Could Bernie Sanders be our modern day FDR? I think so

[INdemo]

If you follow this link you will see that much of what is happening today closely resembles what was happening or happened in 1929-30s
The Stock Market crash of 29' was caused by the same type of Wall ST,Banking Greed that we had 2006,2007,leading up to the collapse in 2008.Very similar.

It will take someone like Bernie Sanders (an FDR) to fix our " uneven distribution of wealth and purchasing power"

http://www.history.com/topics/1930s



GO BERNIE !

[LWolf]

1. K & R

[Hoyt]

2. Or, modern day George McGovern.

[forest444]

14. But, thankfully, not in respect to his electoral prospects.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/poll-sanders-outperforms-clinton-against-gop/article/2577463

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

30. My favorite quote of his:

I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.

[Hoyt]

35. Loved his policies and beliefs. But he lost in a true landslide.

[bigwillq]

3. Unlikely

Because if elected president, I think he'll have a hard time getting things passed in Congress. But, let's see what happens. I hope he is.

[Dustlawyer]

18. That's where we come in. It will be up to us (always has been our only choice)

to pressure our representatives that they don't get re-elected unless they cooperate and start doing their jobs properly. Also to get rid of as many as we can this go around. Make sure the new ones know the deal!

If we don't want to live under corporate rule any longer we have to have Bernie's back! He is not just trying to be the next Presidennt, he is trying to turn this ship of state around and restore Representative Democracy! Once the ability of the rich and powerful to legally buy the politicians is taken away, you won't believe how fast these current politicians moderate, it will make your head spin! We do this through Publicly Funded Elections. Once this root cause of most of our problems is removed, we will be able to solve many of them.

Bernie will apply himself to educating the country about where things really stand. Everyone knows the system is corrupt, he will show us how to end that. Trump supporters are tired of the corruption, that's why he is so popular, he just has no solutions. They will see that Bernie really wants to end the corruption, that they can agree on.

Nothing like this will be easy, but it has to be done.

[senz]

64. + 1 True and very well said.

[dflprincess]

26. But so would Hillary and, unlike her, Bernie won't stay quiet in the face

of obstruction but will make it quite clear to the people who and what the problem is - which can only help with the 2018 midterms.

[INdemo]

28. Thats true at first but Bernie will draw qualified progressive candidates to

the ticket with his political clout.
FDR had a Republican Congress to deal with during his first term.

[onenote]

41. WTF are you talking about? FDR had a Democratic Congress his first term

Last edited Mon Jan 4, 2016, 05:17 PM - Edit history (1)

The Senate was controlled by a Democratic majority of 59-36 after the 1932 elections. It was even more lopsided in 1934.

The House was controlled by a Democratic majority of 313- 117 after the 1932 elections. And, again, the Democratic majority was even greater the second half of FDR's second term.

Under the circumstances, it's not surprising that your suggestion that Bernie is a modern day FDR is historically laughable.

[INdemo]

44. I think you could have approached the conversation a little

Differently without all the WTFs

[onenote]

51. Just one. And it seemed appropriate since you were drawing historical analogies

based on a fundamental error about the relevant history.

[Attorney in Texas]

4. Sanders could be the next FDR. Clinton does not even aspire to such a lofty goal.

[Ferd Berfel]

6. She appears to aspire to Corporatism

in the Republican lite vein.

[Attorney in Texas]

7. If you compare Bill Clinton's domestic agenda with Richard Nixon's, you'd think Clinton was the

Republican and Nixon the Democrat.

I think the only real issue worthy of debate is whether Hillary aspires to govern to the right or to the left of Bill. In either event, we can expect that she would be a step to the right of Obama's moderate policies.

[Ferd Berfel]

8. regardless of where she stands in relations to the other two - the CORPORATIS must be stopped

and left to the Reich wing.
The Democratic Party has to be wrenched from the corporatists and brought back to the People

[redstateblues]

33. Under Clinton We had 8 years of peace and prosperity. It was awful

Hopefully we won't have to go through that again!

[senz]

37. WTO, GATT, NAFTA, '96 Telecom Act, Welfare Reform, Glass-Steagall repeal ...

good times, good times ...

[Ferd Berfel]

46. AND... selling out the Democratic Party to the Corporatists

which means the party was sold to "right wing" corporatists because there aren't and LEFT wing or socialist corporatists

[senz]

48. Yes. The DLC, Third Way destruction of the Democratic Party.

The Democrats used to be the party of the people, the citizens, the "masses." The Democratic Party used to defend and protect the common working man and woman, it used to pass laws that supported a decent life for all. Republicans represented the upper rungs of the hierarchy, the well-established, the comfortable, the wealthy, the WASPs.

