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Killing Medicare? Privatizing Social Security? Stripping Workers’ Rights? If it seems like progress made in 20th Century America is being Repealed, you’re right. The Last Word is now following it all in our new Web Series “Repealing the 20th Century, Reversing 100 Years of Progress.”
If you watched Monday's Republican Debate (which 99% percent of America did not) you probably noticed what everyone else noticed: Pawlenty's refusal to use "Obamnycare", Michele Bachmann's onstage Presidential announcement and Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain attempting to explain the difference between a "good Muslim" and a "bad Muslim". But did you notice the word used by most of the candidates repeatedly? Repeal.
Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum listed accomplishments of the Democratic House, Senate and White House that they would Repeal if they became President. (You have to assume they mean they would ask the Congress to Repeal these acts because "repeal" is not a power granted to the Executive branch). The list begins with "Obamacare", includes Repealing the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which was widely supported in polls among Republicans, Independents and Democrats but which Santorum Called an "experiment". Also on the repeal list, new regulations on corporate governance enacted after the financial crash of 2008 (the Sarbanes-Oxley bill has a two-part name for the Republican and the Democrat who were its cosponsors) and the repeal of the Consumer Protection Act (AKA Dodd-Frank) which would protect consumers from predatory financial practices. (Elizabeth Warren's nomination to run this bureau is stalled in the Senate).
But the Repeal of the health care legislation and other bills are just what you hear in campaign politics. There is actually a lot more on the repeal list. Michele Bachmann has talked about repealing the Clean Water Act, a lot of Tea Party Republicans want to eliminate the Department of Energy and Education, and Rick Santorum has outdone even himself when it comes to restricting a woman's right to abortion. He now says he supports criminalizing the act of performing abortions by doctors. All of this accomplished during the last 100 years, give or take.
In the 20th Century, the United States made progressive leaps for the benefit of the people. The past 100 years saw Constitutional amendments expanding the rights of Americans and programs that protect the most vulnerable in a social safety net and labor laws to protect workers from dangerous conditions in the workplace. Now many of those are under attack. Medicare for example was established in the 1965 "Social Security Act" and signed by President Lyndon Johnson to provide health insurance to the elderly and the poor but as Lawrence and other guests on "The Last Word" have said, would be dramatically changed if Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) budget were to pass.
Some of the repeal ideas seem to run contrary to each other. Candidate now Senator Rand Paul, Tea Party Republican of Kentucky, explained on Rachel Maddow's show why he believed that the "Civil Rights act of 1964" which "prohibited discrimination in public places" is government intrusion that restricts the personal liberty of the would be discriminator. Yet his party also controls the North Carolina Legislature which is pursuing a bill requiring that voters present a government issued ID card to vote. Some might argue that is actually more government intrusion but either way it takes a stab at the Voting Rights act of 1965 which outlawed practices like "polling tests" meant to prevent American Citizens, especially blacks, from Voting.
Speaker of the House John Boehner and Arizona's Senator Jon Kyl have said they would consider repeal of the 14th amendment because of its "birthright clause" which grants anyone born on U.S. Soil automatic citizenship. Ironically the 14th Amendment also includes the due process clause preventing governments from depriving people of "life, liberty, or property" which sounds like something the Tea Party would favor. (Ok, the 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868 but it's the basis of the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 Which banned racial segregation and found that separate is not equal.)
There are many more examples (Wisconsin?). That’s why "The Last Word" is starting a new Web Series called "Repealing the 20th Century - Reversing 100 Years of Progress". Whenever we see a story that appears to push back the clock, we'll post it. We will even try to highlight some anniversaries of key moments of progress in this spot as we watch the political rhetoric heat up on the slog to the 2012 Presidential Election.
We should also note that this trend was spotted by numerous other journalists including Washington Post Columnist Harold Meyerson in his piece from April 5th about the Rep. Paul Ryan budget proposal. So we're giving credit where it is due. Get ready for a steady stream of posts.
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We're gonna party like it's 1899!
