a lot of younger folks today are only familiar with social liberalism And in that way things have

[Douglas Carpenter]

progressed a great deal over the last few decades. My goodness when I was a kid major city newspapers still separated their "Help Wanted" classified adds from "Help Wanted Women" and "Help Wanted Men." It was considered liberal to consider homosexuality a treatable illness instead of something psychopathic and criminal. So we have seen miraculous strides in those areas. But in the mean time we have seen enormous steps backwards on the economic front. No matter how one spins it -on economic issues Richard Nixon was well to the left of Barack Obama or Bill Clinton or any other prominent mainstream Democrats who were even taken seriously as possible presidential contenders over the last twenty to thirty years. And Nixon was considered a conservative at that time - a conservative who supported a guaranteed annual income and a national healthcare program way to the left of the ACA. But I digress - When was the last time we had a real old fashion New Dealer that even came close to leading the Democratic Party who was actually proposing real changes that would expand the safety net and move boldly toward eradicating poverty in America and hunger in the world and build a more economically equitable society? Well, I would say it has been more than forty years. Since then - although we have leaders taking strong positions on social issues - I remind people that social issues don't generally cost a lot of money. The Chairman of Starbucks strongly supports marriage equality while he wants to slash Social Security. I'm sure lots of hedge fund mangers and Wall Street investment bankers feel the same. Simply wanting to protect the economic advancements that have already been under assault for the last three to four decades is now considered far left. There is no doubt that the only reason that we have been able to hang on to what little remains of the New Deal and the Great Society is because people speak up and won't let it happen. If people stop complaining about the economic policies of these hedge fund Democrats that dominate today's Democratic Party - that would be the end of all that was accomplished from the early 30's through the late 60's.

[leftstreet]

1. Obama campaigned as a New Dealer. Got lots of votes

People seemed more interested in economic issues than social ones

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. I guess I never interpreted his message as New Deal liberal

I took his - "no red state - no blue state - just the United States" talk at his first national debut as an endorsement of centrism. It appeared to me that the usual hedge fund Democrat power brokers liked him so much and the centrist media took his so seriously - I never perceived him as a progressive or New Deal liberal. He is about what I expected. So, in that sense I am not the least bit disappointed and I certainly tried to help elect him - because the alternative is far worse. But a lot of the public are not reading between the lines - so they may very well think he is something he is not. A lot of them keep on believing it no matter what.

[progressoid]

6. Only because Edwards' "two Americas" theme was gaining attention.

Obama and Clinton needed some of that populist steam in their campaign.

[nashville_brook]

2. the problem is they campaign differently than they govern

if every "new deal" campaigner governed with the tone of their stump speeches we'd have full employment, sick leave and Medicare for all by now.

[JaneyVee]

4. But did Nixon get that guaranteed national income or national healthcare?

Pres.Obama has stated that he believes single payer would be best and also supports higher wages.

[Douglas Carpenter]

5. Actually Teddy Kennedy said years later that one of his biggest regrets is that

he didn't negotiate a compromise with President Nixon. Teddy thought that the Nixon proposal didn't go anywhere near far enough. But in retrospect it would have been - especially a negotiated program backed by Sen. Kennedy - would have gone a lot farther than what we eventually ended up with almost four decades later.

[Douglas Carpenter]

7. another for another day

[LostOne4Ever]

8. Don't worry

Last edited Sat Sep 21, 2013, 09:12 PM - Edit history (1)

My generation is going to pull this country way far to the left both socially and economically

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/12/the-rise-of-the-new-new-left.html

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. well please do

after McGovern lost by a landslide in 1972 - the whole progressive movement went into retreat at least as far as electoral politics are concerned. In contrast when the right-wing lost by a similar degree of landslide with Barry Goldwater in 1964 - they had just begun to fight. I hope the younger generation shows a bit more boldness for the good fight for the just world than mine did.