Political Perspectives: The New Populism – Staking Out a Clear Agenda

Description

Here’s a “What If;” what if Franklin Roosevelt had been saddled with Gay Marriage, Gays in the Military and Abortion while he was trying to construct the New Deal? It’s probably fair to say that those “social” issues, while not critical to reversing the Great Depression would have likely interfered with his ability to resolve the real challenges of the day.

This “What If” scenario illustrates the single most problematic aspect of political culture today in America. The significant issues of our times have been hijacked by a set of emotionally-charged yet largely irrelevant social agendas – agendas that are designed to provoke a loyal base of voters to vote for candidates who often do not even represent the interests of that voting block.

What does that mean exactly? Well, one example is that the majority of folks who don’t feel comfortable with these causes, which are largely yet perhaps incorrectly associated with Liberalism, tend to be middle class or working class voters. These are the same folks getting hit the hardest by the Recession, by lack of Healthcare by the corruption now commonplace in the political process. They are unhappy and have every right to be – the American standard of living is declining. Things are worse now for our children than it was for our parents. The cost of Higher Education has spiraled out of the reach of many and Healthcare is a nightmare. Jobs continue to migrate from the US to the third world, those that stay are paying less and asking for more from employees. These voters are angry and don’t know where to turn for satisfaction. The irrelevant social initiatives provide an outlet for ...

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http://political-perspectives.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-populism-staking-out-clear-agenda.html

http://political-perspectives.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-populism-staking-out-clear-agenda.html