Thank you for your vigilance Lawrence. May your desired effect be accomplished. Educating the people of the abuses their representatives lie to them about.
LOL. What a bunch of bull crap! Progress? Really? How about reversing 100 years of Big government disasters? It is foolish to even think that Medicare and Social Security can keep operating as is! Corrupt Public Unions have nothing to do with workers rights, and just what does the Dept. of Education or Dept. of Energy do that is so beneficial to Americans? Why do people think it is okay to use tax revenues to pay for abortions, when there are many less drastic and less expensive forms of birth control available? Also, what part of the un-Constitutional "Obamacare" actually addresses the real problems causing high medical cost and Insurance cost? America would be well served repealing the entire federal government back down to its intended size and scope! 100 yrs of progress?... Sure, like a bad Cancer progresses!
Why do you have such a problem READING bills? The DoE "standardizes" education. But you probably prefer 50 differant agendas. Of course you believe that somebody got bored one day and said, "I'm going to make a bunch of regulations to hurt businesses", How stupid!!
A lot of hot air. Those are your opinions. They would be your opinions whether or not they worked, because you don't like the people behind the programs that you deride.
Vince, you should learn to research, federal tax money has never paid for abortions and the new health care bill doesn't allow it either.
Vince,
I don't know about others but I kind of like my tax dollars going toward making sure that my family has clean water to drink and clean air to breathe and healthy food to eat and that is just a start. I want my tax dollars used to help this country grow strong in good ways and to be there for the more vulnerable in our society. The liberatian Ayn Rand philosohy that you aspire to, in my opinion is a self-centered and short sighted way for society to function. If all these repeals were to pass we really would go back to a time in this country when most struggled from day to day while a select few hoarded as much of the wealth as they could get, the hoarders being known as "Robber Barons." The scary thing is, we are just about there again. The good thing is, there are still miilions of Americans who are not yet brain dead and are determined to vote the "Robber Baron" puppets out of office in 2012.
LOL. What a bunch of bull crap! Progress? Really? How about reversing 100 years of Big government disasters? It is foolish to even think that Medicare and Social Security can keep operating as is! Corrupt Public Unions have nothing to do with workers rights, and just what does the Dept. of Education or Dept. of Energy do that is so beneficial to Americans? Why do people think it is okay to use tax revenues to pay for abortions, when there are many less drastic and less expensive forms of birth control available? Also, what part of the un-Constitutional "Obamacare" actually addresses the real problems causing high medical cost and Insurance cost? America would be well served repealing the entire federal government back down to its intended size and scope! 100 yrs of progress?... Sure, like a bad Cancer progresses!
The progress made possible through each of these pieces of legislation provides good outcomes insofar as only the benefits being considered.
These programs each have a cost and there are alternatives that promise to achieve the same ends with fewer costs.
A benefit of founding the USA as a Constitutional Republic is that it gives each State the chance to be a laboratory of policy innovation. Alternatives that work are copied by other States and failed experiments (or once-fine legislation that no longer makes sense) teach us valuable lessons.
Where is the opportunity to achieve the best outcomes if we don't consider alernatives?
Where is the opportunity to learn valuable lessons if "repeal" is taboo?
The same laws that achieved "progress" in the 20th Century are not guaranteed to do the same in the 21st.
So Vince..you mental Giant, none of the Reagan Era was progress in your eyes? even though your party has monuments to him, even if they are just mental monuments. o Republican President has done anything good for America from 1900 to 2000...really. I agree with you..none of them did. The last good republican president was the first Abraham Lincoln.
No it was Eisenhower.
You realize that OBAMACARE was Bob Doles plan back in 92 and that the Front Runner Republican Candidate already enacted it in MA while he was governor..don't you?
Everyone of you that sits and defends a politician simply because of the letter in front of their name, needs to get you head out of the sand and realize that BOTH parties are to blame for the shape and direction our country has taken.
