Lyndon Johnson

Why Barack Obama And The Democratic Party Should Be Proud No Matter What Happens Today In The Midterm Elections!

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Today is Election Day, and many have predicted major losses for the Democratic Party!

This will happen despite the major, significant accomplishments that have occurred in the 111th Congress, including:

Health Care Reform
Economic Stimulus Legislation
Wall Street Reform
Credit Card Reform
Consumer Financial Protection Reform
Saving of the Auto Industry
Tax Cuts To All Citizens
Senate Approval of Two Supreme Court nominees
Student Loan Reform
Hate Crimes Legislation Covering Sexual Orientation
Veterans Legislation

These are just ELEVEN accomplishments, with others too numerous to mention here, but it is obvious that this Congress has done more than any in American history, other than FDR’s 73rd Congress in 1933-1934 and Lyndon Johnson’s 89th Congress in 1965-1966. The only other Congress to come close to these three was Woodrow Wilson’s 63rd Congress of 1913-1914!

These Congresses accomplished what they did because the President and the Congress were of the same party!

When Congress and the President are at odds, very little is accomplished, so the general belief that a “split” government is better does not ring true!

But it is also true that when the Republican party has controlled the Presidency and Congress as under Harding and Coolidge in the 1920s and George W. Bush in the 2000s, what was the result? THE GREAT DEPRESSION and THE GREAT RECESSION! 🙁

So it has only been under united Democratic leadership that historic reform has occurred, as under Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Barack Obama!

So no matter what happens today, the Democrats should feel proud of their accomplishments, and they should know that despite the short sightedness and ignorance of the facts by many voters which seems likely, that what they have done will be seen in the long run of history as ABSOLUTELY RIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY! Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the hard working members of the Democratic Party will be vindicated in history!

It is often the case that the American people do not appreciate what they have until much later, when the realization of what has happened, and the positive nature of the change, has sunk in!

So despite what will occur today, Democrats should hold their heads high, as they have indeed done great service for the American people, no matter how long it takes for the masses to see the truth–that the Democratic Party is indeed the party of the middle and lower classes, while the Republican Party represents the rich and privileged and those who imagine they will become rich and privileged, even though most never will accomplish those goals in reality!

Corporate Threats On Employees And Politics: 1896 And 2010! Back To The 19th Century! :(

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More than a century ago, corporations were dominating our politics and corrupting it in what was called “The Gilded Age”!

Many corporations pressured employees to vote for the Republican party as the party of big business and its belief in laissez faire capitalism. So when William Jennings Bryan was nominated by the Democrats in 1896, corporations became intimately involved in working to defeat him, depicting him as a socialist, a Marxist, a radical, and an extremist. Many corporations warned their workers that if Bryan was elected, the companies would be firing workers and eventually shutting down!

The tactic worked, and conservative William McKinley won the Presidency, continuing GOP and big business dominance of American politics. Only with his tragic assassination in 1901 did the nation gain Theodore Roosevelt, who represented the beginning of progressive change, including some of the ideas and visions of William Jennings Bryan!

Now, more than a century later, and thanks to the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case in January of this year, corporations are again running amuck in their determination to defeat the Democrats, and reverse the reforms brought about by President Barack Obama! They are spending inordinate amounts of money, and promoting distorted commercials to scare and intimidate voters, either not to vote, or to vote out of fear and trepidation of what Barack Obama represents, a very typical depiction similar to that used against William Jennings Bryan more than a century ago!

But even more outrageous is what one franchise owner of a McDonald’s in Ohio has done–to warn workers that if the Republicans do not win the political races in the state, that their measly pay will be lowered and benefits will be lost! 🙁

This is just one example of how corporations are intimidating their employees and trying to fix the election results, and it is evidence of how labor rights hard won over the past century are now endangered by newly gained corporate powers that make us realize that the Supreme Court is setting the nation backward, before the reforms of the Progressive Era, to the traditional corporate dominance and abuses of the Gilded Age!

Are Americans going to sit back and allow a century of political, social and economic reform to be wiped out by the reactionary desires of corporate America, which caused the Great Depression and the Great Recession? 🙁

Will the Supreme Court be allowed to take us back to the 19th century Gilded Age, and repeal the 20th century? 🙁

One thing is clear: no matter what happens on November 2, the struggle for progressive political, social and economic reform, which many had thought had been won under Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama, will have to continue!

We may have to redo old battles for reforms we thought were permanent, and the division that exists in this country may become greater than ever, as progressives cannot allow the return of the 19th century and the Gilded Age without continuing to fight for change!

The Problem With The Democrats: Unwilling To Stand Up For Their Beliefs! :(

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With less than six weeks to go until the midterm elections, the Democrats are making clear that they are cowards–unwilling to stand up for what they believe in and what they have accomplished! 🙁

This Congress has been easily the most exceptional one since 1965-1966 under Lyndon Johnson, and yet most Democrats refuse to defend what they have done, and to show courage and guts and rip apart the negativism of the opposition Republicans!

