Where was this guy while Dick Cheney was running the country?
Granted, George W. Bush has been looking a lot better during the disaster that is Donald Trump…but I’m still dumbfounded (and awed) by his speech last week at the Bush Institute’s Spirit of Liberty event in New York.
A few quotations:
“Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.”
“The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them.”
“We’ve seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. At times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates into dehumanization.”
“Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions, forgetting the image of God we should see in each other. We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism, [and] forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America.”
In a further reproach to Trump–whose name he never uttered and who has dismissed the evidence–Bush also underscored the conclusion of all the American intelligence agencies about Russian interference in last year’s elections, calling it real and labelling it “subversion.”
Credit where credit is due: during his presidency, Bush never came across as a bigot, although he often failed to push back against his party’s use of bigotry and especially homophobia to win elections.
It is obviously easier for politicians who are not facing another election to call out Trumpism, as we’ve seen with John McCain and Bob Corker. But it is also easier to refrain from publicly defying a sitting President of one’s own party, easier to avoid setting an example that cannot help but shame the current leadership of that party. Easier to keep your head down and enjoy the accolades that come from being an “elder statesman.”
Bush’s broadside is so important because it is his party (or more accurately, what his party has become). Trump ran as a Republican. The House and Senate are controlled by Republicans. Admonitions from Democrats–even previous Presidents–will be dismissed by the party’s base as partisan carping.
As welcome as this speech was, the fact that Bush delivered it is an ominous sign of how worried responsible people are. Those who understand government, who recognize the challenges facing the country and the incredible damage being done to America’s democracy at home and our stature abroad, are speaking up, and we need to recognize how unprecedented that is.
Differences of opinion on policies would never prompt this behavior. Only a deep foreboding–a sense of existential crisis–can explain this departure from Presidential behavioral norms.
When George W. Bush feels it necessary to warn the country against Trump and Trumpism, we’re in trouble. Bigly.
Kudos, Professor, for highlighting the salient points. Credit goes BIGLY to you and Georgie-child’s speechwriters.
Keep hitting Trump with this style. Trump and his 34% will self-destruct.
“When George W. Bush feels it necessary to warn the country against Trump and Trumpism, we’re in trouble. Bigly.”
This is a power grab by Trump/ Pence/BANNON reminiscent of Nazi Germany. The Bush family has been behind this mess from the beginning and now their FACTION is losing control. Most of the industrialists who were backing Hitler also lost control. The same thing is happening here in the U.S.
America Awake!!!
This is the only reason why Bush has spoken up now. Where has he been all these past months? Now, he wants to distance himself from the mess he and his father stirred-up and benefited from both politically and financially.
He’s going to be a target of resentment and rightfully so. Where would this MESS be without the help of the Bush family…Grandfather, Father, and Sons?
An important source for a deeper understanding about the Bush family would be a 60’s book: “The Protestant Establishment” by Digby Baltzell, my mentor and sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
I suspect that the dire warnings from that handful of Republicans with nothing to lose are a day late and a dollar short. Where were these guys with their principles when it would have mattered?
I hope GWB keeps pounding on the pulpit but when I saw his excellent speech, I thought, hmm, the Bush family wants to make another stab at the presidency. Our grandson was trying to sort out the various Bush members. I mentioned Prescott and he said “Is that his brother?” I said no, George is his brother. Prescott is his nephew….
Marge,
“I mentioned Prescott and he said “Is that his brother?” I said no, George is his brother. Prescott is his nephew….”
Prescott was George’s [President #2] grandfather whose firm had close dealings with the Nazi industrialists and possibly much more according to the BBC.
Thanks Marv. This whole thing has an awful awful feel to it. We have been off track in a bad way since the early 60’s. I worry where this is headed.
“It is obviously easier for politicians who are not facing another election to call out Trumpism, as we’ve seen with John McCain and Bob Corker. But it is also easier to refrain from publicly defying a sitting President of one’s own party, easier to “avoid setting an example that cannot help but shame the current leadership of that party.”
We see these opposing views almost hourly on MSNBC as “Breaking News”; I suppose it is “Breaking News” for those just tuning in who missed the first hourly or sooner broadcasts of the same information. McCain and Corker have nothing to lose and a legacy to leave in their wake.
Kelly, Mattis and Tillerson are another matter; they POSSIBLY fit into the “avoid setting an example that cannot help but shame the current leadership of that party.” category. Personally I believe they are simply following that age-old political policy of “cover your ass” (CYA) because today, due to Trumpism they have much more to lose by speaking the truth as they know it and we see it every day.
