Beware the coming Democratic sea-change is the title of a recent article by David Frum, yes him, the Bush speech writer who authored the famous “axis of evil” speech. It was published on February 6 2008 in the Financial Times.
According to Frum,
The conservative ascendancy in American politics is coming to an end. For three decades, the right has dominated, with the Republicans winning five of the seven presidential elections since 1980. Conservatives did more than just win elections: even when liberals gained power, they governed on conservative terms.
What were the most important accomplishments of the Clinton presidency? Balancing the budget, welfare reform and the expansion of Nato – not exactly left-of-centre projects. And of Jimmy Carter’s? The deregulation of the airline and natural gas industries. Neither president set out to accomplish these goals. Indeed, they often resisted them. In the end they had to accept the limits of the possible – just as Republican presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon accepted the limits of the possible in the liberal era from 1930 to 1975.
Neither Mr Clinton nor Mr Carter created a single, major, permanent new national social programme….
(snip)
Tragically, (the current sea change) is likely to be for the worse. The things that Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama want to do are likely to prove costly and counterproductive, if not outright disastrous. A greater government role in healthcare, higher taxes, tighter regulation, more social welfare, an increased flow of low-skilled migrants with amnesty for those already here, a cut-and-run from Iraq: these are not measures likely to improve US competitiveness or enhance America’s standing in the world.
Tragically? Isn’t liberal-socialism just what real Democrats are all about? Or should they be about Republican initiatives or triangulations, such as those proposed by Carter and Clinton above? However, since Hillary’s universal medical plan is corporate run as it is now, what gripes could Frum really have with her. As for Obama, it is unclear just where his proposals will go.
But it is really change in the sphere of foreign policy that the Neocons fear the most, Frum among them, even though only Iraq is mentioned above. What about Iran, the Arab League countries, and Israel-Palestine? Isn’t Hillary perfectly in step with Neocon dreams?
In a Counterpunch article, Frum’s New Neo-Con Manifesto, written back in January 2004, John Chuckman wrote:
The title is not part of my usual vocabulary, but sometimes an expression fits so perfectly that it becomes irresistible. And so it is for the authors of a neo-con “manifesto” on foreign policy. The Gomer Pyle of American Presidents recently was presented with a plan to reorder much of the world, a plan intended to build on his remarkable achievements in Iraq and Afghanistan, spreading resentment and future mayhem against Americans across the world.
(snip)
One of the authors of this “manifesto” is David Frum. After years of dutifully churning out his quota of words for one of America’s well-endowed, right-wing propaganda mills styled as academic institutes, Frum’s big moment came with his elevation to presidential speechwriter.
(snip)
Teaming up with Richard Perle may or may not rekindle a nearly-dead career, but it is Frum’s first opportunity to walk upright in months.
Richard Perle needs little introduction. He might be summed up as Washington’s resident Creature from the Black Lagoon, displaying the accumulated toxic effects of a lifetime spent wallowing and bottom-feeding in the Potomac. He is exalted “fellow” at another of those propaganda-mill institutes, Defense Department wheeler-dealer and profiteer, tireless advocate for every American colonial war and bombing run, and energetic lobbyist for the Israeli military’s way of doing things.
The “manifesto” is contained in a new book, An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror. Now, there’s an intriguing title suggesting fresh thought. An end to evil? Do the neo-con crackpots ever stop talking as though the date were 700 BCE? Perhaps Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell or others of the trailer-park heavenly host are credited in the Acknowledgments with contributions or inspiration?
So who among the Democratic presidential candidates today should be equally feared? Which candidate argued stay the course in Iraq (only recently proposing to convene Defense department officials for a get-out plan, albeit without time tables), advocated attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, refuses to take nuclear weapon use off the table, and accepts a right wing Likudnik resolution (bantustans) of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? In other words, which Democratic presidential candidate is the Neocon in our midst?
The answer: Hillary Clinton! So just what is Frum worried about? That she won’t get elected?