What this election comes down to is President Obama. Does he get a term or does he get an era?
A lot has been said about Bernie bringing kids into the process, which surely is a good thing.
Trouble is, kids when they get involved in politics, tend not to be patient. Everything for them is now. But we live in a democracy with divided public opinion. Bernie talks as if 90 percent of Americans agree with him.
In truth, 90 percent of Americans don't agree on anything.
By the way, in a democracy, not a dictatorship, they shouldn't. That's not natural.
Change takes time. The other night on his MSNBC show, Lawrence O'Donnell related what a Senator he used to know would say to the new kids coming up: the goal is to change the 30 year arc.
This is what people who say Obama's already had his chance and we need more. This assumes that what changes Obama has accomplished are secure.
They're not. For a President to really be successful he needs to elect his successor. FDR was able to do this by having an unprecedented 4 terms.
Then his Vice President, Harry Truman, got 7 years. Then the first Republican President since the Depression chose to expand Social Security.
That was when FDR had truly won. It took over 20 years.
Reagan only had an era after Bush won.
This is why it's so important for Hillary to win.
The Left has always been tougher on Democrats than on Republicans. Even this week, the Dems do their historic filibuster and finally the GOP has to admit that it's absurd that someone who is on or just recently was on a terrorist watchlist can purchase an assault weapon.
So what do the Glenn Greenwalds of the world do? They say the Democrats want to take away people's civil liberties. Meanwhile the only time the GOP cares about civil liberties is when the subject is gun ownership.
I see that many of the Berners talk about Bobby Kennedy. Great. What did Bobby Kennedy ever do for the Democrats? His unwillingness to ever give LBJ a chance led to a pointless inter party civil war during the 60s which preceded 24 years of Republican rule.
The Left never gets that you don't get everything you want overnight. Not in our system of government. Now if they want this to change, then that's another conversation.
But when you look at what guys like Lenin, Stalin, and Mao did without 'mere formal liberties' that's not so compelling.
A lot has been said about Bernie bringing kids into the process, which surely is a good thing.
Trouble is, kids when they get involved in politics, tend not to be patient. Everything for them is now. But we live in a democracy with divided public opinion. Bernie talks as if 90 percent of Americans agree with him.
In truth, 90 percent of Americans don't agree on anything.
By the way, in a democracy, not a dictatorship, they shouldn't. That's not natural.
Change takes time. The other night on his MSNBC show, Lawrence O'Donnell related what a Senator he used to know would say to the new kids coming up: the goal is to change the 30 year arc.
This is what people who say Obama's already had his chance and we need more. This assumes that what changes Obama has accomplished are secure.
They're not. For a President to really be successful he needs to elect his successor. FDR was able to do this by having an unprecedented 4 terms.
Then his Vice President, Harry Truman, got 7 years. Then the first Republican President since the Depression chose to expand Social Security.
That was when FDR had truly won. It took over 20 years.
Reagan only had an era after Bush won.
This is why it's so important for Hillary to win.
The Left has always been tougher on Democrats than on Republicans. Even this week, the Dems do their historic filibuster and finally the GOP has to admit that it's absurd that someone who is on or just recently was on a terrorist watchlist can purchase an assault weapon.
So what do the Glenn Greenwalds of the world do? They say the Democrats want to take away people's civil liberties. Meanwhile the only time the GOP cares about civil liberties is when the subject is gun ownership.
I see that many of the Berners talk about Bobby Kennedy. Great. What did Bobby Kennedy ever do for the Democrats? His unwillingness to ever give LBJ a chance led to a pointless inter party civil war during the 60s which preceded 24 years of Republican rule.
The Left never gets that you don't get everything you want overnight. Not in our system of government. Now if they want this to change, then that's another conversation.
But when you look at what guys like Lenin, Stalin, and Mao did without 'mere formal liberties' that's not so compelling.
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