Summary: Nothing reveals our values like what we applaud. The Left’s love for Obama, and the things for which they applaud him, reveal their corruption and why they’ve become trivial political force in America. {2nd of 2 posts today.}
“Mussolini may have done many brutal and tyrannical things; he may have destroyed human freedom in Italy; he may have murdered and tortured citizens whose only crime was to oppose Mussolini; but ‘one had to admit’ one thing about the Dictator: he ‘made the trains run on time.’
— From The Prevalence of Nonsense
by Edward Darling and Ashley Montagu (1967).
This shows a common form of applause for Obama. How many ways can this graphic astonish us?
Myopia about anti-liberal actions
First, it displays myopia on a fantastic scale, ignoring Obama’s anti-liberal actions. His illegal surveillance programs (& advocacy for broad NSA power), most aggressive-ever use of the Espionage Act of 1917, persecution of whistle blowers, mockery of his pledge to run the “most transparent administration ever“, continued use of Guantanamo Bay, and his assassination programs (including US citizens). He has done many of the same things Liberals condemned Bush Jr for doing, and done things Bush did not even imagine — such as the gift to the world’s mega-corps called the Trans Pacific Partnership (so awesome we’re not allowed to see the text).
Blindness to his wars
Second, it shows blindness to Obama’s wars, breaking with the Left’s anti-war tradition. He executed Bush’s plan for withdrawal from Iraq, deepened our wars in Afghanistan and Yemen, waged an illegal war in Libya (of the sort he specifically promised not to do) — with terrible results — and laid the foundation for future ways by expanding Africom.
GDP over liberty and equality
Second, we see the Left’s decay in its prioritization of economic growth over liberty and equality. No political polarization when it comes to the interests of the 1% (largest beneficiaries of the growth of the stock market and GDP, and the reduced deficit).
Folly about the power of the leader
Third, these claims are foolish. Presidents have limited effect on markets, GDP, and employment. They share control of fiscal policy with Congress; neither has much influence over monetary policy — by far the stimulus tool most strongly wielded since the crash. Also, the state of the economic art provides only weak guidance on how to assure economic growth.
This implies Obama is a kind of chief wizard of the economy. We might as well applaud him for the rains in Texas.
We have heard this before
Last, this displays a horrific lack of historical memory. It’s the equivalent kind of claim to “Mussolini made the trains on time” — both false and masking the leader’s ugly deeds.
Conclusion
Together these vividly show why the Left has become a marginal force in America, an ineffective force even to slow the rise of a New America on the ruins of the Republic-that-once-was. Abandoning its principles for support of the 1%, the Left has cut their own roots.
Listen carefully and you’ll hear the 1% laughing.
For More Information
This is another in a long series of posts explaining how and why the Left has become so weak in modern America. See the other posts here.
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See posts About the quiet coup in America and all posts about Obama and his administration, especially these…
- Under the cloak of liberalism America slides to Fascism — By Norman Pollack. Not technically accurate, but all too true.
- What will Obama do in term II? He’ll finish the great work of term I!
- The real Obama revealed, at last! — Truths the Left refuses to see.
- Obama + assassination + drones = a dark future for America.
- Obama repeals Magna Carta, asserting powers our forefathers denied to Kings.
I know you don’t like seeing the average America’s response of powerlessness to the problems of this country, but things aren’t looking good for America. I’m beginning to look at it like a democratic/republican(small d, small r) version of the proverb “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” We’ve simply been spoiled with the gift our ancestors gave us.
Freeze,
“America’s response of powerlessness to the problems of this country”
I don’t know what that means. We are passive, but powerful.
“the proverb “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.”
What does that mean?
“shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”
There is a saying that the wealth of a family can last for only three generations.
As it goes, the first generation works hard and earns the wealth; the second generation feels obligated to preserve their parents’ legacy and so protects the wealth; the third generation, not having the memory of hard work, the experience of money management, or the feeling of connection, squanders the wealth.
http://familylinevideo.com/three-generations/
Todd,
That is an interesting aphorism. It is perhaps true for the lower rungs of the rich, but factually incorrect for the 1%. At that level wealth erodes away like Mt. Everest.
There is no “Left” in the USA. Maybe not since Eugene Debs. The Dem. Party in France would be seen as far right of even Sarkozy.
Make your point, fair as it is, but beating the drum against the Left is silly. Obama? Democrat Party? Please. A Libertarian from some flyover state had to filibuster for our liberty. Tell you anything?
Breton
Breton,
“There is no Left”
Perhaps by your definition. But by the usual definition of today’s America there is a large and vibrant Left. It is just politically marginalized, despite many of the policies they advocate having wide support.
Determining why that is so deserves attention.
The left has one largely through achieving Gender Equality hence scuttling the need for feminism.
The days are long gone where women couldn’t vote where patriarchal families are the norm.
Where submission by the wife is nowadays viewed as oppression.
Since they have no more enemies to fight they fight amongst themselves.
infowarrior,
The Left has goals other than women’s rights. Climate change, foreign policy, pollution, inequality, education, etc. They’re losing on almost all fronts.
Freeze,
I give a lot more leeway here than do most websites. But people have to at least try to have a serious conversation.
There’s also an incredible amount of cherry-picking in the Obama stats, along with gross abuse of statistics.
Example: the Obama stats carefully choose the depths of the Bush recession to compare with current unemployment. What the Obama stats don’t show is immense and ongoing drop in the percentage of the population employed — for the simple reason that so many millions of Americans have stopped looking for work that they are no longer counted as unemployed.
Another example: the Obama stats tout the GDP growth as though it were something wonderful. But 93% of that GDP growth since the recession of 2009 has gone to the top 1%. Why should the bottom 99% of ordinary Americans give a damn about GDP growth if they’re not getting any of the benefits of it?
If we’re going to catalog Obama’s illegal and unconstitutional atrocities, we should also include the murder of U.S. citizens without a trial and without accusing them of a crime (clear violation of the 5th and 6th and 8th and 14th amendments of the constitution) and his ongoing murder of women and children in Pakistan by drone (more than died on 9/11), plus the added murder of rescue workers who try to help survivors (the infamous ‘double tap’ which the U.S. has previously used to define terrorism).
The sheer scale and scope of the lawless unconstitutionality of the Obama administration dwarfs previous presidential lawlessness and makes the Watergate scandal look like a minor contretemps by comparison.
FB,
Please consider maybe Americans who rose up were part of a global movement that no longer exists.
Please also see:
“Who has predominant power in the United States? The short answer, from 1776 to the present, is: Those who have the money ”
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/class_domination.html
Winston,
Thanks! I have seen that, and it is interesting. But it’s too binary for any use, except as justification (if any were needed) for the “it’s hopeless” crowd. There have been periods of substantial reform in America, despite the dominant role of the rich. Collective action has produced large-scale change from the Founding through the civil rights era. Useful analysis tells us how that was done, and can be done again.