By L&T Publisher Earl Watt
The rise of liberalism is not a new concept in America, and it has always had a time and a place.
The timing has been in response to tough economic times, and its place has been to provide social services during those times rather than allowing the economy to adjust on its own.
In a democracy like America, the people can have as much or as little government as they choose. When times ar tough, they have chosen more government.
Ironically, history has shown that more government actually slows down economic recovery, but the facts cannot be refuted that big government liberals thrive when the economy is soft.
The flip side is that conservatives tend to do better when the nation is prospering.
That does not necessarily mean a split between Republicans and Democrats, but between conservatives and liberals.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democratic liberal, set the pace during the Great Depression, offering huge government handouts and programs to provide jobs and support while the economy suffered.
As America crawled out of the Depression with the help of World War II, and Harry Truman, a less liberal Democrat, occupied the White House, America’s post-war recovery began.
Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower took over, and the boom was on.
When people were more financially stable, they wanted less government involvement, and that philosophy continued under Democrat John F. Kennedy who cut taxes and posed the challenge, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Liberal Lyndon Johnson followed, and his government spending on projects referred to as the Great Society led to such an unpopular presidency that he did not seek re-election for his final term.
A run of conservative-leaning leaders controlled the nation from 1968 until 2008.
During that time, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and both Bushes were the Republican presidents, and the two Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, were southerners that would be considered conservative by today’s standards. Clinton declared the “era of big government” to be over.
For the most part during that 40-year period, times were good, and most people were not looking for excessive government intervention.
Conservative leadership ruled for nearly half a century, until the economy took a hit, and the panic of widespread poverty sent the public looking for a more liberal view of government.
Enter Barack Obama, and the expanded role of government began, much like it did 80 years ago under FDR.
True conservatives were in dismay as they viewed this move as the destruction of the nation they had built.
But those who were hoping for better economic times viewed the move as necessary to get the economic wheels spinning again.
Here lies the problem, and I believe this administration figured it out: If the economy did improve, the people would turn back to the conservative philosophies of less government.
The liberal agenda reaches far beyond the economy as far as jobs go.
Liberals have a completely different view of the role of the family, the environment and whether or not wealth is a good thing.
Those who follow the road of liberalism to its final destination reach socialism. They won’t tell you that, because most people who call themselves liberal don’t believe that is true. They believe in caring for the poor and the needy and having government involved in that endeavor. But they select people to lead the charge that take the liberal agenda to the extreme.
That’s why this has been the slowest recovery in American history.
If those in control had actually focused on the economy, it would have been solved. Reagan inherited a weak economy, similar to where we were in 2008, and it was humming by the end of his first term.
But if the liberals in charge today actually fixed the economy, and people were earning a fair wage, they would no longer see the need for government intrusion, and they would return to their conservative roots.
And that is why there won’t be a fix to the economy any time soon by the liberals.
That’s why the first move of the Obama Administration was to socialize medicine, not fix the economy.
That’s why we are talking about gun control and immigration reform now instead of the economy.
That’s why we are looking at regulating carbon dioxide by the EPA and outlawing coal, and looking at raising electricity bills by 30 percent or more, because that is the true goal of the liberal agenda.
If the economy improved like it should have by now, the true liberals know that the people would not support those issues, but as long as the economy is soft, they can push through their socialization agenda.
Smart move on their part, even if it comes at the detriment of American society.
But that is what the true liberals detest anyway, and this is their chance to rewrite America.
For those who think liberals are about helping the poor, they are learning that it also means making everyone suffer, and then they get their way.