Teddy Roosevelt was a single person in the midst of a horrifically corrupt pile of shit that was Washington- perhaps the worst that has been seen in our history, until recently..
FDR was a single person in the midst of the worst economic collapse this country has experienced. (So far)
Harry Truman was a single person in the midst of the most corrupt period we have experienced (until recently) in the way military contractors were raping the taxpayers.
LBJ was a single (and mostly flawed) person in the midst of the most polarizing period of our time (until recently) in terms of racist hatred and a country about to come apart at the seams because of it.
John Marshall was a single person in the midst of the McCarthy Era, fer chrissakes, who understood the need for this country to embrace our former enemies; to reach out and help establish a stable Europe despite all the calls at home to instead feed upon our hatreds and our "American Exceptionalism" to assume hegemony over the entire world as the victor in WWII.
I could go on.
This hand-wringing and nonsense that complains "Our poor leaders are so alone and helpless" is incredibly self-defeating. We have millions in this country who are truly hurting right now. They are scared, and rightly so. They've seen their personal wealth--most of which is tied up in their homes--totally destroyed. They can't find work, and when they do it is at a fraction of what they were accustomed to making before. They are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, with no responsible avenue available to forestall or prevent it.
For those millions of people, the supply-side experiment has failed, and it has failed miserably. Wall Street and the corporations have long ago declared class warfare on us (with the help of Washington, Repubs and Dems alike) and guess what?: We are on the verge of losing it, big time!
There is a mass movement available to correct this. There are a lot of angry people who are more than ready to fight back. Don't sell short the ability of the people to focus their righteous anger and their energies in an effort to stand tall in opposition to the monied interests that now own Washington.
And yet, you suggest we should give our leaders a free pass in their failure to launch a populist response in this class warfare because the job is so tough?
"Poppycock!"
I expect the Republicans to sell out the interests of the people to their corporate masters. As Steele would say, "That's just the way they roll."
But we will get nowhere for so long as we Democrats give OUR leaders a free pass everytime we see them short-sell the American people at the behest of their corporate owners.
Teddy Roosevelt didn't first ask the railroad or oil barons how much reform they would accept before launching his campaign to knock them on their asses.
FDR went right to the people to encourage them to get this country moving again, and he didn't first wait for marching orders from Congress or their corporate owners to make sure he didn't step on their toes.
Harry Truman certainly didn't reach across the aisle to invite the military contractors or their Congressional lackeys to come up with a plan to fix corruption in Washington.
LBJ cast electoral calculations to the wind in forcing the hands of Congress to either address the racism and inequality in our society or otherwise stamp their name of approval on it for all to see throughout history.
And John Marshall-by dint of his own personal integrity and reputation-gave us the Marshall Plan at the same time in history we had a Washington full of cowards and scumbags who were too afraid of McCarthy stalking them to ever embrace any "foreigners" as anything but "communists" and other lesser beings.
Sorry, stilli. Call me a firebagger, if you must. Complain that I am in the fringe and that I simply refuse to play nice with other Democrats. But understand that I am greatly disappointed with the opportunity that has been handed to Obama to lead this country to a far better place, and the way in which he has squandered it.
There has been nothing courageous about this leader, and a courageous leader is precisely what we require- perhaps moreso than at any other time in our history.
And most certainly, understand that in my book, you cannot be a Democrat whilst limiting your agenda to only that which will be approved by your corporate owners. We've seen this at play in the Health Care Reform effort; in our Energy Policy effort; and, most transparently, in our effort to get a handle on Wall Street to stop the abuses that got us into this mess we are in.
You ask "What can we do?" It begins, at the very least, by serving notice to our leaders (including and especially Obama) that we have zero tolerance for Dems who embrace reform, but only so much reform as their corporate owners will allow. We then make of the Democratic Party a political organization that stands four-square with the people in opposition to their opponents in this Class War that has been visited upon us. And we do it by insisting we offer leadership that takes charge, kicks ass, and takes names. Do that, and we can all join in to fight back effectively and with a proper focus to once again make this government work for US, "We, the People!"
Or, we can continue licking the boots of Goldman Sachs and all the rest of the monied interests that will not stop until they have at last beaten us all into submission. It's your choice. Really, it is.