Kudos to George W. for finally speaking out; he should have started speaking the warnings – which would have been the truth – as should have the other former presidents, in 2015 as Republicans edged closer and closer to the brink of the current destruction of Donald Trump. There appears to be no “turning back” at this time; stopping all movement of government to remove Trump, Pence and Bannon, before any more bills, laws or Executive Orders are passed. Continuing to pretend to be “government in action” at this time is only piling up more “deconstruction” to be reversed – IF it can be reversed in time to save us.
We can thank George W. for coming forward but will we or the thinking members of Congress take action before Trump presses that button?
What Marv Kramer said.
But one more point. Can anybody imagine that in 10 to 15 years from now Donald Trump being seen as an elder statesman?
JoAnn,
Per Juanita Jean’s blog,Trump recently signed an amendment to GWB’s executive order 13223 that allows for the call up of 1000 reserved fighter pilots. Now, what the hell is that all about?
The Bush clan are all poster children for the globalist regime that puts global Big Energy interests WAY ahead of any others – including middle class Americans and even human life. As such, parading GW out to make speeches critical of 45 only emboldens and even grows the Bannon/MAGA crowd and will do nothing to unify Republicans around a more rational (and moderate) actor than the Current Occupant. Besides, GW and his henchman Cheney are still war criminals for the largely unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country in 2003. Don’t miss them a bit.
I recall when the GOP smilingly accepted (and encouraged) the tinfoil-hat-wearers. They thought they could ride that Tiger. Now … they (and we) are inside it.
Any attempt to let the Bush Family off the hook will be the biggest mistake this country ever made.
We’re not facing a CYCLICAL PROBLEM it is a LINEAR PROBLEM, a CONTINUING LINE [2 steps forward, then 1 backward] at least from the 60’s with the BUSH FAMILY, more than any other entity, responsible for the possible CATASTROPHE we are facing right now.
Letting them off, in my estimation, would be like forgiving Harvey Weinstein because he is now sorry for what he has done and has decided to go into therapy.
For a deeper understand, I would strongly suggest “On Bullshit” by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 2005) before listening to the two of them.
As I listened to W’s speech, I kept thinking about “enhanced interrogation techniques” and wondered what that might have done to our national fabric. Ah well, here’s another old saw from the gold mine of trivia I call my brain, “Too soon old, too late smart.” Maybe that applies here?
Peggy,
What about George and his….. CONPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM?
Sorry, substitute M for N.
Theresa; my guess about Trump ordering up those fighter pilots is based on his innate stupidity and deep-seated need to start his own war or restart those currently scaling back. Haven’t we already seen reports of our fighter pilots over or near North Korean territory? He has caused the deaths of American troops with his lack of knowledge, which no one in the military did not override and Congress, per Graham, was unaware of Trump’s orders and actions until after the fact. Per Graham, they have been bypassed and would not have approved the actions in Niger which caused the deaths of four Americans and began another name-calling verbal war by Trump against victims family and friends. At least that is what Graham said about this particular deadly situation.
Those of us who keep asking ourselves and others, “What can Trump possibly do next?” may be placing a hex on this country. He manages almost daily to create deadly and destructive issues which would never have entered normal minds. Over the past two days he has announced he will pay over $400,000 in legal fees for White House staff being questioned about his Russian connections – hush money? Would they dare to talk with that money publicly hanging over their heads? He also announced he will release thousands of classified documents regarding the President Kennedy assassination. Where the hell did this idea come from and why? I am against the 100 year classification of those documents but all past presidents have stayed away from the issue so MAYBE the government did have a reason for the decision. Is Trump nearing the bottom of his barrel of “deconstruction” plans with this decision? Will he be allowed by our inactive Congress to move ahead with this action, paying legal fees for staff members to be questioned about his illegal actions, activate those fighter pilots and WTF is next?
Let’s don’t blame Mike Pence for any of this “horror show.” He’s just an innocent COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE like George Bush.
When the left praises George Bush I am more interested in the reaction found here:
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon depicted former President George W. Bush as bumbling and inept, faulting him for presiding over a ‘‘destructive’’ presidency during his time in the White House.
Bannon’s scathing remarks on Friday night amounted to a retort to a Bush speech in New York last week, in which the 43rd president denounced bigotry in Trump-era American politics and warned that the rise of ‘‘nativism,’’ isolationism, and conspiracy theories have clouded the nation’s true identity.
