Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
One of the sad lessons one learns, if they live long enough, is that permanency is an illusion. There was a time when most Conservatives in the United States actually cared about the country and its’ people. It’s not that I’m wistful for some bygone era that exists only in my mind, because I’m well aware that the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s were tumultuous times for many including myself. Nor do I have any great love for Dwight Eisenhower and/or Barry Goldwater who I did not vote for in 1964. Yet with all their conservative beliefs, these were men who actually understood something about the needs of people and the motives of some who would call themselves religious leaders. Many of us who have lived long lives remember when the public political discussion in this country contained actual, factual debate, containing depth of ideas, rather than the invective we hear today. The Republicans of the Eisenhower era understood that there was a social contract that existed in this country to ensure that there was a healthy, financially flourishing Middle Class, which is the engine that drives a prosperous modern society. Also Barry Goldwater, who was known as “Mr. Conservative” understood the danger that the Religious hucksters had for his party and the necessity of politicians to compromise. He would ridicule those prominent politicians in his party who would reject the ideas of evolution and blind themselves to science. He also really did believe that government had no business prying into essentially private matters. I disagreed with him on most things, but I at least could respect him, which I can’t do for many prominent politicians of today.
What happened? You know I’ve written about my theories in many of my guest blogs, what are yours?
Let’s not forget the influence of that Paul Weyrich–a founder of the Heritage Foundation and ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)–had on the Republican party.
Not at all, OS.
I remember my first exposure to Ayn Rand. I was dating this gal in high school who had just read “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged”. She was going on and on about them and asked me to read them. I did. She asked me what I thought about them and I laughed, pointing out that it was solipsistic selfish egotism that had no place in a civilized society. She got mad. Really mad.
I started dating her soon to be ex-best friend the next week.
She was more of a “Siddhartha” kind of gal.
Gene,
She was irrelevant when she was alive, no matter how much her fan base tried to make it not so. Is it hyperbole to say that she is MORE irrelevant now that she is dead and buried?
good topic, Mike
the way i see it is the religious right want a theocratic society, and the teapartiers want a charismatic strongman to take them back to a time that never existed.
if a religious charismatic strongman emerges who can seem non-threatening to the 20-40% in the middle who don’t really stay informed. most especially if this happens during a crises. (major flooding, oil/energy shortage, drought/ food shortage). we may see the end of our republic.
the extremely high percentage of GDP being spent on the military and on domestic surveillance plus the high rate of incarceration does not bode well for a free society.
OS,
Ayn Rand was wrong before she was dead. I’m not sure how much if any her being wrong contributed to her death though.
Bruce,
Ayn Rand was wrong. And she is dead. Taking care of the weakest members of society is being responsible stewards. Not to mention keeping up the infrastructure. It was Bill Clinton, a Democrat, who left office with the largest budget surplus in the history of the country. Then Dubya and Cheney spent the surplus and drove us into the deepest debt in the history of the country.
We would have more respect for the Tea Party in general if they had protested the Bush credit card charges. they sat on their hands for 8 years.
So, now, in the worst depression since the 1930’s, they are concern trolling the deficit. Biggest bunch of hypocrites ever.
Mike, the best thing liberals are good at is spending someone elses money
Mike
All the average “teabagger” wants is fiscal responsibilty. something you libs don’t get.
Bruce,
All the average tea bagger wants is a White Man as President.
Bruce,
As I’ve come to suspect you missed the point entirely. Both Eisenhower and Goldwater would have seen your politics as crazy. Actually, Reagan would also. Gene and AY have it right. Todays average Democrat is really yesterday’s Everett Dirksen. A Faux Conservative like you Bruce would be the equivalent of the average Klan member back in the 50’s, just like today’s tea bagger.
Nick,
Yes Barry was a Libertarian. He also was a believer in State’s rights and so opposed doing anything about Jim Crow. He wasn’t a bad person, but like many Libertarians, he got many things askew. The problem with Libertarians in general is that while they would seem to be fine on personal liberty, they ignore the fact that corporate power actually represses our liberty. Then too many support the bigoted Ron Paul and his defense of individual freedom as long as it doesn’t involves woman’s right over their own body.
It was during the Eisenhower administration with a democratically controlled congress that the government started using the social security funds. Clinton balanced the budget with the taxes from social security.
AY
John F. Kennedy would be too conservative for the democrat ticket Today. The democrats turned left under the great society and never stopped turning. Welcome to Greece
A bit of trivia. Back in the 1950s and 60s, there were only two pilots who were checked out to fly every airplane in the USAF inventory at the time. Barry Goldwater and Jimmy Stewart (the actor). Both rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserves.
Rupert Murdock bears a great responsibility for the current political discourse.
The rise of Multinational Corporations is another, they own the media, Multinationals like GE have a vested interest in what gets on the air. As a group, as well as individually, most of the Multinationals have more money than most nation states.
And then the security state and the break down of the rule of law. Have they become related? Not going to speculate.
Here is news from NYC today, activists trying to get a fair trial for Jeffery Hammond:
Gene,
You are correct this is a great article….. You are also correct in that the parties have shifted priorities….. People are easily swayed…. Easy to manipulate….especially if they have no direction of their own…. Unless they are psychopaths….. But that’s another topic all in of itself….
BTW… Thanks…..
Party! We don’t need no stinkin’ party! And AY? Goldwater would be a Democrat today by Republican standards. Probably by Democratic standards as well. They sure aren’t the party of the left in action any more. The whole destructive partisan divide and the degeneration of both parties albeit in different ways can be directly traced back to the late 70’s and 80’s and the “work” of people like Lee Atwater and Newt Gingrich. Those guys and their cohorts are what made a toxic environment for reaching across the aisle because they made political discourse more about ideology and partisanship than about the best ideas and the best interests of all the constituents over the narrow needs of the monied special interests. Before that, you regularly saw bi-partisan cooperation. Eisenhower couldn’t have left the positive legacy he did without it. That the demagogue ascendancy coincided with the dismantling of the limits on campaign contributions in FECA was not simply coincidence.
Good job, Mike.
Great article Mike….. Life is all about the illusion…. Just think Goldwater would be too liberal for the republicans even today….
About 7 or so years ago HBO did a documentary on Barry Goldwater. There were numerous Dem operatives of our era waxing poetic of his philosophy and record. This was after he died. Around the same time, Pope John Paul died and the same folks were singing his praises. Being of no political party and a libertarian, it’s amusing and disturbing to me. Goldwater was a libertarian, always was and never changed. That means liberals loved his social stand and despised his fiscal stand. The Pope was..a Catholic. Liberals loved his stand on poverty, the death penalty, etc. They despised his stand on abortion, gay marriage, etc. When these men were alive, they were vilified by liberals for they’re stands on issues that didn’t comport w/ their pardigm. They ignored the stands on which they agreed..it’s politics of course. The other guys are evil, our guys are saints. I could throw in Sandra Day O’Connor, who was mentored by Goldwater as another example. Republicans could wax poetic about Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Sam Ervin, etc. What’s the common denominator, these were good people. No party or ideology has the market cornered on good or evil. It’s just so plain to me and the many independents. We tire of the myopic culture in which we are immersed. C’est la vie.
The “control over” or power paradigm that emphasizes competition over cooperation gained an enormous amount of traction with those at the top of the pyramid. Until a spirit of non-violation becomes the operating paradigm, this is what we have.
Gotta go to bed now while you have eaten time flies here.
For now, we have ignored a lot of good advice along the way, as well aa seen predictions go unfulfilled.
Dwight is not alone in his visions.
As to why and what happened, I’ve been away for 44 years, so you tell me. Night all.