Lately, there's been a seismic shift in what passes for common sense in American conservative political thought.
Rick Santorum received a bachelor's degree, Juris Doctorate and MBA, but recently called President Barack Obama a "snob" for wanting every young American to have an opportunity to pursue college education.
Mitt Romney, the Harvard graduate with off-shore bank accounts from Luxembourg to the Cayman Islands, has accused the President of "elitism." The former private equity mogul went so far as to evoke the oft-quoted Marie Antoinette phrase, "let them eat cake." On the primary campaign trail in Mississippi -- among the poorest states in the union -- Romney attacked President Obama's proposal for increased taxes on the wealthy and decries "class warfare," while awkwardly pandering to Southern sensibilities by claiming his newfound affection for "cheesy grits" and the colloquial "ya'll."
Newt Gingrich, who holds a PhD and once bragged about being so "famous" he received "$60,000 per speech," has unapologetically suggested that poor, inner-city children work as janitors. Gingrich now derides an "elite media" at every turn, while mostly using the largest, most-profitable, widely-watched cable network in America, Fox News, to deliver that message. And it's worth noting that both Gingrich and Santorum enjoyed lucrative deals as political contributors to Fox News prior to being suspended last May amidst scrutiny it would result in a conflict of interests as they each announced a run for the White House.
The nation has entered a twilight zone where the words 'elite' and 'elitism' only have subjective meaning. It's an alternate universe in which the leading GOP candidate -- worth as much as $250 million -- can openly admit he's "not concerned about the very poor," and his wife can claim she doesn't consider herself "wealthy." All this during a time of record unemployment, following a financial crisis rivaling the Great Depression.
Their mentality and disconnect from reality reflect a Reagan-Bush era abandonment of tax policies favoring the middle-class, and regulatory policies which have subsequently created an ever-widening gap between rich and poor.
And the gap only gets wider.
The Republican-led Florida legislature is currently considering a bill that would slash the minimum wage of restaurant servers and other tipped employees from $4.65 to $2.13 an hour, resulting in lowered net income for workers, and a greater share of the salary burden being paid by consumers. With the average yearly income of these workers being just over $18K, it's fair to say many already constitute the working-poor, and therefore cannot afford wage cuts.
Conservative supporters of the legislation cite rising healthcare costs for employers, but the National Restaurant Association -- a leading lobbying group of the industry, formerly headed by one-time Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain -- predicted record sales in its 2012 forecast.
One of the corporate supporters of the proposed legislation is OSI Restaurant Partners, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse -- which is partly owned by Bain Capital, the private equity firm responsible for a majority of Mitt Romney's wealth. Undoubtedly, lower wages for workers at places like Outback will result in higher returns on investment for partners at Bain, and corporate executives like them.
And herein lies the rub: there is an inherent disconnect in Romney's argument that he should not be "punished for his success," as it negates the broader reality that too many working-class and middle-income families are already being penalized for their own hard work.
Success is a relative term, but reasonable-minded people can agree that men and women should benefit from their labor. If the pathway to success is eroded by policy decisions benefiting the wealthy over the working-classes, then those on the bottom and in the middle have less chance of climbing the proverbial ladder or achieving the emblematic -- and increasingly elusive -- American Dream.
The result? An American plutocracy emerges which isn't a consequence of unintended circumstances, but the direct result of a strategic, up-down economic policy shift.
Republicans have supported the interests of big business, big oil and corporate cronyism for decades, and Democrats have either acquiesced or not provided substantial opposition, or policy alternatives to create a check and balance.
In the Age of Obama, where a capable Democratic president is attacked for seeking to provide basic universal health coverage to working families, the GOP produces one multi-millionaire aspiring to the White House, completely out-of-touch with the everyday realities of average Americans; and another who despite a blue-collar background and achieving the benefits of higher education, doesn't see the need for the same access to be available to others, and attacks those who do as "snobs."
It is worth noting Arizona is considering similar legislation to that proposed in Florida, while both states remain hotbeds on the topic of Hispanic immigrants -- a group disproportionately represented among service workers. The Republican Party's vocal opposition to illegal immigrants -- especially during this primary race -- has curiously been directed solely at those of Mexican descent -- despite the fact illegal immigrants represent a plethora of countries, including Canada and European nations.
The GOP's unapologetic defense of lower tax rates for the wealthy, and apparent disregard for the working-classes, is not a coincidence: it is a calculated political strategy.
Republicans embraced a Tea Party movement made up largely of older, white, wealthier males, but decries an Occupy Movement representing a younger, diverse, aspiring demographic -- by accusing their participants of class warfare and being proponents of socialism.
Hope remains in reach, but change has already come. Yet thanks to a Republican establishment more concerned with defeating the nation's first African-American president, and protecting the financial interests of the top one-percent at the expense of the ninety-nine, that change is becoming harder to believe in.
Follow Edward Wyckoff Williams on Twitter: www.twitter.com/wyckoffwilliams
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| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
| Romney | Santorum | Gingrich | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delegates | 1.47 Thousand | 254 | 138 | |
| Fundraising | $76 M | $16 M | $21 M | |
| Intrade | $9.61 | $0.06 | $0.01 | |
| 570 K | 200 K | 1.5 M |
I've never been able to reconcile why so many people support positions contrary to their situation or support candidates who advocate for people who don't need it.
