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Revision as of 08:09, 21 July 2021
, 21 July 2021→McGovern the Dangerous Decoy
(Created page with "=McGovern the Dangerous Decoy= ''"I was planning to stay home on Election Day this year, to protest Nixon's breaking the promises he made in '68... but now that McGovern has...") |
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It is difficult to say how this image came into being. If one examines McGovern's voting-reoord carefully, it certainly doesn't hold up. He's a liberal, no question, but no more so than many other public figures generally regarded as being fairly moderate. | It is difficult to say how this image came into being. If one examines McGovern's voting-reoord carefully, it certainly doesn't hold up. He's a liberal, no question, but no more so than many other public figures generally regarded as being fairly moderate. | ||
To some extent, of course, McGovern himself has carefully cultivated hie radical reputation, | To some extent, of course, McGovern himself has carefully cultivated hie radical reputation, as a means of gaining the support of the youthful shock-troops who were eo vital to his success in the primary campaigns... and is now back-pedaling furiously, in order to appeal to the moderate-liberal, whose votes he needs in the general election. | ||
... and is now back-pedaling furiously, in order to appeal to the moderate-liberal, | |||
And to some extent, he is simply the beneficiary-if that is the right word-of a | And to some extent, he is simply the beneficiary-if that is the right word-of a curious phenomenon that occurs once every 24 years, as precisely as clockwork. | ||
Nobody knows just why it happens, but every 24 years, a sort of populist radicalism seems to sweep the country . . . and | |||
These champions and their | Nobody knows just why it happens, but every 24 years, a sort of populist radicalism seems to sweep the country . . . and those who are infected with its fever seek a champion. And for some reason, this champion inevitably turns out to be a man of the Upper Midwest-William Jennings Bryan in 1900, Robert LaFollette in 1924, Henry Wallace in 1948, and now McGovern. | ||
Thus, because McGovern | |||
But McGovern cannot be | These champions and their supporters invariably fail miserably in their attempts at capturing the White House, but this fact doesn't seem to deter them from having another go at it once each generation. And this time, McGovern is their man. | ||
Thus, because McGovern is the candidate of the radical fringe, he becomes, in many peoples' minds, a radical himself . . . and with some justification, it must be conceded. | |||
But McGovern cannot be considered ''in vacuo''. What counts is not how radical McGovern is (or is not) relative to some mythical ideal, but How radical he is com pared to Richard Nixon. And the answer, unfortunately, is "not very." For despite their rhetorical difference-and the images they project-there is really very little difference between the two men. | |||
Consider first their re?pective economic proposals. McGovern's proposal for a guaranteed annual income of Sl,000 per person is being decried by its opponents as socialism-which, indeed, it is. But Nixon's Family Assistance Plan is essentially the same thing. McGovern's economic proposals are also damned as being certain to cause massive inflation. But Nixon has run up a Budget deficit of nearly SIOO Billion in four years ... a record unmatched since the days of FDR. McGovern's promise to secure "jobs for all"-or, in lieu thereof, 100 percent unemployment compensation-are condemned as being certain to remove incentives for businesses to avoid bankruptcy, and for individuals to remain productive. But then, Nixon bailed out Lockheed. McGovern is blasted as being inimical to the free enterprise system-but Nixon has imposed wage-price controls, and nationalized a major industry (railroads). | |||