por admin » Dom Sep 12, 2010 12:19 pm
Un poquito de historia, creo que para criticar o entender a un pais, hay que conocerlo. US pasa por una guerra filosofica, intelectual y de principios en estos momentos. Obama ha sido el catalista. Es que es posible renegar de todos los principios con los que este pais fue fundado? es que es posible renegar de su historia? de sus luchas internas? de la grandeza alcanzada hasta ahora? Es que se puede cambiar la filosofia de un pais sin esperar la resistencia de sus ciudadanos? Eso es lo que Obama esta pretendiendo hacer y se ha encontrado con que la mayoria de Americanos desinteresados en la politica, los que jamas salieron a protestar, jamas salieron a expresar su opinion, los que por generaciones calladamente han hecho conocer su opinion mediante su voto ahora estan de pie, ofendidos, escandalizados, saliendo a hacer manifestaciones publicas, movilizandose como nunca antes se vio en la historia de este pais para rechazar las politicas socialistas que han quebrado a Europa, politicas que son albergadas en las salas de clase de las universidades alrededor del mundo, pero de donde no deben salir por que en la practica fracasan.
Este Noviembre la revuelta Americana, callada, silenciosa va a poner las cosas en su sitio, va a restablecer el orden nuevamente. El patriotismo y el amor por su pais ha salido a florecer, todos se han unido contra Obama. Es una fuerza imparable.
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El Padre de la Politica Americana
James Madison es mas conocido como el Padre de la Constitucion. Su papel como activista politico no es conocido.
Este deberia ser su mes " La Convencion de la Constitucion" donde Madison termino el documento en Setiembre de 1787 . Y el Congreso envio los enmiendas conocidas como el Bill of Rights - donde tambien Madison tuvo un papel preponderante las cuales fueron enviadas a los estados en Setiembre de 1789.
Pero Madison tambien fue el padre de la politica Americana como la conocemos.
Madison ayudo a establecer el primer partido politico, los Republicanos. En 1971 como representate de Virigina y junto con Thomas Jefferson en un viaje a New York y New England, se embarcaron en un viaja para recolectar muestras biologicas para la American Philosophical Society y en su lugar recolectaron aliados politicos para ellos.
Hamiton fundo el otro partido llamado los Federalistas, partido que desaparecion en 1816 mientras los antiguos republicanos marchan hoy dia contra los democratas.
Madison ayudo a fundar el primer periodico del partido, la National Gazette. Contrato al primer editor.
El interes de Madison acerca de los periodicos nacia de su interes por el poder de la opinion publica. "Todo lo que facilita la expresion de los sentimiento, escribio en Diciembre de 1791....la circulacion de periodicos para toda la poblacion ....es favorable a la libertad. Entonces ..todo buen ciudadano .....sera un centinela de los derechos de los ciudadanos"
Madison aplaudiria nuestros sistemas de comunicacion de 24 horas al dia, siete dias a la semana.
Madison fue parte de la temprana forma de la maquinaria politica, la dinastia. America se habia levantado contro George III y la Casa de Hanover, pero la tentacion de continuar la disnatia continuaba. Los Federalistas como John Adams, nuestro segundo presidente, vio a su hijo mayor John Quincy Adams convertirse en el sexto presidente. Pero los Adams eran poco populares entre los que solo habian ganado un periodo. Entre la Dinastia de Virginia - los dos periodos de Jefferson, los dos periodos de Madison, los dos periodos de James Monroe-24 anios de gobierno entre amigos y vecinos.
Los Adams y los Kennedys, los Bushes y los Clintos en nuestra epoca - habian dinastias de sangre y matrimonio. Jefferson, Madison y Monroe hicieron una dinastia de hermanda ideologica.
No que Madison ignoro la importancia del matrimonio en la plitica. Despues de un romance no muy feliz cuando tenia mas de 30 anios, el dejo el romance a un costado hasta los 43 cuando se caso con una bella viuda, Dolley Payne Todd. Cuando Madison tomo el poder como Secretario de eEstado (en 1801) y como presidente en 1809, Dolley Madison se convirtio en algo mas que una hostess. Ella fue una esposa politica, America primero" mitad de la campania y con frecuencia la mejro mitad. Gregaria y extrovertida, ella completaba la personalidad de su esposo, quien era timido y estirado excepto con sus conocidos.
Martha Washington, la primera Primera Dama, fue amada pero domestica, Abigail Adams, la segunda fue politica pero abrasiva. Thomas Jefferson, el tercer presidente fue un viudo. Como un senador lo puso: only Madison tenia una esposa que lo ayudaba en sus pretensiones.
Madison tuvo exito como politico innovador por que el era un buen politico. Eso era natural para el: poner la agenda, el trabajo de comite, las maniobras parlamentarias. El crecio en una familia muy grande - seis hermanos, numerosas sobrinas, primas y primios-buen entrenamiento para un futuro legislador.
El trabajo en lo que no era natural para el: hablar en publico y haciendo campania politica. Su voz era debirl, una y otra vez los que escribian sus discursos debajan partes en blanco por que igual no se le escuchaba. Pero cuando las circunstancias lo requerian se hacia entender como cuando se enfrento en un debate al aire libre en plena tormenta de nieve contra Patrick Henry que termino con la nariz congelada. El gano los dos debates.
Madison se llevaba bien con los demas. El trabajo con George Washington, beneficiandose con su carisma y buen juicio, y antes de Hamilton, beneficiandose de su exuberancia. (Hamilton le pidio a Madison que contribuyera en la escritura de los documentos Federalistas, Madison termino escribiendo 29 de los 85 ensayos)
Como presidente, el aprendio algo sobre el dinero y el mundo de su Secretario del Tesoro, Albert Gallatin. El era un gran hombre que no tenia miedo de asistir o delegar a otros grandes hombres. El tambien trabajo con otros no tan grandes, que son parte del juego de la politica.
