Connect with us

No FDR, Obama Hands Heart And Soul Of Democratic Party To GOP

Published

on

The Senate voted successfully for cloture yesterday on the Obama tax cuts deal hammered out between the White House and the Congressional Republicans last week, passing the procedural motion by a convincing 61-7 vote.  We can expect this bill to be on the Senate’s agenda for final passage sometime today.

But the Democratic caucus in the House said last week they would not go along with the White House deal in its current form and have called for additional changes, including an increase of the estate tax before falling in line behind the Senate.

If the Democrats are being “held hostage” by the Republicans, according to President Barack Obama’s latest interpretation of Republican abdurate behavior on extending the Bush tax cuts, then repeal of DADT is being “held hostage” by a White House negotiated tax deal that every Democrat seems to find odious, but appears to be resigned to passing, despite any misgivings they may have about giving away billions of dollars to the wealthiest of Americans.

Everything else on the Senate calendar has been held in abeyance, including DADT, which has a “whistling in the dark” chance of passing as a stand alone measure, introduced late last week by  Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and co-sponsored by Senators Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mark Udall (D-CO) with original co-sponsors. Bless them all for trying, although I believe it is a Sisyphean task, with little, if any chance of winning passage.   The DADT repeal vote could come as early as today or tomorrow.

As the 111th Congress lurches toward final adjournment, currently scheduled for Friday, despite opposition by many Democrats in the House caucus, there is no doubt that if the Senate version of the tax cut bill, if passed, is brought to the House floor, there will be more than enough votes to pass it, no matter how odious it seems. The question that remains unanswered is:  “Will Speaker Nancy Pelosi resist White House pressure to bring the Senate measure to the House floor without changes?”

With changes, the House version would have to return to the Senate for another vote taking additional time, something unlikely to be accommodated.  Thus, my restated pessimism about the odds of passing repeal of DADT, asumming a tax deal passed by Congress would politically trump any effort to repeal DADT.  And don’t forget this White House has been insisting that the START Treaty remains a huge priority for passage in the Senate, requiring 67 votes.

But before we turn the page on this Congress, let us not forget how this situation began: Obama political advisor David Axelrod announced just a few days following the mid-term elections’ debacle that the Administration would not fight the Republicans by opposing a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts in the lame duck session of Congress.  An immediate uproar of opposition propelled a feeble attempt by the White House to walk this announcement back, but ultimately, Obama did indeed cave while shouting  a metaphorical “no mas!”

Never mind–if this odious deal comes to pass–Obama has not only foresaken a major campaign promise , but he has also betrayed his supporters, undercut the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives and given away the store to the Republicans signaling early that he had no stomach for a fight, even if such jawboning would galvanize his base.  Not to be content to accept such an unacceptable outcome, Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, actually carried out a 9-hour “standing at the podium,” true fillibuster opposing the Obama tax deal last Friday.  Sanders did not support a vote for cloture Monday.

But what the hell–let’s just give away the farm–just the first rail of Democratic Party politics conceived and advanced by FDR in the first 99 days of his administration in 1933 amid the Great Depression, called a “New Deal”— which Congress rapidly adopted to “deliver relief to the unemployed and those in danger of losing farms and homes, recovery to agriculture and business, and reform, which included the banks and the financial houses”.

Sound faintly familiar?  Yes, FDR put together a social and economic platform to save the working man, the American family and provide for their economic security during his nearly 16 years as president.  The scion son of one of America’s wealthiest families, Roosevelt had the ability to articulate to the American public what he believed the country needed and the people deserved during the Great Depression.  He also possessed the requisite guts to take on the Wall Street barons and the bankers who stopped the American economy cold during the Great Depression by shuttering banks throughout the land, while many committed suicide as they came to ruin during the Wall Street Crash of October 1929.

FDR wrapped up the New Deal and Second New Deal that included Social Security and unemployment assistance into the framework of the “Four Freedoms”: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear–which he delivered to Congress during his State of the Union address, January 6, 1941.

These freedoms ring as true today, as they did nearly 70 years ago, when America would face an axis of fascism by a xenophobic Japan and a nationalistic Germany with a monstrous plan to subsume Europe under its control as it exterminated as many Jewry as humanly possible.  America’s economy had lagged for 12 long years following the Wall Street crash of 1929.  Bread lines stretched out across America and people begged to work for food.  There were thousands upon thousands of homeless families jumping trains, living in open fields and poverty struck tenements, which depression era photographers would capture for the ages.

At the end of 2010, America’s economy remains soft and millions are out of work, while many believe they will never work again.  College graduates are interning for no pay and string together short-term contracts with no benefits to survive.  We are at war, tied down in Afghanistan fighting an ephemeral enemy who bases itself across the porous border in Pakistan and fights further away in close by Middle East states such as Yemen. And we have yet to finish off a second war in Iraq.  These wars are burning $2 billion a week from an American treasury which is propped up by billions of dollars in loans from non-ally China.  This situation is simply unsustainable, even for America and all of its wealth.

With so much at stake for the American people, the “coup de grace” was personally delivered by Obama when he caved to the ascendant Republicans last week.  Obama and his negotiators willfully gave up the heart and soul of the Democratic Party to Republicans who proudly work, even brag about their representation of the richest among us.  Obama’s soaring oratory fails him in this moment–no words can save us from vacuous policies that throw good money after bad.

And so I quote FDR who so wisely and eloquently said on Jan. 6, 1941,

A free nation has the right to expect full cooperation from all groups.  A free nation has the right to look to the leaders of business, of labor, and of agriculture, to take the lead in stimulating effort, not among groups, but within their own groups.

The best way of dealing with a few slackers or trouble makers in our midst is,  first, to shame them by patriotic example, and, if that fails, use sovereignty of Government, to save Government…

Certainly, this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of social revolution which is today the supreme factor in the world.  For there is nothing mysterious about the foundation of a healthy and strong democracy.  The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple.  They are:  Equality of opportunity for youth and for others; jobs for those who can work; security for those who need it; the ending of special privilege for the few; the preservation of civil liberties for all and the enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.

So as Mr. Obama prepares for a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, I hope he will read FDR’s speech which seems to scream out to all of us nearly 70 years later.  We need not reinvent a wheel.  Take a page out of history Mr. Obama and fight for what is right for Americans–for what is urgently needed now–not in two years, not in eight years, but now.  If our leaders can’t fight for what is right and just during a tenuous time in our history, then what will become of this great experiment called America?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5iHKtrirjlY%3Ffs%3D1%26hl%3Den_US


Subscribe to
The New Civil Rights Movement


<!–
google_ad_client = “pub-6759057198693805”;
/* 468×60, created 10/21/10 */
google_ad_slot = “8507588931”;
google_ad_width = 468;
google_ad_height = 60;
//–>

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

Published

3 hours ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”

“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.

Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.

“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).

The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.

A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.

“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.

“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”

READ MORE: MAGA State Superintendent Supports Chaplains in Public Schools – But Not From All Religions

Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”

Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”

In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”

Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”

“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”

The original video is here.

See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.

Caution: the video is disturbing.

READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

Continue Reading

News

Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

Published

6 hours ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.

While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.

But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.

READ MORE: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”

CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”

The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.

READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report

NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.

Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.

“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”

 

 

Continue Reading

News

RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

Published

8 hours ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.

“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”

READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report

“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.

“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”

One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.

But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”

Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”

Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.

“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.

“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”

Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won

 

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.