The Blame Game

I read a lot of conservative fora and blogs, which aside from being an infuriating and depressing experience, has taught me a lot about the people who write them.

A recurring theme is the tendency to blame liberals for all the ills in American society. This is not a new phenomenon; people still blame CBS News for the failure in Vietnam. Apparently, instead of 10 years with no progress, and hundreds of deaths and and maimings, the liberal media, led by CBS, undermined morale and caused the loss by failing to unquestioningly support the war.

The current blaming culture encompasses anything and everything that may be wrong with modern America, including the record trade, current-account, and fiscal deficits; increasing income inequality, more people in poverty, lower wages, higher health costs, higher college costs and the quagmire in Iraq.

The GOP controls both houses of Congress, the White House, more than half of state legislatures, and have a majority on the Supreme Court. They also have a conservative media juggernaut, stifling debate and inquiry, and openly favoring the GOP in elections. (If anyone doubts the power of the conservative media, just look at the ratings; O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck & Hannity all over talk radio while Air America files for Ch. 11.)

Despite this, if you believe the right wingers, it is the left that is responsible for the problems listed above. This spineless, petulant whining is often a characteristic of those who repeatedly fail; they blame others instead of accepting responsibility for their own actions and consequently never examine the real reasons for their failure. There is a causal relationship between government policy and the problems with America; it is not those without power who deserve blame, but those directing that policy.

Conservative Priorities

Over the weekend I visited the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C., and I must say that of all the presidential memorials in the capital, this may be the best.

The memorial itself lacks the imposing columns of Lincoln's and the classical architecture of Jefferson's, but it nonetheless manages to be more impressive than either. It must cover more than 2 acres and progresses through four distinct sections, each representing one of FDR's terms. Granite blocks make up most of the solid structures, and these are punctuated by mini waterfalls, all of which are lit beautifully (night is the best time to visit).

The best part, however, is the FDR quotes cut into the rock structures. They have the obvious "we have nothing to fear but fear itself", but my favorite, and the one which most appropriately sums up both liberal politics and what the current administration is doing to betray these principles (and why) is the following:

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

If we apply this 'test' to current tax policy in Washington, much becomes clear. The non-partisan CBPP recently reported that in 2004 economic growth for 99% of the population was around 3-4%. For the wealthiest 1%, growth was 17%. In addition, the census bureau recently reported another increase in the number of people living in poverty. Of course, I could go on, and on, and on with these types of numbers.

Just a small reminder that adding to the abundance of those who have much is the priority ofthe Bush administration.