Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Hurricane Gustave and the Grand Old Republican Party

It's one thing - and the right thing - to cancel "festive" events in the face of natural disaster. However, rather than cancel the speeches, the Republicans should present their vision of how the government should respond in a crisis. The silence is deafening.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt put it, "the nation looked to the government and the government looked away." The Republican vision, FDR said, is "that government is best which is most indifferent." Just as he described the Republicans of the 1920's - those who kicked Teddy Roosevelt out of the GOP, he describes the. Republicans of the 1980's, the 1990's, and today. Not all, just the ones at the top of the party; both stalwarts and mavericks.

The Democrats have a different vision. As FDR put it: government that guarantees
Freedom of speech and assembly.
Freedom to pray (or to not).
Freedom from fear.
Freedom from want.

In more prosaic terms: defend the Constitution, build a healthy economy, preserve a clean natural environment, maintain a strong and effective national security infrastructure, and an effective emergency response team.

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