Blame Conservatism For The Economic Meltdown

From today's New York Times lead editorial:

...is certainly not too soon to look beyond the current crisis to the flaws
and fallacies of the anti-regulatory ideology that has held Washington in its
grip since the Reagan years and allowed the financial excesses that are now
stressing the system to the breaking point.
Making and enforcing new rules
is necessary, but that will not be enough. The nation needs a new perspective on
the markets, one that acknowledges the self-destructive bent of unfettered
capitalism and its ability, unchecked, to wreak havoc far beyond Wall
Street.

Yes, dear old Ronnie, so beloved by the knee-jerk conservative set, started us down the path that has lead to the current near collapse of Wall Street. The excesses of deregulation have come home to roost. Reagan also began the welfare for the rich program by gutting much of the progressivity out of our tax structure. Saint Ronnie Reagan,, indeed!

Jim

Saint William F. Buckley? NOT!

William Buckley, who just died, is being canonized by conservatives. Well, I won't be honoring Saint William because he was a homophobe. At one time he suggested tattooing people with HIV/AIDS. I found him to be a pompous and arrogant advocate for the sorts of policies and thinking that I abhor. If he is "the father of modern conservatism" then he is responsible for the evil nature of conservatism today, as manifested by the power of the conservative fundamentalist Christians who dominate the movement.

Jim

The Warped World Of "Conservative" Talk Radio

Watching the circus on the right with AM talk radio nut cases ripping their own party is fun, until you realize how sad it is that this small handful of loudmouth evildoers has so much sway with a segment of the American population. We used to have something called the "Fairness Doctrine," which the right wing hated, and which required that a balance of viewpoints be presented on the public airwaves. Yes, remember, the airwaves are public, not private. Private companies are licensed to broadcast over the air, but they don't own the airwaves. Since the demise of the Fairness Doctrine, right wing talk radio has blossomed. It's now so unbalanced that there is basically only the right wing perspective that AM listeners hear. Furthermore, the demogogues of the far right now have become the spokespersons for the "conservative" movement, or at least that's what the rest of the media would have you believe. Actually, these talk radio self-appointed conservative spokespersons are nothing more than high paid advocates for the most evil forms of greed and selfishness, masquerading as "conservativism." However, they now have the power, or think they have the power, to dethrone even the winner of the Repubican Party primaries. Something is radicaly wrong with that scenaio, but nobody seems to realize it. Rather, mainsream media pundits regularly mention the AM talk radio demogogues in discussions of politics on national network TV news and political shows, afording them a legitimacy that they do not deserve. Yes, warped and sad are the words for this circus of the right.

BTW, somebody please bring me a stake so that I can drive it into the heart of Mitt Romney's candidacy. Otherwise he'll be back in 2012.

Jim

Saint Ronald Reagan: Not!

I lived through the two terms that Mr. Reagan served in the White House. He was horrible. His tax cuts favoring the rich were obscene, especially when combined with his equally obscene military spending increases. He refused to acknowledge the AIDS epidemic while thousands contracted the disease and died. He is given credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union, but he did nothing tangible to bring that about. It would have happened without him. He was good at Republican bullshit - thus his moniker as "the great communicator." That's about the best thing I can say about him. Republicans revere him today. I'm glad he's gone.

In today's New York Times, Paul Krugman points out how Reagan used the so-called "Southern Strategy" to effectively polarize the country along racial lines and to help get himself elected. This is the same strategy that is still in place today. That's why none of the front runners for the Republican nomination showed up at the debate in front of an African American audience. The Republicans are despicable.

From Krugman:

Ronald Reagan was among the “some” who tried to benefit from racial
polarization. True, he never used explicit racial rhetoric. Neither did
Richard Nixon. As Thomas and Mary Edsall put it in their classic 1991 book, “Chain
Reaction: The impact of race, rights and taxes on American politics,” “Reagan
paralleled Nixon’s success in constructing a politics and a strategy of
governing that attacked policies targeted toward blacks and other minorities
without reference to race — a conservative politics that had the effect of
polarizing the electorate along racial lines.”

Nothing has changed. Giuliani and company are still doing the same thing today!

PHOTO: The roof grid of the indoor mall at Liberty Place in Philadelphia. I often go to this delightful indoor space to window shop or have lunch.

Jim

What Conservatism Has Become

11: 30 Am: I don't agree with Andrew Sullivan on very much, but he has been on the right track in criticizing the conservative movement, or at least what that movement has become under people like George Bush. One of Sullivan's readers sent in the following scathing indictment of conservatism:

What American 'conservatism' has become fits closely within the definition of
fascism: an intensely nationalist movement intent on defining membership in the
'nation' on linguistic, religious, and (increasingly) ethnic/racial criteria,
accompanied by an unquestioning loyalty to (male) authority, enshrined in family leaders, business leaders, religious leaders, and especially, the leader
of the nation, who is seen as embodying the Nation. Loyalty to the Party or
Movement and its ideology is of great importance. Violence is the preferred
means of accomplishing goals. Diplomacy, compromise, negotiation, are all
identified with (feminine) weakness. The rule of law is also despised, because
it lacks the immediacy of (violent) action, and its emphasis on balance and
its concern with proper procedure is also seen as a sign of (feminine) weakness.

