By: Armani Scott aka Mr. MAJESTIC
For the last four years, the national past time for left-wing liberals was fretting and second guessing President Obama’s every move. The hand wringing is constant “Why didn’t he push Medicare-for-All?”; “He gave up too much in he stimulus package!”; “When will he reveal his plan for moving the country forward?”; and “What has he really done for the Brothers?”
It is a criminal waste of time and opportunities for liberals (Obama Era Progressives) to not get behind our brilliantly shrewd, center-left President and implement a comprehensive agenda throughout the various institutions which constitute this country.
Rather than standing on the sidelines and second guessing President Obama’s play calling, Progressives needed to be in the game and reform every sector of American life where they genuinely feel their methodology and solutions to problems would be more effective than the prevailing conservative approach; just like conservatives did when their guys won the big elections.
As I have often written and said, this President is an All-Pro offensive line, a road grader that keeps the defenders out of your way, lets you survey the field and advance the ball to score a touchdown. No team wins without a good front line (big shout to Pittsburgh Steelers “o-line” and New York Giants “front four” defenders); and Progressives have largely squandered a dominant front line in the Obama Administration.
Stop looking for President Obama to hike the ball, block, throw the ball (to himself) and run for the score. Get your heads in the game.
Fortunately, the second half, uh second term may be coming up…
"What Progressives Should Do Now (Really)"
I am on record as saying that this election won’t be close so moving on to What Progressives Should Do Now (Really) over the next four years…
Going hard on everything from grassroots agitation to institutional action in the context of a more perfect union is the duty of anyone who dare call themselves intelligent life. I will not sit around while cold hearts and half-wits chart the course of my lineage. It is not enough to watch the madness unfold or complain how the oligarchs are fronting on the little guy. Life is happening all around us and either you take control of the world you live in or get blown around like dead leaves in Autumn. As the great actor Sean Connery said in "Untouchables"... "What are you prepared to do!"
What does that look like over the next four years?
Progressives need to apply this formula: USA 2016 = E1 + E2 x I²
In this formula E1 = Education E2 = Energy I² = Infrastructure x Industry
How do you apply this formula over the next four years?
A study of American history will show Progressives the way.
The Reagan-Bush Era, which just ended on January 20, 2009, marked the complete insinuation of a neo-conservative agenda into American life; an agenda that started to be constructed at the end of the Watergate scandal. Now the financial, military, judicial, educational and legislative institutions of the United States were infused with neo-conservative theories, programs and operatives. Today, these institutions all reflect a neo-conservative watermark that manifests itself in their day to day operations.
By way of examples that are not by any means exhaustive, the Reagan-Bush Era gave us: 1) The deregulation of the financial industry with its resulting booms for the prosperous few and busts for the restless many; 2) The tomahawk diplomacy of bombs over Baghdad and a bloated military budget that leaves military contractors wealthy, troops without necessary armor in the field, and veterans without benefits and care at home; 3) A federal bench that through court rulings have made affirmative action programs virtually non-existent and made the prosecution of employment discrimination cases an ordeal for employees; 4) A schizophrenic public school morass where a parent in the largest, wealthiest, cosmopolitan city in the world must get up at 3 AM to get on line with hundreds of other parents to try and enroll their four year old in one of the two or three decent schools in a system that has flares of success while in the main failing to prepare entire generations of young Americans to be happy, productive citizens; 5) A legislative focus that spends more time debating and legislating the morality of adult behavior behind the closed doors of a bedroom or doctor’s office than insuring that the means of society are providing healthcare and developing the transportation and technological infrastructure to support the needs of a population hurtling towards a brave new future; 6) a withering manufacturing economy without developing a new national industry to backstop the related job loss and offer opportunity to new workers of a new world; and 7) a politically liberating energy policy that is smart, futuristic, innovative, prosperous and environmentally sound.
It is not enough to say that conservatives are shills for big business; Progressives must state clearly how their stewardship of the financial market is different from conservatives and why their approach is better. I always wondered why we were never taught about the Reconstruction Era, the Federal Reserve System or The New Deal in high school.
The focus on Education and Energy will provide immediate and long term benefits to the nation. An educated citizenry can and will contribute to the prosperity of the country. K-12 won’t cut it any more -- India graduates more engineers a year than the United States ok? And by the way, for anyone who is paying attention, China has almost cornered the global market on the manufacture of solar panels… Yeah it’s like that!
Infrastructure and Industry are likewise deep and wide concepts that provide immediate and long term benefits.
Can we please get a national high speed rail system that moves people and product across this great land quickly, safely, efficiently, and without need for a 19th Century blood pact with oil producing nations? Oh yea, those are at a minimum, tens of thousands of good American jobs for that infrastructure development.
And Silicon Valley needs to get their weight up. In the Information Technology era, American innovators need to think outside the box when inventing and think like American Patriots when doing business. Can we get a factory to make a computer or a laptop or a “smart-phone” back here… please!?!
Then, Progressives may rationally and consistently advocate their positions to the American public as their intended beneficiaries. With a coherent, consistent advancement of Progressive policy from the grassroots, the true value of an Progressive ideals through the Obama Administration can be realized by the implementation of programs that affect the daily lives of Americans throughout the country.
Sidebar: Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative and President Obama’s funding of programs through the United States Department of Education are huge benefits to all Americans and if the Brothers were paying attention… I’m done with that.
Stay sharp America.