From:
Occupy Wall Street and the Democratic Party
(WSWS.org) -- by Bill Van Auken --
As the Occupy Wall Street protest enters its fourth week, it confronts increasingly sharp political pressures and choices that center on the question of the Democratic Party.
On Thursday, both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden made statements meant to project sympathy for the protesters. Obama, at a White House press conference, declared that they “are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works.” In virtually the same breath he defended his support for the TARP bailout of the banks...
The aim of the Democrats is to politically emasculate this movement and somehow harness it behind the reactionary policies of the Obama administration. They want to turn it into a harmless safety valve for popular anger while at the same time using it to “energize” the Democrats’ base.
As the New York Times reported Friday, “To hear some Democratic analysts tell it, the mushrooming protests could be the start of a populist movement on the left that counterbalances the surge of the Tea Party on the right, and closes what some Democrats fear is an ‘enthusiasm gap.’”
This intention was made clear by union leaders who were paraded before the mass protest held in New York City’s Foley Square on Wednesday. Their empty demagogy and tired chants were interspersed with announcements of Democratic Party officials who had turned up for the occasion. One of the union officials, TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen, affirmed that the Wall Street protesters should get behind the drive to reelect Obama.
Meanwhile, a collection of Democratic notables have either paid visits to the encampment at Zuccotti Park or issued statements professing support for the protest...
The Democrats’ aims were further spelled out in a column by Paul Krugman in the New York Times Friday. Citing gestures of support from unions and Democratic officials, Krugman wrote, “Occupy Wall Street is starting to look like an important event that might even eventually be seen as a turning point.”
A turning point to what? Essentially, a second term for Barack Obama.
“Democrats are being given what amounts to a second chance,” wrote Krugman. “The Obama administration squandered a lot of potential good will early on by adopting banker-friendly policies that failed to deliver economic recovery even as bankers repaid the favor by turning on the president. Now, however, Mr. Obama’s party has a chance for a do-over. All it has to do is take these protests as seriously as they deserve to be taken.”
What, precisely, is Obama to “do over?” The agenda for a second term has already been set by a $4 trillion deficit-reduction program that will be translated into devastating cuts to core social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, continuing record unemployment, and even deeper reductions in real wages for the working class.
What the Democrats really want to “do over” is their 2008 election victory, using populist demagogy to mask policies that uphold the interests of the banks, corporations and super-rich. This is where they see the Wall Street protests as potentially useful. If they can somehow identify themselves with popular protest against these conditions, they hope to mask the real record of the Obama administration.
They are desperate to breathe new life into the illusion that the Democrats are somehow a “lesser evil” and a means of combating the Republicans and Wall Street...MORE...LINK
-------------------------
Chris Moore comments:
The money-worshipping, two-party regime elites are a clever lot. Plunder the credit and mature markets built up by the sacrafices of generations of hard-working Americans by granting a blank check to the Fed, which then distributes billions to banksters, who then hand it out to their cronies at zero interest, who then use chunks of that money to finance the campaigns of the two-party regime elites...
It's a closed loop pyramid scheme serving a network of fascist insiders masquarading as democracy.
The Democrats may be the most cynical of all, papering over their fascism with platitudes about equality, social justice, and human rights, even as they escalate bombing of women and children in the Mideast in wars for Israel and the military-industrial complex, and rob average Americans blind by plundering their country, its credit, and its future.
They're like someone who shows up at a car wreck pretending to help the victims, who then picks their pockets while they're splayed out on the street.
But the socialists have it all wrong. Any state is, by its nature, is murderous, thieving, coercive and authoritarian. The Communists murdered and plundered millions before the fascists ever got going. Outlaw capitalism, and the most greedy, venal and ruthless elements of society simply join the Party, become commissars and live the same life style, only with even more power.
Only a well written, finely-crafted Constitution limiting both Big Government and Big Business, one that is ruthlessly enforced, can ever get us where we want to be. Government needs to be trust-busted, and so does business, and even any unions that get too big. All corporations, from government to business to unions should be perpetually suspect. Only a propoer Constitution, a leadership that is committed to enforcing the rule of law, and an educated and responsible populace that can comprehend the crucial necessity of living by and enforcing the Constitution is capable solving the problems afflicting the U.S. and the world.
If every country organized itself along these lines, the insanity could be brought to an end.
FOR LIBERTARIAN NATIONALISM: ANTI-CORPORATIST, ANTI-COMMUNIST, ANTI-GLOBALIST...PRO-SOVEREIGNTY, PRO-POPULIST, PRO-FREE ENTERPRISE
My Other Blog & Comments
News and Information Feed
-
Open Thread38 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
-
Who's In Favor Of A Potential TikTok Ban?54 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
NATO wars2 hours ago
-
Monday April 292 hours ago
-
-
-
-
What Made America Great3 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Earth Day—A Phony Holiday3 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/28/20243 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Eugen Dühring8 hours ago
-
Follow the Money8 hours ago
-
-
The complicated truth about being stalked8 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
What An Incredible Hike!9 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
A lesson in privilege10 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Why Biden’s Losing Young Voters10 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sunday, April 28, 202413 hours ago
-
-
-
Arthur Topham RIP - ZOG Opponent15 hours ago
-
-
The Scramble For Antarctica15 hours ago
-
-
-
The Collapse of The Enlightenment17 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
News Briefs – 04/28/202420 hours ago
-
-
All About Ed22 hours ago
-
-
Washington Moves On to Plan B23 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Colleges revolts against Israel1 day ago
-
-
-
Month of the Leader, part 31 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Kim Iversen Show2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I Called It Five Years Ago!2 days ago
-
A Derb Tribute Show2 days ago
-
The dumbest decision.3 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Democracy For Dummies5 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Now Argentina Wants To Join NATO1 week ago
-
-
-
-
Tulsi Gabbard Left The Woke War Party3 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
Help Whatfinger Grow…4 weeks ago
-
-
-
Navigating Taxation Policy1 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
So sorry about tomorrow3 months ago
-
-
-
TFeed Index 20233 months ago
-
-
-
-
Headline 3: Of Christmas And Paganism5 months ago
-
Imagine Being This Desperate5 months ago
-
-
Hardcore7 months ago
-
Media Say ... Gloom And Doom In China7 months ago
-
-
U.S. Openly Militarizes Space8 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Conversations With Cabbies10 months ago
-
-
-
-
Hegemon USA’s War on Truth-Telling11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tips1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Man, Bear, Pig Event Coming1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What a Wonderful Stocking Stuffer!2 years ago
-
test2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
#273 – Marc Randolph2 years ago
-
My Farewell Announcement2 years ago
-
My Farewell Announcement2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Farewell, for now3 years ago
-
-
Audio Book Lost Colony of Hatteras3 years ago
-
-
Cancel Yourself3 years ago
-
-
Hello world!3 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Non-Jewish Origins of Krav Maga3 years ago
-
-
-
Why the Marines are dumping their tanks4 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Voxiversity Live Stream6 years ago
-
-
Home: A Recap6 years ago
-
Big Brother’s War on Cash6 years ago
-
-
-
-
By: Osamas Pajamas9 years ago
-
Join Our Mailing List12 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Socialists say Democratic Party working to co-opt Occupy Wall St “to politically emasculate this movement” and “turn it into a harmless safety valve”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment