Predatory Conservatism Is Like A Venereal Disease

A short post this evening. After President Obama’s speech last night I pondered how the hell we got here. I’m not simply referring to the oil spill but America’s and the world’s rapidly decaying condition.

Under George W. Bush liberals warned that America was on a collision course with calamity. I suppose one could describe the Bush regime as the culmination of forty years of predatory conservatism that favored wealth over work and corporate power over community interests. Sadly, Americans were seduced by predatory conservatism’s false promises of freedom, wealth and benevolent nationalism as our center of political gravity lurched to the radical right. As of 2010, America’s predatory conservative movement boasts a legacy of economic calamity, two failed military occupations, a crumbling infrastructure and an epic environmental catastrophe as the world spirals towards global warming at breakneck speed.

It’s almost as if predatory conservatism as personified under its prodigal son, George W. Bush, unleashed a metastasizing venereal disease upon our institutions, culture, fiscal solvency and sense of social responsibility. The disease requires bold aggressive treatment. Instead, under President Obama, conservatism’s venereal disease is being treated with mild ointment.

At best Obama’s ointment can reduce the sting somewhat. But it’s not reversing the disease, which continues to metastasize. Even worse, America’s body politic is recoiling from the mild ointment as if it’s worse than the disease itself that enabled Wall Street permissiveness and the British Petroleum oil spill.

I retain my personal admiration in President Obama. But that’s where we are today.

Reclaiming The Word Liberal In the Age of Obama

Words matter. Labels matter. Although it has become vogue to say, “Voters are tired of labels” they remain powerful. How we define the meaning of those labels is critical. Those of us who call ourselves “liberal” have learned this the hard way. As a liberal activist who slogged, blogged and endured, I find myself reflecting about the word “liberal” and the abuse it’s absorbed with Obama’s inauguration less then three weeks away.

It seems like only yesterday I volunteered for the Dukakis campaign in college as my candidate defensively denied he was a liberal. At the time voters associated the word “liberal” with convicted rapists. In the last days of the ’88 campaign, Dukakis finally declared himself a liberal and attempted to define it on his own terms. Alas, it was too little too late.

From 1968 through 2004, predatory conservatives successfully defined liberalism to mean unpatriotic intellectual elites living in ivory towers, spewing hate America first diatribes while celebrating permissiveness over responsibility, trashing God, empowering welfare recipients over those who work and advocating surrender to America’s enemies. In other words, to be a liberal was to be un-American. This past year, liberalism wasn’t necessarily made “cool” but the right wing’s ability to distort it was undermined following eight years of George W. Bush’s reign of indecency.

Ultimately, predatory conservatism’s success at equating “liberal” with “un-American” empowered a theocratic kleptocracy to wage class warfare from the top, undermine civil liberties and prosecute an immoral foreign policy. If money is the “mother’s milk” of politics then words, labels and definitions are the music that either inspire or scare. Hence, we must reclaim the word liberal or President-Elect Obama and congressional Democrats will find themselves in a defensive crouch anytime they try to promote peace abroad or establish a compassionate, judicious and fairer social contract at home.

Diane G, put it well in a comment to me following an x-post of my essay “Replacing the Cultural Ethos of Predatory Conservatism” over at Wild Wild Left:

“Equally, the campaign against the term Liberal has brutalized its image, when in fact it is more Patriotic to support EVERYONE's rights, and oppose abuses of our fellow citizenry.

Our first work must include making those terms of definition themselves irrelevant, for one cannot easily unlearn trained connotations.”

For the very reason Diane G articulated, I named this blog Intrepid Liberal Journal when I started blogging in November 2005. Like many bloggers, I was expressing myself in opposition to our criminal foreign policy abroad and the conservative nomenklatura at home. Although I’ve certainly used the word “progressive” and like it, declaring myself a “liberal” was a proud act of defiance following decades of slander by predatory conservatives and their accomplices in the corporatist media. My attitude was,

“Yeah, I’m a liberal. Want to make something of it?”

Well, Democrats are no longer the opposition but the word liberal still needs to be defined if they are to govern in a manner that reconciles with our ideals. Most are familiar with John Kennedy’s characterization of liberalism:

“But if by a ‘Liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I'm proud to say I'm a Liberal.”

