The American Nightmare

[Raúl Ilargi Meijer]

Edward Hopper The barber shop 1931     How their beloved neighbors see America, a comment by Automatic Earth commenter ByronBishop. I don’t
[See the full post at: The American Nightmare]

[regionswork]

The parties are not identical. They do have different strategies for the lower income folks. The Southern Strategy of Republicans were able to provide a home for Dixiecrats, using religious morality to get past the historic “waving the bloody flag” of Lincoln Republicans. I watched it in Virginia, 1969 on, a Wisconsin Republican by birth.

Under cover of supporting Christian efforts to have moral power, Republicans Billionaires can say, don’t worry if you don’t get all you need in this life, you’ll get it in the next. That’s how people come to vote against their interests. My friend Joe Bageant explained this in “Deer Hunting with Jesus”. He didn’t have solutions, his contribution was to articulate the situation.

Democrat Billionaires on the other hand, play the secular game to avoid the divisive morality of the evangelicals. For this reason, the have to deliver some services from the government. It has to work some for the people. Obamacare did suit the health insurance money-changers.

The end of the Cold War dividend never showed up. Ike warned us of the Military-Industrial Complex in 1961.

This is not good theater. It isn’t even news. It is straight dysfunction. Collusion at the top; competition at the bottom.

[sinnycool]

“How can wealth persuade poverty to use its political freedom to keep wealth in power? Here lies the whole art of Conservative politics in the 20th century.”

― Aneurin Bevan

The redundant word is ‘conservative’. He was too influenced by party affiliation. ‘Politics’ alone is the current art form and it’s practiced exquisitely.

[ctbarnum]

In America, I suspect that a true populist leader could only arise at the state level, and then from outside the two main parties.

Thanks for a great comment that illustrates the mechanics of the US political economy perfectly. I also like the Tommy Douglas reference. To that end, our Tommy Douglas would have to come from the kitchen table discussions that used to take place in past generations, but no more. Given that even families are polarized in the current political environment, we might be waiting awhile for the true populist to emerge.

[zerosum]

Great presentation.

The suggestion box still lacks a working solution to replace all the isms.

Committee decisions by a majority, leaves the minority unsatisfied.

[₿oogaloo]

This post, like many others these days, certainly deserves more comment. But I am busy, distracted, and immersed in the world. And more importantly, I concur with the content. So it passes by with no comment.

[Dr. D]

“The redundant word is ‘conservative’. He was too influenced by party affiliation. ‘Politics’ alone is the current art form and it’s practiced exquisitely.” Hear hear.

Loved it, but commented on the previous posting of it. Also it’s hard to understand America if you’re not here and don’t know the legal and social details.

It’s hard to understand the parties, the elements, the power blocs, especially as they are all moving, and as I wrote in “Political Ironies”, reverse their polarities slowly and almost inevitably over time. As that is the case, the very words we use to describe whatever, “left” “Right”, “Labour”, “Conservative”, “Populist” whatever. For example, a “Liberal” is now the opposite, believing in anti-freedom, anti being left alone. And the words change just as the underlying power blocs change. They just call them “billionaires” or “corporations”, “capitalists” not marking that the largest power blocs for 100 years have been what Ike called the “Congressional – Industrial Complex” in his rough draft. That is, revolving-door of regulators, generals, senators, and so on, only vaguely related to corporations that couldn’t exist without direct government – merger support. …You know, like Halliburton or Sachs since ’01 or ’08. Lockheed and Raytheon since always. That’s equally or more true in Canada although its more firmly hidden. There are only a few major profit centers there, mines, companies, pipelines that bring in all the revenue, and you could have a golf weekend with the short list of names that control the very few resources that let the Provincial or Federal government exist at all. They’re just nicer about the plantation + company store that they run. And that’s fully appreciated, but doesn’t make it less true. Your life-long unemployed in St. Johns is still poorer in comparison, or at least equally so, to Canada’s top dynasties who’ve been around since before independence, vacationing in Banff built and run by robber barons America could dream of.

Not sure which I like better – one’s own, I guess, but I wouldn’t give Canada a free pass in any of this regard. This very year Justin was being investigated and didn’t like it so he erased Parliament to stall them. That might nearly cause a civil war here, and if we had, most certainly would lead to being called a ruthless 3rd world Dictator of every stripe worldwide. In Canada: doesn’t even make the news. I doubt anyone heard it over the border. Canadians may not even care, I don’t know.

So which billionaires will run the country and pay the PM to erase Parliament so they can keep their bribes and corruption going? And are any countries exempt anymore? Each have their own ways, which is how it should always be.

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