Moderation forever?
Ninety years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt saw the immense damage of the Great Depression and decided that moderation was not enough, and implemented New Deal measures like Social Security and many other progressive measures. Republicans immediately decided to push back. By 1970, Republicans had stopped wage growth by freezing the growth of the national minimum wage and drastically lowing taxes for the very rich.
Sixty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson implemented Medicare, Medicare, the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and the War On Poverty. In the years since these measures were enacted, Republicans have tirelessly worked to cut them down or eliminate them. President Trump has shown that he is capable of continuing this fight and eliminating as many measures as possible.
David Canfield’s call for Moderation of Democrats is more of the same. The idea that we should elect fearful moderates and think we can enact anything, even keeping the status quo is exactly what the Republicans want to see — they will crush us again. We’ve elected a few moderate Democrats in the years since with no real, lasting results. Instead, Democrats are crushed by Republicans over and over. Enough! It’s been a lifetime since most of the major programs were enacted, and Democrats have shown time and time again they will not stand up and demand changes. We need Democrats like Jonathan Baird who believe, and will fight hard to reinstate our rights and move forward!