We are not Europe( we left there for couple of reasons), that seems to be having troubles of its own because of the path and direction that they decided to follow. We have gotten to a point where the government has decided FOR you, that you have to buy something with monies you've earned that maybe you didnt really want to purchase. And dont bother with the car insurance argument because that is based on a liability and public safety issue.
As soon as people start to realize that the problem surrounds them in every facet of lives. That people understand that BIG BROTHER has worked its way all the way down to local government( San Fran & circumcision), they will stand up and say loudly, Go do the job we elected you to do or we will find someone that does. That politics is a calling, one of public SERVICE, not a birthright nor a profession.
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”----George Washington
There are more US states in a critical situation than European nations -- nearly half. Meanwhile, some of the most "BIG BROTHER" (more caps, please!) nations, like Sweden, are putting along at a 6.8% growth rate, which is almost as high as China's (another "BIG BROTHER" nation). Politics is a social phenomenon; politician is a profession. We like it when politicians serve us, but many politicians are elected with the help of corporations and extremely wealthy people who would prefer that the politicians serve them. So what are you going to do about it?
The "fact" that more states are in critical situations is directly related to how they're state governments have been run. Your simplistic view that big business & extremely weathly people are the sole blame for their problems, proves the statement I made concerning party.
The US Government was in now way meant to be anything like Sweden, China or any other socialist based government. You cite these 2 countires as "proof"? Well if we are gonna pick and choose to make your argument how bout Spain, Greece or maybe France? Riots and protests when the governments say they cant pay for programs promised and people get mad when "free" starts to mean more taxes or cutting the availabilty of said programs.
What is a social phenomenon? American Idol. Twitter. Not politics.
What am I going to do about it? Think for myself. Base my decision on weither or not I believe the canidate best represents me and the direction I believe our country needs to be headed. Vote. Its really that simple.
For too long many of these career politicians have sat in office due to the wrong reasons. Apathy of the American public. Name recognition. Or just because of idjits who simply vote the part line. Its how we end up with Strom Thurmond serving for well past his ability to breathe. Or everyone in the Kennedy clan thinking they just need to put their name on the ballot.
Here is some advice, take a breath, use your intellect and ability for rational thought and THINK FOR YOURSELF. (there's some capitals for you)
Vince, did you take stupid pills or were you born that way. If you wanbt to be locked up inj a sweat shop working 16 hour days with low pay and be cheated out of most of that, then my man go for it, there's plenty people out there woulde love to hire you.
Vince has the right to voice his opinion without threat of retribution. He's knows he's walking into the lion's den, and I give him credit for that. My only problem with Vince's position is that it ignores historical facts. The primary crafter of the Constitution was James Madison, who also happened to write "The Federalist Papers". If the Articles of Confederation had worked at all, there would never have been a Consitution at all. The fact is, a loose confederation of states had proven to be a failure in almost every way. Thus a Federal system of government was crafted and ratified. Now the very people who want to extol the virtues of the constitution want to ignore that a Federal system was the result!
REPEAL THE TAX FREE STATUS OF THE INTERNATIONALLY OWNED FEDERAL RESERVE! REPEAL the WAR TAX it creat6ed!!
Repeal all the TAX Free religious institutions because they are at war with one another, and that is why we are stationed around the world, because the Jesuit controlled Roman Catholic Church, using our war taxes, covers up CHILD ABUSE, pedophilia, and that is UNCONSTITUTIONAL THat the Congress made an e$tabli$hment of religion.
PS A. Weiner needed a name change, no wonder he had a mental problem about his p@*&s....
Look at some of the owners of the Federal Reserve banks--- Rothscholds, SUN NEVER SITS ON THE BRITISH EMPIRE-Took over the USA after Lincoln shot, research that conspiracy that shot him... Jesuits again, -Rockefellers. Look at NYC Rockefeller center-- money from oil...
Look at Kennedy's assination , money from oil , and against his attempt to limit the Federal Reserve by issuing silver certificates,...
