tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post6546072842818900526..comments2024-03-09T03:20:20.004-05:00Comments on Tenured Radical: What Would Eleanor Roosevelt Do? The Radical Ponders The State Of The UnionTenured Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-46053417510678999132008-09-02T06:38:00.000-05:002008-09-02T06:38:00.000-05:00anonymous 2:17 --I do not even know where to start...anonymous 2:17 --<BR/><BR/>I do not even know where to start. So let's just say this is your opinion, and let it stand as is.<BR/><BR/>TRTenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-36828584532433260732008-09-02T02:17:00.000-05:002008-09-02T02:17:00.000-05:00Well the spirit of Franklin Roosevelt may now be w...Well the spirit of Franklin Roosevelt may now be walking the land, and the prospect of that ought to make us shudder. After all wasn't he the one who turned a significant but manageable recession into a major depression? He also wasn't exactly fond of civil liberties if they got in the way of his programs.<BR/> <BR/>As far as the spirits of Truman and Kennedy, I suspect they'd be voting for McCain. (I notice you didn't mention Woodrow Wilson. If anyone's spirit is walking the land with the Obama nomination, it's Wilson's.)<BR/><BR/>No wait I take that back-a bit. If anyone's spirit is walking the land it's Richard J. Daley's. Obama is a Chicago politician, who'll be playing the game the way his Chicago backers want him to. <BR/><BR/>Obama isn't going to give us quality health care, and his foreign policy ideas are naive and dangerous. He's going to be beholden to the teacher's unions, so there's not much chance he'll be better for education than McCain. <BR/><BR/>And then you say the tax code allows money to flow to the wealthy. Huh? When did that happen?<BR/><BR/> You're awfully unspecific about the rest of what you say. What people have been "robbed" by deregulated markets? Last I heard the Code of Federal Regulations is still pretty thick. Obama will make it thicker, but the ones who'll benefit are those to whom he's beholden.<BR/><BR/>You said the war is illegal. Why? Do you seriously believe Bush lied?<BR/>Do you think that if we pull the troops out of Iraq, Al Qaeda will go away?<BR/><BR/> As to what you said about the prison system, well yes maybe there are too many federal crimes, and maybe Scooter Libby didn't deserve what they did to him, but most of what you seem to be concerned about applies at the state level rather than the federal level. <BR/><BR/>And then you mention a transfer of wealth from the many to the few. When did that happen?<BR/><BR/>The country's not in a ruined state. Say what you want about Bush, but he's done a far better job than Gore or Kerry would have.<BR/><BR/> <BR/>AYYAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-5348927346122983992008-08-31T06:41:00.000-05:002008-08-31T06:41:00.000-05:00anonymous 4:23 --Calm down-- th Republican part wa...anonymous 4:23 --<BR/><BR/>Calm down-- th Republican part was a *joke*. After all, Lincoln was a Republican too.....<BR/><BR/>Again, I say: what would Eleanor Roosevelt do? If there is anything I have learned from my years as an academic, it is that sitting around steaming about events already done and decided is a waste of time. I don't think your account of things is correct: no one forces the Clintons to do anything, and if you are really going to go that route, Hillary totally went back on her word about Michigan and Florida, which is the only way she even would have come close to a nomination.<BR/><BR/>Hillary gave up. We need to respect that. And we need to elect a Democrat in November, not play the kind of divisive politics that tore the party apart in the 1970s to begin with.<BR/><BR/>TRTenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-7004741489656851142008-08-30T16:23:00.000-05:002008-08-30T16:23:00.000-05:00Who did I flame? And why are you so quick to call ...Who did I flame? And why are you so quick to call me names like Republican for expressing a different opinion than yours?<BR/><BR/>The convention did not engage in a roll call vote but rather pressured delegates to vote for Obama, held a morning hotel vote, discovered that Clinton was too close to Obama for comfort, then rigged the floor vote to disguise the strength of Clinton's actual support. Obama did not have sufficient delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot either, without Clinton releasing hers, and the strong pressure to show unity on the floor. That is not the way previous nominations have occurred. For some reason, Obama's team decided he could not withstand public knowledge of how close the actual count would have been, had Clinton not released her delegates. That is not democracy and it is not a fair count of the delegates actually won by Clinton based on the results of the various primaries and caucuses. Anyone paying attention knows this stuff. When candidates are nominated by behind-the-scenes maneuvering, pressure tactics and acclamation, instead of following the normal process, we are entering banana republic and totalitarian territory. It saddens me to see America sacrifice its freedoms to put an underqualified African American man into office, setting aside the aspirations of the better qualified woman and those who supported her (18 million people).