To the editor:

The GOP reveres Ronald Reagan and many of them proudly refer to themselves as “Reagan Republicans.” Personally, I disagreed with Reagan on a whole host of issues, but I respected the man as someone who loved our democracy and would never have considered trashing the Constitution to protect his own power.

Reagan would be appalled and ashamed of the behavior of many in today’s GOP. Would he have suffered the likes of Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Matt Gaetz? Would he have taken advice from Jim Jordan and Ted Cruz?

Reagan hated dictators, hated the Soviet Union, and Vladimir Putin is no different than the Soviet autocrats Reagan regularly clashed with. If he were alive, I’m sure Reagan would want to punch Tucker Carlson in the face for his fawning interview and unabashed admiration for Putin. And as for his suggestion that life in Russia today is better than in the USA; I wouldn’t want to be in the same room when Reagan watched that segment. How would Reagan have responded to Congressional Republican foot dragging on additional military aid to Ukraine?

You can’t say you love this country when you hate half the people who live here and want to tear down our democracy. Ronald Reagan had a conservative agenda, but he understood he had a responsibility to all Americans, not just those who agreed with him.

Ray Clasen

North Fort Myers