Is Jimmy Carter a repentant establishment figure?

[RadioRaheem84]

He supports Troy Davis, he goes to Cuba to meet Castro and support him, he supports the Palestinians and calls Israel an apartheid state, says the US should tax rich, builds homes for the poor.

I mean under his administration the US funded the war lords and reactionaries in Afghanistan, the Volcker Shock sent this nation into neo-liberalism, and and he was a cold war supporter of the Shah, among other reactionary client states.

I mean what gives? Is he trying to make up for being an establishment head? Now he is some progressive appearing on Democracy Now! ?

[blake 3:17]

He's pretty awesome. He doesn't really have anything to lose & is willing to use his position to advance important causes.

He seems to have moved quite a lot to the left in recent years and seems sincerely commited to social justice. His position on Israel/Palestine has done a lot of good here in legitimizing the apartheid description of Israel.

Be grateful for progressive Christians!

[eric922]

His work with the mentally ill is also worthy of praise, because that is a group that is looked down upon in America.

[unfriendly]

His work with the mentally ill is also worthy of praise, because that is a group that is looked down upon in America.

What's he done for us?

[L.A.P.]

Guilt?

[Dumb]

Heh, I almost forgot for a moment that Carter was responsible for the start of the arms buildup, supply-side economics, and energy deregulation (among other policies that make me gag).

[DarkPast]

What's he done for us?

He set up a Presidential Commission on Mental Health, which was intended to recommend policies to overcome various deficiencies in the mental health system. Unfortunately, while the the Commission's work led to the formulation of the influential National Plan for the Chronically Mentally Ill, a system of care and treatment for persons with serious mental illnesses was never created.

[La Comédie Noire]

He was probably privy to some low down and shady dealings in his tenure as President that caused him to have a radical paradigm shift.

[Susurrus]

It was that attack by the killer rabbit that caused him to reconsider his priorities in life. :p

In all seriousness, although I like his humanitarian stuff, I'm fairly certain that his diplomatic works has never once opposed US interests, and has once or twice caused more harm than good.

[Yuppie Grinder]

being a cool dude by U.S. president standards isn't much of an acheivment

[unfriendly]

He set up a Presidential Commission on Mental Health, which was intended to recommend policies to overcome various deficiencies in the mental health system. Unfortunately, while the the Commission's work led to the formulation of the influential National Plan for the Chronically Mentally Ill, a system of care and treatment for persons with serious mental illnesses was never created.

So, nothing, then?

[DarkPast]

So, nothing, then?

As far as I know, it did very little aside from transferring the responsibility for the mentally ill to the states. But it was a sincere attempt to help and his wife is still active in it. For example, there's The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, whichs provide stipends to journalists who report on topics related to mental health or mental illnesses in the USA.

Another thing to bear in mind what came right after Carter: Reagan's mishandling of the mentally ill (like that of other oppressed groups): business interests were served and doctors appeased, but the patients were forgotten. So this makes the Carter era look good in comparison.