Barack Obama initially ran for president invoking Abraham Lincoln, then looked to Franklin D. Roosevelt and even appealed to Ronald Reagan. He began campaigning for reelection as Harry Truman running against a “do nothing” Congress. But now, at long last, he has revealed that his heart truly lies with the old Bull Moose progressive, Theodore Roosevelt.
In a pilgrimage to the small town of Osawatomie, Kan., President Obama has given the defining address of his administration. Osawatomie is where Teddy Roosevelt in 1910 delivered his famous speech calling for a “New Nationalism” and launching his campaign for a third presidential term, which ultimately led him to bolt from the Republicans and run as the Progressive-party candidate.
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Osawatomie was Roosevelt at his most progressive, and so it was for Mr. Obama. If there was any doubt before, it is now clear that the president has given up on the center of American politics and doubled down on his governing model. And this tells us everything about where he is coming from and where he wants to go.
Throughout history and today in many parts of the world, political rule is the privilege of the strongest and the most powerful. America is exceptional because it is dedicated to the principle of universal human liberty: that all are fundamentally equal by nature and equally endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This principle and the constitutional framework of law that enlivens it are the foundation of the American Dream.
The related principle that each has a right to the rewards of his own labor makes possible a dynamic social order in which every member of society can work hard and advance based on individual talent and ability. The primary obligation of government is to secure property rights, break down artificial barriers to opportunity, and uphold the rule of law.
This is sound economic theory. When property is protected, there is an incentive to earn, save, and invest in opportunities for the future. When guaranteed to reap what they sow, more people will sow and reap. When economic reward is available to all, and the protection of property extends to all, the amount of wealth throughout society increases exponentially. A basic safety net formed by civil society and public assistance at the appropriate level of government can then protect those who are unable to care for themselves. What is truly revolutionary about the United States is that the ladder of opportunity became available to everyone. As a result, poverty has been vastly diminished. Even more important, it is no longer a permanent condition from which there is no real possibility of escape.
But about a hundred years ago, there arose a different dream: that government could engineer a better society, rather than simply leaving the people free to create one. Progressive reformers were convinced not only that the American founders were wrong in their assumptions about man and about the necessity of limited government, but also that advances in science would allow government to reshape society and eradicate the inequalities of property and wealth that had been unleashed by individual rights, democratic capitalism, and the resulting growth of commerce and business. A more activist government, built on evolving rights and a “living” Constitution, would redistribute wealth and level out differences in society through progressive taxation, economic regulations, and extensive social-welfare programs, all centrally administered by expert bureaucrats.
The clearest formulation of this nationalizing and socializing aspect of progressive thought is found in an influential book by Herbert Croly called The Promise of American Life (1909). Croly allows that Americans are entitled to an “almost religious faith” in their country, but quickly cuts to the problem: “The traditional American confidence in individual freedom has resulted in a morally and socially undesirable distribution of wealth.” The time has come to reject the ghosts of the Founding and devote ourselves to “a dominant and constructive national purpose” centered on a new theory of the state, in which experts administer government and regulate the economy to achieve progressive outcomes. By becoming “responsible for the subordination of the individual to that purpose,” Croly writes, “the American state will in effect be making itself responsible for a morally and socially desirable distribution of wealth.”
Despite his image as a “trust buster,” Theodore Roosevelt preferred not to dismantle large corporations, but rather to control and regulate them in the public interest. “Great corporations exist only because they are created and safeguarded by our institutions,” he proclaimed in 1901, “and it is therefore our right and our duty to see that they work in harmony with these institutions.” That meant centralizing control of the economy and expanding the power of the national government. Increasingly progressive after his election to a full term in 1904, Roosevelt declared war against “predatory wealth,” argued that administrative commissions should recommend regulatory measures to Congress, and — by the end of his second term — was calling for a graduated income and inheritance tax.
Boy, I love when the National Review/Heritage Foundation goes after Teddy Roosevelt. God forbid any of the Republican candidates get unduly influenced by stuff like this and start going after Roosevelt in public.
Next up: Mr. Spalding goes after Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin because they had radical religious views out of line with evangelical christian conservatives.
Why would any of them go after Founding Fathers? Are you implying that TR is even close in stature or positive influence on this country as against the Founders? Considering he repudiated much of what they stood for (e.g., individual freedom, limited government, property rights, etc.), why would you try to conflate them?
