I wrote this somewhat stream of conscious. It's based on ideas I have synthesized from my observations and opinions over the past 8 years or so, both directly formed on my own and indirectly through absorbing opinions offered up from a myriad of sources (columns, discussions with family/ friends/teachers, talking heads, blogs, etc), as well as books which stick out in my mind recently (Obama's Audacity of Hope and Dreams from my Father and Krugman's Conscience of a Liberal). I do not offer this up as a factual analysis. Only as my view of the situation we are currently in in our country. It's my first diary, so go easy on me. :) I welcome any and all feedback, but I do hope we can keep things civil, no matter where we are coming from or who we support.
Few on here would disagree that Ronald Reagan, and the Movement Conservatism that he wrought on America, has failed. When Reagan was elected, it was a great victory for Movement Conservatism. The idea was sold to the American people effectively, and they embraced it. They pitched their ideas successfully.
But almost three decades later, his ideas have been played out to their logical conclusions for the American people to see. George W. Bush's presidency is the logical conclusion of these ideas. And it has been nothing short of a disaster for not only this country, but the world as a whole.
Symptoms of Movement Conservatism include:
- A disastrous foreign policy unable to distinguish real threats, such as Al Qaeda, from distractions, such as Iraq.
- A collapsing infrastructure unable to meet the demands here in our own country.
- A collapsing economy built on debt.
- Levels of income and wealth inequality that we have not seen since the 1920s, destroying the middle class as we know it
- A focus on the ‘problems’ caused of The Others (ie Gay marriage destroys our country), rather than focusing on how to deal with real problems that hurt all people (ie schools are underfunded).
- An invasion of faith and religion into public schools and science class rooms under the guise of ‘fairness’ in treating all ideas equally in all realms.
- Attempted destruction of the safety net created by FDR and the New Deal.
I don’t think Ronald Reagan is solely responsible for creating Movement Conservatism. It was taking hold of the country before him. But, I do think to a large extent he is responsible for bringing Movement Conservatism home to roost in America. And we have been fighting an uphill battle with this crippling disease ever since.
In 1992, a treatment came available to the American people. His name was Bill Clinton. His presidency offered to alleviate some of the symptoms of Movement Conservatism. He will be remembered for helping the economy. But his presidency was unable to cure us of the Movement Conservative disease, and so after him, George Bush managed to take (literally) the White House and return the disease of Movement Conservatism on its previous course.
Now in 2008, we have two great presidential candidates both offering relief from Movement Conservatism:
- They offer affordable Health Care to America. Their plans are very similar and are both very good. Despite being an Obama supporter personally, I do think that Hillary’s plan would be better.
- They offer to get us out of Iraq. They have both supported funding to keep our troops safe, and I think that is the right thing to do until we can retake the White House in 09 and get them out of harm’s way altogether.
- They offer the fiscal responsibility when the "Party of Fiscal Responsibility" has become the party of "Dine and Ditch."
- They offer giving rights to those of us who feel Othered, such as civil unions for GLBT Americans, rather than using us as a wedge issue to drive people to vote against their own best interests.
- They offer to keep safe the right of choice for all women in America, so that women will not die again the way they did before Roe v Wade.
But while they are similar in nearly all respects when it comes to policy (yes, there are differences, but they are minor), they differ greatly on philosophy.
Hillary Clinton offers us a treatment for the symptoms of Movement Conservatism, an improved version of the treatment her husband offered us in the 90s. But I don’t think she offers a way to push Movement Conservatism out as a dominant way of thinking in our country. Her philosophy is rooted in the Baby Boomer drama that we’ve seen being fought out on the political landscape of our country since Vietnam. (Andrew Sullivan does a better job of discussing this than I could hope to.) By the time she would leave office, Movement Conservatism would not have suffered a deadly blow. Like her husband's presidency, it would have only served to hold Movement Conservatism at bay.
In this regard, Obama is different. In his upbringing, he was not raised in the mindset that most Baby Boomers in our country seem to be in. Growing up in a different country, struggling with issues of identity, Obama was raised to be the person to lead the next great shift in the American Mindset. Hillary Clinton and John McCain, in their different ways, were brought up politically to see the divides starkly. Red and Blue. Left and Right. Conservative and Liberal. Neither of them is capable of stepping out of the frames that they were raised in. Hillary is certainly a treatment. We've tried a similar treatment before and seen some decent success. So we know this time around it would do some good in helping the country.
But Obama is different. His political career is not rooted in the ideological differences which separate our parties. Raised to see the issues our country faces from a fresh perspective, he is the only one of the three candidates still standing on the National Stage who can move us past those frames so that we can finally focus on getting the problems in our country addressed.
Obama, though perhaps a less known quantity not as well tested as Clinton, offers a chance to attack the disease itself, instead of trying to fight the symptoms alone. If you believe that Movement Conservatism is a terminal illness which America will continue to have, a treatment for the symptoms is the only solution we have available to consider.
But, if you are like me, and believe we can eventually cure the country and ourselves, then I think treating the disease is the best choice.