The Politics of Hopelessness

"You were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart." - Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton, 1/22/08

The exchange lasted about 3 seconds -- if you flipped the channel for a moment, you might have missed it. That was the amount of time the two leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for president spent talking about the corporate takeover of our government -- the issue that almost singularly drives American politics and that is at the core of our country's most fundamental problems.

Clinton, of course, declined to address this part of her past - the part where she helped direct Wal-Mart, arguably the most efficiently rapacious, environmentally destructive, and anti-worker creation in all of human history. She cynically parried by mentioning a campaign contributor of Obama's who has been in some legal trouble - as if we are expected to forget the name Norman Hsu, much less Clinton's status as the top recipient of health industry cash in the entire Congress - Republican or Democrat. And thanks to moderator Wolf Blitzer, the debate was quickly shifted to topics less uncomfortable for the corporate media like, say, how Barack Obama voted "present" in one half of one percent of his votes as a state legislator in Illinois. The horror.

Later in the debate, when John Edwards gave perhaps the most eloquent answer of all on a question about poverty, Clinton tried to one-up everyone by saying "when I graduated from law school, I didn't go to work for a law firm. I went to work for Marian Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense Fund." Yes, folks - forget about her time at Arkansas most powerful corporate law firm. Forget that she ignored potential conflicts-of-interest to serve at that corporate law firm even as her husband was governor of the state. Forget her role helping build Wal-Mart into the monster it is today. Forget even her sitting by and cheering as her husband's administration - which she now overtly asks voters to re-embrace with her candidacy - rammed NAFTA and welfare reform through Congress, throwing millions of people into poverty. Yes, just remember that for a few moments right out of college, she worked at a non-profit.

This is truly the politics of hopelessness - a politics mastered by a Clinton machine deft in all the dark arts of corruption and demagoguery.

It is a machine fueled by tens of millions of dollars of corporate cash from moneyed interests looking for the kind of candidate who appears on the cover of Fortune magazine and laughs at workers who were crushed by Clinton administration policies.

It is a machine that is all too happy to champion a former president who, according to today's Wall Street Journal, is happy to personally pocket $20 million windfall from a well-connected crony.

It is a machine headed by a candidate who pushed the country into war, yet a candidate happy to attack an opponent for not opposing the same war more strenuously.

It is a machine only too thrilled to use innuendo to play the race card.

It is a machine, in short, that is ready to once again prioritize the ugliest impulses of two dynasty-seeking egomaniacs using vapid soundbites ("I'm a hand's on leader") and intelligence-insulting slogans ("Delivering Real Change") to run "over the dead bodies" of Americans hoping for something different.

Comments

[mdtaichi]

Once & for all, would people trying to inform themselves remember what John Edwards did in the Senate.
1. Primary author of the Patient's Bill of Rights - co-sponsored with McCain & Kennedy. Passed the Senate and killed in the House.
2. Spent enormous amount of time defending President Bill Clinton during the impeachment investigation and proceedings. (I'm glad he's not as sarcastic as I am the next time a debate moderator asks him what his worst mistake was...)
3. Learning to lead (i.e., discovering what he didn't know). By that I mean that as Senator from North Carolina, Edwards had a lot of catching up to do on digging down into the data mass and understanding the interconnectedness of the oligarchy: energy/corporate/miltary/healthcare/financial/media. He was a "wunderkind" trial lawyer and "mill-worker's son" -- not a pedigreed investment banker. The intricacies and machinations of the MCM (multinational corporate media) are staggeringly complex. On the other hand, what part of Murdoch/Berlusconi don't you get? //

[serenegeezer]

David:

"talking about the corporate takeover of our government -- the issue that almost singularly drives American politics and that is at the core of our country's most fundamental problems."

Please write a long piece with your exactly accurate quote above as the title and the complete subject of it.

Do not digress into discussion of the latest doings and sayings of the chattering class...political wing and/or "journalistic wing" just write about what you have said and I have cited above. This is the most important message America can hear.
John Edwards is trying to get it out........JOIN HIM.

[LeoMarvin]

Hillary's my last choice of the remaining Democratic candidates, but she's still by far my first choice compared to any of the Republicans. So I have to ask, do you care that if Hillary gets the nomination, hit pieces like yours will be ready for bulk e-mailing by the Republicans virtually as is?

[Puzzle]

Bill Clinton was impeached for lying to congress and now he will be President again. What is this country thinking? We are exchanging one dishonest administration for another. I respect Senator Obama trying to expose the way the Clintons "cherry pick" words or sentences from a statement, exagerate it, twist it, and blow it up in order to mislead. Then have the audacity to say it isn't a lie.

[laurenc]

Neither Clinton nor Obama represent me, or genuinely progressive politics. I resent both of them enormously, and for those readers who agree, please join me in thanking John Edwards for his adherence to core Democratic values and vote for him in your state's primary.
He is the only voice for fighting corporate power.

