When Bill Clinton was campaigning for the presidency for the first time, he made the refrain, “It's the economy stupid”, which was correct, however the economy he was referring too, wasn't the one designed to benefited the vast majority of Americans.
In 1984 the republicans were handed a landslide victory and the democrats were left standing bare, wounded and bloody. The “people” were just not coming out to vote for the party of the working class, and the democratic party's “serious people” decided a change in strategy was needed if they were going to win back the White House. What was needed was a strategy that was less threatening to the American business class, and most importantly, attract their money to help fund future campaigns.
In 1985 the Democratic Leadership Council was born and a new term, New Democrat was coined. The new strategy of the DLC was to shift away from the leftward lurch they had taken during the 60's, 70's and 80's, formed the new “third way” of political strategies. Often referred to as triangulation. Al From recruited Bill Clinton and he became the poster boy for the DLC's vision and strategies. Bill Clinton's election in 1992 validated the new DLC, Third Way political strategy. They won the White House.
Richard Behan explains
As Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton chaired the Democratic Leadership Council from 1990 through 1991, and courting corporate America served him exceedingly well. Supported by $11.17 million in campaign contributions from Wall Street Mr. Clinton became the first DLC president in 1993. Hillary Clinton was at his side, a de facto minister-without-portfolio.
This was the “New Democratic Party,” President Clinton said, and he soon demonstrated how far to the right he would move its agenda.
Claiming “the era of big government is over,” President Clinton promised to “end welfare as we know it.” And he did, by signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The law bore severely on low income families, disproportionately communities of color. Clinton took pride also in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which led eventually to an explosion of incarceration, and spawned an industry of private, for-profit prisons. Once again the law impacted most heavily the black and Latino communities.
If there was an internet back then, we might have realized that one of the policy's of the DLC was that they were against single player healthcare. I wonder why that failed when Mrs. Clinton was charged with delivering a new national health care policy? I reckon the signing of NAFTA didn't have anything to do with low voter turn out in 1994, that lead to losing congress to the republicans, and most especially losing the house after 40 years of democratic rule. Republicans outnumbered democrats in the house for the first time since reconstruction.
The mantra of the Democratic party ever since has pretty much been, “Hello Mr. Foot, meet Mr. 45 Cal.”, boom! Laughing all the way to the bank to cash the campaign contributions and large check for speaking fees. It should be more than obvious than courting corporations, and then people at the same time, displays a glaring lack of understanding of the cognitive dissonance produced by such positions. But I reckon that's the point. Keep people guessing about what you will do. Keep expectations low and only offer modest change, so as not to upset the business / Oligarchy class. And most especially not block the steady stream of campaign contributions and money making opportunities.
Today, economic privilege is the very foundation of our society. If you are not economically privileged, you don't get anything, not even respect as a human being, just ask the people in Flint. A perfect example of this “economic privilege” is how someone who was supposedly broke, and in vast financial debt, is able to obtain a multi-million dollar loan on a house, with no job or a down payment.
From WallStreetOnParade
“Hillary Clinton famously told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in 2014 that she and Bill Clinton left the White House after his second term “dead broke.” But apparently, Citigroup felt they were a good investment. According to PolitiFact, Citigroup provided a $1.995 million mortgage to allow the Clinton's to buy their Washington, D.C. residence in 2000. That liability does not pop up on the Clinton disclosure documents until 2011, showing a 30-year mortgage at 5.375 percent ranging in face amount from $1 million to $5 million from CitiMortgage. The disclosure says the mortgage was taken out in 2001. “
Yet the people in Flint pay 2-3 times more for their water, which is poisoned with lead by the way, than most people across the nation do. Our president saved GM, who help pollute the Flint river in the first place, but the people of Flint have already been poisoned, and the president's response has been nothing but timid, yet Nestle gets free, or pays little for 200-400 gallons per minute they consume.
I know many of you young people didn't live through the Clinton administration, and have not seen nor experience the radical ideological change the Democratic party has gone through since the founding of the DLC. You have grown up in this environment thinking corporate Democrats are normal. Mrs. Clinton is the epitome of the DLC / Third way democrats. It's not the size of her bank account, but where that money came from, and the circumstances for which it was obtained., from the very people that committed crimes looting America. Think about that.
Since the Reagan Revolution, supply side tax cuts, trickle down economics, but most importantly the evisceration of the regulations that kept our economy somewhat balanced, were kicked out, repealed and thrown out the window, for the benefit of the few and at the expense of the rest of us. Income inequality exploded under the Clinton administration and the Oligarchy grabbed even more enormous control over, not only ungodly sums of money, but cemented their control over our government by being linked at the bank account with so many in our “party”, who wrongly believe it's okay for private business to profit off our sickness and suffering, not to mention the 40 thousand that die every year because they can't afford to play in the Mafia style, pay or die, health care system we have in our country today.
Our planet is at stake.
If you think “private business” is going to save us, I think you are sadly mistaken, and living in the world of unicorns and rainbows. If you think “corporate democrats” are the way to go, well, sorry but YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. The financial state of our economy wasn't caused by the republicans, nor the democrats, is was caused because, we the people, because the people keep electing people that enabled it to happen, and got quite wealthy doing it. We keep electing people who are beholden to the Oligarchy for their very campaign contributions. The Oligarchy control our very lives and are responsible for much of the death and destruction across our planet.
These same people crashed our economy committing felony fraud, while contributing to Mrs. Clinton's campaigns (Senate and presidential) and charity foundation, as well as paying her and her husband millions in speaking fees. They exploited the deregulation her husband enacted and got insanely rich doing it. Not a single one of them has been prosecuted for their crimes! Why is that? (economic privilege!)
The republicans will try to destroy any democrat in the general election and this will be a major issue, that the republicans prosecuted the largest number (900+) of white collar financial criminals, in our nation's history, during the Savings and Loan financial crisis of the 80's. I not sure if you are aware of this little know fact, the guy Professor William K. Black, a government regulator at the time that was instrumental in those prosecutions, has endorsed Senator Sanders economic plans and the best plans to take on Wall Street.
From the Big Picture with Thom Hartman
Wealth and Income Inequality higher since Obama has been in office
As of 2014, some six years after the beginning of the recession and during a period of “recovery,” the rate of poverty remains high at 14.8%. In fact, according to these government statistics, the rate of poverty for every year Obama has been president is higher than it was for every year during George W. Bush’s presidency.
Do you believe the republicans, especially Trump, are going to to miss that little know FACT?
The one person that has has a proven track record of being singularly focused on caring for the people first, and never dipping into the pockets or bank accounts of those that want to extract every penny of income we can even dream to generate, is Senator Bernie Sanders.
Who stands a batter chance of countering any republican BS? Hillary will go down in flames because she has the baggage, Bernie doesn’t!
The Oligarchy is our enemy, they are the ones that are actually behind the powers that are killing all of us, slowly, incrementally. The “New Democrats” have been their cheerleaders for the last 30 some odd years. It's time for that to stop no matter who makes it to the White House. The People Come First god dammit!
A Study by Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
Do we want to continue a government like we have today, that gives us Flint, and more coming down the road, or do we want a government, of the people, by the people and for the people, not the Oligarchy?
I know this seems like puppy dogs and rainbows, but it is not. Our very lives depend on it!
“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. — Thomas Paine — The Crisis
The Revolution continues!
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