The Political Tide
Breaks? Roll Tide!
"David Souter and John Paul Stevens (both Republicans) were so repulsed by the party of George W. Bush that they gave the most precious gift any Justice can proffer to his successor, Barack Obama - their seats on the Court." -
The New Yorker, Justice O'Connor Regrets (5-7-13)
"David Souter and John Paul Stevens (both Republicans) were so repulsed by the party of George W. Bush that they gave the most precious gift any Justice can proffer to his successor, Barack Obama - their seats on the Court." -
The New Yorker, Justice O'Connor Regrets (5-7-13)
By J.M. Hamilton
(5-11-13)
There were many recent articles that caught my eye, concerning Mrs. Thatcher's passing. One line in particular really struck home. Perhaps the story was in the Times of London. At the end of her political career, PM Thatcher lamented Labor's rightward shift, and seeing Tory policies co-opted by what was formerly the political left, Labor.... which today, is right of center. Witness the prime example, what the British press referred to as Bush's (W) poodle, PM Tony Blair. Mr. Blair was more Toff than Laborite, and after years of government service, and no experience in the private sector, inexplicably, he parachuted out of office fabulously wealthy. I never dreamed government paid so well? Mr. Blair's foreign policy was closely associated with the neo-cons running Washington during the last decade, and the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. To look at the PM and his policies, you never knew the U.K. was being run by the Labor Party.
With PM Blair, Labor's assimilation into Tory establishment, policies and practices was complete.
Labor and in this country, Democrats, were both closely associated with the financial crisis that dropped lady liberty to her knees, also brought down old smoke, and nearly tore the London financial district in two.
J.M.H. has pointed out the rightward shift in this country on many occasions. From acknowledging President Obama as the uber 2012 Republican candidate to writing of the most fiscally conservative President in the last 35 years, Mr. Bill Clinton. In this country Mr. Reagan set off the political plate tectonics with his rhetoric, and Mr. Clinton jumped the Rubicon when he hired campaign advisor Mr. Dick Morris ( Arch - Right Wing Conservative, Senator Jesse Helm's advisor) to help him land his second term. Mr. Morris' advice to the "liberal" Clinton?
Turn hard right.
He did, and some of the worst banking deregulation in last thirty-five years, much of it initiated by Senate Republican Phil Gramm, was passed under Mr. Clinton's watch.
As this blog has asserted previously, in watching the Dems and GOP fall all over themselves to support the plutocracy (with tax breaks, welfare, friendly political appointees, SCOTUS nominees, and government giveaways), at the expense of the remnants of the middle-class, the poor and downtrodden... it's as if we live in a one party state.
That's why I find it so interesting and surreal when I hear the extremist refer to President Obama as Satan. A very good friend of mine, very smart and very conservative, believes that to be the case.
"President Obama is not Satan," I soberly explained. "Why, Mr. Obama would have to stand in line behind Mephistopheles to reclaim his throne from my Ex-wife." But my friend was having none of it. As if to emphasize the evils of government over the relatively benign private sector, he asked the following question.
"What would you rather have, J.M.?
A) A despotic commander and chief? Or
B) A chief executive officer gone rogue?
Which is worse?"
I rejoined, what's worse is the rogue CEO (not that all CEOs are rogue). You see, I replied, we can still vote the President out of office, or let the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution run its course (as aside, it's a damn shame the 22nd doesn't apply to all judgeships and state and federal officeholders). Given the state of shareholder rights today, it is nearly impossible remove an entrenched board or management team from running a company, look at J.P. Morgan and Mr. Dimon's dual role. What's more, some of these corporations have the financial, economic and political power of nation states; and indeed, have balance sheets and incomes statements that exceed the GDP of many small to mid-sized nations. Couple economic and political power with regulatory capture, tax and labor arbitrage, a Citizens United decision, and a toadying Supreme Court, add in zero social responsibility - and well yes, some cartels, monopolies, and corporations have the power to take down the global economy, kingdoms, elected officials and political parties (witness the Wall Street and London banking cartels, circa 2008).
