Obama is no FDR, We're no Mass Movement

[bigtree]

from Les Leopold, Author, "The Looting of America" at HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/obama-is-no-fdr-were-no-m_b_457452.html


{snip}

. . . while we're comparing Obama to FDR, we should also compare ourselves to the kind of activity that sparked the New Deal. Today we see no worker upsurge, no progressive revival, no mass movement in the streets among the unemployed and dispossessed like we witnessed in the 1930s. Obama faces no serious progressive pressure. Instead the Tea Party has emerged to grab all of the populist energy.

A right-wing populist movement was to be expected. FDR saw Father Coughlin, the radio preacher, galvanize a powerful populist force based on hatred of Jews and Wall Street. Huey Long gave Roosevelt fits with his "Everyman a King" demagoguery. But most importantly, these reactionary forces were more than balanced out by the labor movement that strengthened as workers poured into unions and into the streets.

What have we today? Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. What we don't have is a serious challenge from the progressive side of the spectrum. We don't have an alternative vision to the billionaire bailout society. We don't have a clear agenda to push onto Obama. And we sure as hell don't have a mass movement that could enforce it.

We can moan all we want about Obama's shortcomings, the mistakes his Administration has made and his inability to take on Wall Street. But we haven't exactly applied a lot of heat. A million people on the mall demanding "Jobs Now" along with serious Wall Street reforms might help. A million people showing up repeatedly might actually get the job done. Why have we forgotten how to build a mass movement just as the Tea Party shows that it can be done . . . ?


more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/obama-is-no-fdr-were-no-m_b_457452.html

[dysfunctional press]

1. but it's cold outside.

and we're doing our part by posting on a message board. :patriot:

[bigtree]

4. we do a bit of organizing here

I don't think it's fair to knock the folks who organize their thoughts here, though. It might surprise you to find out what our posters are actually involved with outside of this board.

I think a lot of the right's momentum in organizing is probably a consequence of our party in (numerical ) power right now.

[saracat]

2. But OTOH, the people did mobilize to elect him.And it isn't quite fair

to blame the people for the shortcomings of the WH and congress.We elected them to do better.

[CANDO]

23. I'm with you!

It wasn't just my imagination that Obama and quite a few Dems strongly talked like they were FDR Democrats. Heck, every stump speech was littered with EFCA, changing trade deals, etc. And I did load my ass onto a bus last June and spent a day in DC rallying for health care with Dr. Dean and a whole bunch of other folks. They bear a huge responsibility for false rhetoric just to get elected. But if anyone wants to rally in DC, I'm there in a heartbeat!

[DailyGrind51]

3. "We" spend too much time blogging and not enough time demonstrating.

Those who organize the "tea-baggers" know that crowds + cameras + power.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Actually, Obama Is Following Herbert Hoover's Playbook

http://harpers.org/archive/2009/06/hbc-90005235

With predictable results.

Hopefully FDR comes next.

[Captain Hilts]

9. I've been saying this from Day One. Ignorance of HH and the New Deal is stunning. nt

[fascisthunter]

15. very interesting

[Demoiselle]

6. I agree, bigtree...to a point...

We haven't gotten onto the streets as we should....but, according to that Rolling Stone article that's at the top of the DU Home page...Obama's people actively discouraged a mass movement. Also, the tea party movement is, in fact, quite small in numbers...but it's been blown out of all proportion by the media.
If someone points the way, I'll be happy to join up with a progressive movement, but somebody has to point me in the right direction. That's the President's job.

[bigtree]

12. we could always benefit from more direct ways to deliver our appeals

The problem I see is a lack of focus on actually directing legislation. Much of activism is opposition. I don't think we've found enough ways to advance the initiatives we support into action or law. A great deal of energy is spent despairing or venting. I suppose, though, that focusing on what Congress bothers to address is a compromising endeavor.

[placton]

7. How Stupid of Me!

If only we would march, and protest, THEN the Dems in power would turn 180 degrees around. Is that it? It's really OUR fault? My god, do you really believe that?

[FiveGoodMen]

8. +1

[Captain Hilts]

10. If you think that's the ONLY way to be active...nt

[bigtree]

11. I didn't write the piece

. . . but I certainly think it's productive to discuss our own responsibility in the political process beyond the votes we cast in the elections. Do you really believe that we shouldn't challenge ourselves to maximize on whatever influence we can bring to the debates or to the considerations of the politicians at election time?

