Recently I publicly debated a regressive Republican who said Arizona and every other state should use whatever means necessary to keep out illegal immigrants. He also wants English to be spoken in every classroom in the nation, and the pledge of allegiance recited every morning. "We have to preserve and protect America," he said. "That's the meaning of patriotism."
To my debating partner and other regressives, patriotism is about securing the nation from outsiders eager to overrun us. That's why they also want to restore every dollar of the $500 billion in defense cuts scheduled to start in January.
Yet many of these same regressives have no interest in preserving or protecting our system of government. To the contrary, they show every sign of wanting to be rid of it.
In fact, regressives in Congress have substituted partisanship for patriotism, placing party loyalty above loyalty to America.
The GOP's highest-ranking member of Congress has said his "number one aim" is to unseat President Obama. For more than three years congressional Republicans have marched in lockstep, determined to do just that. They have brooked no compromise.
They couldn't care less if they mangle our government in pursuit of their partisan aims. Senate Republicans have used the filibuster more frequently in this Congress than in any congress in history.
House Republicans have been willing to shut down the government and even risk the full faith and credit of the United States in order to get their way.
Regressives on the Supreme Court have opened the floodgates to unlimited money from billionaires and corporations overwhelming our democracy, on the bizarre theory that money is speech under the First Amendment and corporations are people.
Regressive Republicans in Congress won't even support legislation requiring the sources of this money-gusher be disclosed.
They've even signed a pledge -- not of allegiance to the United States, but of allegiance to Grover Norquist, who has never been elected by anyone. Norquist's "no-tax" pledge is interpreted only by Norquist, who says closing a tax loophole is tantamount to raising taxes and therefore violates the pledge.
True patriots don't hate the government of the United States. They're proud of it. Generations of Americans have risked their lives to preserve it. They may not like everything it does, and they justifiably worry when special interests gain too much power over it. But true patriots work to improve the U.S. government, not destroy it.
But regressive Republicans loathe the government -- and are doing everything they can to paralyze it, starve it, and make the public so cynical about it that it's no longer capable of doing much of anything. Tea Partiers are out to gut it entirely. Norquist says he wants to shrink it down to a size it can be "drowned in a bathtub."
When arguing against paying their fair share of taxes, wealthy regressives claim "it's my money." But it's their nation, too. And unless they pay their share America can't meet the basic needs of our people. True patriotism means paying for America.
So when regressives talk about "preserving and protecting" the nation, be warned: They mean securing our borders, not securing our society. Within those borders, each of us is on our own. They don't want a government that actively works for all our citizens.
Their patriotism is not about coming together for the common good. It is about excluding outsiders who they see as our common adversaries.
ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, "Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.
Follow Robert Reich on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RBReich
May it survive Corpocracy and go back to Democracy
My Solutions
A. People repeal Corp is a man
B. Fed Fund Election-Stop two yr campaigns waste of money/ time
6 months--3 for Primary Campaign--3 For General Campaign
free equal tv time-provided by "our" tv airwaves
One Debate a week. That is 12 And is adequate to evaluate candidates,
This stops need to raise campaign funds. Congress nd White House can stay on the job instead of constant traveling to raise funds. Restrict outside campaign funds.
C. Since there is no need for campaign funds BAN members of the government from receiving anything with a financial value current or future promises. Stop the bribing by Lobbyists.
D. Progressive Flat Tax By Group-we have a $14,000 income a 3800B budget yet rank #2 in oecd nationas as lowest taxed. We refuse to tax wealth enough to pay our way.
Top 50% get 87% (agi) of Income and pay 13/5% Tax Rate.
Bottom 50% or 70,000,000 workers get 13% not enough to pay much in taxes.
They pay a greater percent of that Income in payroll- state-local taxes than many top incomes.
It has been a disgrace that top ceos can get enormous increases in pay and many of 70,000,000 cannot get an increase in the minimum wage to better their standard of living.
In A Christian nation I often wonder what Jesus Christ would say to us?
“Typical libprog, equating fiscal responsibility with anarchism.”
__________
Deregulation means removing the rules that binds one to responsible behavior toward others.
Therefore deregulation of any kind is anarchy.
After all, all Tyrants are Anarchists because they want to hold all governmental power and don't believe the rules should apply to them because they have power; which basically means they don't want to be held responsible for how their decisions affect others.
And all Anarchists are Tyrants because they want to remove any power the government has over them by removing all governmental powers, including those that protect the people; which basically means they don't want to be held responsible for how their decisions affect others.
Deregulation of the market gives too much power to private authorities whose only concern is their own aspirations, just as over-regulation of the market—which you apparently define as any regulation—stymies growth through investment.
Tyranny is corruption of the system just as unreserved anarchy is a crime against the system.
And in this particular discussion “the system” means society, not the economy that is a sub-section of and serves our society.
Let’s put it this way: Crime is the denial of anther person’s rights. Corruption is changing the laws simply so that denying another person’s rights in a particular fashion is no longer a crime.
All extremes are dangerous…and a totally capitalist economy without regulation promotes personal liberty about as well as a communist economy.
Bout what is our country? Our country is EVERY SINGLE CITIZEN living in the land ..... So let me restate
Patriotism means you love all the people in your country, support all efforts to protect all of the people, nurture all of them, and see to it hat they all flourish. In this way , collectively our country ( or all of the people) prosper and have life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This is a DEMOCRATIC view and the REPUBLICANS will never come to realize the fact that our country is ALL of us.....not a geographic location”
I think we are confusing our government with our country. True patriots love our country and fear our government.
