Once upon a time, the GOP stood for limited government.But now it stands only for Trump and his authoritarian neofascism. It demands total loyalty to him.The...
Robert Reich articulated something that has been bouncing around my head since 2016
Well Abraham Lincoln did get a letter from Karl Marx congratulating him on a winning second term and how the civil war’s fight against slavery was a huge positive direction for workers all across the world. And Franklin Roosevelt despite blemishes like the internment of Japanese American citizens did a lot for protections for the working class.
Hey now dont ya dare discount Theodore Roosevelt, he laid the groundwork for Franklin Roosevelt in many ways. He also established the national parks, pushed early environmental legislation, and broke up corporations with his trust busting efforts. And thats not even getting into his conservatorship and diplomatic efforts. Really most of his bad spots are the definition of part of his era, IE the whole white mans burden shtick. But even then he generally respected the cultures he interacted with, which puts him leagues above his contemporaries with maybe some colonial commanders who actually knew the locals they were in charge of and respected them.
He also did a shit tonne of infrastructure shit. The modern highway system being the magnum opus, shich while yes it did bring attention away from rail it also allowed a logistics boom on a scale not seen sinc the creation of the trans continental lines. Also highways can be squiggly as fuck unlike rail where you have to go somewhat straight. Also he helped reinforce new deal era policies and adviced Kennedy qoute a bit especially during the Cuban missile crisis.
In the early 20th century due to growing social unrest around the world and socialist populism. The Democratic Party did for at least one presidency lean significantly further to the center than it does today. However that particular president failed to hold fascists accountable and despite making huge short-term gains. Long-term lost the game.
The US has pretty much always made Social Progress in bursts. We do a whole bunch at once then do nothing for a time while things settle in. Eventually pressure starts to build as we recognize more injustices and when it builds far enough there’s another burst of Social Progress.
We’re currently headed into another burst but its been delayed by the sheer numbers of old people who are clinging to the levers of power until the Grim Reaper pries them off. This is entirely unique in the history of this country because prior to the 1950s or so people simply didn’t live or stay healthy long enough for this problem to manifest.
One of them needs to be over, there’s only room for 1 right wing party in the US
Has there ever been a time where both parties weren’t right-wing?
Well Abraham Lincoln did get a letter from Karl Marx congratulating him on a winning second term and how the civil war’s fight against slavery was a huge positive direction for workers all across the world. And Franklin Roosevelt despite blemishes like the internment of Japanese American citizens did a lot for protections for the working class.
As for political party… uuuuh yeah not really.
Hey now dont ya dare discount Theodore Roosevelt, he laid the groundwork for Franklin Roosevelt in many ways. He also established the national parks, pushed early environmental legislation, and broke up corporations with his trust busting efforts. And thats not even getting into his conservatorship and diplomatic efforts. Really most of his bad spots are the definition of part of his era, IE the whole white mans burden shtick. But even then he generally respected the cultures he interacted with, which puts him leagues above his contemporaries with maybe some colonial commanders who actually knew the locals they were in charge of and respected them.
Truuue Teddy did do quite a lot progressive in his time, even by our modern standards.
Maybe Eisenhower too? At least with his warning about the military industrial complex.
He also did a shit tonne of infrastructure shit. The modern highway system being the magnum opus, shich while yes it did bring attention away from rail it also allowed a logistics boom on a scale not seen sinc the creation of the trans continental lines. Also highways can be squiggly as fuck unlike rail where you have to go somewhat straight. Also he helped reinforce new deal era policies and adviced Kennedy qoute a bit especially during the Cuban missile crisis.
In the early 20th century due to growing social unrest around the world and socialist populism. The Democratic Party did for at least one presidency lean significantly further to the center than it does today. However that particular president failed to hold fascists accountable and despite making huge short-term gains. Long-term lost the game.
No
The US has pretty much always made Social Progress in bursts. We do a whole bunch at once then do nothing for a time while things settle in. Eventually pressure starts to build as we recognize more injustices and when it builds far enough there’s another burst of Social Progress.
We’re currently headed into another burst but its been delayed by the sheer numbers of old people who are clinging to the levers of power until the Grim Reaper pries them off. This is entirely unique in the history of this country because prior to the 1950s or so people simply didn’t live or stay healthy long enough for this problem to manifest.
Big changes are coming in the next decade.