Lawrence: Invoking FDR, Harris discusses American economic life in a way Trump never could

Vice President Harris pledged to engage in what Franklin Delano Roosevelt called “bold, persistent experimentation” in a major economic address in Pittsburgh. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell explains that because FDR engaged in “bold, persistent experimentation” we now have a federal minimum wage, government-mandated overtime pay, and Social Security, “the single biggest governing success in the history of bold, persistent experimentation.”

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[lightbox]

My Maternal Grandfather was a physician, conservative Republican. He hated Roosevelt in no small part because of the income tax and fears of "Socialized Medicine." My Paternal Grandfather was a WWI veteran and farmer. Roosevelt made sure that he did not lose his 56 acre Upstate NY dairy farm. I was raised with a liberal (if Irish Catholic) set of expectations and ethics. I attended College at a public East coast school where the Philosophy Department (in the early 1970's) was slanted towards Marxism. My other major was english literature which gave me the means to write and a desire to express my views and my education.. At 76, I am a social activist and advocate for the arts in Urban Newark, NJ. I may be an old white elitist white guy but Harris gives me hope for my children

[AMFMDX]

Everyday I hear and see reports that this race is razor-thin. How can it possibly be?! This woman is intelligent and has morals and there's simply no question she's the best choice to lead America. DJT is the poster boy of embarrassment.

[mikeyboypdx]

Thank God for fdr. I'm disabled and without social security I would literally be homeless and hungry.

[WilliamEricStone]

As an oncology nurse, (BSN RN), when Ms. Harris talks about caring for her mother, she sounds like a nurse. When she says that she would pick out dresses that were soft, so they did not irritate her skin, I know she actually did the work. Say what you mean, mean what you say!

[Riggsnic_co]

Our economy struggling with uncertainties, housing issues, foreclosures, global fluctuations, and pandemic aftermath, causing instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions need urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.

[ValerieJean-folc]

FDR was older , disabled and sickly, but no one cared. His leadership shone through and was elected 4 times.
Roosevelt also created the March of Dimes, which developed the vaccine for polio.
He got this country through the Great Depression and WW2.
Lest we forget, Eleanor. his partner who traveled this country and reported back about the condition of the people. She was his eyes and ears. She was deeply involved in the beginnings of the United Nations and the Declaration of Human Rights.
BLESS THEM BOTH.

[monikarathbone]

Thank you Lawrence, Kmala is giving me hope. Kamala and Tim are what we need.💙

[shalundaanderson]

I just love kamala Harris she is the women for American people her stories are so much like our family stories or life

[stevenflowers]

I was waiting for you to say social security.
Vote true Vote blue 💙

[jeancarol]

My family has 8 votes ready for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in North Carolina. 🔵🌊

[whitestar]

in 2020 my mother's dementia kicked in hard, so hard I had to give up my career and move across the country to take care of her until her neuro doctors started seeing patients again. I was able to keep her taken care of and safe only due to the fact that I was single and had no kids and expenses were low. I was able to keep her in her house for nearly a year and a half without any outside help. Then my aunts and uncles helped me find a assisted living facility for her which wiped out her retirement investments (8-10K a month depending on the amount of care she needed- it went up as she began to forget how to walk etc). She died two days shy of Christmas 2023...My hope is that as a country we could create ways that people could stay at home longer and support those family members that have to take on this duty by giving them credit toward student debt or substantial tax deduction that could be used over time...something has to give

[karenlyn]

Thank you Mr. Lawrence. You've stood heads above most reporters these days. Your Last Word has brought tears of pride and fired the coals of this old heart many times with your words. Thank God for you and for our most cherished Democratic Republic, the United States of America. We the People are listening sir, know that.

[tckemp]

Thank you, Lawrence. Thanks for highlighting Kamala's presentations. Really appreciate it.

[lukeelgon]

Regrettably, Lawrence, most Americans today couldn't tell you what the initials FDR stood for, let alone recognise the economic policy successes of the country's finest president. 😢

[cynthiawhite]

Social security has been the most successful anti-poverty federal government program in the history of the United States. If you look at the income of people over 65 in the last thirty years and what their income would be like without social security, you see the difference between stark poverty and a livable income. The United States was very lucky to have had FDR as president during a very difficult time in US history.

[adshdhhhd]

How can someone still hesitate? Or being dead sure to vote Trump? If you are a billionaire it makes sense, otherwise i don't get it.

[gloria]

Wealthiest people did not get there without using the middle-class.

[elendilnz]

I looked after my mother in her last year. As a single mother I would not have been able to do it if I were younger and still working. By the way, it is hard, but a privilege to do this — when you have a good heart.

[johnmyers]

Thank you for covering Kamal's speech. We need to hear and see more of Kamala. She is clearly laying out her priorities for the nation, which to my ears is inspiring intelligent and optimistic. I prefer substance over spectacle.

[giannisolga]

I read that many of the billionaire class back then considered FDR as a 'traitor to his class' and refused to say his name, referring to him only as 'that man.' I look forward to many billionaires and CEOs of the biggest corporations referring to the president as 'that woman.'