But Bannon, speaking to a capacity crowd at a California Republican Party convention, said Bush had embarrassed himself and didn’t know what he was talking about.
Bannon said Bush has no idea whether ‘‘he is coming or going, just like it was when he was president.’’
Bob Dylan had it right: ‘There is something is happening here and you don’t know what it is… do you Mister Jones?’
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2017/10/21/bannon-faults-george-bush-for-destructive-presidency/aPz02v0MR4mHVXf5JJ1AaK/story.html?et_rid=1937666692&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter
Anthony; I was afraid that Bannon would become more dangerous out of the White House than working from inside. I now believe I was wrong about that assumption; doubt he is doing any more dastardly deeds than before, is now just going public with his hatred, racism, bigotry and threats. Bannon and Huckabee-Sanders (Boris and Natasha) speak for the White House, Trump speaks and Tweets for Trump alone. Where are Rocky and Bullwinkle when we need them?
There is an old saying >> The enemy of my enemy is my friend << I find it impossible to praise Bush the Younger. It should not be forgot that it was Bush the Younger who invaded Iraq in Gulf War 2. James Bamford in his book documented in his book – A Pretext for War – all the lies that were employed to justify an invasion of Iraq.
Bush the Younger was also CIC when we invaded Afghanistan. How has that worked out???
Millions of Iraqi's have been killed, wounded, missing or refugees because of Bush the Younger and his enablers. This list of enablers includes Hillary who voted to put a "gun" in Bush the Youngers hand. That is all erased in some circles because he has in some oblique way criticized Trump with out naming him.
We’re having difficulties with our priorities.
Mike Pence is CONNECTED with both George Bush and Donald Trump. However, his power comes from the RELIGIOUS SIDE of the fence with Bush. Bush is being POLITICALLY attacked right now by the Alt- Right the FASCIST SIDE. Bush is vulnerable.
Consequently, the Republican Establishment is a prime target not only from the FASCIST SIDE led by Steve Bannon but also from the PRO-DEMOCRACY SIDE if it can muster the right type of leadership from outside partisan politics.
The PRO-DEMOCRACY FORCES must turn GWB into the likes of another Nazi Germany when after Pearl Harbor they were faced with defeat from both the East [ Soviet Union] and the West [U.S.].
Let’s ” defeat 2 birds with 1 stone.”
Remember DAVID AND GOLIATH!!! Let’s make it TRUMP/PENCE instead. A POLITICAL shot right in the middle of the TWO-HEADED MONSTER.
Defeating GWB will diminish Mike Pence. A diminished Mike Pence should, in all probability, start a swift CASCADING EFFECT that would ultimately bring down the isolated and helpless Donald Trump and his fascist advisor Steve Bannon.
A VICTORY PLAN for America as well as Planet Earth. We can’t win without a plan.
Does anyone, with the necessary record of success, have a better one?
Per a recent article in the New Yorker Mike Pence is and has been for years supported by the Koch Brothers. He and the Kochs use the religious right, but the financial support and all that it can buy comes from the Kochs.
Theresa,
Very true. I might add the defeat of Mike Pence will also dilute the power of Charles Koch who also financed the rise of the Tea Party.
1) Call up of reserve fighter pilots: where will George W. hide this time.
2) New light on George W. Bush: this speech is not the first time I felt a little warmth for the man; the first time was when his painting of portraits first made news. I like a leader who paints, particularly if he paints well. And then I saw his portrait of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, which is a remarkably descriptive portrait. It alone surpasses any painting done by an American president. Any person who can paint that well with so little training cannot be all bad.
3) I am reminded of President Lyndon Johnson. While he was in office, I was often embarrassed by his crudities and especially by his poor articulation, which ruined his speeches as well as his off-the-cuff remarks. But after Johnson left office, I was shocked at how much his communication skills had grown in a matter of a few days. I heard him do a town hall sort of gig at the University of Texas, and he was magnificent, even charismatic.
4) Maybe, with the exception of a few, no matter how driven to acquire the office, being President is an intimidating task that nearly paralyzes the tongue.
5) And then comes 45, and paralysis of the tongue suddenly has a more inviting cachet.