Read more Andrew Sullivan here.

Jim

Conservatism And A Condensed History Of The U.S.

In the United States, the early 20th century brought women the right to vote, and progressive taxation meant to address the inequalities of wealth that had developed with industrialization. In the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" helped the country through the great depression. The Social Security program was initiated to safeguard the elderly. In the 1960's, landmark civil rights legislation was passed, a War On Poverty was launched, and our leaders envisioned a "Great Society" and the elimination of poverty. Medicare and Medicaid were initiated to provide healthcare to our elderly and poor. Most of these accomplishments took place under what we would today call "liberal" policymakers in charge of government. We were on a roll toward a more just society.

Then, in the 1980s, came along "conservative" saint Ronald Reagan and the ascent of "conservatism" and "conservative" policymakers in charge of government. Let's see how we've been doing under Reagan and the Bushies (I & II.) First, Reagan cut taxes on the wealthy and then he racheted up defense spending. A war on entitlements aimed at the nations poorest citizens, was launched. Welfare was ended, curiously, under Clinton, but who ever accused him of being progressive anyway. Bush Junior tried as hard as he could to eliminate Social Security, but couldn't. He did manage to pass yet another huge tax cut which benefited primarily the wealthiest citizens. Our nation's neediest citizens, our 37 million poor people, have been demonized by right wing conservative zealots Rush Limbaugh and the like, and our 50 million citizens without medical insurance are left to fend for themselves. And then there's Iraq.

Now, I ask you...are we better off since "conservatives" have come to power? Can we possibly stand any more of them? No wonder Junior's approval ratings are at 30 percent.

About the photograph: In my younger, wilder days I did a fair amount of scuba diving. I enjoyed underwater photography. This shot was taken about 20 years ago in St. Croix. Dan and I spent a week at a gay men's resort there. The site is a piling supporting a pier that was used to dock cruise ships. Depth: only about 20 feet. The pier was later destroyed by a storm.

3 PM: The good news is that the sun has returned to Fire Island just in time for Bradly (our dog) and I to take a walk down to the Sunken Forest, an ancient holly tree forest that is both beautiful and spooky at the same time. The bad news is that our computer here on the island has died. I tried replacing the power supply but I couldn't get it to come back to life. RIP. So I'm stuck with a 10 year old clunker and dialup access for the time being. Russ Feingold just sent out an email about a health care bill that he and another senator will be introducing. I'll have to read more about it, but if Russ is involved it must be good.

4:20 PM: I just read online that Don Imus has hired a high powered First Amendment attorney and plans to sue CBS Radio for $40 million dollars. He'll need a magician. This is not about free speech. It's about what is appropriate over the public airwaves.

Jim

Debunking Conservativism

Fire Island, NY, 6:30 AM: Today I'm going to start debunking conservatism, which has way too much legitimacy thanks to years and years of right wing talking heads, like Rush Limbaugh, fat cat right wing pundits like George Will, and crackpot conservative "icons," like Bill Buckley.

Actually, conservatism, with its extreme hatred of government, ought to be relegated to the dustbin of history. It is a philosophy that has been tried before, and doesn't work. One need only look at U.S. history, taking note of the horrible excesses of greed and criminality (robber barons, child labor, etc.) that took place in the nineteenth century and which gave rise to movements which demanded proactive government involvement in order to curb political, economic, and social injustices. In the 20Th century, government intervened most effectively during the great depression to help ameliorate the suffering of millions, and during the latter half of the century with civil rights legislation addressing racial discrimination.

Conservatives say that they favor small or limited government. Actually, they hate government. They would like to shrink or eliminate government, except, of course, when they need government to help them further their sometimes nutty agenda. The most recent prime example of this was the Terry Schiavo case, when conservatives wanted the federal government to intervene in a private family medical matter. Conservatives need government to help them interfere with a woman's right to make decisions about her own body, and they need government to help them prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying and thereby obtaining the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexuals have. So, sometimes they need and may even like big government. They want it both ways.

The fact is, even though in recent decades we've seen the erosion of some of the socio-economic gains society has made under the onslaught of conservatives starting with Ronald Reagan, we are not going to roll back the clock to the mid-nineteenth century, and return to the excesses and injustices of those times. I believe that the tide may be turning. George Bush, with his melding of Christian conservatism and government, has actually removed the veil of legitimacy from conservatism. Everyone can now see what conservatives are really up to and it's not terribly popular, is it?

The photo dates from 1983 - Dan and Jim in Mexico (sorry about the image quality - it must have been a cheap camera!)

10:30 AM: Bradley (our dog) and I just got back from a 90 minute walk to the (Fire Island) Pines, the next town to the East. We walked down on the beach and back through the "meat rack." It's a beautiful day here on the island, although we may get some rain later. I picked up the replacement power supply for my non-functioning desktop computer earlier this morning. So now I'll try to install it and see if I can get the computer to work once more.

Jim