A recent cover of Time magazine really intrigued me. There is an interesting similarity between President Obama and President Roosevelt. They both entered the White House with the benefit and burden of a massive public demand for economic solutions.
FDR was able to quickly enact "New Deal" legislation to stimulate the economy. His Democratic party had significant Congressional majority, and his policies sailed through. Wikipedia says that during his first 100 days in office, Congress granted every request Roosevelt made.
There is much debate over the effectiveness of The New Deal. Many liberals contend that increasing spending and expanding government saved the country. Conservatives argue that FDR's actions only prolonged the Great Depression; even worse, this ideology smacked of socialism.
I'm not here to throw political poop, but we are going to talk about New Deal legislation over the next two posts. My guess is that we are going to see great examples of the balance of power in American government. For the 1930s Republican, FDR's political capital and the Democratic majority in Congress were a scary combination. SCOTUS was a last line of defense against overreaching liberal policy. More recently, President Bush enjoyed a Republican Congress for much of his presidency. Again, the Supreme Court's job was to keep the GOP from taking things too far.
The salient point of the "Obama is a 21st century FDR" analogy is the power to change. Obama is very popular, as evidenced by his 62% approval rating. Democrats have a nice majority in both the Senate and the House. Our President has inherited the second half of Bush's $750 billion T.A.R.P. bill, and his own $800 billion stimulus package is winding through Congress. In short, get ready for a lot of liberal policy to be enacted.
If you are a liberal, that sounds great. It sounds like "change we can believe in." If you are not a liberal, that taste in the back of your throat is probably your breakfast. On the bright side for non-liberals, there is always the Supreme Court. Seven of the nine justices were appointed by Republican presidents. As we will see tomorrow, you only need 5 men in funny robes to defeat the President, Senate, and House combined.
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It's a big day for Jay's Legal Boom. I used my first semicolon! I'm not going to lie, it felt good. Someone (Sean?) let me know if I nuked it.
FDR was able to quickly enact "New Deal" legislation to stimulate the economy. His Democratic party had significant Congressional majority, and his policies sailed through. Wikipedia says that during his first 100 days in office, Congress granted every request Roosevelt made.
There is much debate over the effectiveness of The New Deal. Many liberals contend that increasing spending and expanding government saved the country. Conservatives argue that FDR's actions only prolonged the Great Depression; even worse, this ideology smacked of socialism.
I'm not here to throw political poop, but we are going to talk about New Deal legislation over the next two posts. My guess is that we are going to see great examples of the balance of power in American government. For the 1930s Republican, FDR's political capital and the Democratic majority in Congress were a scary combination. SCOTUS was a last line of defense against overreaching liberal policy. More recently, President Bush enjoyed a Republican Congress for much of his presidency. Again, the Supreme Court's job was to keep the GOP from taking things too far.
The salient point of the "Obama is a 21st century FDR" analogy is the power to change. Obama is very popular, as evidenced by his 62% approval rating. Democrats have a nice majority in both the Senate and the House. Our President has inherited the second half of Bush's $750 billion T.A.R.P. bill, and his own $800 billion stimulus package is winding through Congress. In short, get ready for a lot of liberal policy to be enacted.
If you are a liberal, that sounds great. It sounds like "change we can believe in." If you are not a liberal, that taste in the back of your throat is probably your breakfast. On the bright side for non-liberals, there is always the Supreme Court. Seven of the nine justices were appointed by Republican presidents. As we will see tomorrow, you only need 5 men in funny robes to defeat the President, Senate, and House combined.
---
It's a big day for Jay's Legal Boom. I used my first semicolon! I'm not going to lie, it felt good. Someone (Sean?) let me know if I nuked it.
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