While the bulk of President Obama's Galesburg talk was a progressive one, as I indicated in "Obama Scores with Econ Speech," he did sneak in one passage that should raise concerns among progressives.
Here it is:
"I will be saying to Democrats we've got to question some of our old assumptions. We've got to be willing to redesign or get rid of programs that don't work as well as they should. We've got to be willing to -- we've got to embrace changes to cherished priorities so that they work better in this new age. We can't just -- Democrats can't just stand pat and just defend whatever government is doing. If we believe that government can give the middle class a fair shot in this new century -- and I believe that -- we've an obligation to prove it. And that means that we've got to be open to new ways of doing things."
Now, on the face of it, that might sound perfectly reasonable. After all, who could be against making programs "work better" or being "open to new ways of doing things"?
But which programs is he talking about here?
Is he again pushing his "chained CPI" proposal, which would devastate the elderly, the disabled, and veterans?
Or does he have some big new concession he's about to give Republicans that might have disastrous implications for poor people, as Bill Clinton's "end welfare as we know it" pledge did?
Beware: Obama might pull another fast one.
If you liked this story by Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive magazine, check out his story Zimmerman Verdict Reveals Racist System of Justice.
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