I'm sure that is true. Carter was a move to the right compared to past
Democrats, but not nearly as far to the right as Democrats today.
However I think the last year of the Carter Presidency represented
something new - his support for Volcker, his support for the contras.
He tried a more "dovish" approach to imperialism, and saw imperialism
weakened in every major foreign policy area. So he listened to hard
liners. (I'm probably oversimplifying by just attributing this
Carter. But there was a real policy change in his last year. I think
his faction hoped to preserved the Shahs regime without the Shah,
Somozisima without Somoza. When that fail, this faction moved back to
supporting the most reactionary elements. Domestically, the Carter
administration was reactionary on economic issues from the beginning.
He ran on renewable energy, but governed with proposals for crumbs for
renewables and hundreds of billions for shale oil. He was a tax
cutter, a deregulator. I won't deny the good he did, establishing a
path where draft resistors could obtain pardons. But I won't forget he
also restablished Selective Service registration. The U.S. at the end
of the Carter Presidency was more reactionary than at its beginning.
And executive actions had a lot to do with that. Again not denying the
good things he did, CAFE, funding for education, a human rights policy
that genuinely saved lives. The Democratic party is fundametally a
party of business that pretends to be something else and throws crumbs
to the working class. But I think Carter was unusually successful in
moving the country to right - further than I think was usual up to
that time under a Democratic administration. Though Clinton, and now
Obama managed to easily beat his record.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA
> 95929
>
> 530 898 5321
> fax 530 898 5901
> http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
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