A Poetic Interlude to Start Today

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.  "Give me your tired , your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

These long ago written words by Emma Lazarus have always made me proud to be a citizen of a country that stood for good and action in support of that good.  That is so far from the spirit of hate that dominates the Tea Party, The Freedom Caucus, and Trumpism.  That spirit of hatefulness is so in contrast to Ronald Reagan's statement:

"Respect for human rights is not social work; it is not merely an act of compassion.  It is the first obligation of government and the source of its legitimacy."

Right now I don't have much hope for such sentiments to be present in the next four years of government policy.  We have a Federalist Society that is salivating at the prospect of getting 3 Supreme Court justices who agree with their beliefs approved over the next 4 years.  What does that mean practically?

Well, you can anticipate Roe v Wade being overturned.  You can anticipate further tightening of state flexibility to control guns.  You can anticipate a reduction of Federal powers in favor of state powers, except on gun control or perhaps a woman's right to choose.

But I digress because my sadness for what such a Supreme Court stands behind is overwhelming when it comes to issues that effect the poor and the Middle Class.

The ironic reality is that the Democrats lost this election because they lost their focus on the economy and instead focused on all these issues of basic fairness.  People want to know that their personal economy is doing well and if it is not, they will vote for someone who they think cares about them.  if you are suffering economically, fairness to others declines as a priority.

It is not clear that the GOP has any policies that will help them nor is it clear whether those to be disappointed voters will ever return to supporting Democrats.  But this is where the Democrat's need to focus.  Unlike those long ago immigrants, few of these angry economic voters want to move to somewhere where there are jobs.  They want the jobs to be where they live now.  There is no path to fixing the Supreme Court other than winning elections in Red State legislatures and governorships and Congressional Districts and that will require a focus on economic policies.

I guess I have returned to a mourning stage after reading those words that inspired me so long ago. Perhaps we can drape the Statue of Liberty in black.