Right and Wrong

I was musing about something to write about this evening and the old James Carville book, "We're Right, They're Wrong" came to mind. Of course, that was back when Carville actually was a "Spirited Progressive" and not a media mogul/whore. I actually liked the book because it argued, as I recall, that fundamentally, progessive ideas are what's best for America and Americans. They also tend to be better for the world.

It got me thinking about the actual arguments about what we're doing as a country, as opposed to the slick marketing and media chicanery that passes for political debate these days. It reminded me of late 2002 and early 2003 as Bush and Company made the case for and then, case or otherwise, invaded Iraq.

In my professional life I am surrounded by conservatives and they uniformly lined up to support the case. I got urgent cell phone calls during Colin Powell's (false) presentation to the UN telling me about the weapons of mass destruction and the mobile labs. Breathless co-workers would race into my office as the war began to report the latest finding (false again) of WMD's. Everyone around me knew that Saddam Hussein was practically sleeping with Osama bin Laden. All work in my office ceased in order to watch as they (in a staged event) pulled down the statue of Saddam, and the consensus was that Bush would be on Mt. Rushmore by the end of 2003.

My conservative colleagues used every imaginable slur- I think they were following some sort of Ann Coulter Talking Points Memo - to malign me and my liberal (you have to say that with contempt) ideas.

Of course, I don't hear much of anything from this group anymore. I was right on every point - not because I'm a brilliant geopolitical thinker, but because I stuck to my progressive instincts and didn't buy the hype. And it wasn't always easy. Because I was too young to really understand Watergate, and a little too something else to get the full measure of Iran Contra, it was hard for me to believe that so many people - our leaders - were just flat lying to take us to war. But as we all know today...

Of course, this is just one of many, many examples of where we progressives have argued - mostly amongst ourselves - that some policy or program espoused by the Bush adminstration was a bad deal. And today, on every point I can think of, we were right.

Which is a very long winded way of recommending this post by Kevin Drum, who addresses this topic from a different angle (and more eloquently) and also manages to get a few digs in at Wal Mart, which always warms my heart.

Sometimes you have to wait for it...

I wrote about instant karma a long time ago here. It really is my favorite form of justice, and there's something much more satisfying about a guy who burns a mouse to death for sport and winds up with the mouse burning his house down than all the trials and punishments in the entirety of the US Justice system.

But, as is the case with most things of value, you usually have to wait for it. If instant karma were a frequent reality, people around me would be bursting into flames daily - at a minimum. It can be worth it, though, and such is the case with Katherine Harris, who laid all the groundwork for the Supreme Court to appoint our current president.

Although the downward spiral for her has been fast and violent (and I feel no sympathy at all, unlike the more charitable folks at TPM), I'm not sure there's any fate that could befall her that would even out the karma score. Looking around at the devastation and destruction that Bush has wrought in so many places on so many levels, even I can't come up with a suitable fate.

Line of the Day

From Matthew Yglesias, subbing for Josh Marshall over at TPM:

Ignorance is, if not bliss, at least widespread.

An Unholy Alliance

Driving back to my office today, I caught a little bit of Al Franken's show on Air America. He was discussing the state of the welfare state in America with the head of Catholic Charities. His guest (whose name escapes me) was a priest who spoke articulately and passionately about the sad state of affairs for the poor and working poor in this country.

After one of the commercial breaks (why we have this on subscription satellite radio is beyond me) they had the traditional "bumper music" playing back into the discussion. It was odd to hear a live version of "Franklin's Tower" by the Grateful Dead playing while Franken did his voice over announcement of his guest, the priest, talking about welfare. Cognitive dissonance.

Which matters none to the discussion, which confirmed that, by every objective measure, the poor and working poor are worse off than they were 5 years ago. And although Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress ended "welfare as we know it" in the 90s, everyone forgot to follow through with the health care support and child care support and light rail transportation systems and training that make it possible for welfare recipients to transition into the workforce.

During the Clinton years, those things were less of a priority because the booming economy meant a scarcity of labor. This translated to fast food joints offering signing bonuses and base wages higher than minimum wage, and obviated much of the need for the support systems. But everyone - Clinton included - knew that would end someday (the scope of the massive thud and continuing downward spiral were only understood by those who "saw into the heart" of George Bush) and that the huge migration of people from welfare to work would reverse course.

The problem we're facing today is that the safety net is largely gone and none of the support systems ever materialized. So, welfare as we know it is gone. Poverty, as we've always known it, marches on, leaving the most vulnerable among us with nowhere to go.

"In another times forgotten space,
Your eyes looked from your mother's face..."

Political PTSD

"The great shock to the American system is realizing that no fortress is inviolate, no wall tall enough and no place really safe. Metal detectors, random searches. No toothpaste in that carry-on. Safety is a useful illusion, as modern—and as vulnerable—as a skyscraper."

That's true, and, I believe, the lasting legacy of the September 11 attacks. It's from this column by Anna Quindlen (of course), and it reminds me of how I felt watching the news those first few nights after the attacks - wondering whether my kids would ever feel safe in the post 9/11 world.

But, despite all the turmoil over the British "mix-a-bombers" of late, over Madrid and anthrax and all the rest, my kids feel remarkably safe. In large part it's because they are insulated from the madness, but it's also because those around them haven't fallen for the fear. We are not - at least not yet - Israel, where safety is really an illusion that can be shattered in an instant. Nor are we Palestinians, left without a home and without hope.

But we are vulnerable to that thinking - that fear, and that way of life. Our posture towards the rest of the world has made us more vulnerable, and that's the way our government wants it. There is a documented disconnect in Israel that allows peaceful people who would never thinking of harming a soul to support the foolish response in Lebanon and to vote for those who perpetrate it. They are shell shocked, victims of both real and political Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

It's been five years since 9/11/2001, so those of us away from the immediate impact have largely forgotten those feelings of fear and vulnerability that came with the attacks. But we are very subject to the political equivalent, and each time we fall victim to it, we give more power to those who only make the real situation worse. They manipulate the facts, grab more power, and try to intimidate those who might offer real solutions.

It's a horrible cycle, but we still have a chance to end it without violence and more bloodshed.