Bill Clinton and the DLC created hybrid "Democrats," Blue Dog Democrats, who cooperated with the creation of an American plutocracy by selling out the economic well-being of the average American while maintaining a friendly appearance to traditionally disadvantaged minority groups. They traded economic justice for social justice. It was slight of hand, robbing your victims while patting them on the head.

So, if we continue down the ConservaDem path, we will create a world in which a small percentage of our society will live very, very well while telling the government what to do, and the vast majority of their fellow American citizens will struggle to maintain a basic life with very little power to change their situation, and a government that ignores them. But we will treat one another equally with regard to race, color, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

Why can't we have both?

Why can't we have social justice AND economic justice?

Are not all people intrinsically worthy? Are not all Americans equally deserving of the fruits of our labor, the status of citizen, equal access to our government in order to enhance our existence here on earth?

[BlueStateLib]

59. Truman created GATT

[senz]

61. Clinton extended GATT to form the WTO

From Wikipedia:

In 1993, the GATT was updated (GATT 1994) to include new obligations upon its signatories. One of the most significant changes was the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The 75 existing GATT members and the European Communities became the founding members of the WTO on 1 January 1995.

Whilst GATT was a set of rules agreed upon by nations, the WTO is an institutional body. The WTO expanded its scope from traded goods to include trade within the service sector and intellectual property rights. Although it was designed to serve multilateral agreements, during several rounds of GATT negotiations (particularly the Tokyo Round) plurilateral agreements created selective trading and caused fragmentation among members. WTO arrangements are generally a multilateral agreement settlement mechanism of GATT.

[corkhead]

47. And laid the groundwork for what happened the following 8 years

[INdemo]

62. But Bill is not running Hillary is

and Bill gave us NAFTA and the end of Glass-Steagall.
And he turned our economy over to people like the Goldman-Sachs guy Larry Summers.
and it came back to haunt us with the end of Banking regulations.
Bill wasn't as closely tied to Wall St and the Banks.(or at least it wasn't as obvious back then)

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, INdemo.

[DavidDvorkin]

9. No. The Democrats won't have control of Congress

the way they did after the 1932 election.

[NurseJackie]

10. No.

[zentrum]

11. Yes, he is!

[pangaia]

12. No question.

For anyone even barely aware of FDR links aren't even needed.

[TomCADem]

13. With the current Republican Congress?

That is just wishful thinking

[madokie]

15. Once the dust settles

we'll have the house and Senate too.
We might have to wait for the mid term election to secure a veto proof majority but with the new blood that Bernie will be bringing into this mix we'll have a lot of changes coming january of '17. Three more years isn't that long in the whole scheme of things. IMO

[senz]

23. + 1 Very reasonable. And if Bernie's electoral excitement has coattails

he could have a pretty good congress right from the get-go!

[madokie]

24. I think we will

Every where the man goes the crowds follow. That's always a good sign. Especially when the man is of the caliber that Bernie Sanders is of

[redstateblues]

34. All the down ballots Socialists will be swept in to office

On Bernies coat tails!

[senz]

39. You mean the anti-corporatists? The democratic wing of the Democratic Party?

Lots of us out here. Get used to it.

[INdemo]

55. You keep talking about a Republican Congress

but its not just Republicans. Many Democratic members of Congress are there to show boat while taking their campaign treasures from the same money tress as the Republicans.
Remember when we had a Democratic Majority in both Houses and the spineless Democrats were scared to death to pass real legislation and allowed the Minority party to walk all over them..the main reason they lost the 2010,2014 Majorities.

So we need a Major shake-up in Congress and the Republican lites need to go also and Bernie Sanders is the one that can communicate this to the Progressive voters.

[Live and Learn]

16. K&R nt

[hopemountain]

17. it will take us working with bernie to

take back our country from the corporate and military industrial complex machines. when bernie is elected, the real work will begin and we must be ready to take on the challenges with him.

[George II]

19. The 2008 collapse was almost 8 years ago, and our "modern day FDR" has already dug us out...

....of that hole and has us back on track to recovery.

What has Sanders been DOING, not saying, since 2008? Anything?

[reformist2]

25. I hate to say it, but this economy is in bigger trouble than in 2008, imo. It's the inequality.

The inequality of wealth leads to economic instability, and it won't get better until something gives. A redistribution, if you will.

[Android3.14]

27. Not much of a recovery from us regular folks

We had a pretty lean Christmas here at the 'Droid household. Obama did not create the equivalent of the New Deal.

[Marty McGraw]

36. Ha!~ Droid Household! ;D

but yep

piss poor wages, crumbling infrastructure, rocketing trade debts, privatization of everything down to the bone to fleece what little remains and near complete corruptness and the cheating that is demanded just to eek out some competition to the really corrupt... and somehow I missed the coming out party too.

[onenote]

42. There were plenty of lean Christmases in the years following FDR's election.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1528.html

[senz]

20. Yes, he will

if we have the good sense to elect him.

