What if a Reagan Seminar was scheduled and absolutely no one attended? That would be a surprise.
But that’s precisely what happened at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center a few weeks ago. Is there a logical reason that no one attended a seminar on a revered president? Maybe. This non-event was apparently organized by longtime collectivist and conservative-hater Barbara Perry.
You don’t know Barbara Perry. No one does. She’s a third-rate teacher at UVA and the author of fourth rate books, which no one reads. She is a cliché, that’s all.
A shallow, ultra-leftist and conservative hater at a university? What a surprise.
I know her somewhat. Several years ago, I was on a panel at UVA and made mention of the fact that FDR’s “Fireside Chats” were somewhat of a myth. Out of the 4,427 days of the FDR Administration, he only gave 42 fireside chats. Less that one percent. Perry happened to be on the panel and grew violently nasty (as liberals often do) arguing that FDR had many more. Of course, she lost the argument.
Apparently, CSPAN wasn’t there at her Reagan seminar either. Strange because when I taught a graduate level class on Ronald Reagan at UVA, CSPAN was there covering one of my lectures.
Perry’s recent seminar did not include noted Reagan historian Dr. Paul Kengor, author of many fine books on Ronald Reagan; Paul teaches at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.
Nor did she have noted Reagan historian Dr. Steven Hayward, author of many fine books on Ronald Reagan; Steven teaches at Berkley.
Nor did she have noted Reagan historian Dr. Kiron Skinner, author of many fine books on Ronald Reagan; Kiron teaches at Pepperdine.
Nor was anyone from the Reagan Library involved; nor was anyone from the Reagan Institute. Nor was I invited, and I’ve written many books on Ronald Reagan, spoken in many venues including the Reagan Library and the Reagan Institute and have taught about Reagan at UVA and his alma mater, Eureka College, where I was named the Visiting Reagan Scholar.
Of course, we are all politically conservative because we think, just like the first conservative in the world, Descartes. Perry did have one person in that empty room, however. Max Boot. He is the author of one of the two worst books ever written on Ronald Reagan; the other disgrace of a book is Dutch by Edmund Morris.
Kengor and Hayward have written book reviews, trashing Boot’s book, as have I. Dr. Henry Nau, a great Reagan scholar, has also written a review, trashing Boot’s book. Henry, who worked at the NSA during the Reagan presidency, has written important books on Reagan, and now teaches at George Washington University. And Henry was not invited to Perry’s seminar.
None of the true Reagan scholars accept the Boot book as factual history. It’s filled with prevarications and falsehoods, poorly researched and written. It is not for sale at the Reagan Library, nor will Boot be invited to speak at the Reagan Library, the Reagan Institute or the Buckley Center at Yale, or for that matter any other respectable institution.
Nevertheless, he was invited by an agenda-driven, conservative-hating teacher at UVA.
Ignorantia sit beatitude.
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2024 Election
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University of Virginia
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Ronald Reagan
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Barbara Perry
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FDR Fireside Chats
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Ronald Reagan presidency
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Dr. Stephen Hayward
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Dr. Paul Kengor
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Dr. Kiron Skinner
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Ronald Reagan Library