I do know that one of the most powerful tools towards those ends is Hate ... and the GOP has whipped up so much hate about Obama they got freaky with it. The willingness of 50% of the Tea Party to believe that Obama wasn't even an American shows you how easily people can be manipulated.
Put enough hate out there and you'll hit enough targets to ensure distraction from real issues and ensure those hate-ful fearful voters will vote for the other guy.
Only in America can both sides of a political debate use the sterling word "elite" as the dirtiest name they can call their opponent. Any wonder the rest of the world thinks we're nuts?
Lemme guess? 'Drill baby drill' or 'We need less regulations!' or 'Lower taxes on the Job Creators' or 'Repeal Obamacare' ...
I see a President trying to help, but largely being hampered by Congress. I didn't agree with his bailouts (any more than i did Bush's bailouts of Lehman, Bear, AIG, Goldman and TARP1 -- which all benefited the 1%).
I'm ready to hear some GOP solutions that's for sure... sadly, there aren't any except the tired old ones (lower taxes on the rich, get rid of unions, tort reform, too much regulation, blah blah).
Ending our usless wars
Ending the federal reserve
Balancing the budget
Ending the racist war on drugs
Repealing NDAA
Ending the Patriot Act
Obama is not "trying to help" anyone but the richest one percent who are fueling his re election. Under Obama:
The stock market has doubled while 15 million more Americans have gone on food stamps.
ZERO wall street criminals have been prosecuted
He has spent 3 trillion dollars on national defense (more like offense)
He has strengthened the Patriot act which has armored up local police to quash any demonstrations (like OWS)
He has shut down medical marijuana dispensaries (breaking yet another campaign promise) which has cost people jobs during a recession
He has hired nothing but wall street lap dogs into key financial advisor roles, including Ben Bernanke, who was wrong about everything and continues to bail out the wall street criminals
Obama has done nothing for struggling homeowners. Furthermore, he coerced state AG's into a terrible mortgage settlement which is a sweetheart deal for the wall street banksters at the expense of the rest of us.
Obama is a war mongering, wall street puppet who has done nothing to help the struggling poor and middle class of this nation.
Republican neocons didn't want people to get educated. A "dumbed down" voter base wouldn't question their policies too closely.
So GWB won the election in 2000. He encouraged working class people to buy homes with low or no interest ARMs, he encouraged people to consume, especially on credit, to use home equity and student loans for an expensive college education for their kids. The economy was "booming" and the bubbles were inflating, but everyone was happy with their easy credit and overpriced homes.
Once the bubbles popped and the bills came due, the glut was over. People lost jobs, savings, and couldn't pay their college loans, credit card bills, mortgages...lots of ruined credit.
Republican neocons don't want Obama to use stimulous to employ people and improve the economy. People who are poor won't be able to afford to educate their kids...education is for the overlords, not for the peons!
Can't get a job without credit,can't get credit without a job.
Conservatives act as if they are storming the Bastille,but they are stepping on our heads to keep their feet out of the fire.They are the problem.They claim to all be good Christians.Have they read the New Testament?What would Jesus tell them?I don't think it would be,good job.The Christian faith was not founded on narcissism,hubris and oppression.
Since I own a house, I remember receiving two or three credit card offers practically every day when the economy was "booming"...they were relentless...to the point where I had to put a "do not mail" on my PO box.
I never had any use for the old GOP, let alone for the neocons. The old party was always considered the "rich man's party", and when they got elected, poor people always lost income. Now, along with making poor people poorer, they want to force their radical religion on us...they're not Christians...Jimmy Carter was a true Christian, and they HATED him.
I'm sure that there's something in the Bible telling us about these false "christians", who give real Christianity a bad name. What surprises me is that mainstream religions haven't said anything against these creeps, and the Catholic church is even siding with them. So much for religion!
Out of the 37%, half are suffering from hostage identification syndrome, where the victim identifies with the victimizer. Now the battle is a coin toss.
In democracies, votes count. 99% to 1% should be a slam dunk every time!
I'm still curious why we don't have online voting yet? we certainly wouldn't be the 1st nation to do it ... and if any of you are saying to yourselves "it wouldn't be secure" ... i can assure you, as a programmer, it would/could be, and you could put in as many custom security measures as you like.
To anyone who believes that online voting would be less secure than physically voting ... ask yourself if online banking is less secure than physical banking. Chances are, you do bank online and haven't ever had a problem.
What would happen is this ... you could get rid of the electoral college and every citizen in the country could vote securely at their convenience, creating a real "majority" instead of this faux thing we have now.
http://abovethelaw.com/2012/03/you-need-this-job-you-will-never-be-in-the-top-one-percent/#more-140645
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
John Kenneth Galbraith
Dear Self,
I realize that you didn't regularly frequent "Outback" or any other restaurant chain in particular,... but please consider adding "Outback" to your list of will not eat there restaurants.
Sincerely,
Self
Regards
:D