College Tribune | November 12th 2008
untain top gressive system of taxation is needed if we are to fund the social program that working American people need, we have to remember that the American taxation system was much more progressive under Richard Nixon than it was under Bill Clinton’’ Consultant for the Trade Union Movement Eric Lee does not believe that a Democratic Administration will in itself will bring about radical change to America. Lee cites the missed opportunities by the Clinton administration in relation to Union recognition as an example of the shortcomings of previous
“The question for President Obama and the Democratic Congress is whether they will emulate Clinton’s failure or Roosevelt’s success’’ Democratic party presidents. “Clinton did not enact new legislation to make it easier for unions to organize. Despite strong union backing for Clinton, the unions received very little in the eight years of Democratic rule from 1993-2001’’. He said that Obama should not repeat the same mistakes as Clinton by reneging on plans to introduce Universal Healthcare and Union recognition. “The question for President Obama and the Democratic Congress is whether they will emulate Clinton’s failure or Roosevelt’s success’’. Lee points to Franklin Delano Roosevelt as an example of how to radically alter the economic direction of the United States. Lee said, “Roosevelt, managed to pass the most sweeping package of social reforms
ever – the glorious New Deal. And his New Deal coalition kept the Democrats in power for twenty years’’ At his address to the Democratic National Convention four years ago, Obama declared that “this is not a nation of red states and blue states, this is a united states.’’ Barack Obama’s campaign managed to put an end to the region against region politics which have blighted American politics for decades. He has stayed true to his words in making inroads into States which would have been regarded as solidly Republican. His victory redefined the electoral map in America, his successes weren’t confined to traditional democratic strongholds of the Northeast, Great Lakes and West Coast, Obama won states in the South and the Mountain west also. He now has a mandate to be the president of all of America. Obama’s style of campaigning was very much a “from the bottom up’’ exercise, people who volunteered for him at a grassroots level were key to his victories in both the primary elections and the presidential contest. Obama has a duty and a responsibility to deliver the change many ordinary Americans sought when they joined his campaign. The question prevails over whether Obama will turn a grassroots campaign into a grassroots Government. In his Victory Speech on Tuesday night he said that “from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth, this is your victory’’. Time will tell whether President Obama will stay true to his pledge. When he takes up the office of President on January 20th 2009 he will have many challenges ahead of him. But with challenges come opportunity. Can Obama use this opportunity to bring permanent changes to both America and the World?
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