Anonymous wrote:Reagan.

Been here 5 years, and DCA is hardly the airport worthy of being considered "National." It's small, old, and I can usually find better flights out of BWI or Dulles.

It isn't National as in for the Nation. It is national as in not international. Unlike BWI or IAD it gas no customs or immigrations and thus, except for a handful of airports like Toronto that have precertification you can't fly internationally from DCA.

National and BWI

I call it National--as does everyone I know.

If I hear people calling it Reagan, I assume either they are just visiting or newly arrived, or else they are Republicans.

"The Reagan Legacy Project was formed in 1997 as a project of Americans for Tax Reform, a national taxpayer advocacy organization, itself started in 1986 to promote President Reagan's historic Tax Reform Act of that year.

"The mission of the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project is to honor the legacy of our 40th president, Ronald Reagan. The Reagan Legacy Project aims to fulfill its mission by naming significant public landmarks after President Reagan in the 50 states and over 3,000 counties of the United States, as well as in formerly communist countries across the world.

"On February 6, 1998, the Reagan Legacy Project succeeded in its first mission: to rename Washington's National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. This event was particularly significant as it occurred on Ronald Reagan's 87th birthday.

"Several months later, the Reagan Legacy Project was instrumental in enacting legislation in Florida to rename the state's turnpike to the Ronald Reagan Turnpike.

"Since those early successes, the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project has been involved in a number of naming projects across the country and overseas.

"The Ronald Reagan Legacy Project works with elected officials, including members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators and city council members, as well as the general public, in an effort to identify and further the naming of more landmarks in honor of President Reagan."

Grover Norquist is the president of the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project.

I agree with many of the PPs who basically say no one would object to a Reagan National Airport if it had been an organic development. But it wasn't. The airport was renamed at great expense and over the express objection of local residents. That's why I don't seriously consider GOP objections to the Affordable Care Act. How can one claim to champion "states' rights," yet run roughshod over the preferences of local communities?

9:56 I really dont care.

Ive lived here all my life and I had to think for a sec what I call it and I believe I go back and forth but mostly call it national cause thats what it was when I was younger. Its force of habit more than anything.

Its the naming of a freaking airport. I get getting up in arms about republicans ramming religion and morality down my throat just like republicans may want to get up in arms about getting rammed health care down theirs. those are actually policy debates that have impact on our everyday life.

the naming of an airport does nothing for my life and please nobody find that one small minor silly detail showing me that the naming of the airport to reagan has had an impact on the way ive lived since the name change in 1998. seriously dont. nothing thats happened to me or the country since 1998 has had anything to do with changing the name of the airport from national to reagan.

It's taken me a long time but I sometimes now say Reagan although National is what I use most often.

Always BWI. Are people seriously calling it Thurgood Marshall?

I've lived here my whole life so I don't know if I'll ever change.

DH and I are both immigrants so we don't vote and we call every airport by the 3 letter code so Baltimore is BWI and DC is DCA for us...

He travels a lot and we just got this habit. Anyone else?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:do republicans refuse to call the airport in new york "jfk"? how about when the redskins played at "rfk" stadium, im sure republican skins fans just called it "where the redskins play" just cause of the politics of it all.

and im so partisan and dedicated to my party, i wont even call the lincoln memorial by its name. i simply call it "the memorial with that guy sitting on a chair in dc". i dont care if abe freed the slaves

Yes, we see your point. But those other buildings are not quite comparable, because they were not re-named as part of a crass political strategy. Washington National Airport had a perfectly sensible and serviceable name for decades ... but then the name was changed at great taxpayer expense, and over the wishes of the local people most affected by the change, to satisfy the political agendas of certain Republicans who had an explicitly stated agenda of maximizing the number of memorials named after the modern leader of the Republican party. That's why you're hearing some people refuse to call it "Reagan Airport." It's not a refusal to utter the name of any Republican memorial, but rather a reaction to the history behind how this particular memorial was re-named.

