"This Fall Our Choice Is Clear"

So we keep talking about the failed (0.00 / 0)

Republican policies... when will the Democrats finally have the guts to attack the philosophical foundations of those failed Republican policies?

Why will they not come right out and SAY that the Free Market philosophy is a bunch of junk, that all it does is give corporations an excuse to gouge the consumer, exploit workers, send jobs overseas, and create an ever-widening chasm between the real people and the greedy elite, and that Republicans have enabled this rip-off, and have excused this rip-off because it is "free market," confusing it with true capitalism and free enterprise?

Let's cut the ground out from under their dainty Republican feet for a change. And no, I am not totally against the entire theory, I just think we have let it morph into a religion, as if it is the Given Word of God. In fact, Free Market as enacted by Republicans and global corporations is an incomplete theory, and it is the real cause of the current economic disaster. In other words, attack the Republican's perceived strong point.

What does the Free Market religion leave out? How about environmental and social costs, how about future opportunity costs, instead of concentrating on short-term profit and mindless, endless "growth?" How about sustainability on a global basis? How about preserving resources for our grandchildren?

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by: Teddy Goodson @ Sat Aug 21, 2010 at 21:32:47 PM UTC

I agree it is worth a try (0.00 / 0)

but what this line of argument seems to lack, IMHO, is two things. First is an acknowledgment that things remain tough for tens of millions of Americans. Without that, Democrats seem blind to the fact that the economy is still doing poorly and, perhaps more importantly, that there is widespread economic fear that permeates the consciousness of people who are managing to get by even in these times.

The second thing is identifying where Obama and the Democratic policies are leading us. What will the destination look like, what is the vision for the future. The argument is missing that "morning again in America" message that not only contrasts Democrats moving forward, as opposed to going backwards to failed Republican economic policies, but also providing hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that the light is not an oncoming train.

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by: aznew @ Mon Aug 23, 2010 at 17:48:17 PM UTC