Is ANYONE in the press going to talk about what a racist TR was? How he essentially CAUSED WWI and thus WWII????? Yes, compare BHO to TR but complete the analogy. BHO is leading us to WWIII
Interesting writing, but the choices put forth here are not correct. The writer is correct to disparage the word fair, it has no value except in personal or family relationships, otherwise it cannot be reasonably defined. But we have other choices, free market capitalism and progressive nationalism certainly are not the universe of choices. From an economic perspective, governments need to protect against monopolies and monopsonies; yes the market would eventually correct them but many of them would last longer than a person's lifetime if not outlawed. It is silly to think that we can ever have some naked free market capitalism and still have law and order. Secondly, countries are not defined by their economy, they are defined by culture, and the American culture drives our economy. American culture is one of opportunity and competition and responsibility and compassion. The core problem we have is a massively corrupt central government and media that have control over the levers of the economy. Those levers need to go back to a representative process based in the states. We have some solutions. Part of the solution is www.congressgohome.com to get our representatives out of aligning their personal wealth with the federal government media complex. No offense, but when NR endorse an anti-capitalist, crony capitalist like Mitt Romney...it does not help the situation.
The path forward outlined in President Obama's Osawatomie speech has an inherent danger of being irreversible, except by the employment of some sort of extremely unpleasant and perhaps even violent actions. Perhaps this irreversible nature is precisely one of the appealing features to the left of Mr. Croly's Progressive program.
Mr. Spalding quotes the President as saying "As a nation, we've always come together through our government". Surely Mr. Obama has not forgotten that one of the ways we have "come together through our government" was the late, great Civil War, which was a very extreme means of coming back together. Such an event would be the ultimate in terrible unforeseen consequences arising from what Mr. Spalding described in warning of "a government acting without constitutional limits [and becoming] more undemocratic and potentially despotic than ever."
Mr. Obama has been pretty explicit in his desire to fundamentally (and irreversibly) change the nature of American society. The voters must not forget the truly dark side of such a change.
The path forward outlined in President Obama's Osawatomie speech has an inherent danger of being irreversible, except by the employment of some sort of extremely unpleasant and perhaps even violent actions. Perhaps this irreversible nature is precisely one of the appealing features to the left of Mr. Croly's Progressive program.
Mr. Spalding quotes the President as saying "As a nation, we've always come together through our government". Surely Mr. Obama has not forgotten that one of the ways we have "come together through our government" was the late, great Civil War, which was a very extreme means of coming back together. Such an event would be the ultimate in terrible unforeseen consequences arising from what Mr. Spalding described in warning of "a government acting without constitutional limits [and becoming] more undemocratic and potentially despotic than ever."
Mr. Obama has been pretty explicit in his desire to fundamentally (and irreversibly) change the nature of American society. The voters must not forget the truly dark side of such a change.
This is a great, well-thought-out article. The only problem with it that I have is the use of the term "progressive" to refer to one of the most regressive ideologies: Socialism. Why do authors, speakers, and politicians on the right continue to use the Left's euphemism for socialism/statism? It only helps our political enemies obscure their defects (i.e., a belief in socialism as good).
Forty years of observation has convinced me of this: Very few, if any, of those promoting socialism, communism, progressivism, etc. believe that, when their chosen system is implemented, they will be subject to its rules. Rather, each sees himself as one of the enlightened, who impose rules on others, but are granted exception from them themselves because of their own superiority.
Well said. I puzzle daily over why anyone would think the likes of Obama, Biden, and Pelosi are any wiser than the rest of us -- and do stop me before I add the likes of Barbara Boxer to the list of our 'leaders'.
I suspect it is not the 'wisdom' of these politicians for which people vote, but instead for the goodies that will be dispensed Robin Hood-style, taking from the diligent and giving to those told how downtrodden and deserving they are. That's the problem to be overcome.
Obama's Osawatomie speech was lacking four words. All good fairy tales begin "Once upon a time", but Obama left them out. In Obama's fairy tale the Great Depression and the recession/almost depression, economic stagnation we currently face were both caused by an unfair distribution of wealth brought on by the failed policies of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover in the first case, and Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in the second. Like FDR Obama will seek an ever expanding federal government role in ensuring "fairness" by "spreading the wealth around." To secure wealth to spread around Obama, like FDR, will call for ever increasing taxes on "the rich." Like a savage faced with the task of removing a screw from a block of wood Obama, like FDR before him, believing that only a hammer can remove the screw, will fail, and then will devise ever more clever ways of applying force, whether more stimulus or new "jobs" programs, to use the hammer to pry out the screw, never realizing that by simply turning the screw it can easily be removed. To borrow a song lyric from Pete Seeger, "We're neck deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool says push on." In Obama's fairy tale, just as the New Deal ended the Great Depression, he will lead us to a more glorious future if only the do-nothing Republican congress gets out of his way so that, just like FDR during the Second World War, he can spend enough money to get the country going again. In the coming year, leading up to the election, I don't think we will hear "Happy
Days Are Here Again." I do hope to hear another Republican remind us that "a house divided against itself cannot stand." The Great Divider should remember that "he that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be servant to the wise in heart." Chicago is the Windy City. It remands to be seen how wise this country is.
