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2008 Election a Defeat for Ideology of Greed |
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Even in his concession speech, Sen. John McCain got it wrong. Telling his supporters gathered at the ritzy Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix on Tuesday night that it’s natural to feel some disappointment in the loss of his campaign, he went on to say:
We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.
Not so. Despite a badly run campaign, McCain’s defeat is not a personal failure but a massive, popular rejection of eight years of Bush-Cheney mismanagement, corruption, malfeasance and aggressively anti-worker policies that McCain embraced throughout his years in the Senate. The message that McCain voted 90 percent of the time with Bush struck a chord of horror among those whose economic livelihoods have been decimated by what economist Jamie Galbraith calls the “predator state.” That is, a government run by individuals beholden to corporations who shower the largesse of federal spending on rewarding corporate greed, rather than on building a sustainable future for America’s workers and our future generations.
McCain’s defeat is the rejection of a government that rewards the rich at the expense of the rest of us.
McCain’s defeat is the repudiation of extremist economic policies that have resulted in 3.6 million home foreclosures, unaffordable health care, a worsening unemployment rate and the proliferation of jobs that don’t support families.
McCain’s defeat represents a collective turning away from a failed ideological vision of a divided nation toward the unified country of hope represented by Sen. Barack Obama.
Larry Mishel, president of the progressive policy organization, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), puts it this way:
It is now possible to build an economy with widely shared prosperity. The task ahead is to fashion policies that will improve the economic circumstances of the vast majority, and thereby restore confidence.
When we cheered with the crowds who gathered by the thousands in the early morning hours at the White House today, we didn’t cheer because of any personal failure of McCain. We cheered because America’s working families by the millions recognized that with Obama as president, we could Turn Around America.
6 Comments
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this is absolutely, 100% correct.
If McCain’s defeat is the rejection of a government that rewards the rich at the expense of the rest of us. Why did the Democrats pass the bailout bill? They had enough votes to stop it in it’s tracks.
I would not count these folks down and out. Anyone whom believes that the captains of greed will not survive well and use their considerable influence does not know about politics.
Wall street greed and corruption is still a potent force and should never be underestimated. Work to reform this will take some very great resources and time.
This election has yet to prove anything. the proof will be in the pudding, as they say. What will these new economic policies look like? Will the democrats have the courage to stand up against the obstructionist replicans in the Senate who will filibuster at every turn, or will they fold like they are wont to do? Will EFCA actually pass, or will it get watered down in order to get that 60th vote in the Senate?
The fact is President-elect Obama is at best a Center Left Democrat, but so was Roosevelt. The question is, are the people (and the incredible ground campaign machine Obama built) going to push him to do what is really needed, or are they going to sit back now and say, “We voted. We’re done. You take care of it all for us”? The one thing that Obama offers over McCain and BushCo is a pragmatic and open mind. He can be influenced. The question will be, “Who does the influencing?” The real work has just begun.
I keep hearing names like Summers for Treasury Secretary, and there are a lot of Clinton Triangulators already on the Transition Team. Let’s hope we get a decent Treasury Secretary, much more important than a decorative Labor Secretary who might have very little say on economic policy. I thought the AFL-CIO press conference with Sen. Brown of Ohio was great–it got a progressive push out there right away, and got some coverage.
Tula, you are correct in your article. But here is what I think is just as important if not more so: This Ideology of Greed must NEVER BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AGAIN. We must be on the alert 24/7 to make sure no Republican or any politician takes this greed approach again in any polictical race. Thank you.
Tim