As was Claude Raines in Casablanca, I am shocked, shocked by Bush’s speech and his tardy show of no-blesse’ oblige’ in a speech as a member of the nobility spoken to us peasants currently trying to survive under a deranged neo-fascist and a group of nodding Republican heads in the Congress who are also trying to survive the current political holocaust until they can get tax cuts and regulatory nihilism for their Wall Street patrons, and all the while our already tattered democracy is being shredded day to day in the process. I have to wonder (using Marv’s undergirding fact line) about the lies Bush and his oil man Cheney told about WMD and how they nursed a recalcitrant population into a war that is far from over, at least until the oil runs out or we find other sources of energy. Iraq had the misfortune of having oil, and we colonialists are hot on the trail of another source of such energy (at the behest of Big Oil) in Chad (where we lost four soldiers recently in neighboring Niger). Are we there to instill democracy a la Bush or plunder Chad’s and Niger’s oil reserves? Boy, that’s a tough one!
I remember Bush’s Great Recession, his unprecedented tax cuts during wartime (a first in history), the bailouts for insolvent banks (but none for the unemployed), the Fed’s purchase of banking paper at par, millions of mortgage foreclosures and mortgage fraud by the Wall Street banks etc. etc. etc., so you will pardon me if I look askance on the speech Bush gave recently.
On the other hand, when you are going under for the third time, you will grasp at straws, so I welcome this straw and will grab it. We need all the help we can get if our democracy is to survive this Bannon-Trump-Leninist “deconstruction of our administrative state” plan, aka destruction of our democracy and insertion of an authoritarian state. Much more is involved than tweet rants and insults; those are mere attempts at diverting our attention from destruction of our democracy, which is continuing apace and is existential in nature. Trump, who says that Putin is “a strong leader” and has yet to denounce him for the murdering dictator and enemy of democracy that he is, must be removed from power in our world and left to nurse his narcissistic wounds in his otherworld lest our democracy go down the drain because, as I often blog, democracy is our most important asset held in common, and is one of the last few things left worth dying for.
I remember Bush’s Great Recession (vestiges of which remain), his unprecedented tax cuts during war (which are also still with us as our debt has ballooned to a historic high – and is scheduled to go up another 1.5 trillion under the current Republican tax proposal). I remember the bailouts, the millions of foreclosures, the unemployment figures
Typo express – Please ignore the last paragraph, which I inadvertently left exposed in the editing process, and even though it does refer to the current Republican tax bill I have otherwise ignored. Mea culpa!
The Trump/Pence/Bannon “Blitzkrieg” appears to have the same weaknesses as the German Army’s SHEFFLIN PLAN which initiated W.W. I. The German plans for starting W.W. II were much improved because of the lessons they had learned in W.W. I.
I seriously doubt that Trump/Pence/Bannon would be given a second chance after their FIASCO.
Donald Trump is quickly finding out that the REAL WORLD is much more difficult to DIRECT than making movies [Bannon] and having a TV show[Trump].
WhoDaThunkIt?
GWB, a hero of the Democrats. The worst president ever is now a hero. Imagine that.
Trump will probably be referred to as a n elder statesman by the folks contributing to this blog in a few years.
It really is kayfabe.
While I am glad George W said, rather than left unsaid, this message, I will not for one minute let him his family or the Republican Party off the hook for where we are today and for Trump. You can’t have Karl Rove as an advisor and later say bigotry is bad. Bush USED BIGOTRY TO WIN. That’s like saying the Catholic church has any moral credibility on matters of sexuality after systematically presiding over the abuse of innocent children for decades. In a recent piece, Robert Reich summarize the conversation he had with a friend who is a republican former member of Congress. The bottom line is he says the Republicans know Trump is nuts but they’re hoping to pass a tax bill before he starts a nuclear war. Read that again. No really. They’re willing to risk sacrificing the whole nation and world in hopes they can get a tax cut. Not much more to say after that. Trump is not a new phenomenon, he is the apex of the path Republicans have followed for decades. He’s the purified, distilled version of who they are. The only surprise to the party in the 2016 election was that someone so nakedly Republican could actually get elected; someone who mouths off and says all the things they wanted to for years. His values are their values. Bush, McConnell, McCain, Reagan, all of them, put this train wreck of a Presidency in motion. So yes, it’s remarkable I suppose that W comes out and says, “Oops, we went a lil too far,” but I won’t for one second forget his role in getting us to, “too far.” PS- don’t take that to mean I’m nominating the Democratic party for any kind of sainthood either. They’re having their own problems and I doubt will have it together before 2018.