Look at our fabricated wars, Vietnam and Iraq-- for oil pipelines, and Halliburton, mercenaries put in by Cheny, who should have been impeached!!!
Look at the powers that be in the Congress who are aqffiliated with the Jesuit Roman Catholic Church, Pelosis wouldn't put it on the table. The Crusades are going on still.
Americans are taxed Enough Already, It is destroying families, and 1 in 2 lead to divorce over money they don't have. American children rank well below the international levels for academic achievement because nobody is home with the children!
Fathers have to work 2 jobs, wives a full time job, and some American children are being raised by Spanish speaking babysitters... hello????
ola?
Happy Father's Day !! Uncle Sam ain't my Uncle. He's a relation of the international elite who are destroying America.
P.S. wonder why Wind and solar and tidal energies can't get going?? Oil runs the country, 2/3 corporations get away paying little or no tax because the Federal Infernal Revenue service and owning bankers win at MONOPOLY!
Why did a general say the Golden Rule is" he who has the gold rules???"
Scary. Dangerous. Do you live next door?
Rule of Corporations and dominant Church is fascism.
Ron Paul for President and Jessie Ventura for V.P!
Take some time aqnd see fascism exposed on True TV Conspiracy
Series.
Now, at 75 years old, I can look back at much progress. Surly some laws were not good, but for the most part we have made great strides in laws regulating the Stock Market and Banking, along with Transportation - Work Place - Chemical Safety issues and Medical Technology. Science has progressed fantastically! We have reached the moon, unfortunately, now, the extreme pseudo-theocratic-oligarchy-right-wing American-Taliban wants to bring us down for the profit of a few. Our politicians take “contributions” which are really bribes. We will all be slaves of a few; they will dictate the moments and minutia of our lives; frighteningly Orwellian.
There are those flat-earth warped-thinkers who feel without analysis that regression is progress and would undo the world we have fought for in WW2. Regressive thinking and laws will (or have already) result in child labor, long working hours, repeal of collective bargaining, limited voting rights, early worker deaths, and endless wars; a look at 1800-1900s history continues the details. These evils will result from the sociopathic 1890s unbridled capitalism returning along with the continued focus on world-wide military involvement to name two problems. Surly the USA will become 3rd world with this retro-progress.
My United States, Your United States, and that of our young must stand tall, progress in the world by logic, science, basic truths of ethics spelled out by religion, and the Great Document our Constitution and The Bill of Rights. We must focus on alternate energy, universal health care and prosperity of our own people. Consider some wise thoughts based on old sayings: Charity begins at home not thousands of miles away; this is especially true when the American cobblers children have no shoes.
Now my marching placard says: Kill Medicare, Kill Social Security, and you Kill Grandma.
you go DON.this is a must read.
The Republican party is all about greed and hatred. Anybody who would vote for any of these slugs must be just as greedy and hateful. Anyone who claims to be Christian yet votes Republican, are hypocrites and charlatans of the worst kind. Stupidity is the prerequisite for a candidate in the Republican party. Denial of evolution and climate change is a must.
And don't forget the child labor laws--the law has been reversed in Maine. Kids can work at age 11 now! Phaedora Jones
Vince,
I hope you continue to visit this forum. Please also be sure to read the column and gain some education and perspective. You might also consider getting some professional help for your anger issues - it's just not healthy.
Just one correction.. I am a secularist, but am a bit of a nut on historical accuracy. The note above regarding "The Jesuit Controlled Catholic Church" is absolutely absurd. The Jesuit Order reports to The Father General in Rome rather than to The Pope. By-in-large the Jesuits are believers in Liberation Theology and not orthodoxy and are far removed for having any significant influence in current machinations of the Council of Bishops. Let us remember the revisions brought about Vatican II which, in my opinion, showed a Jesuit influence. We Americans are deficient in historical accuracy as even regards our own history unless we have read the late Howard Zinn's "Peoples History of the United States".
Probably less than .0000013% of the population even think of Jesuits during the day, much less tie them into any conspiricies. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.
