words of wisdom from Fightin Bob

[Ficus]

These are excerpts from a speech by Sen. Robert M. Lafollette of Wisconsin October 6, 1917. I thought it had relevance to today.

One of the best speeches defending the right to free speech in wartime I've ever read. Fightin Bob was an old school Republican - he wouldn't have been one today. He was probably more left than FDR.

<snip>
Neither the clamor of the mob nor the voice of power will ever turn me by the breadth of a hair from the course I mark out for myself, guided by such knowledge as I can obtain and controlled and directed by a solemn conviction of right and duty.

The purpose of this campaign
to throw the country into a state of terror,
to coerce public opinion, to stifle criticism,
and suppress discussion.

...

But more than this, if every preparation for war can be made the excuse for destroying free speech and a free press and the right of the people to assemble together for peaceful discussion, then we may well despair of ever again finding ourselves for a long period in a state of peace. ... The destruction of rights now occurring will be pointed to then as precedents for a still further invasion of the rights of the citizen. ...

<snip>

I hope everyone gets a chance to read this, or takes a minute or 5 to do it later. It's nice to know that some people have fought this fight before and kept our rights to hold our leaders accountable.

http://www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/timeline/r_lafollette_s2.html

[xray s]

1. Here is some more info on Fighting Bob

And to think he originally was a Republican!!

http://www.fightingbob.com/aboutbob.cfm

...This was the La Follette that his friend Emma Goldman referred to lovingly as "the finest, most inconsistent anarchist" of his time. This was the man so fierce in his convictions that he would risk consignment to political oblivion rather than abandon an unpopular position. The antithesis of the elected officials whose compromises characterize our contemporary condition, La Follette genuinely believed that the inheritors of America's revolutionary tradition would, if given the truth, opt not for moderation but for the most radical of solutions.

It was this militant faith in the people that enabled him to win reelection to the Senate in 1922 by an overwhelming margin. And this faith guided the Midwestern populist as he embarked on the most successful leftwing Presidential campaign in American history.

Running with the support of the Socialist Party, African Americans, women, organized labor, and farmers, La Follette terrified the established economic, political, and media order, which warned that his election would bring chaos. And La Follette gave them reason to fear. His Progressive Party platform called for government takeover of the railroads, elimination of private utilities, easier credit for farmers, the outlawing of child labor, the right of workers to organize unions, increased protection of civil liberties, an end to U.S. imperialism in Latin America, and a plebiscite before any President could again lead the nation into war.

Campaigning for the Presidency on a pledge to "break the combined power of the private monopoly system over the political and economic life of the American people" and denouncing, in the heyday of the Ku Klux Klan's resurgence, "any discrimination between races, classes, and creeds," La Follette told his followers: "Free men of every generation must combat renewed efforts of organized force and greed to destroy liberty." La Follette's 1924 crusade won almost five million votes--more than five times the highest previous total for a candidate endorsed by the Socialists. He carried Wisconsin, ran second in eleven Western states, and swept working-class Jewish and Italian wards of New York and other major cities--proving that a rural-urban populist coalition could, indeed, be forged.

My, the times have changed...

[Ficus]

2. There are a few Midwesterners like him

Such as Russ Feingold...and when Paul Wellstone was around, him too. Talk about people who don't back down. I'm proud of the populist traditions of the midwest.

Republicans sure used to be different. When he ran for President in 1924, he ran with a Democrat as his VP candidate...as a "Progressive" He only carried Wisconsin, BUT, got 17% of the vote nationally, the highest total from a 3rd party candidate last century with the exception of TR and H.R. Perot.

[Ficus]

3. another interesting bit on the 1924 election

Davis, the Democratic nominee, later went on to argue the LOSING side of Brown v Board of Education.

[IrateCitizen]

4. I believe it is only by the LaFollettes and his ilk...

... that our "grand experiment in democracy" has lasted for as long as it has. What is most troubling are the clear signs that this "democracy" has degenerated to the point that it really IS only a facade, a Potemkin village propped up to prevent the outbreak of all-out revolution if the people realized how unfree they truly are.

The question is, where is our LaFollette of today? I would like to think that we had one in Wellstone, but we are left only with the mensch from Minnesota's legacy now. Who will take up the mantle of radicalism as a calling for the peoples from all corners of America?

BTW, I love your Debs pin. He's a personal hero of mine. :bounce:

[Ficus]

5. LaFollette was a defender of Debs

despite LaFollette being a Republican and Debs a socialist. Debs spoke against the war and was imprisoned for it. LaFollette had a hand in getting him released from prison later. Unfortunatley, the IWW was broken up and for the most part, the Socialist Party lost most of it's pre-WWI influence by then.

I agree that we owe LaFollette lots of credit for his contributions toward keeping our democracy going through years like the 1910s and the red scare of the 1920s when both parties really seem a lot like they are today.

I liken LaFollette's fight against northeastern capitalists who controlled the lines of credit for farmers and the prices of railroad shipping that got their goods to market to what we face today.

Look at his 1924 platform (some are still relevant today):

An end to child labor, and the passage of laws to protect women workers
Outlawing the use of court injunctions in labor disputes
The election of federal judges
A drastic reduction in armaments
A breaking up of monopolies and near-monopolies
Public ownership of railroads

Who do we have fight these fights for us today?

Dennis Kucinich? Russ Feingold?

[IrateCitizen]

6. Oh, as a anarcho-socialist, I'm all over his 1924 platform

And I also agree with him, that times like this call for RADICAL solutions. It's the "nibbling around the edges" that has allowed things to get out of control. Then again, I'm also a big Emma Goldman fan -- I found her autobiography to be one of the most fascinating works I ever read! ;-)

I'd also add Bernie Sanders to your list. Likewise Sherrod Brown and Marcy Kaptur (both of Ohio). But it's still some pretty damned slim pickins. :-(

[Ficus]

8. Bernie is great

as is Henry Waxman too. Forgot him. Not as familiar with Serrod Brown or Marcy Kaptur (somewhat). Hopefully 04 will bring us a few great progressive leaders!

[Ficus]

7. another word on Debs

one thing I LOVE about Deb's speeches, was that he was a Socialist, yet he gave some of the most impassioned PATRIOTIC speeches I've read.

He talked about the legacy of our founding fathers, and how they fought tyrrany and oppression, and how it is our duty to keep doing that. The masters then were monarchists, now our masters are the capitalist class. Nonetheless, it is our duty to fight for our freedoms and fellow citizens. He was a great patriot!

[IrateCitizen]

9. Emma Goldman described Debs as one of the finest men...

... she ever met. Upstanding and forthright and impassioned in every sense of the words.

Coming from a woman with the brutal honesty of "Red Emma", I would see that as a supreme compliment. She was unsparing of anyone -- least of all herself. While she did take issue with Debs' "naive" embrace of socialism rather than anarchism, she still saw him as a very rare human being.

You're exactly right on his speeches. I actually first discovered Debs through my passion for anything that Kurt Vonnegut has ever read (they were both Hoosiers!). Everything since that I have read about him has only served to elevate his stature in my mind.

[Ficus]

10. kickin it

before I leave work for the day.

Kick it for free speech!