Obama's Osawatomie speech was lacking four words. All good fairy tales begin "Once upon a time", but Obama left them out. In Obama's fairy tale the Great Depression and the recession/almost depression, economic stagnation we currently face were both caused by an unfair distribution of wealth brought on by the failed policies of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover in the first case, and Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in the second. Like FDR Obama will seek an ever expanding federal government role in ensuring "fairness" by "spreading the wealth around." To secure wealth to spread around Obama, like FDR, will call for ever increasing taxes on "the rich." Like a savage faced with the task of removing a screw from a block of wood Obama, like FDR before him, believing that only a hammer can remove the screw, will fail, and then will devise ever more clever ways of applying force, whether more stimulus or new "jobs" programs, to use the hammer to pry out the screw, never realizing that by simply turning the screw it can easily be removed. To borrow a song lyric from Pete Seeger, "We're neck deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool says push on." In Obama's fairy tale, just as the New Deal ended the Great Depression, he will lead us to a more glorious future if only the do-nothing Republican congress gets out of his way so that, just like FDR during the Second World War, he can spend enough money to get the country going again. In the coming year, leading up to the election, I don't think we will hear "Happy Days Are Here Again." I do hope to hear another Republican remind us that "a house divided against itself cannot stand." The Great Divider should remember that "he that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be servant to the wise in heart." Chicago is the Windy City. It remands to be seen how wise this country is.
There's another rather interesting tie to Osawatomie and that is the Weather Underground, Owasatomie was the name of the newspaper they published, see for yourself External Link
From the blog post - here's an excerpt:
"The following quotes are scanned directly from Osawatomie, with a transcription below each image.
Revolutionaries must be organizers.
There are serious antiracist organizers building a revolutionary base in working class communities — in neighborhoods, shops, mills, mines, social institutions. There are those who are working among women, GI’s, vets, prisoners, among youth, students and the unemployed in every part of the country. There are some who have been at it for years and some who have just begun. Thousands more are needed; and each particular piece of work will have to be linked up into a whole. We need to out-organize the sophisticated and well-financed forces of George Meany, Louise Day Hicks, Ronald Reagan, George Wallace and Albert Shanker. Organizers need to crush this reactionary leadership with a revolutionized torrent of people.
But revolutionaries expect adversity, expect to be fought every inch of the way by an entrenched ruling class, expect to confront danger and demoralization and overcome it, with creativity and audacity.
Theory and ideology are important tools, and we should make study of Marxism-Leninism an important part of our work.
Organizers must be intimately aware of every problem and each injustice, and they must show that underneath each particular problem lies another problem, and another and another until you reach the system of imperialism itself. The system is designed to create problems for poor, Third World and working-class people. Organizers need to find small solutions to small problems and great solutions to great problems. Our solutions should be drastic.
We need to build a successful struggle, strong organization and a winning revolutionary party. This is a process, which will not emerge full-blown from our minds. It will emerge and change and grow from practice. We know where to begin.
It is with all this in mind that we have created OSAWATOMIE, the revolutionary voice of the Weather Underground Organization.
the Weather Underground Organization’s development. Like all our work, OSAWATOMIE is guided by a commitment to struggle, a determination to fight the enemy, the certainty that we will see revolution in our lifetime"
Interesting isn't it, do you think POTUS chose Owawatomie solely because of the TR speech? or do you think his community organizing roots played a part in it?
Mr Obama's rooseveltian epiphany would have at least s o m e credibility if he could first reform his own appetites for using public funds to lavish long and costly Hawaiian vacations upon himself and his kin (presumably, they see themselves as part of, not above, the fairness and equality equation); spend less time golfing and shooting hoops and generally throwing public money around. His fairness message has no credibility. His wife sits in Hawaii emailing the mainlanders asking for 3 bucks apiece for her husband's campaign. They are arrogant, self-absorbed and shameless and Mr. Obama's idea of leading a charge up San Juan Hill is elbowing his way to the head of the line to buy a shave ice.
The Leftist Agenda of Pres O was published years ago on CPUSA, Dem Strategist, Progressive Dems of America. He is simply checking boxes at this time.
We, the US Electorate are reaping exactly what we have allowed to grow in our Republics vacant lots.
The time for sweat, tears and work is upon us.
Semper FI
