The Real Lesson from Massachusetts

Roosevelt historian David Woolner shines a light on today’s issues with lessons from the past.

The stunning victory of Scott Brown in last week’s special election in Massachusetts has been widely attributed to the public’s opposition to the proposed health care bill pending in Congress. But as President Obama himself acknowledged in a post-election interview on ABC News, there may be more to it than that. “People are angry and they are frustrated,” said Mr. Obama, “not just because of what’s happened in the last year or two years, but because of what’s happened in the past eight years.”

The President is certainly correct in this assessment. The American people are tired; tired of an unemployment rate that continues to creep upward; tired of hearing about the obscene rates of pay that Wall Street Executives claim are necessary to retain the so-called talent who got us into this mess; tired of a government that refuses to acknowledge it’s own role in the creation of the housing/financial bubble that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; tired of the influence of money in politics and the inability or unwillingness of this administration to attack this fundamental threat to our democracy; tired, in short, of a dysfunctional government that lacks the courage to fight for the change the American people so desperately need and want.

One year ago, the American people held out great hope that President Obama would give voice to their call for change, but tragically, this as not been the case. Instead of seeing his election as a mandate for reform, the President chose instead to see it as a mandate for reconciliation. Instead of confronting the underlying causes of the dysfunctionality of government and insisting, for example, that money, lobbyists, and back-room deals should have no part in whatever legislation he promoted, he chose instead to work with a Congress that has proven time and time again that it is incapable of resisting the allure of well-funded special interests. Instead of seeing his election as a mandate to fight for the principles we thought he believed in the President has gone out of his way to show us that he is willing to compromise those principles, insisting, on numerous occasions, that we must “not let perfection become the enemy of the good.”

President Obama’s desire to bring the American people together is no doubt admirable. But is this any way to fight for change? Real people and bad policies-both in the private sector and in the public sector-brought about this crisis. Steeped in a greed and avarice that boggles the average person’s imagination, and backed up by a government (led by both democratic and republican administrations) that encouraged such behavior through the removal of many of the regulations put in place in the wake of the last great financial crisis, we now find ourselves in global recession of unprecedented proportions. Isn’t it time we held those responsible accountable? Isn’t it time we recognized that the only way we will be able to reform Wall Street is by reforming “K Street,” i.e. by reforming government itself?

There are real risks, of course, in confronting the forces of wealth and power head on. This is especially true in the wake of events in Massachusetts, given the decision of the Republican Party leadership some time ago to pursue a political strategy based on obstructionism. It will now be even more difficult for the President to achieve real change in Congress. But the American people respect a leader who stands up for his beliefs, so the President should press ahead. This, after all, is why they elected him in the first place.

Three quarters of a century ago President Roosevelt, confronting an even worse economic disaster, did not hesitate to acknowledge that government itself had been part of the problem and that there were powerful forces arrayed against him and his policies to reform government so as to make it more responsive to the needs of the people.

“For twelve years,” FDR said, “this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away… Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.” The President then went on to acknowledge that “never before in all our history” have these forces been so united against one leader. “They are unanimous in their hate for me,” he said, “and I welcome their hatred.” These are-no doubt-fighting words, but as FDR said when he first entered politics, “there’s nothing I like as much as a good fight.”

Perhaps it is time for President Obama to stand up and fight for the change the American people have demanded; to reclaim his mandate, even at the risk of alienating some of the members of his own party. The real lesson of Massachusetts is that the people are clamoring for “a good fight.” They want change, they want action; they want a President who is not afraid to take on the vested interests that for too long have paralyzed Washington. In short, they want a President who is as angry and outraged as they are.

Braintruster David Woolner is senior vice president of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

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