James Madison ayudo a construir la republica. El tambien era un partidario activista que contaba votos, hablaba, rascaba espaldas y cuando era necesario las apunialaba. El no tenia miedo del contraste, por sus mas profundos pensamientos, el le dijo a los arquitectos de la libertad que habia que entender y a veces usar la politica ordinaria, la ambicion y el interes propio para estar seguros que la republica duraria.
Mr. Brookhiser is the author, most recently, of "Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement" (Basic Books, 2009).
The Father of American Politics
James Madison's role in drafting the Constitution is well-known. His role as a media-savvy party activist is not.
By RICHARD BROOKHISER
James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution, reflecting his role in planning, writing and ratifying the nation's fundamental law. This should be his month: The Constitutional Convention, where he starred, finished the document in September 1787. And Congress sent the amendments that became the Bill of Rights—which Madison also played a major role in shaping—to the states in September 1789.
But Madison has another claim on our attention. He is the father of American politics as we know it.
Madison helped establish America's first political party, the Republicans. In 1791, as a representative from Virginia, he joined Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson on a trip through upstate New York and New England, supposedly collecting biological specimens for the American Philosophical Society but actually collecting political allies for themselves. The politician they wished to combat, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, already wielded great power through his office, and hence he was somewhat slower to organize a party; when he did, it took the name Federalists.
James Madison, the fourth U.S. president
.Madison and Jefferson built better than Hamilton: the Federalists disappeared as a national party in 1816, while the old Republicans march on today as the Democrats. (The modern GOP is an unrelated organization established in 1854.)
Madison helped found the first party newspaper, the National Gazette. (The Nation, The New Republic and National Review are latter-day reincarnations.) He recruited the paper's first editor, Philip Freneau, a versifier and college chum. Jefferson gave Freneau a nominal job as a translator in the State Department and in his free time Freneau smacked Hamilton in prose.
Madison's interest in newspapers flowed from his interest in the power of public opinion. "Whatever facilitates a general intercourse of sentiments," he wrote in a December, 1791 National Gazette essay,
". . . a circulation of newspapers throughout the entire body of the people . . . is favorable to liberty." Then "every good citizen will be . . . a sentinel over the rights of the people."
Drowning in both media and poll data today, we understand the importance of regularly measuring public opinion. But in the early republic consulting public opinion was a new concept.
The Federalists had little use for it. They thought the people should rule at the polls, then let the victors do their best until the next election. Madison foresaw, and applauded, our world of 24/7 news, comment and pulse-taking before it existed.
Madison belonged to an early form of the political machine, the dynasty. America had revolted against George III and the House of Hanover, but the dynastic temptation lingered on. Federalist John Adams, our second president, saw his eldest son, John Quincy Adams, become the sixth president. But the Adamses were unpopular one-termers. Between them stretched the Virginia Dynasty—two terms of Jefferson, two terms of Madison, two terms of James Monroe—24 years of government by friends and neighbors.
The Adamses—and the Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons in our day—had dynasties of blood and marriage. Jefferson, Madison and Monroe made a dynasty of ideological brotherhood.
Not that Madison ignored the political importance of marriage. After an unhappy courtship in his early 30s, he left romance alone until he was 43, when he married a pretty widow, Dolley Payne Todd. When Madison took office as Secretary of State (in 1801) and as president in 1809, Dolley Madison became more than a hostess. She was a political wife, America's first: half a campaign tag-team, and often the better half. Gregarious and outgoing, she completed her husband's personality, which was shy and stiff except with intimates.
Martha Washington, the first First Lady, was beloved but domestic; Abigail Adams, the second, was political but abrasive. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, was a widower. As one U.S. senator put it, only Madison had "a wife to aid in his pretensions."
Madison succeeded as a political innovator because he was good at politics. He did what came naturally to him: agenda-setting, committee work, parliamentary maneuvering. He grew up in a family as large as an oyster bed—six siblings who survived childhood, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins—good training for a future legislator.
He worked at what didn't come naturally: public speaking and campaigning. His voice was weak; time and again, note-takers at debates he participated in (such as in Virginia's convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution) left blanks in his remarks or simply gave up, because Mr. Madison "could not be distinctly heard." Yet when circumstances required it, he took on the flamboyant Patrick Henry and once tangled with his friend Monroe in the open air of a snow storm so bitter he got frost bite on his nose. He won both debates.
Madison played well with others. He worked with George Washington, profiting from his charisma and judgment, and before they fell out with Hamilton, profiting from his exuberance. (Hamilton tapped Madison to contribute to the Federalist Papers, which was initially Hamilton's project; Madison wrote 29 of the 85 essays.) As president, he learned something about money and the world from his Treasury secretary, Albert Gallatin. He was a great man who was not afraid of assisting or deferring to other great men (another legacy of his tight family life). He also worked with the less-than-great: hatchetmen, gossips, wire-pullers. They do the work of politics too. They are part of the game.
James Madison helped build a republic. He was also an ambitious party activist who counted votes, stumped, spoke, scratched backs and (when necessary) stabbed them. He would not be afraid of the contrast, for his deepest thinking told him that the architects of liberty had to understand and sometimes use the ordinary political materials of ambition and self-advancement to ensure that this republic would endure.
Mr. Brookhiser is the author, most recently, of "Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement" (Basic Books, 2009).