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-15916423844631240742008-08-30T10:05:00.000-05:002008-08-30T10:05:00.000-05:00anonymous 9:17 --I don't know what convention you ...anonymous 9:17 --<BR/><BR/>I don't know what convention you were watching, but this is a bizarre characterization of both the normal rules of the convention (which were followed to the letter -- maybe you don't know them?); Hillary Clinton's actions in throwing her endorsement to Obama, thereby saving her political career as a national figure (something Kennedy failed to do in 1980, and was never a viable presidential candidate again); and the primary process itself -- Clinton lost. The votes were counted; they were not sufficient to nominate her under our current election laws. <BR/><BR/>I am beginning to think you are a Republican <I>provocateur</I>. Which is kind of interesting, and kind of not. If you are new to this blog, you will find that I tend not to get involved in flame wars -- did that once, and it was an utter drag.<BR/><BR/>TRTenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-82112305127293783782008-08-30T09:17:00.000-05:002008-08-30T09:17:00.000-05:00No one who watched the Democratic convention can s...No one who watched the Democratic convention can say that our candidate is dedicated to the rule of law. The 18 million who voted for Clinton saw their votes set aside so that Obama would not have to endure a close nomination. The delegates won by Clinton did not have the chance to vote for her. Law was set aside so that the kind of "symbolic" vote typical of authoritarian states could pretend unity has been achieved within the party. Some of us wept with frustration and are mourning the demise of democracy. If this candidate is awesome, why was he not allowed to win on his own merits without a rigged vote?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-83063330003384405342008-08-30T03:59:00.000-05:002008-08-30T03:59:00.000-05:00Fan-damn-tastic. I do look forward to hearing you...Fan-damn-tastic. I do look forward to hearing your reaction to the Palin announcementJarrod Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527345022223699608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-86804309371692657312008-08-29T19:50:00.000-05:002008-08-29T19:50:00.000-05:00So, given all that, what didja think of the Palin ...So, given all that, what didja think of the Palin selection today? Another historic step in the advancement of women?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-74939688131663489702008-08-29T15:31:00.000-05:002008-08-29T15:31:00.000-05:00Nailed it, TR.Thanks,TGNailed it, TR.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>TGanthony graftonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588520143876853373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-46372854445168823312008-08-29T12:00:00.000-05:002008-08-29T12:00:00.000-05:00you squeezed a tear from my feminist fist - finall...you squeezed a tear from my feminist fist - finally opening to a hand raised in support of Obama. on opening, which i knew would happen but which was prevented by a lot of disappointment and grief over coming so close, the moment was the NPR testimony of a black man (whose name I have not yet collected) who was on the mall in DC 45 years ago yesterday. after listing several events in the civil rights struggle that he witnessed, he said, "this moment means so..." and he choked up. it does. i'm glad he lived to see it and now i can finally see around my own disappointment to help reach for that also treasured goal of MLK's dream.<BR/><BR/>your articulation here of the even larger issues at stake is, as usual, spot on. thanks for it.bookishmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01849421597603765431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-72552341227677876232008-08-29T10:41:00.000-05:002008-08-29T10:41:00.000-05:00I love the four freedoms theme; that should be th...I <A HREF="http://ahistoricality.blogspot.com/2006/04/four-freedoms-ring.html" REL="nofollow">love the four freedoms theme</A>; that should be the permanent preamble to the Democratic Party Platform.Ahistoricalityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04004964192885891003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-35585308192193777952008-08-29T10:30:00.000-05:002008-08-29T10:30:00.000-05:00Damn, you just squeezed a tear from my cynical eye...Damn, you just squeezed a tear from my cynical eyes. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com