Core Democratic Values

Sixty-seven years is too long to wait for these.

Ken in NY at Down with Tyranny:

WHAT DO I MEAN BY "CORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES"?

I would encourage you to take a list at the 1944 State of the Union address of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which Howie, again from China, appended to my post yesterday on the Congressional Progressive Caucus's summer 2011 12-city Speakout for Good Jobs Now "listening tour," which kicks off Saturday in Minneapolis. In that speech, you'll recall, the president enunciated some points that are part of "a second Bill of Rights," economic rights, which he insisted had already "become accepted as self-evident. I know this post is running long, but I think it's important to look again at the rights he insisted were included:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

"All of these rights," the president continued, "spell security."

And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

Americas own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.


Can you imagine how the Republican scum in Congress would react if a president dared to give such a State of the Union speech today? More important, can you imagine how most of the Democrats in Congress would react?

Howie refers a lot in his DWT posts to the betrayal by today's Democrats of "core Democratic values," and I suspect some readers sometimes wonder what values he's talking about, or whether they're really "core" values. Well, here they are.

On that day in January 1944, with World War II still raging, and with a whole reelection battle still to be waged (successfully, of course), I don't know whether President Roosevelt knew how close he was to the end -- just 15 months, almost to the day. But on that day he left a powerful testament. It's a shame so few Democrats choose to accept, let alone honor, that legacy.

Watch that section of FDR's speech here.