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In reply to the discussion: Comparing the Clintons to FDR is crazy in my book. [View all]NewSystemNeeded
(111 posts)30. There was a concerted efforted by enemies of the New Deal to dismantle the coalition.
Organized labor's decline in the US over the past half century is well-known; what drove that decline, less so. The New Deal's enemies big business, Republicans, conservatives had developed a coordinated strategy by the late 1940s. They would break up the coalition of organized labor, socialist and communist parties: the mass base that had forced through the 1930s New Deal. Then each coalition member could be individually destroyed.
One line of attack used anti-communist witch-hunts (McCarthyism) to frighten socialists and labor unions into dissociating themselves from former communist allies. Another attack targeted socialists by equating them with communists and applying the same demonization. Still another attack, the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, directly weakened labor unions, their organizing capability and their alliance with the left.
Business and political leaders, mass media and academics cultivated a paranoid anxiety among Americans: suspect anything even vaguely leftist, see risks of "subversion" everywhere, and avoid organizations unless religious or loudly patriotic. Legal, ideological and police pressures rendered communist and socialist parties tiny and ineffective. Destroying unions took longer. The unionized portion of private sector workers fell from a third to less than 7% now. Since 2007, conservatives used crisis-driven drops in state and city tax revenues to intensify attacks on public employee benefits and unions. Both were denounced as "excessive and unaffordable for taxpayers". That plus public worker layoffs reduced public sector unionization.
One line of attack used anti-communist witch-hunts (McCarthyism) to frighten socialists and labor unions into dissociating themselves from former communist allies. Another attack targeted socialists by equating them with communists and applying the same demonization. Still another attack, the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, directly weakened labor unions, their organizing capability and their alliance with the left.
Business and political leaders, mass media and academics cultivated a paranoid anxiety among Americans: suspect anything even vaguely leftist, see risks of "subversion" everywhere, and avoid organizations unless religious or loudly patriotic. Legal, ideological and police pressures rendered communist and socialist parties tiny and ineffective. Destroying unions took longer. The unionized portion of private sector workers fell from a third to less than 7% now. Since 2007, conservatives used crisis-driven drops in state and city tax revenues to intensify attacks on public employee benefits and unions. Both were denounced as "excessive and unaffordable for taxpayers". That plus public worker layoffs reduced public sector unionization.
Attributing it all to the Civil Rights movement is a myopic view of history.
http://rdwolff.com/content/organized-labors-decline-us-well-known-what-drove-it
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Does Hillary have a better record on human rights, equality, and civil rights than FDR did?
wyldwolf
Jun 2015
#66
Had not seen the comparison made. FDR had to deal with a Depression and World War.
pampango
Jun 2015
#6
You still have yet to identify what issues you consider "pet causes" and which kinds of people you
geek tragedy
Jun 2015
#27
There was a concerted efforted by enemies of the New Deal to dismantle the coalition.
NewSystemNeeded
Jun 2015
#30
Something here is myopic. It was the Democratic party, not the socialists and communists,
geek tragedy
Jun 2015
#34
You're ignoring the 3-way split in '48 - the Cold War purge and withdrawal of the progressive Left
leveymg
Jun 2015
#36
I see things very clearly, you're playing a game of "squirrel!" in trying to debate FDR's
geek tragedy
Jun 2015
#38
Just to be clear, your position is that Democratic candidates should drop any and all
geek tragedy
Jun 2015
#46
Well, if you want to make that comparison. But then your thread subject would be moot...
NYC Liberal
Jun 2015
#29
Just like FDR was a "proud opponent" of anti-lynching legislation when he caved to Southern racists.
NYC Liberal
Jun 2015
#54
"Those who do this don't even come close to representing the Democratic Party of that time"
geek tragedy
Jun 2015
#50
Walking around believing "Bernie" can win a presidential campaign is crazy in my book.
LordGlenconner
Jun 2015
#51
It is my understanding that in her speech Hillary said the her husband tryed to emulate FDR in
jwirr
Jun 2015
#52
It's a bold faced crazy lie ...and history proves it. Now Hillary is stealing the "99%" from Occupy
L0oniX
Jun 2015
#68
Exactly. She better get away from her husbands administration now or she is going to be in big
jwirr
Jun 2015
#76
You do not seem to understand that while the 8 years was not so bad he laid the groundwork
jwirr
Jun 2015
#87