It's monopolistic power that we have to fear, I explained to my friend; our elected politicians are merely servants to this higher private sector power. In fact, I said, Mr. Obama, with no disrespect meant, is a caretaker President, and a very good one at that. He serves corporate interests like any Republican would. Observe the manufactured stock market results, the Wall Street bailouts, his private sector appointees - from Government Sachs and the Wall Street Cartel - to high government regulatory positions, and his friend at the Fed - with the printing press set on over-drive, deficit spending like a Republican on a bender (a la Reagan and both Bush presidencies), irresponsible MIC budgets, and what has become his own war without end, Afghanistan. President Obama, like Mr. Clinton before him, has effectively co-opted GOP domestic and foreign policy in many areas, with the sop of Obama -care, previously Romney-care, thrown to those in need. Not only that, he's emasculated the GOP, while ripping off many of the previous administration's policies.
Don't you see it, Obama - like Mr. Clinton before him - is a Republican? But my friend wasn't buying. My friend is certainly no racist, but I suspect that for too many conservatives, they just can't get past the President's skin color to recognize the President as one of their own. Besides, demonizing the President sells very well, and caters to the extreme right. Hence, the current division within the GOP over immigration reform. Legalize a flood of immigrants and the GOP and the DNC will change forever, as will the balance of power in this country. It's what many caucasians and the elite fear most: Democracy.
My guess is the nation's political establishment has moved so far right, while the general population has moved increasingly towards moderation and tolerance - particularly the youth on social policy, that an articulate and well intentioned left of center candidate might kick some serious A in the next presidential election. (It's an absolute shame that the American public doesn't recognize M&A activity, cartels, private equity, and monopolies for what they are.... job killing, economy draining, opportunity threatening, and private sector taxing succubi. When they do, that's when real political change will occur in this country.) A candidate to the right of Nixon but to left of the ultra-conservative President Obama or even the more right leaning, Hillary, could sweep this nation. That's right, I said it... President Obama, and Hillary, are much further right than President Nixon ever was, while in the White House. It was under Mr. Nixon's watch that the EPA and OSHA were created, wage and price controls set, the dollar was taken off the gold standard, and more great society programs were expanded than Messrs. Kennedy and Johnson ever dreamed of... and of course, it was Nixon, who quite correctly, embraced the Chinese Reds! Mr. Nixon, by today's standards, might appear more like a late 60's acid freak, than a GOP stalwart; but, smartly, he was just catering to the middle-class, the demands of the time, and maintaining his own power.
President Nixon was the last liberal we had in the White House, when we observe his administration's polices, not his rhetoric. And like most moderate establishment Republicans of yesteryear, he appreciated and supported business, but not at the expense, primacy, or efficacy of the government's power, and in particular, his own power.
By comparison than, President Obama appears positively right-wing.
My how the times have changed. Democrats are not only giving the GOP a run for their money, but in fact have run over the GOP in catering to the plutocracy's needs, or at least can be counted on to turn a convenient blind eye to real reform.
And as for the "rogue CEOs" and intransigent board of directors? Well, since many cartel's are dependent upon the state and the taxpayer (e.g. Wall Street) for their very existence, shouldn't the public enjoy at least a 25% share of the board of directors seats? "Revolving door insiders" need not apply. Mr. Buckley once said he rather the nation be ruled by an indiscriminate selection of folks within the Boston phone directory, than the Harvard faculty. Now, there's an idea. Maybe a national lottery to see which members of the public fill those corporate board seats, within the nation's/public's government sponsored cartels and monopolies?
My guess is that if such a proposal were to become law (along with higher reserve requirements, and a substantive interest rate increase at the federal funds window), the nation's banking cartel couldn't get small fast enough. Ms. Thatcher and Mr. Reagan kick-started a right-wing revolution that is with us to this very day, but the tide -she's finally beginning to recede. The Ghost of Ms. Thatcher might rejoice that the Tories and Republicans may have a little less competition in the future, as opposed to support from the Tory-lite and Republican-lite political parties, Labor and the Dems.
