture on -- Food Stamps (see above). He would put a different Reagan picture on each denomination.

JR says this is the fitting place for pictures of Reagan, because he was ". . .the man who reintroduced us to economic policies that favored the transfer of all the nation's wealth to the richest among us, deficit spending for which no repayment would even be possible, and labor policies that would have made any feudal baron smile, Saint Ronnie made food stamps the norm for millions of working Americans." I certainly can't argue with that.

But KeyRose over at La Sanbe is willing to work a compromise deal with the right-wingers. He says he is willing to let them put St. Ronnie on the $50 bill, as long as they take the phrase "In God We Trust" off of all U.S. currency (both paper and metal). That also sounds like a good deal, but I doubt most right-wing fundies could choose between their favorite demagogue and their mythical sky-fairy.

I like both ideas.