The country is in the midst of a war on human rights. In the end, the human needs and rights of those of us who are not wealthy will be severely curtailed by those few who are wealthy. Never has the onus of responsible journalism been so heavy on the media. Those that profess Christian democracy and then walk the path of corporate rule have lost their moral compass and sense of who we are as Americans.
We seem to be in a place where words are, at the same time, all believable and never believable. Journalists have the power to educate and that they must do. They are, to a large degree, the stewards of the public journal. We must have the patience and perseverance to separate the lies from the truth. As a teacher, I continue to hope that we are nurturing the thinkers and problem solvers needed win this war.
Mr. O'Donnell,
People shouldn't get too excited about the candidacy of Rep. Michelle Bachmann. Why? Because even with the best debate performance, or the ability to raise money and her kinship with the Tea Party voters, her outstanding scandal is egregious enough to instantly disqualify her for any run for national office.
What scandal is this? Michelle Bachmann committed a serious act of fraud and she did it on live television and on your network. What Bachmann did was to LIE ABOUT HER EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS to Mr. Matthews on Hardball recently when she made the bold faced claim that she had the gravitas to be a Presidential candidate, listing as her first reason that she "has a post-doctoral degree in tax law".
Excuse me? That implies she also has a Doctorate and a Post Doctorate Degree, which is the highest achievement possible in our educational system. That also means she wrote and had approved by a board of educational experts in the field of tax law, not only a Doctoral Thesis, but a Posts Doctoral Thesis.
A glaring deficiency in her bogus claim which should make most people respond with an alarm throwing up all kinds of red flags is that she did not mention which University she earned these degrees from.
Michelle Bachmann, if she had such a degree would be aware that people attaining the highest achievement in our University system by their very nature of being highly educated do not as a rule make the glaring errors she has bluntly and publicly embarrassed herself with regarding civics and the history of this country, including something any fifth grader should know about where the shot heard round the world took place and what State the city of Amherst is in.
I seriously have no doubt that if you were to ask anyone in this country with a Doctoral Degree in anything AND a Post Doctoral Degree about that elementary fact of U.S. history that there would be even one who wouldn't know Amherst is in Mass. not New Hampshire.
Even if you grant her that mistake, there is no record anywhere of her having earned a Doctoral or Post Doctoral degree in tax law, or of her having written and passed any Doctoral and Post Doctoral Thesis from any educational institution which would qualify her for the highest achievement our academic system has to offer.
I'm sure Mr. Matthews would agree that Americans hold educational achievement in very high esteem. Earning one's degree is at the core of earning success in this country and is a qualifier for a majority of those achieving the American dream.
To fake educational credentials if to offend all those people who spent years and years of hard work, attending classes, cracking books, taking exams, writing papers, sacrificing long and hard in order to earn the respect of completing an education. All those hard working people deserve the credit they get. It is an insult to everyone in this country to fake that achievement which is why our institutions of higher learning have systems in place to prevent the forgery and fraudulent ownership of an achievement and honor reserved for those who have actually earned it. She has not only lied about this in claiming to have the highest possible academic qualification but has done it in misrepresenting herself in the run for the highest office in the land.
This is a scandal of the highest proportion and a lie that immediately require that she step down from the race for the Republican nomination for President in the 2012 election.
The question is how long this huge scandal will be sitting out there in the public domain before someone questions and sheds light upon this whole very unsavory and shockingly unforgivable blunder. This can never be anything like having misspoken.
Whether is be Christine O'Donnell saying she went to Clairemont College, a highly respected and rated institution of higher learning or Michelle Bachmann committing fraud on Hardball in front of millions of viewers and stating that she has a post doctoral degree, the American people will never let something as serious as faking your educational credentials go by and getting away with it. That would surely be the essence of committing an act that is completely and totally anti American.
It was from one of those evangelical colleges, like Oral Roberts University... something like that.
Whenever Teabaggers, Repubs, etc are shown facts the response is always the same; they think facts are lies and are outraged.