Punching Nazis: The Plan To End The Republican Party Excerpt Version | Page 3
But the truth is , the American Left has been out of power more often than we have been in power in America . Progress has been the exception rather than the rule . In the history of this country , there have only been two or three periods during which significant progressive policy was enacted . One of the greatest eras of progress in America happened during the 60 ’ s and 70 ’ s during the Kennedy , Johnson and Carter administrations . But every other Democratic administration was elected only after conservatives had practically burned the country to the ground with their policies — FDR after the depression , Clinton after Reagan , Obama after GW Bush and now Biden after Trump . It seems that America trusts us to clean up the messes left by the American Right , but they don ’ t want us to govern long term . There are reasons for this and we ’ ll talk about them in this book . The long term rightwing hold on power has resulted in an American Left that is always playing catch up . Whenever we are successful in moving forward , it turns out that we are merely getting back to the starting line ; a baseline that is itself moving further rightward and backward each year .
So clearly it ' s not enough to be outraged . The American Left must translate that outrage into action . Not just any action , but directed action . From Outrage to Action was intended to be a blueprint for that . Then the 2016 presidential election happened and America made the biggest mistake it has ever made as a nation . I watched in horror with the rest of Decent America at the rise of authoritarianism , fascism , white supremacy , lawlessness , and cronyism . We all watched as the constitution was mocked and the checks and balances that were supposed to protect our democracy became merely words on paper .
But the truth is , the American Left has been out of power more often than we have been in power in America . Progress has been the exception rather than the rule . In the history of this country , there have only been two or three periods during which significant progressive policy was enacted . One of the greatest eras of progress in America happened during the 60 ’ s and 70 ’ s during the Kennedy , Johnson and Carter administrations . But every other Democratic administration was elected only after conservatives had practically burned the country to the ground with their policies — FDR after the depression , Clinton after Reagan , Obama after GW Bush and now Biden after Trump . It seems that America trusts us to clean up the messes left by the American Right , but they don ’ t want us to govern long term . There are reasons for this and we ’ ll talk about them in this book . The long term rightwing hold on power has resulted in an American Left that is always playing catch up . Whenever we are successful in moving forward , it turns out that we are merely getting back to the starting line ; a baseline that is itself moving further rightward and backward each year .
So clearly it ' s not enough to be outraged . The American Left must translate that outrage into action . Not just any action , but directed action . From Outrage to Action was intended to be a blueprint for that . Then the 2016 presidential election happened and America made the biggest mistake it has ever made as a nation . I watched in horror with the rest of Decent America at the rise of authoritarianism , fascism , white supremacy , lawlessness , and cronyism . We all watched as the constitution was mocked and the checks and balances that were supposed to protect our democracy became merely words on paper .