[sandnsea]

13. HCAN Feb 17 Take It To The Streets!

HCAN, sponsored by the unions.

http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org

OFA Health Care Action Center


http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/health-care-action-center/?source=20100209_ms_launch

[xchrom]

14. This is the inheritace of the post Vietnam nam

Draft generations.

Oh centrists can side with progressives over
the topic of war -- but we are impotent as a crew
on other issues -- a legacy of Reagan?

Now we are splintered when our leaders give us Crap -- and fall
out -- biting each other in the ass over stuff that HAS
to be fixed later -- or a 'win' by the Democratic party alone.

Pretty pathetic and something Repukes can count on.

[fascisthunter]

16. sorry, but people have been bamboozled, and tons of people worked

their asses off to get this man elected. Also, tons of people protested, marched, emailed, mailed, phoned, etc. to bring attention to very uncomfortable facts... we were all IGNORED by the media, something I'm not sure Leopold realizes.

[DemoTex]

17. Nor do we have a dust bowl ..

When the dusters from the Llano Estacado finally reached Washington, DC, and Wall Street - literally - and photos of Dust Bowl misery and documentary films like "The Plow that Broke the Plains" scared everyone, FDR had somewhat of an easier time with his critics. Then came Hitler, war in Europe, Pearl Harbor, and WW-II.

[farmbo]

18. Here's your mass movement: The First Monday Movement

Do you feel powerless?

Do you feel your rights are being trampled upon?

Are you frustrated by the corruption and arrogance of the power elite in Washington?

Are you ready to do something/anything to make your feelings known?

But alas... aren't the Tea Partiers just about the most self-absorbed, reactionary and downright scary group of malcontents since the John Birch Society?

Fret not! Relief is at hand: Come join the First Monday Movement.

We need to organize a wide-scale progressive march on Washington for the First Monday in October-- the traditional start of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) term. We'll call it...humm... the "First Monday Movement"! After all, you can not get more arrogant and elitist than five, uber-privileged, lifetime appointments in black robes who are brazenly eroding our democracy and turning the constitution on its head. (Just ask Sister Sarah and the Tea Partiers where in the constitution it says that "corporations" are "people". Hint: It Ain't in there!!!!!)

The march should commence on Saturday Oct 2nd, climax with speeches on the mall on Sunday the 3rd, and culminate on the 4th on the steps of the SCOTUS, with the President addressing the progressive marchers by phone (see:e.g. Roe vs Wade marches).

The main thrust of the demonstration will be to protest the brazen stupidity of the Citizens United case (corporate funding of campaigns), and to more generally point out the pro-Big Business, anti- Middle Class leanings of the SCOTUS majority -- and the congressional Republicans across the street who support that hideous ruling.

In addition to a good old fashioned march on Washington for progressive causes, the agenda should also include:

1) Congressional visits on Capitol Hill
2) Training sessions for GOTV efforts in the 50 states
3) Organizational classes for leaders down to precinct level for the '10 elections,
4) Bands, displays and charity events throughout the mall.
5) And most important: resoundingly calling out the SCOTUS "Fatuous Five" for the corporatist scoundrels they really are.

I know we can get 100s of thousands of progressives down there-- far more than even the most feverish Fox news crowd estimates.

And, let's face it-- this would really buck up morale for the election cycle.

After all, SCOTUS lunacy is something that ALL DEMOCRATS can agree on.

(If you like this idea, it's yours. Let's just bounce it around the internet until it takes off).

See you in Washington!

[Juche]

19. The tea party movement is tiny

The anti-iraq war protests were far far larger. The tea party march on Washington had about 30,000 people.

But yes, we aren't really effective right now. However begging politicians to pay attention to us (by protesting, calling, writing, etc) doesn't seem effective either. There has to be an effective method of persuasion. Strikes, primaries from the left, etc.

[Blecht]

20. That's a good article

Depressing, but good.

[Time for change]

21. If that's a correct assessment, then the important questions is "Why?"

Why then and not now?

[JCMach1]

22. I think Left, Progressives are at least as organized as the TP's

[bigtree]

24. .

[anonymous171]

25. Huey Long was the greatest politician ever to exist.

They don't make them like that anymore. No one is prepared to challenge the party establishment like he was back then.