There were many recent articles that caught my eye, concerning Mrs. Thatcher's passing. One line in particular really struck home. Perhaps the story was in the Times of London. At the end of her political career, PM Thatcher lamented Labor's rightward shift, and seeing Tory policies co-opted by what was formerly the political left, Labor.... which today, is right of center. Witness the prime example, what the British press referred to as Bush's (W) poodle, PM Tony Blair. Mr. Blair was more Toff than Laborite, and after years of government service, and no experience in the private sector, inexplicably, he parachuted out of office fabulously wealthy. I never dreamed government paid so well? Mr. Blair's foreign policy was closely associated with the neo-cons running Washington during the last decade, and the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. To look at the PM and his policies, you never knew the U.K. was being run by the Labor Party.
With PM Blair, Labor's assimilation into Tory establishment, policies and practices was complete.
Labor and in this country, Democrats, were both closely associated with the financial crisis that dropped lady liberty to her knees, also brought down old smoke, and nearly tore the London financial district in two.
J.M.H. has pointed out the rightward shift in this country on many occasions. From acknowledging President Obama as the uber 2012 Republican candidate to writing of the most fiscally conservative President in the last 35 years, Mr. Bill Clinton. In this country Mr. Reagan set off the political plate tectonics with his rhetoric, and Mr. Clinton jumped the Rubicon when he hired campaign advisor Mr. Dick Morris ( Arch - Right Wing Conservative, Senator Jesse Helm's advisor) to help him land his second term. Mr. Morris' advice to the "liberal" Clinton?
Turn hard right.
He did, and some of the worst banking deregulation in last thirty-five years, much of it initiated by Senate Republican Phil Gramm, was passed under Mr. Clinton's watch.
As this blog has asserted previously, in watching the Dems and GOP fall all over themselves to support the plutocracy (with tax breaks, welfare, friendly political appointees, SCOTUS nominees, and government giveaways), at the expense of the remnants of the middle-class, the poor and downtrodden... it's as if we live in a one party state.
That's why I find it so interesting and surreal when I hear the extremist refer to President Obama as Satan. A very good friend of mine, very smart and very conservative, believes that to be the case.
"President Obama is not Satan," I soberly explained. "Why, Mr. Obama would have to stand in line behind Mephistopheles to reclaim his throne from my Ex-wife." But my friend was having none of it. As if to emphasize the evils of government over the relatively benign private sector, he asked the following question.
"What would you rather have, J.M.?
A) A despotic commander and chief? Or
B) A chief executive officer gone rogue?
Which is worse?"
I rejoined, what's worse is the rogue CEO (not that all CEOs are rogue). You see, I replied, we can still vote the President out of office, or let the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution run its course (as aside, it's a damn shame the 22nd doesn't apply to all judgeships and state and federal officeholders). Given the state of shareholder rights today, it is nearly impossible remove an entrenched board or management team from running a company, look at J.P. Morgan and Mr. Dimon's dual role. What's more, some of these corporations have the financial, economic and political power of nation states; and indeed, have balance sheets and incomes statements that exceed the GDP of many small to mid-sized nations. Couple economic and political power with regulatory capture, tax and labor arbitrage, a Citizens United decision, and a toadying Supreme Court, add in zero social responsibility - and well yes, some cartels, monopolies, and corporations have the power to take down the global economy, kingdoms, elected officials and political parties (witness the Wall Street and London banking cartels, circa 2008).
