Robert Reich, trying to describe how important the upcoming election is:
It’s not merely Republicans versus Democrats, or conservatives versus liberals. The larger battle is between regressives and progressives.
Regressives want to take this nation backward — to before Social Security, unemployment insurance, and Medicare; before civil rights and voting rights; before regulations designed to protect the environment, workers, consumers, and investors. They want to sabotage much of what this nation has achieved over the last century. And they’re out to do it by making the rich far richer, turning Americans against one another in competition for a smaller and smaller slice of the pie, substituting private morality for public morality, and opening the floodgates to big money in politics.
Progressives are determined to take this nation forward — toward equal opportunity, tolerance and openness, adequate protection against corporate and Wall Street abuses, and an economy and democracy that are working for all of us.
The Real Battle In 2012 And Beyond
Apologies to the author for the extensive quote, but it's a short article.
Unfortunately, all this quote does for me is point out what the real issue is, because in 2012 progressives don't have a party of their own, unless you count the Green Party. That's why this election will mean very little. No matter who wins, Social Security and Medicare are on the chopping block. The only difference is how dull a blade Democrats will use relative to Republicans. There will be no economic progress, and certainly no progress in education, greenhouse gas reduction, reducing the security state, the defense industry, or the prison industry to manageable proportions, nor any of the other things that real progressives want for this country.
Anyone who thinks Barack Obama is interested in protecting us from Wall Street is forgetting where all his economics advisors come from, or where they'll return once they're through with their "government service".
What this election shows is how powerless progressives are, largely because we don't want to admit it and do something about it.
10 comments:
Cujo, what do you think of the notion that, if Romney is elected, there might be a backlash in four to eight years sufficient to elect a true Progressive? Is such a thing likely enough to make one welcome a Romney victory?
I think the idea, however intriguing, is unlikely to be realized. What do you think?
It's possible, though I think it's just as likely that Romney, faced with his own choice of either applying the stimulus to the economy he needs to get re-elected or losing in 2016, will try to do so in 2015. Most likely, the GOP would lose badly in 2014, thanks to the economy being far worse than it is now after several years of austerity.
It's like that old Vulcan proverb says, "Only Nixon could go to China". I'm more optimistic that Romney will try to do stimulus than I am that Obama ever will. I'm not too terribly optimistic about either, though.
In case you're having trouble keeping track - austerity for at least the next four years: almost certain, Romney doing stimulus: possible, progressives being elected in enough numbers to matter: stranger things have happened, but don't count on it, Obama doing stimulus: no way in hell.
Until there's a real progressive movement, though, there won't be a real progressive elected President.
Do you think Romney will try austerity first? Then when he has gutted the social programs, introduce a stimulus?
Oh, definitely. It's going to happen, since he'll have no real support for doing anything else. The only question is how long it will be before he's desperate enough to try something besides austerity, and whether he'll be able to find support to do it by then.
The way it is an not many can get that.
One thing we're good at as a country is ignoring the obvious, One Fly. Makes it awfully hard to see things clearly.
"One thing we're good at as a country is ignoring the obvious...".
Isn't that our third or second largest industry?
Just kidding. Sort of.
I think of it as a lifestyle choice.
It has to be something in the water, Choice is difficult.
Especially when you're given more than one...
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