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November 11, 2004

Hard times

There has been a sea change in American politics. With his re-election to another four-year term, George Bush has asserted that he fully intends to implement his conservative agenda. He made it clear during his first term that he has a very business-friendly focus, with the middle-class benefiting indirectly from the success of business.

Two factors should add considerable concern to Bush’s assertion that he has received “political capital” to implement his program. The first is that under the Constitution no one can serve more than two consecutive terms as president. Consequently, a president in his second term need not worry about ruffling feathers that will impair his future re-election.

Secondly, voters gave Bush a stronger Congress to enable his legislation to pass. The number of Democrats in the House of Representatives fell from 205 to 200 while the Republicans increased to 231. Republicans in the Senate now number 55 compared to only 44 Democrats. There is also one Independent who usually votes with the Democrats.

There have been other Republican presidents since Lyndon Johnson left office in 1969. There was disappointment for African Americans when a Republican won but no sense that government assisted progress was really at an end. Richard Nixon was president from 1969 to 1974 and Gerald Ford served until 1977. Ronald Reagan was in office from 1981 to 1989, and George Bush, the father, was president from 1989-1993.

Those past Republican presidents professed to being conservatives but there was a sense that they had to govern just slightly to the right of center in order to be effective. Now comes the current president who announces that he plans to implement a conservative agenda. The right wing of the Republican Party is fired up and ready to take control of the reins of government.

The shift in philosophy is very important for African Americans. Right after the Great Depression Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the “New Deal”. This policy asserts that it is the responsibility of government to provide a decent quality of life for American citizens. Income taxes from the more affluent would finance the benefits for the many.

Bush believes in small government with low taxes. Individuals and families are to provide for their own needs. When they spend the extra income from reduced taxes they stimulate business growth. Corporate grandees provide for the special needs of their employees as a benefit which stimulates greater productivity and morale.

The problem with this model is that it reduces funds necessary to provide for the working poor, the elderly and the unemployed. It leaves the safety net in tatters. But that is not all. Bush’s conservative philosophy will greatly restrict affirmative action because his appointments of federal judges will be limited to those who support the right wing agenda.

While the outlook appears grim there are some positive signs. John Kerry, one of the nation’s most liberal senators, received 55.4 million votes. That is greater than the number of votes cast for Reagan, Bush’s father, Clinton or Gore. In addition, Kerry raised $249 million, more than any other Democratic contender.

This is no time for African Americans to lose heart. Blacks have survived slavery, Jim Crow laws and voter intimidation. This is the time for African Americans to become prominent in establishing strategies for the Democratic Party of the future.

One policy worth considering is the mobilization of Martin Luther King’s “Poor People’s Campaign.” According to polls, 44 percent of voters with income of less than $15,000 voted for Bush. Strategies must be developed now to be ready in 2008.

 

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