Mcgovern Ties Progress To Liberalism

The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: 11A

Friday, October 29, 2004
By Roger Bybee

Venom directed at American liberalism seems to be reaching all-time toxic levels as Tuesday’s election nears. U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., proclaims, "If George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election." Meanwhile, rightists like Ann Coulter routinely denounce liberals as "traitors."

Into this snake pit steps 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern with his new book, "The Essential America: Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition." Former Sen. McGovern has already endured decades as the right’s favorite target for "elite" views. But in contrast to the right’s caricature, McGovern recounts how his liberal commitments to social justice and global peace were profoundly shaped by growing up as a minister’s son in rural South Dakota during the Great Depression. He later served as a World War II pilot, flying 35 combat missions, and earned a college degree under the GI Bill.

These experiences, hardly those of a "limousine liberal," strengthened McGovern’s belief in the decency and common sense of fellow citizens in a democracy, and the wisdom of using diplomacy to avoid war whenever possible.

In measured but forceful words, McGovern vigorously defends liberalism as the locomotive pulling America toward a more inclusive democracy and a saner foreign policy throughout history. He defines liberalism as "a stronger, more positive government devoted not to the wealthy and powerful but to the common people.’ " This is hardly an alien ideology; rather, it is a concept developed on American soil by the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and many unknown activists.

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McGovern sees American history as an arc moving toward a fuller realization of democracy, each step advancing against fierce intransigence by the wealthy. Abolition of slavery, rights for workers, women’s suffrage, Social Security, Medicare, national parks, environmental protections, civil rights legislation and anti-hunger programs were the product of distinctly liberal efforts. Progressives like Wisconsin’s La Follette Republicans and Teddy Roosevelt, along with the Socialists, all played critical roles in these fights. It wasn’t just Democrats.

However, in recent years, an alliance of corporate and Christian fundamentalist forces, amplified by a massive right-wing media apparatus, has dominated the nation’s direction and largely halted the arc of progress, McGovern argues. But he believes a powerful backlash is building to the right’s extreme program of redistributing wealth from working families to the richest 1 percent of Americans at home and pushing a mindless, bristling militarism abroad.

McGovern proposes a new agenda for liberalism to expand social protections for Americans. He proposes extending Medicare into a universal health care program for all Americans.

The new liberal program must also take into account the globalization of American-based corporations. Here, McGovern departs from the conventional wisdom of many academic and media liberals backing so-called "free trade," which he sees as depressing conditions for all workers across the planet.

Crucial to restoring a more just vision of America, he argues, is curbing the "military-industrial complex" that so troubled Republican President Dwight Eisenhower. In line with this, McGovern blasts the U.S. invasion of Iraq, justified by false pretexts and conducted against overwhelming international opposition. In uncharacteristically harsh term, he states: "The name given to this Bush strategy is pre-emptive war’– a fancy phrase for aggression."

McGovern rejects as naive the notion of some pundits that Bush and his hawkish advisers were honorably intent on promoting democracy in Iraq. "If in fact going to war to deliver democracy was our purpose, we would have to invade half the countries in the world, including some in our own back yard."

As an alternative to endless invasions of endless enemies, McGovern recommends assisting other nations to develop food self-sufficiency, clean water and genuine democracy. Brute force is no substitute for authentic alliances with other nations, McGovern observes. He warns that wars of aggression are inherently counterproductive: "Whether in Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Afghanistan or elsewhere, war begets more terrorism, not less."

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