This is NOT the time to be polite or pleasant! If the Democrats lose control of either or both houses of Congress, much of what they have accomplished may be destroyed, so this is the time to fight tooth and nail, and not care about the attacks of hypocrisy that will come from talk radio and Fox News Channel!

The health care bill has just gone into effect, the greatest social legislation since the 1960s, and the Democrats need to defend it, emphasize the positive nature of it, and refuse to apologize for it or act as they were not involved in creating it!

The Democrats must make it clear that the Republicans offer no alternative except a return to the past failures, and that they are not really concerned about the middle class or the poor, but only the wealthy! All they do is promote hate and division, appealing to the worse side of human nature, and yet they evoke religion and morality, when they exploit without caring about the sick, the unemployed, the homeless, and the handicapped!

The Democrats might play hardball, and if they still lose control of Congress, at least they will be able to look in the mirror and be proud that they have given a good fight! As Leo Durocher, the baseball manager, once said, “Nice Guys Finish Last!” 🙁

Jimmy Carter Diary Becomes Public: Center Of Controversy!

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Former President Jimmy Carter, now nearly 30 years out of office, only behind Herbert Hoover in years of retirement, has decided to reveal his diary entries from his years in the White House, rather than wait till his passing!

Carter was interviewed on Sixty Minutes on CBS last night and will do the book tour for the next few weeks, including on Larry King Live on CNN tonight.

Carter certainly is not avoiding controversy now, any more than he did while in office!

Often considered a “failed” President, despite many accomplishments, a lot of the reputation due to his defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980, Carter makes the assertion that he accomplished more of his agenda in four years than any other one term or two term President who followed him, and including Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon before him!

In other words, he had the highest rate of success in his agenda than anyone since Lyndon Johnson!

That assertion seems hard to prove, and actually very startling, and will require scholars to examine the Carter record in greater detail as to the validity of his assertion, which the author finds hard to believe!

Carter also shows an ugly streak of resentment and bitterness by attacking Senator Ted Kennedy, who died last year, accusing him of not wanting Carter to accomplish health care reform, which Carter claims could have been done thirty years ago!

Again, it is hard to imagine such a scenario as being possible in the late 1970s, with a growing conservative movement by 1978, which would have made such an accomplishment impossible!

Jimmy Carter has loved being controversial in his post Presidential years, and his newly published Diary only will add to that image he seems to pursue!

If nothing else, it will provoke historians and other scholars to focus on Carter, who has not been as much investigated as his successor, Ronald Reagan, and certainly deserves more analysis!

Carter’s longevity may have delayed much research, but it is likely much more will be published sooner, rather than later, due to this publication of his Diary!

Barack Obama And Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, And Franklin D. Roosevelt

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President Obama is reported to be reading Edmund Morris’s THE RISE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, according to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Obama should also be reading Robert Caro’s LYNDON JOHNSON: MASTER OF THE SENATE, and James MacGregor Burns’s FDR: THE LION AND THE FOX.

Obama needs to show the aggressiveness of Theodore Roosevelt, who first brought up the concept of a National Health Care plan in 1912!

Obama needs to hone the political skills of Franklin D. Roosevelt in gaining Social Security and other social reforms during the NEW DEAL years!

Obama needs to push and prod the Senate and the House of Representatives membership as Lyndon Johnson learned to do as Senate Majority Leader and President, gaining the passage of Medicare, Medicaid, and path breaking Civil Rights legislation!

While Obama is appealing to the American people through speeches and public town halls, he needs to use the political skills of these three great Presidents who knew how to get things done, and did not worry about opposition.

Mr. President, at this key moment in the fight for Health Care reform, take off the gloves and punch back, and use every tactic available to get “Reconciliation” done, and do not worry about the talk shows and the other critics!

This is a moment of greatness awaiting you! If you accomplish this great goal of Health Care reform, you will be in the pantheon long term with TR, FDR, and LBJ! So get to work!

National Journal Rankings: Liberals And Conservatives In The Senate

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A new rating of the Senate by National Journal reveals the following.

The most liberal senators are Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Roland Burris of Illinois, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both of Rhode Island, with all of them in a five way tie. Interestingly, all are in their first term in the Senate, with the exception of Reed, and Burris will be leaving the Senate after a two year appointment.

The most conservative Senators are in order as follows: James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Bunning, thankfully, is leaving at the end of this year. Obviously, the name Jim is very much connected for now to the right wing! 🙂

So Oklahoma has the distinction of having two of the most conservative senators, and Rhode Island two of the most liberal senators.

The big problem revealed by this survey is that the moderate center in both parties is becoming more than ever an “endangered species”, which makes it likely that the future Senate will be as intransigent and uncooperative as it presently is. This is not good for the American system of government, when there is no give and take, no compromise spirit, that exists in the upper chamber.

