Why Bernie Talks About the New Deal

[Uncle Joe]

Many in the pundit class claim to be confused about Bernie Sanders’s big socialism speech. For one thing, what was Franklin Roosevelt doing in it?

(snip)

Some of these observers, of course, were reactionary Republicans. Senator John Bricker of Ohio, for example, the 1944 GOP vice-presidential nominee, liked to rant about how “Communist forces have taken over the New Deal.”

But they also included “progressive” Democrats like Al Smith, the Irish-American former New York governor, whose 1928 presidential campaign had mobilized millions of immigrant voters with its inclusive message opposing nativist bigotry. Smith was a lifelong Democrat, but like many leading Democrats today he felt distaste for “demagogues that would incite one class of our people against the other.” By the end of FDR’s first term, Smith had seen enough of the New Deal.

(snip)

It wasn’t only red-baiting opponents of socialism who saw the resemblance. So did many socialists — including Norman Thomas, the longtime leader of the Socialist Party of America. In the words of his biographer, Thomas “viewed Roosevelt’s program for reform of the economic system as far more reflective of the Socialist Party platform than of his own [Democratic] party’s platform,” in particular its embrace of a shorter workweek, public works, abolition of sweatshops, a minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and old-age pensions. Though always highly critical of Roosevelt — who never embraced “our essential socialism” — Thomas acknowledged that FDR built a rudimentary welfare state by adopting “ideas and proposals formerly called ‘socialist’ and voiced in our platforms beginning with Debs in 1900.”

(snip)


https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/06/new-deal-socialism-bernie-sanders-democratic-primary

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. FDR created the New Deal as a specific response to the Depression.

He saw that federal spending was necessary to stimulate the economy and to relieve the suffering of the people who had lost their jobs and had no source of income. However, FDR was never a socialist, and in fact has been credited by many historians with saving capitalism - because if his government hadn't stepped in to help those harmed by the Depression, various socialist and communist parties would have become popular.

[Uncle Joe]

2. FDR never advocated for a sunset or end of the New Deal after the Depression was over,

the fact is in 1944 he advocated for an expansion of it in the form of health care being a right for every American and his "Second Bill of Rights," unfortunately Roosevelt died a year later before he could see his dream/vision achieved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bill_of_Rights

[George II]

3. Aren't BS and his followers the ones who continually say that we don't want to go backward?

[sop]

4. Progressives don't want to go backwards, Conservatives are trying to undo New Deal policies

Since the Reagan era, Republicans have been trying to dismantle many of the New Deal policies created by FDR, while Progressives (like Sanders and others) have been trying to improve upon these programs.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Backward would be what has been happening to the U.S. from an economic

standpoint to the days of Reagan and from a political/social standpoint to the days of McCarthyism when ideals and political expression were demonized. That's the path we're on now and Trump is the result.

Bernie wants to lead us down "the road not taken" and of which FDR promoted but didn't survive to see fulfillment.

[corbettkroehler]

7. Right On - In His Speech On Democratic Socialism, Bernie Even Noted That FDR Died That Next Year

which I took to mean that, as he Bernie sees it, FDR didn't have a chance to implement the initial stages of the second phase of The New Deal.

Since you mentioned regression under Reagan, I'd like to remind everyone that a big moment in that movement in the wrong direction was Reagan's firing of the air traffic controllers.

[corbettkroehler]

6. Bernie's Proposal Represents Finishing The Vision Of The New Deal, Which Would Move Us Forward

Per Merriam-Webster, synonyms for the noun progress include advancement and furtherance.

http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progress