Since G.W. Bush has been identified by his closest friends as being “intellectually incurious”, it’s taken this long for it to dawn on him that governing 320 million people is more important that political expediency and the laundry list of B.S. from partisan advisors.
I don’t know if he has ulterior motives about more Bushes coming to the fore, but the Nazi analogy from some of the comments is most salient as we watch/listen to the garbage coming from Bannon, Miller, Kelly, Sanders, et. al. Pence is no bargain either.
In the chain of succession, the third in line is Paul Ryan. My blood still won’t warm up to that prospect. We are in HUGE trouble until we flip Congress and put people in place who are actually listening to their constituents instead of just waiting for the bribery check.
See the SCHLIEFFEN PLAN at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlieffen_Plan
Good post JM.
Bush is forgiven for his crimes against the country and humanity because he speaks out against Trump? Amazing. It really is amazing we’ve come to this. Hell,I remember when Democrats were frothing (and rightfully so) at every action of GWB. It really makes all of this self righteous indignation toward Trump look like nothing more than kayfabe.
The Democrats are so shallow and hollowed out……GWB is now a hero. There really is no point in being a Democrat anymore.
Theresa; my political activist friend in CA sent me an article from Rolling Stone dated February 9, 2017. “The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence” “As governor of Indiana, he trampled on the rights of women, LGBTQ community and the poor. Then there’s the incompetence. Meet, quite possibly, the next president” Approximately three weeks after Trump’s inauguration (with the record-shattering number of attendees); this was already being predicted.
The article begins with the visit by Trump and Pence to Carrier prior to the inauguration where their lies resulted indebting the state of Indiana with more than a million dollars in a payment from our tax base to save hundreds of jobs which were not possible to save and others which were know to be phased out within months. “Trump also kept saying he had saved air-conditioning jobs, though the factory makes furnaces.” They make a lovely couple; provided by the Greedy Old Party (GOP) to the nation. We are in deep doo-doo even if Trump is removed from the White House…Pence will take over as the Judas goat leading all of us to perdition. Situations such as this do make George W. appear palatable in comparison; as Albert Einstein stated, “Everything is relative.”
JM, Well stated, I say. Well stated!
William,
“The Democrats are so shallow and hollowed out……GWB is now a hero. There really is no point in being a Democrat anymore.”
I agree with you in your first sentence. But not on the second. Forgive me, but I’m not for a revolution. I haven’t given up on the Democratic Party. What other choice do I have?
Well, Marv….I guess the SS are already here,just ask Jose Padilla.
Oh my,Jose Padilla was never really charged with a crime. But thanks to our American hero GWB and his admirable program of using torture within the US….. Jose’s mind was turned to jello.
That’s something to be proud of…We are already great!
Marv, to answer your question,I think it’s inevitable we have a revolution. If we are to evolve as a country, perhaps it’s time? Because the truth is the people have absolutely no voice or influence upon their representatives. What we have no is unbridled legislation bought by lobbyists. Plus,it really is a war between the donor-class and their minions within the top 10% against the remainder of the population.
That should read: What we have NOW….
Mars- You are right on, since who in his/her right mind and living in a democracy (however wounded) would vote for a fascist? I for one will continue to live out my principles as a liberal Democrat during and through this current political mess. For every Hoover, there is, ultimately, an FDR. Our task is to hasten that day of democratic reckoning as this is no time for despair.
did bush and blair have a come to terms? maybe they now relize what war monger ideals are.
maybe they never read history about all the colonists who tried,and failed to change the arabs. now its time for atonement,way after the fact. when people like cheney and kissinger is arrested for their part in the world regime change,will we ever find peace?
The leadership of the Democratic Party has to be changed. Pronto. William’s evaluation is right on the money. However, there’s a good chance that it is impossible to do so.
Any appeasement with GWB by the Democratic Party would be reminiscent of Neville Chamberlain’s policy in dealing with Adolph Hitler……. “Peace in Our Time.” Pure Bullshit.
Must be Sunday morning – another typo- this time Mars for Marv. Mea culpa, especially since Mars was the god of war, hardly fitting Marv’s description.
JM, excellent post.
Gerald,
I believe we still have time but we’re going to have to fight inside the Democratic Party for new leadership, before the midterms in 2018. First, we have to organize into a “new third force” like what was accomplished with the Tea Party. If we can’t match-up, then there’s little chance that we can retain the benefits of a democracy through partisan politics.
