Former talk-show host Jerry Springer discussed elitism in American politics Wednesday night in Gaston Hall, arguing that the Bush administration’s policies should better reflect the views of the American people. Its current policies, Springer said, has shifted world opinion against us.
“We will surely win the war, but we will lose the world,” he said.
Springer’s speech focused on international reaction to “American arrogance” in the world. Springer said the Bush administration provided no consistent reason for the war. He discussed how the focus changed from freeing Iraqi citizens to removing Saddam Hussein, and then to getting rid of nuclear weapons.
Springer, who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio before hosting the popular Jerry Springer Show, discussed the way in which Americans have now became targets in the international community.
“Terrorism is a fact of life, but what we are in engaged in has made America more vulnerable than it has ever been,” he said.
“We have been drafted,” Springer said. “Wherever you travel in the world, you are now a target.”
Springer criticized the Bush administration’s rejection of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and the International Criminal Court.
“We just spit on the rest of the world,” he said. “We rip up any treaty that we don’t like.”
On the domestic front, Springer criticized Bush’s tax cut policy, which he said unfairly favored the rich.
“Instead of giving it to me, why don’t they give it to help fund failing schools with scarce materials and to help lower-and-middle class Americans?” he said.
Springer stressed that universal healthcare should be a priority. “We will spend anywhere between 75 and 200 billion dollars on a war, but Americans are still burdened with the rising costs of healthcare,” he said.
Springer defended America as a haven for freedom and opportunity.
“If we turn our backs on the world, we will no longer be special, and we will pay the price for that,” Springer said.
Springer, a Democrat, is contemplating running against Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) next year on a platform emphasizing education and quality-of-life issues. He expects to decide on a run by this summer, after reviewing the response to his message.
The speech, titled “The Ugly Face of Elitism in U.S. Politics,” was sponsored by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund.