My Left Wing’s Maryscott O’Connor referenced Kennedy’s definition during the ’08 presidential campaign with a terrific essay entitled, “Why We Are Liberals” and went much further. Three months later it remains a must read and even more relevant with Democrats poised to assume the reigns. Her three paragraphs below are especially poignant:

“Liberals want to live in a world whose political leaders serve the people, rather than their own interests. We want American politicians to serve their constituents, rather than the corporate interests represented by the lobbying industry, let alone their own selfish aims (which almost always begin with retaining their seats of power, to the exclusion of actually using that power in the manner they ought).

We want to live to see the day when healthcare is a human right, not a pricey privilege or a ‘benefit.’ We want to live to see a day when the government regulates corporations, not personal lives. We want to be told the truth by the media and by those the media cover. We are sick of the lies, the spin, the charade. So sick of our default setting perception of anyone in government or power being distrust and cynicism. And so very sick of the wretched, ubiquitous suspicion that the whole system is rigged and there's nothing about it we can do.

We are idealists. That's what liberals are, really; those who see what is and ask, ‘Why?’ and see what isn't and ask ‘Why not?’ Liberals want to see met the basic needs of every human being. Liberals look at a world where one rich man can build an entire city out of gold while millions of poor people go without nutrition, water or medicine for their entire lifetimes -- and ask, ‘Why is this so? Is this not wrong -- and insane? And why do so many refuse to see it as such?’”

Nobody writes like Maryscott and there isn’t much I can add to that.

I would point out though that liberalism is the indispensable alternative to revolution or reaction. Now more then ever our world is teetering between elites that desperately want to hang onto power and privilege, xenophobic absolutists that reject any worldview different from their own, anarchists opposed to any kind of structure and revolutionaries eager to replace the oligarchies and autocracies that oppress them with their own brand of dictatorships.

The best thing America can do for this world on the brink is to lead by example with a humane society that values truth, nurtures progress without bloodshed or oppression and embraces dignity as a universal right for everyone. People should not have to take to the streets for healthcare, be paid the wages they deserve, insist that we stop incarcerating millions of people gratuitously for profit or demand their government only goes to war as a last resort. A liberal government that puts the needs of the people above it or the powerful will never have to fear the people or prevent them from knowing the truth.

Judicious, compassionate, intelligent, rationale, humane and visionary represents liberalism’s core values and creed. Predatory conservatives will most certainly endeavor to obstruct President-Elect Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid by disparaging the word liberal as well as distorting the record of Franklin Roosevelt’s liberal New Deal. Thus, if Obama’s era is to be one in which peace and prosperity prevail, we must vigilantly equate the word liberal with the very principles we hold dear.

Replacing the Cultural Ethos of Predatory Conservatism

Presidents define our country's cultural ethos. Our cultural ethos impacts how large America's economic pie is and whether the benefits and sacrifices are proportioned fairly. The Republican presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43, promoted a cultural ethos of hyper individualism that rationalized waging ruthless class warfare against the middle class, working poor, the unemployed poor, the very old and the very young. Liberals were lonely voices against the tide as predatory conservatism eroded protections for consumers and wage earners alike.

Predatory conservatism's rationale was the virtues of entrepreneurial capitalism. Alas, it was crony capitalism that was promoted at the expense of America's meritocracy instead. As an American kleptocracy consolidated its grip, conservative Republicans justified their immoral excess as the establishment of an "ownership society" that would transition wage earners into the investor class and magically create wealth for everyone. Republicans also believed their electoral majority would be enhanced as more Americans joined this "investor class" and even hoped to dump Social Security in our fraudulently toxic stock market. Now investors, entrepreneurs and wage earners are all hoping the Democratic Party can pull our collective chestnuts out of the fire.

Sadly, Democratic presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were unable to redefine this cultural ethos and with too many policies were even co-opted by predatory conservatism's influence peddling machine. Indeed, the Democratic Party was itself corrupted as illustrated by New York Senator Charles Schumer's relationship with Wall Street predators who dumped hydrochloric acid on our economy's deregulated naked raw flesh. Democrats often rationalized such compromises as the price for power.