Well said. I hope your readers will look at my May 22 HuffPost article on a similar theme, titled "No Irish Need Apply"... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terence-clarke/immigration_b_1363640.html
Terence Clarke
Democrats passed the health care bill without even allowing Republicans to see it, for the first time in history. Talk about "brooking no compromise"!
Democrats have never objected to the corporations which run the MSM hiring 90+% Democrats as reporters, and operating as the publicity arm of the Democratic Party. It's only when Republicans find a way to counter this massive Democratic propaganda machine that corporations become evil. How hypocritical!
The top 10% of income earners pay more than twice as much in income taxes as the other 90% combined, while the bottom 50% pay nothing, but it's the top 10% who don't pay enough? The tax structure in the United States is one of the most "progressive" in the world, more "progressive" than Sweden for example. If "true patriotism means paying for America", maybe the 50% who aren't paying anything should have to contribute.
No-one is seriously talking about destroying the government, but when it spends more and more borrowed money heading straight for Greek style bankruptcy, it needs to start living within its means or we are all going to pay a terrible price. Obama and Reich are like the captain of the Titanic - don't worry about the icebergs - this ship is unsinkable - increase the speed! If you like what's going on in Greece, vote Democratic, and we'll be there in a couple of years.
Similar to God and church. I go to church every week, seeking God, and for other reasons. This does not mean I think the national/international church organization behind it is any better than our government. I can guarantee you that many Secret Service agents have not liked their principle, yet would give their life to protect them, for the country, not for the government.
Reich seems to act towards the government similar to Christians who preach the infallibility of the Bible. I think God is perfect and all powerful, not the church or Bible. I can see the warts of our government and still love the country.
1) Having the Federal government borrow money, and then hand it out via temporary tax cuts and spending measures that have no effect on the economy by mangling the distinction between spending and investment.
2) Raising government spending to level that is unsustainable, and unsupportable by any level of tax revenue collection that we have ever experienced in the history of our country.
3) Focusing upon "investing" taxpayer funds in foolish ventures to produce things that nobody wants to buy like expensive green energy
4) Constantly trying to raise taxes on the people and businesses that constitute the productive (private) sector of the economy.
5) Selectively refusing to enforce our laws, when enforcing them violates their liberal sensibilities
Regressive is not the appropriate response to these misguided policies. The appropriate response is reversal. Reversal of every bill and regulation passed and put into place under Obama would be a good start.
1) Having the federal government borrow money, and then hand it out via tax cuts to the wealthy, no-bid contracts to their friends, starting two unfunded wars that have a detrimental effect on the economy. They confuse this as "investment".
2) Raising government spending to levels that are unsustainable and not objecting to the drivers of that spending level (see programs cited in #1 above).
3) Focusing on "investing" taxpayer funds in unsustainable Big Oil, Big Agriculture, Big Defense, etc. One conservative even wants us to return to the moon!
4) Constantly trying to raise taxes and fees on the middle and lower classes by inserting higher interest rates on students, cutting social security and medicare benefits, and gutting all forms of non-defense domestic discretionary spending (see yes, food stamps, Head Start programs, health insurance for poor children -otherwise known as CHiP programs and inspections of our meats and other foods, just to name a few).
5) Selectively refusing to enforce our laws and to enact new laws overturned by previous Supreme Courts - that often invade the voting booths for minority citizens, our bedrooms, women's private parts, etc, etc.
Regressive is the appropriate moniker for Conservatives. They'd prefer to take us back not just to the 1950's but, in some cases, the 1850's.
Furthermore, Norquist has publicly stated that he considers the pledge more important for elected officials to follow than their oath to the Constitution. I view that as 'party over government', & any elected official should have the reverse priority.
You confuse or obfuscate nation with government. True patriots are not proud of "government". Rather they are proud of our nation. As Lincoln so eloquently described in the Gettysburg Address, " Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". And further concluded "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".
When government overreaches and infringes on basic freedoms, it should be resisted. When the government defines its responsibilities beyond its enumerated powers and embarks on profligate spending, it should be reigned in. And when a servant of the people, regardless of his conviction of righteousness of his cause, pits person against person, group against group, he should be opposed and removed because his conduct is antithetical to the principle of a "government of the people, for the people".
I have listened to your debates and understand that you believe the role of the government is to adjust for whatever your perceived social dislocation of the day is. Unfortunately, this does not conform with the "proposition that all men are created equal". Rather this reflects an attitude that you are superior and you should determine the appropriate use of my property. Consequently, I must respectfully submit, you are wrong.
BOTH sides are to blame. Just because you favor one side in the debate doesn't mean they have some claim to being any better on partisan issues than the other side.
There is NO other label to use other than "evil partisans" when the "number one aim" is to unseat President Obama, regardless of the harm it will do to the country, regardless of the lies used to unseat Obama, regardless of the tactics used to unseat Obama, and regardless of the aid and comfort such actions provide to America's enemies.
Another great example of regressive Republicans putting party before country. How bold to announce their game plan! Not really; it's hubris flying in the face of constituencies who most likely would identify more pressing priorities. As the Republican juggernaut rolls on, nothing it says or does surprises me. Expect neither compromise nor quarter.