So I saw McCain's speech.....

[poltr1]

.....and I wasn't moved by it. I was too busy playing "Spot the Person of Color in the Audience". It took the camera crews at C-SPAN about 30 minutes to find one.

Yes, McCain delivers a good speech, and there were some good ideas presented, but I still was making comments back at the screen a la MST3K. Did he say that Roosevelt was a Republican? I don't remember Teddy's party affiliation, but FDR was a Democrat.

Thankfully, I missed the 9/11 highlight reel which was shown before his speech. filkertom has a link to a copy posted on YouTube, with some choice commentary. I'm told that the Keith apologized to his audience for that clip. Yes, we should Never Forget, and say Never Again, but is there a need to bring up past hurts, other than to further the advance of American fascism?

My take: If there is to be change in America, people are going to have to want it bad enough in order for it to happen. If it's curbing our addiction to petroleum, or changing the regime, it has to come from We The People. I remember the Metric System and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin. These were changes foisted upon us by the Government. Where are they now?

Comments

[billroper]

Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican.

[zorya-thinks.livejournal.com]

I read that there were only 38 non-white delegates at the Republican Convention. Down significantly from 2004.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

Yes, Teddy Roosevelt was part of the party that was called Republican at the time, but that party had very little to do with the party that is called Republican today.

To quote from Wikipedia,

He was a Progressive reformer who sought to move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive camp. He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved forty monopolistic corporations as a "trust buster". He was clear, however, to show he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle but was only against corrupt, illegal practices. His "Square Deal" promised a fair shake for both the average citizen (through regulation of railroad rates and pure food and drugs) and the businessmen. He was the first U.S. president to call for universal health care and national health insurance. As an outdoorsman, he promoted the conservation movement [he created the National Parks system], emphasizing efficient use of natural resources.

Today's Republican claim that they are the party of Teddy Roosevelt is typical of claims by today's Republicans -- while true in a technical sense, it is deliberately misleading to such an extent that I believe it should be called a lie.

[poltr1]

Uh..yeah. By today's standards, Teddy Roosevelt would be branded a liberal or a terrorist. He's probably spinning in his grave by now.