In fairness to Democrats, power and principle can be a delicate balance. The discredited former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was fond of saying, "Power without principle is barren. Principle without power is futile." Despite Blair’s legacy as George W. Bush’s poodle, that is a sagacious quote. It expressed a sentiment that largely defined the Clinton years and thankfully he possessed the political skills to squeeze as much juice on behalf of regular folks as his political capital allowed when predatory conservatism was riding high.

Times have changed and the body politic is currently debating whether America remains a center-right country - if it ever truly was. My admittedly unscientific visceral sense is that an old cliché still applies: Americans are ideologically conservative and operationally liberal. During prosperous times Americans embrace an ideologically conservative mindset and favor the preservation of their individual equity over policies they consider "redistributionist." An economic calamity such as we're experiencing today translates into Americans channeling a more operational mindset as they struggle making ends meet on a daily basis.

Put another way, John and Jane don't want Uncle Sam to subsidize a jobs program or healthcare when they have good paying jobs, healthcare and a valuable home in a nice neighborhood. But once John and Jane are threatened with foreclosure, are out of work themselves or working harder for less and their retirement pensions are disappearing into the free market ether, government intervention doesn't feel so intrusive. Hence, the cultural ethos of the moment is economic security over hyper-individualism.

It is imperative that President-Elect Barack Obama strikes while the iron is hot because predatory conservatives are always lying in the high weeds to seize at any soft underbelly they can exploit. One such underbelly is the newly formed Blue Dogs Caucus in the Senate founded by Indiana's Evan Bayh with Majority Leader Harry Reid's approval. With Republicans in the minority, predatory conservatives will look to establish a fifth column through so-called Democrats such as Bayh and peddle as much influence as they can. Thank goodness Obama didn't pick Bayh to be his Vice President. At least Joe Biden had the excuse of supporting bankruptcy legislation while a senator because it favored his Delaware constituents.

Yet even with predatory conservatism always lurking and dubious cabinet nominees such as the corporatist friendly Colorado Senator Ken Salazar for Interior and former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack at Agriculture, I am encouraged by what I hear from the nascent Obama administration. Franklin Roosevelt also had to soothe the body politic with some of his appointments too and so far Obama's team is talking big with respect to his economic recovery plan.

When Tom Daschle was nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, it was with the understanding that universal healthcare is an indispensable component of economic recovery. The brilliant and unapologetic liberal Jared Bernstein was also recently appointed as Joe Biden's chief economist. Biden will chair a task force with respect to recommending economic policies designed to help the middle class. It's reassuring to know that Bernstein is in a position to influence Biden who in turn will influence policy.

The upshot is that the current calamity has the American public in an operationally liberal mindset and a Democratic president-elect with stratospheric poll numbers. The stars haven't been this aligned to establish an enduring progressive legacy since the New Deal under Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt skillfully used his political capital to establish institutions that even endured predatory conservatism's feculent rule decades later. Today, Obama has a bully pulpit and progressive Democrats in a congress such as the new House Committee Chairman for Commerce and Energy, Henry Waxman, have a platform to educate the public about why we need polices that consider the American community as a whole while the citizenry is receptive to it.

Yes, I fully recognize that predatory conservatism has not surrendered and never will. Yes, we liberals must remain vigilant and put Obama on notice whenever he compromises too much such as cultural pandering to homophobic evangelical preachers like Rick Warren or with respect to civil liberties issues such as FISA. The challenges ahead are immense. Predatory conservatism has left behind considerable debris and Obama won't bat 1.000 during the cleanup.

No president could and re-educating the public that the pursuit of empire is self-defeating as well as immoral while simultaneously maintaining political viability is a juggling act. Hence, Obama will have to sometimes tread carefully and dance through the raindrops as a public addicted to consuming a quarter of the world's resources endures withdrawal symptoms. Cleansing Americans from decades of predatory conservative brainwashing will not be accomplished overnight.

Yet, even as my 401K disintegrates and I'm scared about my own economic future, I am optimistic as we approach the new year. Debris and wreckage also means the opportunity to build something that is new, better and enduring. Instead of debating whether we need healthcare reform the conversation will instead be about how to achieve it. The days of having to scream that global warming is real are no more. Instead the debate will be focused on how to address it. Rather then having to justify the necessity of government as a check on private corporate power, the conversation will instead be about how to reform and establish public institutions that effectively protects wage earners and consumers.

After years of activism and blogging in the wilderness of opposition, I'm eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work.