Can you imagine a Republican politician making the following statements?
Abraham Lincoln: "Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."
Teddy Roosevelt: "Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people."
Dwight Eisenhower: "Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history."
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."
Now, can you envision any Democratic Presidential candidate, save one, saying these things?
FDR: "We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace--business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred."
"Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth... I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms."
LBJ: "As it was 189 years ago, so today the cause of America is a revolutionary cause. And I am proud this morning to salute you as fellow revolutionaries. Neither you nor I are willing to accept the tyranny of poverty, nor the dictatorship of ignorance, nor the despotism of ill health, nor the oppression of bias and prejudice and bigotry. We want change. We want progress. We want it both abroad and at home and we aim to get it."
A few of FDR's accomplishments: Social Security, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (providing safety for depositors' accounts), Civilian Conservation Corps (providing jobs for those hit by the Depression), Federal Emergency Relief Act (providing support to states and cities), Emergency Farm Mortgage Act, Glass-Steagall Banking Act (which separated commercial bank activity from investment banks, Wagner Act (promoting labor unions), Fair Labor Standards Act (setting maximum hours and minimum wages).
A few of LBJ's accomplishments: Civil Rights Act (banning discrimination based on race and gender in employment and ending segregation in public facilities), Voting Rights Act (banning literacy and other discriminatory tests), Head Start (a preschool program designed to help disadvantaged students), Elementary and Secondary Education Act (major funding for American public schools), Medicare (providing seniors with affordable health care), National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the Immigration Act (ending quotas based on ethnic origin), Omnibus Housing Act (funds for low-income housing)
By the way, these two Presidents garnered the highest percentage of the popular vote - Lyndon Johnson with 61.05% and Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 with 60.8%.
Now let's look at the last three Democratic Presidents:
Jimmy Carter (a highly ethical man but hardly a liberal):
Under Carter, the Airline Deregulation Act was signed into law, removing government control over fares, routes, and market entry in commercial aviation, allowing market forces to determine routes and fares. And how has that worked out?
Also under Carter, the Monetary Control Act of 1980 was enacted, wiping out Regulation Q of Glass-Steagall, removing all remaining controls on interest rates and repealing usury laws, allowing institutions to charge any loan interest rate they wished. This bill actually sparked speculation in the savings and loan industry (which provided home loans) and doomed the industry, leaving commercial banks in the driver's seat.
Bill Clinton: Continued banking deregulation with the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act* (see FDR), Commodities Futures Modernization Act (prevented regulation of derivatives), notably the credit-default swaps, a major factor in the 2008 financial collapse.
*Glass-Steagall was weakened again in 1996. In 1998, the Clinton administration allowed a merger between Citicorp and Travelers, which was actually illegal at the time, but given a pass with the total repeal of Glass-Steagall. At the time, this was the largest corporate merger in history.
The repeal of Glass-Steagall was a major victory for the finance industry, after decades of lobbying and millions of dollars spent, leading to the formation of the "too big too fail" banks of 2008 (and today).
Senator Byron Dorgan said at the time: "I think we will look back in 10 years' time and say we should not have done this but we did because we forgot the lessons of the past, and that that which is true in the 1930's is true in 2010. I wasn't around during the 1930's or the debate over Glass-Steagall. But I was here in the early 1980's when it was decided to allow the expansion of savings and loans. We have now decided in the name of modernization to forget the lessons of the past, of safety and of soundness."
And let's not forget Clinton's push to get NAFTA passed, his welfare reform bill, and Defense of Marriage Act.
Barack Obama: Affordable Care Act. While it has provided insurance for 17 million more citizens, it left health care in the hands of the private insurance industry, without any fight for a government-backed option, and did nothing to help stem the rising tide of outrageous pharmaceutical prices.
In addition, because of his desire to appear more bi-partisan, he relinquished his leverage on the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Yes, letting the tax cuts expire would have raised taxes on middle-class families; but leaving 82% of the Bush tax cuts in place, will cost the government almost three trillion dollars over ten years. By surrendering to Republican blackmail in 2010, he only emboldened them to try these tactics again.
And, finally we have the Trans Pacific-Partnerhship trade deal, nicknamed "NAFTA on Steroids". Obama, with major help from Republicans, managed to push fast-track authority through Congress.
So, again, I ask "Is Bernie Sanders too far to the left?" or has the Republican party drifted so far to the right as to lose touch with reality while the Democratic party has become increasingly tone-deaf to those it is SUPPOSED to represent?
With Bernie supporting policies http://www.juancole.com/... backed by the majority of Americans, it's time for the Democratic party to do some soul searching.
P.S. Help! I'm new to posting and have been using word to write, but I have encountered problems. First, my hyperlinks don't copy over. Secondly, the quote marks aren't coming across, meaning I am going back to manually correct the punctuation. Third, how do I embed a video? Thanks.