Morality drives policy. Too often, progressives have tried it the other way around, then looked on in dismay as conservatives led with their moral view and won one policy fight after another, even when polling showed most Americans disagreed with conservative policies!
On Thursday night, President Obama didn't make this mistake. Instead, he spoke to our better angels, confidently, forcefully and inclusively. He seized the moral authority with his grammar and demeanor: "Pass this jobs bill" is an imperative sentence; it attributes authority to the speaker. The repetition is a reminder of moral authority.
The speech was remarkable in many ways. It was plainspoken, Trumanesque. It focused on the progressive moral worldview that has from the beginning been the life force of American democracy. In virtually every sentence, it was a call for cooperative joint action for the benefit of all.
Let's look at the way Obama articulated the progressive moral worldview that recognizes both personal and social responsibility. He said:
Yes, we are rugged individualists. Yes, we are strong and self-reliant. And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and envy of the world.But there has always been another thread running throughout our history -- a belief that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation...
Ask yourselves -- where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, our dams, our airports? What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges? Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the GI Bill. Where would we be if they hadn't had that chance?
No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another. Members of Congress, it is time for us to meet our responsibilities.
Here's what we said in a Huffington Post piece back in July:
Democracy, in the American tradition, has been defined by a simple morality: We Americans care about our fellow citizens, we act on that care and build trust, and we do our best not just for ourselves, our families, and our friends and neighbors, but for our country, for each other, for people we have never seen and never will see.
American Democracy has, over our history, called upon citizens to share an equal responsibility to work together to secure a safe and prosperous future for their families and nation. This is the central work of our democracy and it is a public enterprise. This, the American Dream, is the dream of a functioning democracy.
That is the progressive moral view Obama used to such great effect Thursday night. However important particular policy prescriptions may be, they do not automatically evoke this moral view. No listener moves from Obama's talk of extending the social security tax holiday to the heartfelt understanding that we are responsible for one another.
Obama showed us he understood that policy flows from morality. That is why he articulated the morality behind his recommendations at the climactic moment of his speech. From this morality, he said, all else follows.
There are other things to note in the speech. One of those was his choice to say, "You should pass this jobs plan right away." The unusual imperative formulation is "right away." Typically, a politician would structure the imperative around the words "now" or "immediately." Such language, however, wouldn't fit the morality Obama hoped to embody Wednesday night.
"Do it now," is strict parent or authoritarian language. It is, "Do what I say." There's no less urgency in "right away," but there is a sense of "join us on this righteous path." The reason is that "away" is a spatial word that traces a path from where we are in a forward direction, a path of action toward the achievement of an accepted goal. It is inclusive and welcoming, while also indicating the urgency of the request. By using "right away," Obama skillfully communicated that we all in this together.
The president also explicitly rejected the conservative moral view of personal responsibility without social responsibility: the idea that no one should have to pay for anyone else, that paying for a government that helps fellow citizens who require help is immoral.
But what we can't do -- what I won't do -- is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety. I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy. We shouldn't be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution standards. America should be in a race to the top. And I believe we can win that race.In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government, refund everyone's money, let everyone write their own rules, and tell everyone they're on their own -- that's not who we are. That's not the story of America.
If you look at policies alone, policies that have been proposed by both Democrats and Republicans, you miss the main event. The very idea of working together for the good of fellow citizens in need of help is a progressive idea; it is the idea behind the view of democracy that has sustained America from its beginning.
Conservatives are not going to like cooperating on Obama's jobs plan. The very idea contradicts much of what they believe.
Meanwhile, the president put them in a bind. If they co-operate in helping their fellow citizens, they violate their code of personal responsibility without social responsibility. If they don't co-operate, they look callous and irresponsible.
David Briggs: Believers Keep Faith in American Dream Despite Recession
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 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
The fact is, I am missing facts that substantiate the reason for this less than factual account about fractional fact finding festivities.
Oh! For effing ....
Simply commanding the bill should be passed sounds very dictaorial to me... If this is what progressives (what ever that means) are, they represent some form other form of government than the represetative one that we (used?) to live under.
“It doesn’t mean that every piece of what the president was saying, that everybody was saying ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so glad about that,’ But this is, again, a compromise.”
Let's break this bill into it's individual components and vote on each based on its own merit. Remove the politicians ability to say that they opposed parts of the bill but had to vote for it because the good parts were too important not to pass.
The following is only an example of how confuse an issue.
"Recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State." A resolution that basically does what it says. Included in the resolution was a line stating that Hawaii was the birthplace of Obama. Because the two were linked opposition to one could be said to be opposition to the other and vice-versa as to support. The resolution passed 378-0 with 55 present but not voting. Did these 55 have a problem with Hawaii being a state? Probably not. Did they have a problem stating that Obama was born in Hawaii? Maybe. Did all 378 who supported the resolution believe that Obama is Hawaiian? We'll never know. Would the resolution have passed 433-0 without the line regarding Obama's birthplace? I think it is very likely.
Break these resolutions and bills down and Congress will have less deniability and more accountability.
We heard lots of rhetoric, but that was`all.
Progressive and personal responsibility are polar opposites.
Every policy progressives advocate for do the exact opposite much like the far right policies . . . don't kid yourself.
"The President, in a rambling and tedious exercise mixing blame with demands, made quite a few dubious statements in laying out the case for Congress to vote for the plan which as yet does not exist. Much like Obamacare, Congress must ultimately vote for the bill to know what is in it.
At one point Mr. Obama made a major gaffe; he identified Abraham Lincoln as the founder of the Republican Party.
Lincoln did not join the Republicans until 1856, over two years after the party was founded. The first Republican convention was held in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854.
Such a gaffe would have brought huge amounts of ridicule and derision on George W. Bush, but in the case of Obama the media yawned.
Actually, they did more than yawn; government-funded PBS has altered the transcript of the President's speech, removing the offending comment."
Also, please take notice of my micro bio, savvy one; the main point of my posting was to point out yet another double standard, how a gaff by Obama is treated much differently than if Bush had made it.
BTW, have you noticed Obama tends to make gaffs about American history?
I'm REALLY sick of the prestigious progressive commentators who keep telling us to believe that Obama about anything other than enhancing corporate power in America. You are all being incredibly naive about what Obama is doing. He's way ahead of you guys. And you're playing his game for him. Obama is creating a meta-narrative which supercedes and incorporates the Republican agenda and the progressive agenda with one ultimate goal in mind: propitiating corporate power in the service of the re-election and self-aggrandizement of OBAMA! Analyze his ACTIONS instead of his language please.
Wrong! The very idea than progressives are the only ones concerned for their fellow citizens is quite simply wrong. It is built on our individual compassion regardless of our world view. Twisting what the President said into something that you either agree with or you're a callous idiot IS a progressive idea. It is also something Republicans do. It is called politics - I am right because I have good on my side.
The truth is - both Republicans AND Democrats have put us into this economic mess. We will never get out of it so long as we keep pointing fingers and saying things like "agree with me or be a wrong idiot." Cooperation doesn't work that way. Both sides of these political debates know that but continue to use the same tactics; which explains Congress' low popularity and the President's sinking esteem.
I agree with some of what the President said, but that doesn't mean I'm going to "approve it so we can see what's in it." Democrats and Republicans are right to question the tactics proposed by the President - that is their job.
No one is expected to approve 100%, because we are a diverse nation. But, Congress needs to work as a team, not as if they want it all their way, or no way.
No plan would not be met with the unexpected...natural dissasters, world economics, etc. Not a full out Republican plan, that's for certain.
But, why must we keep hearing, "big government" when the thing is to have GOOD government?
Why must we keep hearing "No government restrictions" when Big Business restrictions are killing the customer? (as in: If you have had _____illness, we will not cover it. Or, Even though you were insured by us, If you have moveed to another state, you must pay us for a year before we will pay for an illness....well, you "may" travel back to your original state....I'm certain even though you are ill, you can do that)
Removing business restrictions like that is what Good Government should be doing for it's citizens.
Obama hasn't stopped he government from working like it should. I think Congress is trying to do that. 100% Republican policies would not make a good nation for all the people.
My opinion only.
Also, socialism by definition is the idea that the society as a whole owns everything within it, and so they all work together for the good of the entire citizenry. I don't think the Republicans would very much like you insinuating that they are socialists.
The pattern so far has been Obama giving nice, progressive-ish-sounding speeches, and then promulgating policies that are regressive-ish, or worse, and also not strongly standing up against the Regressive Repressive Crazy Train Republicans in general. Obama has been a decent, effective, slightly moderate Republican President.
Employers Say Jobs Plan Won’t Lead to Hiring Spur
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44465169
The whole thing is a political stunt aimed at just what you allege. If we are lucky some real Bipartisans may find a compromise between the house and senate. We should not hold our breath but do enjoy the warm fuzzies. They were meant for you!
so let them rebuff this latest bill that could move us in the right direction.
its their funeral.