[uponit7771]

21. FDR had an 80% progressive congress, Sanders hasn't outlined what he'll do to get past the...

... the current congress who don't even work for the people who voted for them, be damned if they work for the people who vote against them

To intimate Sanders could be anything like FDR without FDRs 80% avg PROGRESSIVE congress over 4 terms is....

not

reality...

[demwing]

22. A More Progressive Teddy Roosevelt, maybe?

A no-bullshit, trust busting, corporate regulating, environmental president, and more of a reformer than his party was ready for. Sound familiar?

[Go Vols]

50. +1

[brewens]

29. He'll have to bust through the obstruction somehow. I'm sure he will try at least.

I'm not sure how he would do it though. Go on the warpath and raise holy hell on the campaign trail? The people when asked already support what most of us want. Congress is just already bought off to sell us out at every opportunity. Can a Bernie wave encourage real liberals to run as liberals and win?

[WillyT]

31. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[enid602]

32. when pigs fly

Sure, if Obama hadn't fended off another Depression. Sure, if we didn't have an $18 trillion debt, meaning that any rise in the inflation rate will mean a lot more intetest on that debt. Sure, if you didn't have a tecord number of Boomers retiring who would hate to see their already eroded savings further lessened by higher inflation. Sure, if he teally were an FDR, and if it were 1931.

[WillyT]

38. I Would Like To Vote For Flying Pigs...

Congressional Progressive Caucus: http://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/better-off-budget/

[senz]

40. Thanks, WillyT! Good link.

[truedelphi]

54. Obama only fended off a depression for the Investment Class.

Also,quite sadly, to do this, he let the Banking Industry reign supreme over every other industry in the USA. And the other industries will probably not have a resurgence, unless Sanders gets in.

And since, just like Hillary Clinton, Obama doesn't see the absolute essential need for re-instating Glass Steagal, we could have the economy collapse into pieces again, and very very soon.

The oil price drop over the last few months has already stripped some 1.2 trillions of dollars away from the people in the oil business and those relying on investments. And once again, it is hitting Main Street pretty hard.

And for those of us who rely on those who have investments to spend their investments on many of us in the service industry.

My household has lost about $ 1,000 a month since the drop in oil prices. We didn't really have that to lose. It means we are once again facing desperate times, just at the same moment when I somehow have to come up with some $ 450 a month for Obama care.

[seabeyond]

43. No.

[Walk away]

45. Apparently he thinks so. But I think the idea is pathetically embarrassing!

My Great Grandmother worked for FDR and she would be horrified to hear about a Socialist pretending to be a Democrat and name dropping FDR. For such a little man to compare himself to such a great one is ridiculous.

[senz]

49. "Little man?" "Great man?" "Name dropping?" "Ridiculous?" "Pathetic?"

Sounds condescending and elitist to me. I find it mildly shocking; I didn't know Democrats could think that way.

Senator Sanders is not trying to BE Roosevelt; he is trying to reawaken FDR's values in our society.

Not everyone runs for president for self-enhancing, self-aggrandizing reasons. Believe it or not.

[elleng]

52. World War II had a fair amount to do with it.

[George II]

53. Sanders would have criticized FDR if he was around back in 1932 - FDR was a 1%-er.

[Starry Messenger]

56. No.

[senz]

57. Here's what Bernie had to say about FDR

in his Democratic Socialism speech at Georgetown University, November 19, 2015. (Someone added background music to the video, but it's not terribly distracting.)

[Hekate]

58. Millionaire capitalist family? Check. Deep Depression? Check. Dust Bowl refugees? Check. Yeah!

JUST like FDR when he ran for office!

Some exceptions may apply.

[senz]

60. Bernie is not trying to "be" FDR. He is calling for a similar renewal in America today.

I'm sure you can see the difference.

Here is the transcript of Senator Sanders' brief remarks on FDR in his Georgetown speech last November:

In his inaugural remarks in January 1937, in the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt looked out at the nation and this is what he saw.

He saw tens of millions of its citizens denied the basic necessities of life.

He saw millions of families trying to live on incomes so meager that the pall of family disaster hung over them day by day.

He saw millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot and the lot of their children.

He saw millions lacking the means to buy the products they needed and by their poverty and lack of disposable income denying employment to many other millions.

He saw one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.

And he acted. Against the ferocious opposition of the ruling class of his day, people he called economic royalists, Roosevelt implemented a series of programs that put millions of people back to work, took them out of poverty and restored their faith in government. He redefined the relationship of the federal government to the people of our country. He combated cynicism, fear and despair. He reinvigorated democracy. He transformed the country.

And that is what we have to do today.

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18623/bernie_sanders_democratic_socialism_georgetown_speech

Do you disagree with any of this?