The current administration is doing what they've done for 4 years, behaving as though this is "business as usual" and the only things left for them are to straighten out the files, pardon the turkeys, and get ready for the movers to come. That they are passing up a huge opportunity to set at least a speed bump in the way of the Trumpista…
The current administration is doing what they've done for 4 years, behaving as though this is "business as usual" and the only things left for them are to straighten out the files, pardon the turkeys, and get ready for the movers to come. That they are passing up a huge opportunity to set at least a speed bump in the way of the Trumpista Express leads me to use a lot of language that I discourage my adult daughter from using. Biden has a very real chance to destroy a legacy that would otherwise have been pretty positive.
My opinion (which is still developing) is that this particular administration is less the problem than the %@$# Democratic Party. I've been voting Democratic for decades because the GOP was unspeakably awful. It took them more time to become awful in my state (MA) -- Charlie Baker, our two-term governor (for whom I never voted) who didn't run for re-election in 2022, was better than most -- but now we've got a Democratic governor who looks like Charlie Baker light blue. My take (at the moment) is that it's hard to talk sense about economics because the right wing immediately launches into a choral screech of "Socialist! Communist!" and we the people get suckered every time. So the Democrats get blamed for problems that Republicans created.
I don't disagree Susanna. The current administration is more like the culmination of Party shortcomings and right now the question is how we will manage to resurrect the Democratic Party and preserve the democratic system.
Preserving the democratic system is my higher priority at the moment -- although I don't think we've ever had a democratic system to *preserve*. More like we have a democratic potential to *realize*. And doing that involves getting the unelected fourth branch of government (wealthy individuals and corporations) under control of the elected branches. What to do about the Supreme Court? Beats me!
I think we're in agreement on the priority and the solution might be the end of both parties. As far as the Court is concerned, term limits, expanding the Court, and maybe a couple of impeachments to may clear that there is accountability would help but, in the end, respect for the Court and its decisions depends on the respectability of the Justices and that's something that can't be legislated.
Trouble is, economic power undergirds and drives both parties, and their transformations over the many decades. Not to mention the composition of the Supreme Court, and not just its current makeup. Until we start to deal with what I like to call the "unelected fourth branch of government" -- big wealth, corporate and otherwise -- I'm not holding my breath. (Currently reading Heather Cox Richardson's HOW THE SOUTH WON THE CIVIL WAR, which discusses economic alliances across regions, I'm even less optimistic than usual.)
Highly recommended reading might work better. That battle never really ends; the best we can hope for is to combine grassroots activism with enough support from mavericks like FDR to preserve what we have and make occasional progress. One problem that too many progressives have is an intense and unshakeable desire to have everything right now and, if they can't get it, take nothing. Scorched earth approaches typically end up with nothing more than burnt dirt.
The current administration is doing what they've done for 4 years, behaving as though this is "business as usual" and the only things left for them are to straighten out the files, pardon the turkeys, and get ready for the movers to come. That they are passing up a huge opportunity to set at least a speed bump in the way of the Trumpista Express leads me to use a lot of language that I discourage my adult daughter from using. Biden has a very real chance to destroy a legacy that would otherwise have been pretty positive.
My opinion (which is still developing) is that this particular administration is less the problem than the %@$# Democratic Party. I've been voting Democratic for decades because the GOP was unspeakably awful. It took them more time to become awful in my state (MA) -- Charlie Baker, our two-term governor (for whom I never voted) who didn't run for re-election in 2022, was better than most -- but now we've got a Democratic governor who looks like Charlie Baker light blue. My take (at the moment) is that it's hard to talk sense about economics because the right wing immediately launches into a choral screech of "Socialist! Communist!" and we the people get suckered every time. So the Democrats get blamed for problems that Republicans created.
I don't disagree Susanna. The current administration is more like the culmination of Party shortcomings and right now the question is how we will manage to resurrect the Democratic Party and preserve the democratic system.
Preserving the democratic system is my higher priority at the moment -- although I don't think we've ever had a democratic system to *preserve*. More like we have a democratic potential to *realize*. And doing that involves getting the unelected fourth branch of government (wealthy individuals and corporations) under control of the elected branches. What to do about the Supreme Court? Beats me!
I think we're in agreement on the priority and the solution might be the end of both parties. As far as the Court is concerned, term limits, expanding the Court, and maybe a couple of impeachments to may clear that there is accountability would help but, in the end, respect for the Court and its decisions depends on the respectability of the Justices and that's something that can't be legislated.
Trouble is, economic power undergirds and drives both parties, and their transformations over the many decades. Not to mention the composition of the Supreme Court, and not just its current makeup. Until we start to deal with what I like to call the "unelected fourth branch of government" -- big wealth, corporate and otherwise -- I'm not holding my breath. (Currently reading Heather Cox Richardson's HOW THE SOUTH WON THE CIVIL WAR, which discusses economic alliances across regions, I'm even less optimistic than usual.)
That's an excellent book.
It seriously is, and if my dislike of "required reading" didn't date back to high school, I would call it "required reading." <g>
Highly recommended reading might work better. That battle never really ends; the best we can hope for is to combine grassroots activism with enough support from mavericks like FDR to preserve what we have and make occasional progress. One problem that too many progressives have is an intense and unshakeable desire to have everything right now and, if they can't get it, take nothing. Scorched earth approaches typically end up with nothing more than burnt dirt.
Good analysis.
Thanks Ally.
What legacy, as a giant of diplomacy - resulting in America being the arms dealer to a wanted war criminal?
I wouldn't recommend revisiting Joe Biden's inauguration speech either, unless you can handle the sour taste of bitter pills. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55656824