Ted Rall for May 12, 2021

I wouldn’t worry!! As soon as Russia invades the EU and the PRC starts “something” in the Pacific, you will see all the action you want Teddy-Boi!!

/SHNARK/

As Ted certainly knows, it wasn’t all rosy on the FDR side of the balance sheet. In order to get the southern Democrats in Congress to approve his New Deal, he agreed to measures that excluded most blacks from the resulting labour benefits.

I guess Joe isn’t giving enough fodder for Rall to rag on in his comics, so he has to do a meta-rant about how Joe isn’t giving him enough fodder.

But the first item has me puzzled. I’m sure he knows that Ronnie “reduced” the federal workforce by converting affordable government employees into overpriced contractors, so he knows that that’s a bogus statistic. But “22,000,000 now”? Is he adjusting the federal workers for inflation?

Because everything is exactly the same as it was in 19whatever.

FDR was in most ways an admirable president. Why is that Republicans despise and try to undo many of his achievements, even to this day? After all, many would point out he basically saved Capitalism for them.

The days of people working directly for the government are over, sadly. Contractors love their money. And ALL politicians love contractors.

Because you don’t have your buddy Bernie as president you are throwing stones at the one guy making things normal again. You are as bad as the idiots that still have Trump signs in their yard thinking that will change the world to their choice.

Well he is certainly trying, in the face of a GQP whose Senate leader has made it very clear that his only goal is to prevent anything that might benefit the American people from ever seeing the light of day.

What? Shovel ready projects and the fawning media aren’t enough?

Of course, Biden and FDR are operating in EXACTLY the same circumstances as each other. And note, it’s the media, not Biden, who’s claiming FDR’s mantle for him.

Ted is still taking those checks from Russia.

I think Rall has completely lost his mind! Roosevelt SIGNED legislation that Congress PASSED!

Rall conveniently forgets that, in the wings, Liar Trump does all he can to undermine Biden and Miserly Moscow Mitch does all he can to place hurdle after hurdle after hurdle in Schumer’s way to proceed. FDR had a desperate Congress which was truly concerned about the people and the economy. Biden has an adept and determined GOP Leadershit digging in their collective heels to protect the Corpocracy’s and the 1%’s $2 trillion tax break while accusing millions and millions of serfs of laziness for wanting a decent living wage. All Rall can do is bitch and moan about everyone. He has no suggestions about how to proceed; all he does is criticize those who are doing all the heavy lifting to try to benefit US, the 99%. Rall is safe and sound, carping from the sidelines, but not getting his hands dirty. Rall is a shameless hypocrite and opportunist who does not give a damn about anyone or anything, relying on his petulant prodding those who give a damn.

We know, Theodore, if Bernie wasn’t deprived of his rightful and pivotal place in American history. . .

Yeah, Joe can’t do in almost four months what FDR did in less than 5 terms in office!

FDR was the right man for the job in his time, which is now almost 90 years ago. The world and its economy has changed tremendously during those ensuing decades. Simply proposing solutions of the 1930’s as a panacea for today is utter folly.

Yes, Ted, Joe Biden hasn’t done anything at all. Just sitting on his hands, watching TV, and golfing.

Holy crap.

Have people been comparing Biden to FDR? And I mean real people, not political pundits making ideologically dishonest commentary. (Was it the New York Times?) Regardless, unless the year magically turned into 1932, I wouldn’t want FDR as president right now. And the four cherry picked points above are just an exercise in researching and citing esoterica and not dispositive about refuting the original somewhat silly comparison.

Does this mean that there’s actually a leader that Ted approves of?

So you want Ex-45 back?

Oh my God! Two different people are not acting exactly the same under entirely different times and circumstances! Bring me my smelling salts, STAT.

Let’s just ask Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema how many/which of the policy items they would vote for in this ’toon that Ted drew.

THEN lets consider whether President Biden ought to have proposed by now, let alone implemented.

I think a universal basic income (UBI) is inevitable within a century. If I was president and publicly proposed it right now, I would have to be a dolt because I know it has no chance of receiving the minimum support necessary from MY OWN PARTY, let alone the opposition, and I would (rightfully) expose myself to ridicule for lack of political acumen.

