"Democrats are 75 percent corrupt"

[welshTerrier2]

just fyi, i don't necessarily agree with that quote ... but read on ...

Should the Democratic Party be fighting "corporatism" as a central theme?

In the current context, "corporatism" must not be confused as being "anti-commerce" ... it means that very large corporations have seized control of our government ... it means that our legislators are bought by those who can afford them ... it means that those with sufficient assets are able to direct government policy in their own greedy interests rather than the interests of the American people as a whole ...

Those who regularly criticize "the left" should take careful note of the definition provided ... they should not necessarily ascribe meanings beyond the specific definition provided here ... this is not necessarily an advocacy for socialism, communism or any other economic system ... while it is true that many who oppose "corporatism" may indeed espouse those alternative systems, that is not the issue at hand here ...


So, rather than respond in the broader context of "i oppose all efforts to dismantle capitalism", i ask you whether you agree that big money, often through a corporate vehicle, has made massive inroads into controlling our democratic (small "d") institutions ...

I believe there is no issue more central to the struggle we're involved in ... if those with their greedy paws on the levers of power have no intention of doing their best to serve the interests of all Americans, it is our job to speak out against their corruption and "throw the bumbs out" ...

This brings me to the conduct of many elected Democrats and what I see as a key rift among many of us here on DU ... In defense of elected Democrats, one can point to battles in support of campaign finance reform ... one can certainly point to criticisms of the Halliburton "no bid" contracts in Iraq and Cheney's close association to the company ... and Democrats have pushed for "make polluters pay" legislation ... so, why all the criticism from the left ???

I think the answer to this lies at the heart of many flame wars within the Party ... "Corporatism", as a platform plank, never rises to the level of being a "central theme" ... it's always fought for on an issue by issue basis ... when the Party does take a stand, it seems it's fighting for each individual tree rather than arguing it's trying to protect the entire forest ... this "wonkiness" (wonkosity ??) is very ineffective ... and it's exactly why Democrats now find themselves as a minority party ...

to digress, the Party can no longer "follow the candidate's message" ... it's time to tell America exactly who we are and what we believe in ... instead of loudly coming out against Social Security "privatization", we need to first make it clear that any program that puts our elderly at risk is unacceptable ... when we talk about the hundreds of billions of dollars it's costing to fight in Iraq, we need to tie that back to the risks such spending imposes on our elderly and on other programs to help children and families ... we need consistent themes that reflect our values ... and every issue, every single issue, must tie together to tell the Democratic Party's "story" ... we don't do that now ... we pick candidates and then we support them ... it's backwards ... we should define who we are and select candidates to represent (with some flexibility) our central views ...

anyway, here are some quotes from a real "new" Democrat:

1. on bush: "the most corrupt and immoral President that we have had in American history."
2. "The Republicans are 95 percent corrupt and the Democrats are 75 percent corrupt .. They are accepting money from the same corporations. And of course, that is going to corrupt you."
3. "The biggest threat to American democracy is corporate power ... There is vogue in the White House to talk about the threat of big government. But since the beginning of our national history, our most visionary political leaders have warned the American public against the domination of government by corporate power. That warning is missing in the national debate right now. Because so much corporate money is going into politics, the Democratic Party itself has dropped the ball. They just quash discussion about the corrosive impact of excessive corporate power on American democracy."

Again, should fighting "corporatism" play a much more central role in what the Party believes in ?? and if so, have any of the Party's elite, Kerry, Dean, Clark, Gore, Clinton (either one) or any others, spoken out forcefully on the issue?

Without shining a bright spotlight on the corruptions that have seeped into the halls of our government, I'm afraid that all the other battles we're fighting are just "pretend" ... and if you disagree with me when i say that the Democrats have failed miserably making this issue part of the average American's awareness, feel free to educate me ... the way i see it, the author of all the quotes provided here is dead on the money ...

and, in case you're wondering who said all those things, it was RFK Jr.

[autorank]

1. Great post! RFK Jf. quotes were perfect.

[Mojambo]

2. I can't help but point out

that those are the kind of words that get you assassinated in America.

He is unquestionably a brave man.

I'll be supporting this man in every attempt he makes to seek political office.

[McKenzie]

3. "The biggest threat to American democracy is corporate power"

and the threat to every damned nation in the known universe. Absolgodamnedlutely. The US isn't led by that semi-literate oil spiv, he just reads the scripts they hand him, pausing over the "big" words with furrowed brow. Corporate power is the essence of the problems we face today. Unaccountable and driven by the profit imperative. Profit is paramount so everything else gets relegated to the sidelines.

Good post; thnx.

[TahitiNut]

8. "Absolgodamnedlutely" .. I couldn't have said it better.

:thumbsup:

[mhr]

4. One Point - The Republicans Have Conflated The Words Democracy

And free market together.

Consequently, there is considerable work in just untangling the two.

Without that first step, "the public" will forever hear criticism of corporations (supposed advocates of free markets) as anti-democratic.

[EVDebs]

6. As Thomas Frank has pointed out in "One Market, Under God"

[mhr]

7. Thanks for the Citation - I Have Not Read Franks - It Goes On The List

eom

[EVDebs]

11. Here are some reviews and another article n free market ideology

http://www.thebaffler.com/onemarket.html

The Myth of the populist stock market
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0108/p09s01-coop.html

[mhr]

13. By The Same Author - What's The Matter With Kansas

I just realized the connection.

[Rican1]

5. Agreed- Without true campaign reform

most politicians will continue to be corporate whores

[whistle]

9. Do massive monolithic corporations actually benefit society....

...or humanity in any real way? Sure the corporations provide jobs and very often deliver services and products that humans need, but at what cost? They stifle individual enterprise and creativity, they provide inferior products which wear out long before they can ever be paid for, they exploit and ignore the welfare of their employees, they pollute the environment and exploit and waste natural resources, their top management and owners (stock holders) abandon and flee their social responsibilities after they have sucked the life blood out of the communities leaving societies to deal with the social and economic costs of cleaning up what they have left behind.

I don't get it! We pander to large corporations giving them the benefits, the concessions and the breaks, while small enterprises are discouraged and made to operate at great economic disadvantages. Consumers are supposed to be the king of the marketplace, but when real wages are cut, benefits rolled back, jobs are outsourced abroad, where to the American consumers go? They dwindle killing off the golden goose that corporations are supposed to live on. Something is seriously wrong when these kinds of inequities are allowed to occur and even worse when they are deliberately engineered by government policy.

[RUMPLEMINTZ]

12. Boy you got that right!

I own a small bar and I was arrested 3 weeks ago for "operating a gambling place." I had 2 fucking poker machines. A few miles away we have 2 riverboat casinos, they're not even "riverboats" anymore. They are land based. Every damn little bar has them so we can afford to stay open, the taxes on us little people are fucking outrageous!

[Radical Activist]

10. This is what the modern left coalition was founded upon

The urban progressive and rural populists movements came together because they had a common enemy that was corporate control of government. That coalition worked for decades until corporate Democrats tore it apart.

This is what the Democratic Party should be talking about and is the wedge issue that will allow us to win again.

[Al-CIAda]

14. Dems are 75% corrupt...

You included my response within by the 95% corruption rate of Reps...

Good post. I agree with 96.4% of it.