[illinoisan]

Unfortunately, the typical 'Mericans I rub shoulders with love Wal-Mart. When I tell them I've never visited a Wal-Mart and wouldn't consider EVER making a purchase there, I get funny looks from them.

Many of them have heard rumor that Wal-Mart is bad for America, but the lure of low prices trumps even love of country.

Maybe we don't deserve better than Clinton or the Republicans.

[klondiker]

Oh, and that you'd bother to find out, but:

1. On the board of Wal-Mart, HRC is credited with introducing many progressive policies, including more hiring of women and minorities and greater environmental awareness, specifically regarding Wal-Mart's waste management system.

2. Norman Hsu has also donated to Obama's campaign.

[Querent]

I don't remember some of these events quite the way you do, David. The way I remember it is that NAFTA and welfare "reform" were both Republican ideas introduced into Congress by Republicans and initially opposed by Bill Clinton, who, when it became clear they were going to pass anyway, chose to use his non-vetos of them as bargaining chips for other legislative programs, instead of vetoing them.

Wrong choice. But not the same as originating those two terribly destructive programs, and not deserving of the amount of blame you are apportioning.

As for the rest of what you say, you are totally correct as (almost) always, until you get to "ready to once again prioritize the ugliest impulses of two dynasty-seeking egomaniacs using vapid soundbites . . . and intelligence-insulting slogans . . . to run 'over the dead bodies' of Americans hoping for something different," when you lapse into hyperbole.

Nonetheless, your argument is cogent, and, like everything you write, got my full and serious attention. I hear you, and your opinion carries a lot of weight with me.

[savertime]

The Clinton Machine Tactic:
Lower the level of discourse; push the buttons that are proven to attract attention: fear, race, Republicans.

Hillary Clinton was clearly behind in the primary polls when the debate was on Iraq, health care, change, experience vs judgement, etc. "Lowering the level of discourse" to muslim relatives, early drug use, praise for St. Reagan worked to rev up and scare the base. Hillary wins the next primary and caucus.
Instead of explaining her Iraq and Iran votes or why she votes for Republican initiatives or why after her thirty-five years of bringing about change have not yielded change, Obama is on the defense, trying to set the record straight.

Perfect Clintonian political strategy. Will they get away with it again?

[LeeFromVA]

Unfortunately Obama had no choice but to defend himself. I'm proud that he can do it without any falsehoods or twisting of words.

[JakeEasy]

Such keen analysis on HuffPo.

Obama people think every thing said about Hillary being bad is wonderful and insightful.

Clinton people think every thing that questions Barack's sainthood is wonderful and insightful.

It is getting worse. I suspect that most thinking Democrats have given up this site as a worthless place to discuss ideas. Those who post the vitriol and hate-filled replies we keep reading are the problem with our country. They are living evidence that the education system has failed. All Drama - All the Time. No thought. No reflection. Just a game everyone is trying to win. You are making us all losers.

[ljsfolly]

Too many people are afraid of too many things to point the finger at one without another popping up. The economy and how it has gone bottom up as a result of bush polices and how hillary has been right in there with bush and the polices seems to get back seat coverage. She has bill to scream and make things front and center then she backs up as she did in the debate and says she "did not say that". But she did by proxy. They don't do anything without a scheme to go with it. His out of control is just a front so he can throw his lies or misrepresentations of the truth out there. People still trust and believe him so it's out there and he said it makes it true, but it is not. Also too many think she will have him in the oval with her and he will somehow run things. She hasn't done alot to make the seperation apparent lately as they count on this train of thought to get her the votes. Also the older american thinks in ways they count on as the good wife defers to the hubby and his taking over when troubles are known. It's so deeply engrained in our society that we don't think much about it but in the fifties this was how it worked. Boomers grew up with it. I hope the clinton machine gets opened up for all to see what they are doing but as with bush they use fear as the underlying manipulation of us.

[Moose49]

Right on! Right on! Right on!

The last thing the Democrats need is an attack machine nearly as cynical as Karl Rove's. Or a self-proclaimed family dynasty.

[pbarba1969]

I wasn't surprised to hear David Sirota's slamming of the Clinton's. I was a big fan of David's and really enjoyed him on Air America with Al Franken, and a lot of his articles. But I have a problem with this article, especially how the Clinton's supposedly place the race card.

Its interesting to note that David doesn't mention it in this article nor does the writer in the article that David linked to. Not one mention of what Jesse Jackson Jr. said after Sen. Obama lost in New Hampshire when he said "where were Hillary's tears for the Katrina victims?". In other words why wasn't she crying for the black folks in New Orleans. Thats clearly had racial implications and was made to play to black voters in South Carolina.

I know David is an advocate for Sen.Obama but don't act like all this is strictly coming from the Clinton camp. Sen. Obama made it clear when he went after Sen. Clinton in Iowa that the gloves were off.

If he and his staffers are complaining now, he's in for a shock come election time because the Re publicans will come after him 10x as much and 10X harder. The Clinton Camp are Girl/Boy Scouts compared to the Karl Rovians atht he RNC...

[EspressoAtNoon]

Great post David!