Benton
resolution honoring President Reagan scheduled for Thursday,
March 8
March 7, 2007
OLYMPIA…As
he has done since the 2004 session, Sen. Don Benton,
R-Vancouver, is sponsoring a Senate resolution honoring former
President Ronald Reagan. The Democrat leadership has scheduled
the resolution for Thursday, March 8.
“He was such a great American, his
words were so often inspirational and uplifting,” Benton said.
“President Reagan provided our nation with a great vision for
the future and the leadership to advance the cause of democracy
and the American dream.”
Reagan was the 40th
president of the United States. He took office on Jan. 20, 1981;
and only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin. He
quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during
the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.
When Reagan won the Republican
presidential nomination in 1980, he chose as his running mate
former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George
Bush. Voters, troubled by inflation and by the year-long
confinement of Americans in Iran, swept the Republican ticket
into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President
Jimmy Carter.
In 1984, Reagan and Bush won a
second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes.
Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F.
Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.
As an actor, Reagan served as
president of the Screen Actors Guild, where he became embroiled
in disputes over the issue of communism in the film industry.
His political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He
toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman
for conservatism.
In 1966, he was elected governor
of California by a margin of a million votes, and re-elected in
1970.
Reagan was born in Tampico, Ill.,
on Feb. 6, 1911. He died on June 4, 2004, at the age of 93 in
Bel-Air, Calif.
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Additional contact Penny
Drost at (360) 786-7522
or
penny.drost@leg.wa.gov
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