It's monopolistic power that we have to fear, I explained to my friend; our elected politicians are merely servants to this higher private sector power. In fact, I said, Mr. Obama, with no disrespect meant, is a caretaker President, and a very good one at that. He serves corporate interests like any Republican would. Observe the manufactured stock market results, the Wall Street bailouts, his private sector appointees - from Government Sachs and the Wall Street Cartel - to high government regulatory positions, and his friend at the Fed - with the printing press set on over-drive, deficit spending like a Republican on a bender (a la Reagan and both Bush presidencies), irresponsible MIC budgets, and what has become his own war without end, Afghanistan. President Obama, like Mr. Clinton before him, has effectively co-opted GOP domestic and foreign policy in many areas, with the sop of Obama -care, previously Romney-care, thrown to those in need. Not only that, he's emasculated the GOP, while ripping off many of the previous administration's policies.
Don't you see it, Obama - like Mr. Clinton before him - is a Republican? But my friend wasn't buying. My friend is certainly no racist, but I suspect that for too many conservatives, they just can't get past the President's skin color to recognize the President as one of their own. Besides, demonizing the President sells very well, and caters to the extreme right. Hence, the current division within the GOP over immigration reform. Legalize a flood of immigrants and the GOP and the DNC will change forever, as will the balance of power in this country. It's what many caucasians and the elite fear most: Democracy.
My guess is the nation's political establishment has moved so far right, while the general population has moved increasingly towards moderation and tolerance - particularly the youth on social policy, that an articulate and well intentioned left of center candidate might kick some serious A in the next presidential election. (It's an absolute shame that the American public doesn't recognize M&A activity, cartels, private equity, and monopolies for what they are.... job killing, economy draining, opportunity threatening, and private sector taxing succubi. When they do, that's when real political change will occur in this country.) A candidate to the right of Nixon but to left of the ultra-conservative President Obama or even the more right leaning, Hillary, could sweep this nation. That's right, I said it... President Obama, and Hillary, are much further right than President Nixon ever was, while in the White House. It was under Mr. Nixon's watch that the EPA and OSHA were created, wage and price controls set, the dollar was taken off the gold standard, and more great society programs were expanded than Messrs. Kennedy and Johnson ever dreamed of... and of course, it was Nixon, who quite correctly, embraced the Chinese Reds! Mr. Nixon, by today's standards, might appear more like a late 60's acid freak, than a GOP stalwart; but, smartly, he was just catering to the middle-class, the demands of the time, and maintaining his own power.
President Nixon was the last liberal we had in the White House, when we observe his administration's polices, not his rhetoric. And like most moderate establishment Republicans of yesteryear, he appreciated and supported business, but not at the expense, primacy, or efficacy of the government's power, and in particular, his own power.
By comparison than, President Obama appears positively right-wing.
My how the times have changed. Democrats are not only giving the GOP a run for their money, but in fact have run over the GOP in catering to the plutocracy's needs, or at least can be counted on to turn a convenient blind eye to real reform.
And as for the "rogue CEOs" and intransigent board of directors? Well, since many cartel's are dependent upon the state and the taxpayer (e.g. Wall Street) for their very existence, shouldn't the public enjoy at least a 25% share of the board of directors seats? "Revolving door insiders" need not apply. Mr. Buckley once said he rather the nation be ruled by an indiscriminate selection of folks within the Boston phone directory, than the Harvard faculty. Now, there's an idea. Maybe a national lottery to see which members of the public fill those corporate board seats, within the nation's/public's government sponsored cartels and monopolies?
My guess is that if such a proposal were to become law (along with higher reserve requirements, and a substantive interest rate increase at the federal funds window), the nation's banking cartel couldn't get small fast enough. Ms. Thatcher and Mr. Reagan kick-started a right-wing revolution that is with us to this very day, but the tide -she's finally beginning to recede. The Ghost of Ms. Thatcher might rejoice that the Tories and Republicans may have a little less competition in the future, as opposed to support from the Tory-lite and Republican-lite political parties, Labor and the Dems.
PS:
This piece is dedicated to Mr. Alan Abelson, a great
writer, journalist, and one of many inspirations for this blog. His wit, insight, and sardonic humor will be
missed greatly.
And finally, Thanks Mom!
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2013
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2013
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