Johnson’s reputation is burdened by the Vietnam War and his unreconstructed
Cold War viewpoint. But, equally controversial at the time and a burden for
Democrats through most of the 1970s and 1980s, was Johnson’s unreconstructed adoption
of the New Deal solution to poverty.
The huge Democratic victories in the 1964 election empowered
Johnson and liberal Democrats to pass a flood of legislation creating programs,
agencies, and departments with associated spending that became the “Great
Society” (commencement speech of University of Michigan 1964).
Not only did the Vietnam War destroy the Johnson presidency,
but the cost of guns and butter and a backlash to the liberal activism was used
in constructing Richard Nixon’s Silent Majority and war on crime. It also led
to the long Neoliberal debate in the Democratic Party as to the efficacy of big
government solutions to social problems and their tendency to produce
unintended consequences.
The Democratic Party’s dominant liberal wing is preparing
for a new war on poverty. And, there’s no doubt the current liberal era
launched with the Democrats retaking the House in 2006 and the election of
Barack Obama would already be recognized as the next high point of liberalism
after the FDR and LBJ administrations, but for Washington gridlock and the
aftermath of the 2008-09 financial crisis.
No comments:
Post a Comment