I know it appears to be impossible, but I believe there are some terrific young (only 54) Democrats like Wendy Davis from the Ft.Worth/Dallas area who ran against the present Governor of Texas in 2014. She lost by a wide margin but she hasn’t lost her following. She’s a Harvard Law Graduate, who ran for “the Texas State Senate–and in 2008 defeated a longtime GOP incumbent in a race widely considered one of the biggest recent upsets in Texas politics.”
She’s a terrific advocate for women’s rights among her many attributes.
Take a look at “Wendy Davis: Forgetting to be Afraid” a Memoir (Blue Rider Press, a member of the Penguin Group (USA), New York, 2014).
I’ve only recently read about her. I’ve never met her while I was practicing law in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Trump has encouraged what once lurked in the muck, mire and slime to stand up. Case in point:
The vice president of programs for Gallatin County Republican Women (Karen Marshall) said in a radio program Thursday she “would have shot” the reporter who was assaulted by then-candidate Greg Gianforte the day before his election to Montana’s sole seat in the U.S. House.
“If that kid had done to me what he did to Greg, I would have shot him,” said Karen Marshall, an official with the Gallatin County GOP Women, according to the Helena Independent Record.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/21/montana-gianforte-ben-jacobs-karen-marshall-would-have-shot
Monotonou,
“Trump has encouraged what once lurked in the muck, mire and slime to stand up.”
That’s his biggest success. But a vital one in his attempt to carry out his agenda. Eventually, if things keep going as they have, any opposition will have to put their life on the line to make a valid point.
The shots fired into the crowd of demonstrators at the University of Florida, yesterday, is a case in point.
Marv – I am familiar with Wendy’s record and her tenure at Harvard (where she probably took one or more bankruptcy courses taught by my current choice for president, Professor and now Senator Elizabeth Warren). These two and other women I could identify are on the cutting edge of a new Democratic Party, a party that must re-include the laboring workforce of all colors, a party that must quit depending on Wall Street for campaign contributions via millions of small donor contributions, and a party that touts Keynesian economics over the current and deadly austerity economics we are practicing, all with a view toward ending the present lopsided distribution of our economy’s income to the rich and corporate class while the rest of us live on the brink of recession due to policies that foster such maldistribution. Even with Republican statehouse right to work laws, gerrymandering and other such voter suppression atrocities, our voting audience still far outnumbers the Republicans. Our task is to show that great majority that we are on their side and get them off the couch and into the voting booth, as FDR did four times in a row. Yes, the party needs reform, but mostly needs realignment and fearless candidates of all genders, creeds and colors to cut through the Republican propaganda and greed and tell it like it is, no holds barred. If we can come up with this combination of people and policy, we will win big time, especially since our opponents are in factional chaos with their Tea Party and fascist components vying for intra-party power. The time is now, so let’s do it!
This is the one (go to link) who Trump fears: another Kennedy devoted to public service and willing to aspire to high ideals, and who is articulate enough to thoroughly humble The Donald. And what a contrast in civic vitality! By 2020, Kennedy will be 41 and 45 will be 75.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9zdwFck-7U
Gerald,
“The time is now, so let’s do it!”
Let’s co-chair and create a new COUNTER THIRD FORCE within the Democratic Party. It could be called the ETHICAL FORUM, somewhat similar and in name to Vaclav Havel’s Civic Forum [In November 1989 he helped found the Civic Forum, his country’s first legal opposition movement in forty years, and the following month he became president of Czechoslovakia].
Unlike Havel, at 80, I’m not running for anything, I’m just lucky to be walking. How about you?
It’s all about timing, something which, unfortunately, failed to transpire in the early 30’s in Germany. Just a suggestion. Definitely open to a better name. However, the philosophy must be based on what we both have learned from being (somewhat non-credit) students of Professor Sheila Kennedy on this blog, even though I for one have never had an opportunity for any discussion with the Professor during the past two plus years.
In my opinion, It is both DOABLE and WINABLE. You’re the legal mind. I’m just the engineer.
Book recommendation…”The Art of the Impossible: Politics as Morality in Practice” by Vaclav Havel (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1997).
Gerald,
“If we can come up with this combination of people and policy, we will win big time, especially since our opponents are in factional chaos with their Tea Party and fascist components vying for intra-party power.”
I don’t see money as a problem. We just need a few important people to back off a little bit and take a good look at reality. Like you said, America’s political history is with us on this one.