Roosevelt vs. Bush [John Nichols]

[kris10ep]

President Bush is losing his fight to privatize Social Security.

Even his own allies, such as House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., are warning the president that he cannot force the American people to accept the radical reworking of Social Security that Bush's allies in the financial services industry want.

In fact, the only hope the president has left is outright distortion of the facts - by the White House and by its amen corner in the media.

The Fox News Channel, which has a long history of being more loyal to the Bush administration than it is to the truth, is currently peddling the biggest of the big lies.

more...
http://thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=2242

[CottonBear]

1. Did you hear * say "There's a (SS) crisis...

some people say there isn't but there is and I'm going to keep saying it until it sinks in."

God, he sounded desperate. This video clip was on the CBS morning news this past Saturday.

[bunkerbuster1]

2. That's the story this week, Chimpy?

heh.

[maggiecleveland]

3. Read The Roosevelt Myth by John T Flynn

has a different point of view....

[CottonBear]

4. And what point of view might that be?

My point of view is that FDR and the Democratic party were responsible for creating the most important program of the 20th century. Social Security has been responsible for lifting tens of millions of senior citizens out of poverty along with millions of survivors and the disabled.

I have personally benefited from Social Security. My father died and left my mom with 3 children under 18. We received survivors benefits until we reached the age of 18.

Social Security is part of the social contract with our fellow citizens to care for the sick, disabled, survivors and the elderly.

It is something which makes me proud to be an American.

[newyawker99]

8. Hi maggiecleveland!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[maggiecleveland]

10. thanks...

I think....

[Gyre]

5. I used to think Roosevelt was a good leader.

Then I did some reading on him and came to realize he was one of the biggest imperialists in American history. Another repube myth blown to hell.

Gyre

[rodeodance]

6. he did well by the elderly.

[westernpenndem]

7. The WPA, CCC, Comander In Chief--list goes on and on

He was an outstanding president. His WPA created the stadiums where both my father and I played high school ball. His CCC built wonderful state parks in Pennsylvania and wilderness backroads I still enjoy today. These projects provided much needed dignity and work for the unemployed and teens at deadend, while they improved the infrastructure and quality of life immensely. He was a superior commander in chief, though he never served, and my father, a WWII Navy vet, said the sailors would be glued to his radio broadcasts and called his speeches "terrific." His willingness to create a bigger role for government in helping the less fortunate and the average Joe laid the groundwork for the GI Bill, that one measure that led, through the hard work and opportunity given to the vets, to the greatest distribution of wealth and growth of a middle class that our nation has ever known. Without it, my father never would have become a lawyer and the respected "Atticus Finch" of our small town. FDR insisted not only on a safety net, but on opportunity.

He was a blue blood, but unlike some Yale cheerleaders who pretend to "clear brush" with a chain saw and can't seem to handle a mountain bike, the Americans saw FDR was from wealth but they respected his work and loved him.

He wasn't perfect, but I'm with CottonBear. Roosevelt then and now makes me proud to be an American. And a Democrat.

[rleeh]

9. rosey-velt

he was of the elite.

he increased the power of the elite and enriched them and himself.

he guaranteed our involvement in the greatest criminal act against humanity to date...wwII

his desperate measures to avoid all out revolution look heroic today.

if you have a shirley temple devotion to the farce of democracy in our fair land, he looks rosey. if you are aware of the ongoing attacks against the constitution, especially the bill of rights, he was a major perpetrator against us.

on the one hand social security is a great thing that should have had a long history before him. on the other, it is a comprehensive program of bondage. if you make over 90k, since you won't be drawing ss, you might not be required to have "the number"...my what a freedom...

the sad facts are:

90%+ of our reps are now or will become in congress millionaires.

there has been a 20 fold increase in the wealth of the elite in the last century.

there has been a -8% increase in the wealth of the average citizen over the same period.

it takes two full time jobs today to match my dad's income in 1960.

30% of high school grads are below grade level in reading. 15% are functionally illiterate. the sat was down graded 20% in 1994 and "smart" kids are still getting low scores.

57% of voters cannot name a single supreme court justice.

in calling my u s senator regarding the "frivolous" lawsuit scam, the aide who answered stated that i was the only call on the issue. (i was checking on how he had voted).

but if we are mortgaged to the hilt, have a new suv, a fridge full of pizza and beer, we might be right to get our political cues from homer simpson...outherwise we might have to take a real look at where we REALLY are and who, exactly, put us there.

[westernpenndem]

11. Not perfect but a great President

rleeh, we shall disagree. Call me Shirley Temple, but I've seen a lot in my 44 years.

I would take Franklin Roosevelt for President any day of the week. Those figures you cite occured despite his efforts, not because of them. The New Deal helped America greatly. And his support of trade unions helped build the middle class, though this has been under attack since the Reagan firing of the air traffic controllers. WWII was a catastrophe, as are all wars, but it was a just cause, though you'd have every right to condemn Dresden and Hiroshima.

Your last paragraph certainly does not describe me or my family.

BTW, I will be getting together with some friends for our regular jam session, and quite a few of our songs come from Alan Lomax's wonderful folk song collection book--he was hired by Roosevelt's WPA to travel around the US, mostly in the South, and record indigenous American songs that would have otherwise been lost. The volume of his collection, which took years, is enormous. Ever hear of Leadbelly? You might not have had it not been for the WPA.

I'll keep the bondage of Social Security, too, especially the disability insurance function. My late sister was disabled, so I know how necessary the SSI program is. I am a Democrat, not a Liberatian. I believe in activist government as a force for good.

And I will stand by my opinion that, though he was not perfect, FDR was the greatest president of the 20th Century.

And keep calling that representative of yours! They probably said the same thing to 10 other callers.