Tag: Theodore Roosevelt

General, Politics

Betraying Lincoln and Roosevelt

Bob Claude |

My friends, in the interest of the working man himself, we need to set our faces like flint against mob violence just as against corporate greed

Theodore Roosevelt, The New Nationalism, August 31, 1910

The historic fissures in the Republican Party were laid bare this weekend after the resolution adopted by the Republican National Committee calling the January 6 insurrection “legitimate political discourse” and it’s rejection by former Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Minority leader McConnell. The resolution is a shameful betrayal of the party’s nationalist tradition dating back not only to Theodore Roosevelt. but also Abraham Lincoln.  As TR said so plainly, our loyalty as Americans is to the Constitution and the country, not to any one person and no grievance by any group justifies the use of violence in a democracy.   

As I’ve written before here and here, this division between the Trump’s populist right and the remaining wings of the Republican Party is part of a realignment in American politics that began in earnest with the 2016 election. Similar fissures exist in the Democratic Party between the Democratic socialists and the various wings of the party establishment, as shown in this recent poll. The frightening part of the current realignment process is that the two extremes embrace or tolerate violence to achieve their objectives and seem to be driving both parties at the local party level. Indeed, a recent poll showed a third of Americans believe violence to achieve political goals is acceptable.

It has been my experience that the internal party elite like the RNC are generally more extreme than their respective primary electorates.  Whether this is now true of the two major parties will be determined in the upcoming primary elections. Will Trump loyalists succeed in ousting Georgia Governor Brian Kemp? Will firebrands like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green survive their primaries? What happens to Michigan Congressmen Peter Meijer and Fred Upton, who voted for the impeachment resolution after the January attack?  And how successful will democratic socialist movements be in taking over local party organizations as happened in Nevada?  If the authoritarian extreme prevails in those contests, true American nationalists will have to conclude, as TR did in 1912, that the parties are now … “empty husks…incapable of approaching the great problems of today” and form a third party to pick up and carry the American nationalist banner.  

Uncategorized

Happy Birthday, Theodore Roosevelt!

Bob Claude |

Theodore Roosevelt’s remarkable life started 163 years ago in New York City, making him one of the few presidents to be born and raised in a major American city. He overcame childhood asthma with vigorous exercise and began his political career as a crusading reform Republican in the New York Legislature. The death of his first wife drove him to the North Dakota badlands, where his courage and stamina were forged in the crucible of the Old West. Even there, Roosevelt continued his habit of reading a book a day to stimulate his mind as well. Returning to New York, he became New York City Police Commissioner and worked to clean up the corruption in the department. His leadership and bravery with the Rough Riders propelled a political career and philosophy of national service that is a model for us in these difficult days.

In short, TR was a badass not just in his behavior, but also in his challenging and visionary leadership in public policy. Let us all remember him on this day and strive to hold our current leaders to the same level of courage and national commitment on behalf of America!

Foreign Policy, Realist Theory

Afghanistan – What the President Should Have Said

Bob Claude |

My fellow Americans

Two decades ago, a group of terrorists killed almost 3,000 in Washington and New York in a brazen attack they thought could break the spirit of the American people.

They were spectacularly wrong.

America came together and struck back, driving both the the Al Qaeda terrorists and their Afghan enablers out of power.  Al Qaeda’s leader Osama Bin Laden and many of his henchmen now lie dead at the hands of our courageous American soldiers.  Afghanistan was given an opportunity to build a new government that respected both international law and the aspirations of its own people.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban learned a lesson about the limits of their power.  But, so have we.  

While the United States can effectively defend itself and our values at home against our enemies, we cannot impose those values on other nations.  In today’s world, there is no superpower anymore. We live in a world of independent sovereign nations, each with the right and power to defend their own values and goals so long as they do not threaten our own. Indeed, as a nation founded on the concept of e pluribus unum – out of the many, one – we have a unique ability to succeed in this new reality.

We also live in a world where traditional military force can be challenged by new kinds of power.  Whether the attacks come through terrorism, cyber warfare, or other new forms of conflict, America must be ready to respond in unity and consistent with the principles of our constitutional democracy. I am prepared to discuss with Congress new ways to authorize and respond to future foreign attacks of the old and new kind.

In the end, the best way to strengthen America against these new challenges is to strengthen the American people here at home.  It is time for us to unify to defeat the challenges of hopelessness, ignorance and division that weaken us here at home.  We cannot be the beacon of liberty to those struggling against dictatorship if we betray our commitment to expanding the American Dream for our own citizens. It is this challenge I call you to meet now and will continue to do so in the coming months. 

While the world has changed, some things remain the same.  As one of the first and most powerful democracies, we must always be an advocate of human rights against those who wish to keep their people in the darkness of dictatorship.  The new Afghan government must respect those rights if it wishes to be fully accepted into the community of nations. We will insist on protection of those who worked for those rights and will offer sanctuary for them and those who helped our troops in their mission. It is who we are, and we can do no less. 

We learned from our experience in Afghanistan that America is not all powerful.  Nevertheless, rest assured the power of our people, our ideas and our nation endures, because of you and your fellow Americans.

Thank you, and God bless the United States of America.