FDR was a single person in the midst of the worst economic collapse this country has experienced. (So far)
Harry Truman was a single person in the midst of the most corrupt period we have experienced (until recently) in the way military contractors were raping the taxpayers.
LBJ was a single (and mostly flawed) person in the midst of the most polarizing period of our time (until recently) in terms of racist hatred and a country about to come apart at the seams because of it.
John Marshall was a single person in the midst of the McCarthy Era, fer chrissakes, who understood the need for this country to embrace our former enemies; to reach out and help establish a stable Europe despite all the calls at home to instead feed upon our hatreds and our "American Exceptionalism" to assume hegemony over the entire world as the victor in WWII.
I could go on.
This hand-wringing and nonsense that complains "Our poor leaders are so alone and helpless" is incredibly self-defeating. We have millions in this country who are truly hurting right now. They are scared, and rightly so. They've seen their personal wealth--most of which is tied up in their homes--totally destroyed. They can't find work, and when they do it is at a fraction of what they were accustomed to making before. They are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, with no responsible avenue available to forestall or prevent it.
For those millions of people, the supply-side experiment has failed, and it has failed miserably. Wall Street and the corporations have long ago declared class warfare on us (with the help of Washington, Repubs and Dems alike) and guess what?: We are on the verge of losing it, big time!
There is a mass movement available to correct this. There are a lot of angry people who are more than ready to fight back. Don't sell short the ability of the people to focus their righteous anger and their energies in an effort to stand tall in opposition to the monied interests that now own Washington.
And yet, you suggest we should give our leaders a free pass in their failure to launch a populist response in this class warfare because the job is so tough?
"Poppycock!"
I expect the Republicans to sell out the interests of the people to their corporate masters. As Steele would say, "That's just the way they roll."
But we will get nowhere for so long as we Democrats give OUR leaders a free pass everytime we see them short-sell the American people at the behest of their corporate owners.
Teddy Roosevelt didn't first ask the railroad or oil barons how much reform they would accept before launching his campaign to knock them on their asses.
FDR went right to the people to encourage them to get this country moving again, and he didn't first wait for marching orders from Congress or their corporate owners to make sure he didn't step on their toes.
Harry Truman certainly didn't reach across the aisle to invite the military contractors or their Congressional lackeys to come up with a plan to fix corruption in Washington.
LBJ cast electoral calculations to the wind in forcing the hands of Congress to either address the racism and inequality in our society or otherwise stamp their name of approval on it for all to see throughout history.
And John Marshall-by dint of his own personal integrity and reputation-gave us the Marshall Plan at the same time in history we had a Washington full of cowards and scumbags who were too afraid of McCarthy stalking them to ever embrace any "foreigners" as anything but "communists" and other lesser beings.
Sorry, stilli. Call me a firebagger, if you must. Complain that I am in the fringe and that I simply refuse to play nice with other Democrats. But understand that I am greatly disappointed with the opportunity that has been handed to Obama to lead this country to a far better place, and the way in which he has squandered it.
There has been nothing courageous about this leader, and a courageous leader is precisely what we require- perhaps moreso than at any other time in our history.
And most certainly, understand that in my book, you cannot be a Democrat whilst limiting your agenda to only that which will be approved by your corporate owners. We've seen this at play in the Health Care Reform effort; in our Energy Policy effort; and, most transparently, in our effort to get a handle on Wall Street to stop the abuses that got us into this mess we are in.
You ask "What can we do?" It begins, at the very least, by serving notice to our leaders (including and especially Obama) that we have zero tolerance for Dems who embrace reform, but only so much reform as their corporate owners will allow. We then make of the Democratic Party a political organization that stands four-square with the people in opposition to their opponents in this Class War that has been visited upon us. And we do it by insisting we offer leadership that takes charge, kicks ass, and takes names. Do that, and we can all join in to fight back effectively and with a proper focus to once again make this government work for US, "We, the People!"
Or, we can continue licking the boots of Goldman Sachs and all the rest of the monied interests that will not stop until they have at last beaten us all into submission. It's your choice. Really, it is.