READY, SHOOT, AIM! Part 3 - The Conclusion

“Happy Days are Here Again” was the theme song for the Franklin D. Roosevelt campaign and became one of the most popular songs in America. He swept into the presidency after a campaign of class warfare, which was decried by his most prominent democrat rival, Al Smith, former mayor of New York City. FDR set the precedent of, at the time of nomination, acceptance speech. He and his advisors, who became known, as the ‘brain trust’; three Columbia University professors: Raymond Morley, Rex Tugwell and Adolph Berle fashioned the “New Deal”. During the first 100 days they set about to accomplish through legislation, by a newly elected democrat majority, what fell under the large umbrella of Relief, Recovery and Reform.

Although the ‘New Deal’, in my opinion, and confirmed by several historians turned out to be a failure, the democrat congressional majority lasted until 1994. What the “New Deal” did irrevocably accomplish, was the transformation of America.

During FDR’s 12 year presidency the American electorate lost the anchoring fortitude that its moorings to the constitutional restraints and historical foundation of limited government had previously provided. The individual; his preeminence and his freedom of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, which was foundational to the framers of the constitution, were now subject to full confrontation of new legislation and thought. Commerce was now attacked, rather than, promoted by the government. Taxes were changed from the rich paying their ‘fair share’ to everyone paying far more. (See 1945 Table) Supposedly, everyone needed to ‘sacrifice’ for the ‘greater good’ due to the crisis. Sound familiar?

Franklin D. Roosevelt was very charismatic, and took full advantage of the newest technology to reach the masses: Radio. He was, in effect, the 1^st media president. From “Fireside Chats” to numerous speeches and press conferences, it seems he was constantly in the homes across America; continually relaying the benevolence of his administration for ‘good’ of the American people. These included the government take-over of the electrification of America, the Wagner Act, which provided an easier pathway to unionization of labor, the Social Security Act which was rewritten to bypass its rejection by the Supreme Court and a wide array of legislation that was in direct contradiction to previous legal precedence. His threat to expand the Supreme Court with judges, who were more flexible, seemed to be made unnecessary when he received more legal accommodation from the existing 9 justices. By the time of his death in 1945, America was no longer attached to its foundation of limited government. Roosevelt even introduced a second Bill of Rights. Although never passed by Congress, many of its tenets are repeated as guaranteed to Americans today: the right to healthcare, the right to a home, the right to a job with high wages, etc. These are not qualified as “unalienable” and there is absolutely no provisional basis for them within the language of the US Constitution.

The sad commentary and the vulgar ignorance of historical revisionists, to the realities of the Roosevelt 4-term presidency, is that none of these huge changes in government policy and economic interference did anything to correct the economic problems the country was facing. Where President Hoover can be rightfully blamed for starting the slide down a slippery slope; President Roosevelt placed the country on a Racing Sled! (Can you say Bush and Obama?) The country did not experience anything closely resembling the promised economic recovery until the outbreak of World War II in 1940, with America’s full commitment in 1941. Even then, the unemployment levels were misleading because the majority of the work force was now joining the armed services. Factory productivity was increased due to war production.  Dismal levels of unemployment (14.45% 1940 and 9.66% 1941) were now falling because replacements, including women, older workers and men, who were not militarily qualified, were now production employees; servicemen were no longer counted as unemployed. This caused some cynical historians to claim that Adolph Hitler did more for full employment in the US than Roosevelt’s government spending and programs in the previous 7yrs.

I am not a historian; I study history as a passion. My point is: the better one knows history; the easier it is, to recognize the mistakes repeating. I believe, due to progressive’s dominance of academia, this is the reason that only revisionist history is taught when history is taught at all.

President Barrack Obama is dangerous for the longevity of America. Not because he is evil or even a ‘bad’ man, but because he is a political ideologue, who is totally committed to empirically proven, failed policies. The current media wants to celebrate unemployment levels falling to 8.3% (15% higher than the 7.2% on the day of his inauguration and .3% higher than the 8% they promised to avoid with the $787 Billion of stimulus!) He is surrounded by men and women who have committed themselves to detrimental doctrines, contrary to what is in the best interest of our nation. He must therefore be removed from office, through the ballot box, this November. Although, even an empty chair would be a dramatic improvement, I favor Mitt Romney and would settle for Rick Santorum or even Next Gingrich.

Please follow links to understand the results of an unrestrained federal government:

http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/PDF/All-Budget-chart-book-2011.pdf

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/02/2012-index-of-dependence-on-government

http://www.google.com/search?q=us+government+organizational+chart&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SKPT_enUS402&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sk8gT7qMEoqjiALn2LTJCw&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=502