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America: Conservative Transformations (or, from bad to worse over 60 years) [Thread]
1 What follows is just some personal observations on conservatism in American politics. Probably bore the hell out of you.
2 Because of the two-party system in American politics it's almost impossible for a third party to get candidate elected.
3 What I've learned over time is the two major parties are not static, as I had naively imagined them to be when I was young.
4 They undergo revolutions from within. It's different in other countries. Parties come and go.
5 For example, in New Zealand, the Center-Right Nationals had ruled with support from 3 other parties since 2008.
6 In the 2017 election, even with a majority of seats, they could not form a government.
7 This has produced a Labour Party government (and a female PM) with a coalition made up of of NZ-First and the Greens.
8 In America this kind of rapid flux is impossible due to the two-party system. But, change must and does come to our political parties.
9 Because of today's hideous GOP, it's hard to imagine there was once a progressive wing to the Republican party. But there was.
10 Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York, exemplified this type: pro and women's rights, and pro-choice, strong on environment.
11 Even Richard Nixon held many of his socially liberal but economically conservative views.
12 I remember his name clearly.
13 Rockefeller's brand of conservatism - which today can be seen in many Democratic senators - was destroyed largely by Barry Goldwater.
14 Goldwater opposed desegregation/civil rights, but still appreciated pluralism. He was the slow-burning fuse which later delivered Reagan.
15 Reagan, a movie star and Governor of California, was a vehement anti-communist.
16 At heart Reagan was a man born in an age of innocence which never happened. He was like a mythology.
17 Reagan's political philosophy can be summarized by use of National Guard troops against the Protest Movement: he was at heart a fascist.
18 Reagan's economic policy is familiar enough: lower taxes to stimulate business growth, while funding the military-industrial complex.
19 The most pernicious social policy of his period was the War on Drugs (Nixon had created this in 1973).
20 The War on Drugs caused the incarceration of millions of young Black men.
21 It was an effort largely based on a fallacy, with black genocide as the goal.
22 Still, compared to today's extremes, Reagan was loved by millions of Americans. This is a measure of how conservative America truly is.
23 Reagan's form of conservatism was replaced by the rise of the Neocons. His hand-picked successor, Bush I, had been CIA Director.
24 The Neocons were largely concerned with American hegemony (world domination).
25 Neocon philosophy had no interest in religion. But they required a useful external enemy for their brand of economic conquest.
26 Islamic countries full of oil wealth were ideal strawmen for this purpose.
27 After the death of so many people and expenditure of billions of dollars, it was discovered the Neocons were simply liars.
28 They fell out of favor like the Burgermeister Meisterburgers.
29 The Clinton's were a formidable political power-couple. The swept into office on a platform of vigor and inward-looking economic reforms.
30 I have a clear memory of HRC's comment about not "staying home and baking cookies." I was proud of her.
31 I like to think HRC was the brains of that operation, and that Bill would not have been successful without her help.
32 The GOP was transforming during this period. All shreds of the progressive ideals of earlier periods were abandoned.
33 The successful election of populist Clinton shook established conservatism, and caused a reactionary moment: the Contract With America.
34 This moment was architected by Newt Gingrich. His style of conservatism was like Reagan's, and appealed to that same, now older, base.
35 The focus was on pragmatic Goldwater-style reforms. He wisely avoided divisive issues such as abortion, school prayer, etc.
36 The relative failure of this approach (due to Dem objections and Clinton vetoes) drove initial hatred towards the Clintons.
37 Meanwhile a different stream of conservatism was on the move: religious orthodoxy. The Evangelical movement strengthened Bush II.
38 Bush II's Presidency probably would have been different were it not for the 9/11 attack.
39 Driven by his nefarious VP, Bush II turned back to Neocon ideals. I have clear memory of Cheney: one of the most evil men in America.
40 The most representative policy from this period was the Patriot act, which extended spying onto American soil and created secret courts.
41 It is an historical footnote that the pernicious Wikileaks was born out of the excesses of this period.
42 Meanwhile a great historical change was in the making: the first Black American President.
43 "Hope" was the mantra of his campaign: Barack Hussein Obama took office on Jan 20, 2009.
44 Obama was everything conservatives hated: a living, breathing Black American success story.
45 Educated, handsome, respected, intelligent, the child of a mixed-race broken home, he was a world-historical figure.
46 That is, in his own person he embodied an America of non-white, non-bigoted, non-racist people.
47 These people would not and do not fit the stereotypes conservatives believe in.
48 But, one must also say he had been challenged by HRC in the primaries, that is, by the Dem establishment.
49 Had Obama been more like the Black American of popular imagination (that is, a threat, someone like Malcolm X) he would have lost.
50 During this period, the conservative movement became deranged and resentful. This was the historical moment of the Tea Party.
51 With a white, older, and often Evangelical base, the Tea Party "revolt" feared Obama.
52 This irrational, hate-driven group still exists as the Freedom Caucus. It is well-funded through the Kochs and Mercers of this world.
53 On the other side, I have a clear memory of being bitterly dissatisfied with Obama. I thought he would close Guantanamo for example.
54 President Obama was a Centrist. It is one of the great historical ironies conservatives could have accomplished much by working with him.
55 I also believe the Democratic party has moved so far to the right on many issues that he appeared more liberal than he was.
56 I don't think that, at heart, Obama's politics were so different from Nelson Rockefeller's of 60 years before.
57 But this created its own resentment on the left towards the Dem establishment and hunger for true progressive change.
58 The banking bailout did much to fuel this view. Not a single banker went to jail during the Obama Presidency.
59 It's true that much of the failure of the Obama Presidency lies in the hands of the Republican Congress.
60 One can say that Trump is the absolute nadir of conservatism. He is the world-historical reaction to the Centrism of President Obama.
61 He is also the darkness cast by the shadow of such a great President, like Andrew Johnson after Lincohn.
62 People hope conservatism will fail with the madness of Trump. This is a pipe dream.
63 Unfortunately the story of America is the story of unending reactionary stupidity.
64 I have nothing more to offer you about that. I'm sorry, but I'm not optimistic at all. /end
