Incrementalism in a time of rapid change

[MadHound]

There are many posters out there that HCR is but a first step, that our government is designed to move in increments. In normal times, under normal circumstances, they're right.

But these aren't normal times or normal circumstances. Thousands of people are dying, going broke due to our current health care system, and this so called "reform" isn't going to relieve that, but rather exacerbate the problem in some ways.

Meanwhile we've got a rapidly changing climate, one that is changing much too fast for the slow-ass do nothing pace of Kyoto and Copenhagen, where nothing seeming got done except the US promised to give away money that we don't have and lots of pollution was released so the elite could attend. We also got NAFTA and free trade which is quickly killing the labor force in this country, and many, many other issues.

All of these problems are rapidly developing, moving at a pace far faster than our incrementally inclined Congress can keep up with. It is time for a change.

FDR was faced with this same problem when he came into office, a set of rapidly developing problems and Congress that moved slower than a snail's ass. Yet he managed to light a fire under that Congress, that is why his First Hundred Days is still a notable thing.

Obama needs to start channeling FDR, he needs to start lighting a fire under Congress to get things done. In fact he should have done this months ago. If he had opened up his administration like FDR did, we would have a much better HCR bill, and it would have been signed, sealed and delivered before the August break. Instead he dithered, allowing Congress to drift, and now we're going to pay the price.

He needs to learn from this lesson, and start becoming much more hands on. Otherwise, the change that he promised isn't going to come about. Or maybe that's the way he wants it:shrug:

[FreakinDJ]

1. Incrementalism worked extremely well for the Far Right

Limpdick used to preach it on a daily basis

Considering 8 years of Bush, 14 years of a RATpubliCON controlled House and Senate, Deregulation of Banking, Demise of American Manufacturing, Off-Shoring of Millions of American jobs - I would say it was the single most effective strategy in progressing Raegenomics / Trickle Down Theory / and the Demise of the American Working Class.

[Recursion]

2. Wasn't Social Security just for widows and orphans when it was first passed?

I think FDR was more incrementalist than you're making him out to be.

[MadHound]

3. But taken as a whole body of work,

Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, the various works projects, all of this added up to a very radical change in a very short amount of time.

[bridgit]

5. Some thought he was maddeningly incremental going into WWll

[Recursion]

6. *cough* let's not get into Pearl Harbor NT

[bridgit]

7. understood

;)

[texanwitch]

4. I am tired of waiting for what we should have had years ago.

We have the money, look at all the money we can spent on war.

Money for war, money for some kind of national health care.

Some people don't have time to wait, tell it to their cancer or bad heart.

FDR came into office and started to work, we another FDR.

[JCMach1]

8. the Supreme Court believed 'Separate but Equal' was incremental as well...

When it comes to basic human rights like discrimination and health care, I am not a fan of incremental!

[jgraz]

9. Obama didn't run on incrementalism. We didn't vote for incrementalism.

If this is what Obama meant by HOPE and CHANGE and YES WE CAN, he can keep it.