The nation needs a new version of Henry Clay or Lyndon Johnson to promote compromise and action in the Senate, but sadly there is no one obvious on the horizon to fill the shoes of these two great senators of the 19th and 20th centuries in the 21st century! 🙁

A Testimonial To Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has been bitterly attacked and criticized by many as ineffective, lacking in charisma, not aggressive enough, and as a bland speaker.

The problem is that he has been compared to the master Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, the greatest leader in the history of the Senate. That is indeed a tough act to follow or to match.

I have often felt that Senator Reid was not the right person to lead the Democrats, and certainly, he does not come off very well on television in his appearance or his rhetoric.

Having said that, I think it is now time to applaud Senator Reid for his behind the scenes work keeping the Democratic coalition in the Senate together, dealing with the many prima donnas in the Senate, and managing to get all of them to unite to pass the legislation on health care, which will be seen in the future as the most significant social legislation in 45 years, and one of the most important pieces of legislative work in the entire story of American history.

Reid is a modest man, but even his own colleagues paid him tribute this morning, including Max Baucus, Christopher Dodd, Tom Harkin, Dick Durbin, and Chuck Schumer. This victory for the Democrats and the American people is due in no small measure to his tenacity; his courage; and his quiet, behind the scenes, patient dealings with difficult personalities in order to accomplish the greater goal of expanding health care to millions of people who had no chance before this to what every American should be entitled–decent health care!

A Model Federal Judge Dies: Judge William Wayne Justice Of Texas

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There are hundreds of federal district court judges, and seldom will one hear much about them on a national level. But Judge William Wayne Justice, who died this week in Austin,Texas, at age 89, was a memorable figure in bringing Texas into the 20th century.

Appointed a district judge by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, and still presiding over his court recently, Judge Justice asserted a broad liberal view of the judicial role, and in so doing, benefited many Texans.

He promoted the integration of Texas public schools. He advanced major reforms of Texas prisons, which were among the worst in the nation. He asserted the right of illegal immigrant children to an education. He also promoted the reform of the juvenile justice system, integration of public housing, and bilingual education.

Two generations of African American, Mexican American, and poor white children and adults gained basic civil rights that would still be among the worst in the country today, were it not for the actions of Judge Justice. His last name was so appropriate, and although he was not a national figure, he deserves our respect and thanks for the leadership he demonstrated for 41 years!

Bill Clinton’s Advice To Barack Obama: Move Ahead On Health Care Reform

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Former President Bill Clinton has advised President Obama to move ahead on reform with or without GOP support.

Clinton points out that there are enough Democrats to bring about health care reform without Republican backing if that party’s members refuse to back any bill. We should move ahead and not let the opposition prevent change because of their unwillingness to compromise and support any legislation.

It is clear to me that if we are to let the Republicans dictate what is to be done in health care, we will lose the best opportunity in a generation to bring about what has been talked about on and off since the time of Harry Truman–the need to protect ALL Americans by providing low cost health care that has no people left out because of preconditions medically.

Obama, by his victory by a larger margin than any President in a generation, needs to keep his promise to his supporters and fight for what he feels we need–a public option and REAL reform of the whole health care system. Democrats need to remember that they have won this election in 2008 decisively, and the winners decide the future, not the losers.

The Republicans know how to promote their victories, and Democrats need to stop apologizing for their triumph last November and assert their authority to change the future.

We are waiting with baited breath for what we hope will be a President utilizing the techniques of Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Ronald Reagan to accomplish his goals.

Bill Clinton failed to accomplish his goal 16 years ago of health care reform. It is time for Barack Obama to fulfill what President Clinton was unable to achieve!

The Public Option For Health Insurance Is Essential!

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There are hints coming from the Obama Administration that they might settle for non profit coops to create competition for the health insurance industry, in lieu of a “public option”, where the government competes with private enterprise for those who are least able to afford health insurance costs.

The argument is that the Senate will NOT go along with a public option, while the House will not go along with any legislation that does not have a public option.

This is a defining moment for the Obama plans for health care, and it is indeed a tough issue, but I think the President has to use the prestige of his office and start to act like Lyndon Johnson–be aggressive and take the view that this is the best time to get health care reform through, and that he should not concern himself with whether or not the Republicans will go along or support a plan.

The “blue dog” Democrats in the House must be read the “riot act” and the more conservative Democrats in the Senate informed that this is a question of a once in a generation opportunity for fundamental change, and that therefore the fight must go on for real change.

Yes, abortion, illegal immigrants and clearcut declaration that so called “death panels” will NOT be part of the legislation is essential. Also, cost controls to avoid adding to the national debt long term is also necessary.

This is a time to FIGHT, not give in to the corporations and the conservatives who are propagandizing to destroy the need for health care reform. America deserves better!