So whether Biden personally supports what Ted deems minimally necessary at this time or not (I’ve never heard Biden say anything about creating, for example, a federal workforce on the scale of the WPA, so I — like Ted — could offer at best only my own personal surmise of any policy position Biden may or may not hold re this issue), I can state that I think it would be immensely poor strategy for Biden or any other (D) president (or an Independent e.g. Bernie) to publicly reveal this policy goal without first obtaining a support commitment from a sufficient number of members of my own party (or the party I caucused with when a Senator).

Strategy, Ted. It can make or break goal aspirations.

Mr. Rall. While I respect that you don’t think Mr. Biden is the second coming of FDR (I don’t think so either), your metric is completely unfair.

Roosevelt inherited a depression. One third of working Americans were unemployed. He had strong congressional support. He had crushed his opponent in his election. Biden has none of those things going for him. No one has tried something like the WPA since FDR. One could make an argument for or against it, but hanging that on Biden is unfair.

As I pointed out LAST time you made this claim, no president has given as many press conferences as FDR and no one has come close since FDR. Presidents just don’t give press conferences any more. Television and the internet give presidents other means of communicating with America. I’ve seen Biden at least three times in one on one interviews on network TV.

The same is true about the number of speeches presidents give.

As for the Glass Stegall Act. Once again, a civics lesson. Presidents can propose legislation. They can sign it. They can not make it of pass it into law. That’s the job of the Congress.

Bag on President Biden all you will, but try to avoid being like the right wing critics who just make stuff up.

Rall — no plans to draw anything relevant !!

Don’t fret, Ted, there are a lot of people working to bring Trump back in 2024. Maybe you’ll be happy then.

It’s not Biden who is claiming that he is the same as FDR…

There has been a pandemic going on. You wanted people hired to do what, get the virus? With the virus coming under control businesses need employees and have a shortage. During the depression businesses weren’t hiring.

One Official Press conference, and many addresses and announcements. You didn’t need to wear your suit.

The Dodd-Frank Act was enacted to replace Glass-Steagall during Obama’s first year while Biden was vice president.

They aren’t the same. Other big differences: 1) far greater partisanship in Congress today compared to the 1940s, 2) improved technology from radio addresses to internet media propaganda, 3) one had 4 terms to make America great and the other has only been in office for 5 months, 4) thanks to Reagan GOP, Wall Street, banks, corporations have grown far stronger than they were when FDR was in charge. Oh yeah, as for Glass-Steagall Act, we can thank Conservatives and Corporate Democrats for destroying that law in 1999. More than 30 years of “Trickle Down” Conservatism and Corporate lobby control over both parties has sent this country on a path where we need a Social Democratic FDR type to fix without fear of alienating his/her party.

thanks to Reagan GOP, Wall Street, banks, corporations have grown far stronger than they were when FDR was in charge.

I think you’ll find that it was FDR himself who started that when he created the MIC by turning over much of government to the “dollar a year men” program initiated by (iirc) Wilson in WW1. Once FDR handed it over, the corporations never gave control of government back. And since corporation owners are mostly Rrrps, that should tell us why we spend most of our time in the gyppo.

Am I the only one who thinks Ted Rall has lost it ? Hey Ted do you really think Biden should have created 22 million jobs by now? Do you really think he should have given 133 press conferences by now. WTFDo you even think anymore?

Biden hasn’t done in 15 weeks what FDR did in 3-1/2 terms. Joe must be a failure, eh?

There sure are a lot of people who are grievously offended by Rall’s toons. Methinks they doth protest too much.

FDR’s party held two thirds of the Senate and almost three quarters of the House. Different world, for better and for worse.

Look at the choices we have made for President since Nixon was elected (I was around 12 when Kennedy was assassinated). While we all have our failings we have been lowering what is acceptable in our leaders we elect.

Who the hell is comparing FDR with Biden? And why? And if they are, can someone Up their meds?

Oblique to topic: -1000 from Biden for his failure to condemn the Zionists for their renewed crimes against the Palestinian people.

Wow, comparing the record of someone with 3 terms as President and one who has 4 months on the job

It’s all about asking “who’s paying?” And that is the difference.