Why Donald Trump is already a more liberal President than Obama

Congratulations America, we did it!  Same thing could be said after any Presidents’ election.  Left, right, center, fascist, libertarian, liberal, we are all in it together.  “It is what it is” as they say, a phrase I’ve been hearing more and more people say these recent years.

And I’m not condoning anyone.  I’m not excoriating anyone that was in contention for election or that did get elected.  If there is a problem it lies in what we, as a population do.  Or the problems lies in what don’t do.

Who was the last liberal president?  Well, many would perhaps say Obama.  On the right this perceived liberalness is a source of ire.  On the left Obama’s liberalism is a source of pride.  But let me report the observation of a few political observers that Richard Nixon was our last liberal president. Yes, Richard Milhous Nixon, Prez No. 37.  Our last liberal president.

First we have good old Noam describing Nixon as the last liberal president.  Talking about the current minimum wage debates Chomsky stated, “It’s a shame that it’s taken so long to even be a discussion.  As for support, we may recall the last major program for helping families at the level of survival was under Richard Nixon. In many respects Nixon was the last liberal president”.  Nixon signed an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act which raised wages more than 40%.

Then we have Chris Hedges.  “Who was the last liberal president we had?  It was Richard Nixon.  Not because he was a liberal, but because he was frightened of movements.”  Hedges recounts a scene from Kissinger’s memoir where Nixon had parked buses end to end to block protesters’ access to the White House.  “They’re going to break through the barricades and get us,” Kissinger recalls Dick saying to him.  And for Hedges, that is right we want to have the powerful.  Does it feel that way today?

And now Donny Tiny Hands is in office.  I can’t truthfully say yet that he will be a liberal president in this contrarian sense but the movements have started.  We will see what we get.  The last eight years had Occupy and that was a big deal.  But for the most part people kind of chilled out with Barack in the White House.  And there was reason to be critical.  I’ll let Hedges conclude:

We will begin to build forces that will pressure power to respond.  And I think that’s what we’ve forgotten.  We have to begin to make the power elite terrified of us.  And occupy did that by the way.  They were terrified of Occupy . . . and they had to destroy it.  And let’s remember who destroyed it: Barack Obama destroyed it in a coordinated federal campaign.  Because the people most frightened of Occupy were the Democrats which is why they tried to co-op the language.