An FDR Moment

The following are excerpts from a speech delivered on October 31st 1936:

"...powerful influences are trying to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that government is best which is most indifferent to mankind. That, to me sums up Republican politics, the  kind of politics that count on the voters' lowest impulse, individual greed, to sell its idea of carrying on at the expense of all else, be it nature or the future of mankind.

For four years now you have had an administration, which instead of of twirling its thumbs, has rolled up its sleeves. And I assure you that we will keep our sleeves rolled up. We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace; business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs; and we know that government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred."

The excerpts quoted above were from a speech delivered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Madison Square Garden just before the election of 1936, wherein he won his second term. The parallels to our situation today are striking.

In 1932 when FDR won the presidency the first time he inherited a Great Depression that had been raging for three years and only grown worse under the policies of the Hoover administration. Those policies featured budget cuts,  breaks for the wealthiest, and an outright rejection of the idea of government spending to stimulate the economy or create job growth. Indeed, rejection of the idea that government should serve its people in any way. In early 1933 when FDR took office with huge Democratic majorities in Congress he began an aggressive set of programs to reverse the policies of the previous Republican administration and Congress. He and the Congress set about creating major Government programs that built dams, bridges, hi-way systems, and major efforts like the Tennessee Valley Authority that brought the south into the modern world. Today we would call these Infra-structure projects. In addition he created the Civilian Conservation Corps and other jobs programs.

Please remember that all this happened at the darkest and most hopeless moments of the financial crisis. But he used the power of his office and his own personal strength of leadership to push these programs through. The list of accomplishments and change that came about in this period is staggering. These programs, including Social Security, transformed the country forever. FDR restored the people's faith that government could make a positive impact on its people-that government serves the people.

Today we face nearly identical issues, and predictably the same set of choices the country faced in dealing with the Great Depression. However, there is a major difference between that era and this one. The difference is leadership. Today, like 1932, a President is faced with creating bold new programs to correct the disaster left behind by the last set of leaders. Today, like 1932 the current Republican party blames the current President for the problems they caused only a few short years before- because he didn't fix them quickly enough, and (of course) without  an ounce of cooperation from them. Today's leadership in the White House and in the Democratic caucuses of the Congress, however, seem to lack the boldness and the courage of an FDR.

President Obama could deliver the same speech, word for word, FDR delivered in 1932 and be spot-on with the issues that FDR spoke of. But, unfortunately, President Obama doesn't say, "I welcome their hatred". In 1932 President Roosevelt defined the debate and framed the solutions his way. The people heard the message and stood with their President because, even though he was a man of privilege himself,  he challenged the money interests- and put people back to work. He knew you cannot "cut" your way back to prosperity.

We have the same opportunities today. We have a crumbling infra-structure, an antiquated power grid, an old 19th century rail system, with roads, bridges and school buildings falling apart. We also have a dying energy system based on withering amounts of fossil fuel that only guarantee two things- it will get more expensive and it will continue to ruin our planet. The opportunities are there for jobs and for a brighter future. We have an FDR moment! We need an FDR!

 President Obama has abilities to seize this moment, but he continually backs away, just when we need him most. I believe we cannot be short-sighted and forget our history. We must prime the pump of employment by using aggressive programs to create jobs the way FDR did. We must encourage our President to stand up, re-take the debate from those who package their ideas in thinly veiled hatred- "welcome their hatred" and be the bold president we expected. The times demand it and as involved citizens, we must demand it too. We live an age when it is so easy to communicate our wishes to our leaders. The Internet makes it an easy task. Take advantage and write to our President, write to your congress person and your Senators. Let them know the "old enemies of peace" should not prevail this time either.

Thanks for looking in.