"Lefty" Values

Mikaela asks:

Which White House radical named the basic human rights we all have to fight to get back, having lost them to Baby Boy Bush?

From the Op-Ed page in the NY Times:

"The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation.

"The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation.

"The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living.

"The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad.

"The right of every family to a decent home.

"The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.

"The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident and unemployment.

"The right to a good education."

When someone says that Democrats don't stand for anything anymore, that may be true. We don't stand much anymore. But it's time to get off our asses and rally around the heart and soul of democracy that "Democrats" used to stand for -- march for -- vote for.

Thank god for history that can remind us of what we used to have -- the vaules we still should embrace. I wish we could trip these values about basic human rights off our tongues at a moment's notice. I wish they were closer to the top of our priority lists. I wish they seemed more familiar and less distant. I wish our politicians would stand for these vaules so that I could vote for them!