Are Progressives Blowing the "Katrina Moment?"
(Cross-posted at DKos and elsewhere)
The New York Times had a discouraging but, I think, on-target piece earlier this week describing the closing window of opportunity for progressive reform in the wake of the Katrina catastrophe, and why progressives should see this as an issue of urgent national concern:
Let's be clear: If progressives fail to seize this opportunity, what will suffer are not only the people of the Gulf Coast, now at the mercy of real estate speculators, energy developers, far-right ideologues, and other nefarious interests. We will also lose a once-in-a-decade chance to resurrect the progressive agenda on a national scale.
This is our moment. Endlessly speculating about DeLay's indictments or the Plame investigation may be fun. But the Gulf debacle is something progressives can do something about, now, that has the potential to permanently shift the debate about fundamental inequalities in our society.
Progressives need to step up to the plate, and 1) support the fight for a democratic, just and sustainable rebuilding in the Gulf, and 2) work tirelessly and with laser focus to return issues of poverty and inequality to the top of the national agenda.
The thousand people who died and hundreds of thousands who have suffered in Katrina's wake deserve nothing less.
The New York Times had a discouraging but, I think, on-target piece earlier this week describing the closing window of opportunity for progressive reform in the wake of the Katrina catastrophe, and why progressives should see this as an issue of urgent national concern:
As Hurricane Katrina put the issue of poverty onto the national agenda, many liberal advocates wondered whether the floods offered a glimmer of opportunity. The issues they most cared about - health care, housing, jobs, race - were suddenly staples of the news, with President Bush pledged to "bold action."Katrina put issues of race and class on the national radar in a way that won't be repeated for a very long time. But the opportunity to discuss and act on these issues -- progressive issues -- is being largely squandered.
But what looked like a chance to talk up new programs is fast becoming a scramble to save the old ones [...]
"We've had a stunning reversal in just a few weeks," said Robert Greenstein, director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal advocacy group in Washington. "We've gone from a situation in which we might have a long-overdue debate on deep poverty to the possibility, perhaps even the likelihood, that low-income people will be asked to bear the costs."
Let's be clear: If progressives fail to seize this opportunity, what will suffer are not only the people of the Gulf Coast, now at the mercy of real estate speculators, energy developers, far-right ideologues, and other nefarious interests. We will also lose a once-in-a-decade chance to resurrect the progressive agenda on a national scale.
This is our moment. Endlessly speculating about DeLay's indictments or the Plame investigation may be fun. But the Gulf debacle is something progressives can do something about, now, that has the potential to permanently shift the debate about fundamental inequalities in our society.
Progressives need to step up to the plate, and 1) support the fight for a democratic, just and sustainable rebuilding in the Gulf, and 2) work tirelessly and with laser focus to return issues of poverty and inequality to the top of the national agenda.
The thousand people who died and hundreds of thousands who have suffered in Katrina's wake deserve nothing less.
2 Comments:
Apparently it is old news. I just did a quick scan of the top ten or so liberal/progressive blogs I follow, and found exactly 1 (one) post about the Katrina recovery (at Digby, an excerpt from the same NYT article). It's almost like it never happened.
People don't seem to grasp the enormity of the problem. And not just in New Orleans, as huge a problem as it is because of the population density. But most of the Gulf Coast and inland areas along the Texas and Louisiana border are virtually wiped out. Hundreds of thousands and maybe millions are homeless. Hell, there are still people living in trailers more than a year after Hurricane Charlie in Florida. The government says there are 22,000 still in shelters from Katrina/Rita and wants them out by the end of the week. They don't count the hundreds of thousands of others living in trailers, hotels, with relatives, or other temporary housing situations. It's like these people don't exist.
Sadly, the moment seems to have passed.
I'm talking as loudly as I can, unfortunely I'm not loud enough, YET!!
There are still people in Florida living in trailers from the storms of the past! This is a common ground where we as Americans must come together and rebuild!
Grace be with you............
Post a Comment
Return to Facing South's main page