Perhaps those people are being too spiteful and stubborn (and political) in their refusal to use the new name. But if you're going to level criticism at them, then you should be aiming greater criticism at the Republicans who changed the name in the first place.

If there were a similar wave to re-name existing memorials after Bill Clinton, many conservatives would be apoplectic. Ask yourself how people will react if there is a push to rename IAD the "William Jefferson Clinton Airport."

BTW, before you accuse me of bias, I'm a person who posted earlier about how I alternate between calling it "Reagan" and "National" without much consideration -- whichever happens to come out first.

UGH. This is what I am talking about. Let it go.

Anonymous wrote:do republicans refuse to call the airport in new york "jfk"? how about when the redskins played at "rfk" stadium, im sure republican skins fans just called it "where the redskins play" just cause of the politics of it all.

and im so partisan and dedicated to my party, i wont even call the lincoln memorial by its name. i simply call it "the memorial with that guy sitting on a chair in dc". i dont care if abe freed the slaves

Yes, we see your point. But those other buildings are not quite comparable, because they were not re-named as part of a crass political strategy. Washington National Airport had a perfectly sensible and serviceable name for decades ... but then the name was changed at great taxpayer expense, and over the wishes of the local people most affected by the change, to satisfy the political agendas of certain Republicans who had an explicitly stated agenda of maximizing the number of memorials named after the modern leader of the Republican party. That's why you're hearing some people refuse to call it "Reagan Airport." It's not a refusal to utter the name of any Republican memorial, but rather a reaction to the history behind how this particular memorial was re-named.

Perhaps those people are being too spiteful and stubborn (and political) in their refusal to use the new name. But if you're going to level criticism at them, then you should be aiming greater criticism at the Republicans who changed the name in the first place.

If there were a similar wave to re-name existing memorials after Bill Clinton, many conservatives would be apoplectic. Ask yourself how people will react if there is a push to rename IAD the "William Jefferson Clinton Airport."

BTW, before you accuse me of bias, I'm a person who posted earlier about how I alternate between calling it "Reagan" and "National" without much consideration -- whichever happens to come out first.

Agreed 9:20. It is the "your party" stuff that drives me nutty. The PP made a good point about RFK, JFK and the Lincoln Memorial. Of course that is what we all call them. Sitting around thinking about something as trivial as party registration is just petty.

Anonymous wrote:do republicans refuse to call the airport in new york "jfk"? how about when the redskins played at "rfk" stadium, im sure republican skins fans just called it "where the redskins play" just cause of the politics of it all.

and im so partisan and dedicated to my party, i wont even call the lincoln memorial by its name. i simply call it "the memorial with that guy sitting on a chair in dc". i dont care if abe freed the slaves

So where do the Redskins play now? I actually hate the Redskins and their racist name.

do republicans refuse to call the airport in new york "jfk"? how about when the redskins played at "rfk" stadium, im sure republican skins fans just called it "where the redskins play" just cause of the politics of it all.

and im so partisan and dedicated to my party, i wont even call the lincoln memorial by its name. i simply call it "the memorial with that guy sitting on a chair in dc". i dont care if abe freed the slaves

Anonymous wrote:National
BWI

Force of habit.

Republican, native Washingtonian. I don't care who they want to name an airport after. Trust me Clinton will get one in time.

Taking the time to think about what one calls an airport based upon one's politics is just silly.

thats what ive been saying too. it doesnt say anything about the person if they call it reagan or national.

im sure someone will say its easy for you to say since the airport is named after someone in your party (im a dem like it matters for this silly discussion) so of course you "dont care"

Yup, few minutes of my life I wish I had back!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:National
BWI

Force of habit.

Republican, native Washingtonian. I don't care who they want to name an airport after. Trust me Clinton will get one in time.

Taking the time to think about what one calls an airport based upon one's politics is just silly.

I agree. I just spent a few of my precious minutes doing just that. Doh!