What the Ghost of FDR Could Show Bill de Blasio and CPAC
81 years ago this week, the newly inaugurated Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, having just instituted an emergency nationwide bank holiday, gave
his first Fireside Chat.
It was a beauty. In plain language, he spoke directly to the
American people. He did quietly, deliberately, almost intimately. There had been a massive run on the banks,
and even healthy ones were running out of money to give to depositors. By closing the bank’s doors for a short time,
they could determine which were sound, and which had been fatally wounded by
speculation or bad luck. In the next few days, FDR said, they would begin to
reopen, first in the 12 cities where there were Federal Reserve Banks, and then
in other places.
FDR didn’t condescend and he didn’t minimize the pain and
anxieties of his listeners. “I
owe this in particular because of the fortitude and good temper with which
everybody has accepted the inconvenience and hardships of the banking holiday.” He told them the truth, “I do not promise you that every bank will be reopened or that
individual losses will not be suffered, but there will be no losses that
possibly could be avoided..” He
thanked them for their trust, “I can never be sufficiently grateful to the
people for the loyal support they have given me in their acceptance of the
judgment that has dictated our course, even though all of our processes may not
have seemed clear to them.”
He
treated them like adults, as partners in the solution. The people, rich or poor, great or small,
would be the ultimate engine of success, “(a)fter all there is an element in the
readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more
important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and
courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must
have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in
banishing fear.”
I
thought about FDR’s chat when I came across a two rather startling set of
polling numbers.
In
the first, 52 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “Nearly
70 years after the end of World War II, it’s time for our European, Asian and
other allies to provide for their own defense.”
Only 37 percent agreed that, “As the world’s only superpower, the U.S.
needs to continue to bear the responsibility of protecting our allies.”
In the second, only two months into his term as New York
City Mayor, and just 4 months after he got more than 73% of the vote, Bill de Blasio
has a 39% approval rating. Or, put in
simpler terms, you could say that Bill has managed to lose the support of
roughly one-half of one percent of New Yorkers for each day he’s been in
office.
You might have thought that those two results came from the
same poll; left-leaning, pacifist Manhattanites made crazy by the vortex of
polar air and bad plowing. But they
don’t. The first poll was taken at CPAC,
the annual Obama-bashing hootenanny of conservatives. Reliable reports indicate the only two New
Yorkers in sight were Donald Trump’s hair and Donald Trump’s mouth.
How does a liberal Democrat lose the support of a liberal
electorate so fast? The same way that a
meeting of right-wingers merrily flinging red meat could have a military and
international tilt that seems, well, so not-very-right-wing. It turns out that both CPAC and Bill de Blasio,
and to a very considerable extent, the political parties that reflect their
views, could stand to spend a little time learning something FDR knew
intuitively; the trick to governing, at whatever level, is to identify a
problem, show understanding of the impact on the average citizen, ask for and
be respectful of their support, and be
authoritative in offering solutions.
What has Bill done wrong beyond forgetting that in New York,
after the first eight hours, people like their snow-piles in Vermont? Substantively, not all that much. His two most important appointees, Bill
Bratton for Police Commissioner, and Carmen Farina for School’s Chancellor, are
generally acknowledged to be experienced, knowledgeable, and competent.
Non-substantively, he has a problem. He hasn’t yet mastered messaging. It’s not
possible to satisfy more than 8 million incredibly diverse and opinionated
people. But, if you can show that our priorities
and cares are shared by you, we will, in our crabby way, cut you a considerable
amount of slack. de Blasio, by contrast,
seems to have found a handful of things that jangle the ears, and that static
is defining his Administration. A de Blasio
supporter told me yesterday “I don’t get it, I voted for him, I like him, and
he doesn’t seem to be listening to me.”
Many of the younger CPAC attendees apparently had the same
concerns with some of the speakers they heard.
They are conservative, free market, small government types, and they
share a disdain for Mr. Obama, but they were also excited by Rand Paul’s libertarian
ideas. Santorum-style social conservatism
doesn’t resonate with them. They don’t
see Snowden as a devil. The Rubio/Bolton
insistence on a military solution to every problem doesn’t appeal. “Small government” means “small” to them—out
of the economy, out of their pockets, and out of their emails and their personal
lives. Small government also means a
smaller and less assertive military. They
know very well that when the neo-cons are looking to flex muscle, it’s their
generation’s muscle (and arms and legs) that will end up being flexed. In short, they aren’t your father’s
conservatives, or Republicans.
This more libertarian attitude troubles and frightens many establishment
types in the GOP and the conservative media. They think if you are a Republican you should
have fixed ideas on climate change, environmental and health and safety
regulations, evolution, guns, abortion, contraception, domestic surveillance,
prayer in schools, Common Core, charter schools, the use of military power,
Obamacare, voting rights, gays, taxes, government spending, Cuba, immigration,
etc. etc.
The Millenials don’t. They agree with some, and don’t agree
with others. Which shouldn’t necessarily
be seen as comforting to Democrats either, because those very same Millenials are
also rejecting the Progressive menu. They
don’t think that every problem requires a government regulation, tax, or
program.
What is interesting about this group, regardless of whether
they like Rand Paul or Barack Obama, is their rejection of the jaded and cynical
views of most of their elders. They know
that neither Democrats or Republicans, Conservatives or Progressives, really
trust the average citizen to do the right thing—the only difference is whom to
use the power of the state on to bring into line.
The Millenials reject this, just as so many moderate and
thinking people of any age reject it, even if they aren’t articulating it. People are tired of being told what to
do. They are tired of the carping that
passes for substance. They are tired of
politicians taking them for granted, infantilizing them, or ignoring their real
needs in order to pursue an agenda.
Whether you are Mayor of the greatest city in the world, or
aspire to govern the greatest country in the world, if you want to really
accomplish something, you best be listening to FDR as he ended that first
Fireside Chat.
“It is your problem
no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.”
I would say we ought to give that a shot.
Michael Liss (Moderate Moderator)
Comments or questions, please contact the Moderator
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