Liberals have been down so long, they can’t believe their luck. Take a look at this, from The Rag.
# In 1994, more than half of Americans said, “government regulation of business usually does more harm than good” and fewer than 4 out of 10 thought “government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest.” That’s been flipped on its head during the 15 years since -- today, fewer than 4 in 10 believe regulation causes more harm than good.# A majority (55-70 percent, depending on how the question is worded) believes it’s the government’s responsibility to provide health care to all Americans; fewer than a third of those responding to a CBS/New York Times poll thought health insurance should be “left only to private enterprise.”
# Almost 2 out of 3 Americans believe the taxes they pay are fair, and that the very wealthy pay too little in taxes; almost 7 in 10 believe corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes.
I suspect Obama knows this perfectly well. But he also knows that the power of money can trump the power of numbers — think Swift Boat, think Harry and Louise, think Whitewater, think the systematic buying of our judiciary.
But think also the Roosevelts, Theodore and Franklin. Think LBJ and civil rights and Medicare. All is not lost, or doesn’t have to be.
"We the People" would never fold this winning hand. We would demand that our representatives enact single-payer health care, progressive taxation, and strong regulation of business.
Unfortunately "We" don't hold a hand, "We" aren't even in the game. "We" don't have representatives in Congress. Corporate America (particularly the financial industry) owns Congress and the Presidency. They realized that having moronic assholes in the White House was causing too much unrest and lack of faith in government, so they chose someone intelligent and likable to preside over their agenda. He is quite adept at making statements of solidarity with the people while actually working against their interests or in the best case, doing nothing.
Posted by: Charles on May 31, 2009 9:02 AMExactly. Their selection of Obama was absolutely fitting to the cause. Though AIPAC may experience some brief heartburn moments until they get Obama off the "Settlements" comments he recently made. The Two States--never, however, to be accomplished---could have worked to the benefit of the United States, allies and competitors , plus many of the world's oil extractors, money-changers, businesses, private citizens, and even Ponzi-scheme executives (fewer wars and general turmoil).
Posted by: Hoffmann on May 31, 2009 10:52 AMBill Moyers' Journal has a good story about why "we" aren't even at the table concerning healthcare reform. here is the link:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05222009/watch2.html
The insurance companies are killing us off one at a time while they boost their bottom line. Most of us think we're OK because we have health insurance, I was one of those until I got sick and found out for real what I didn't have and that was real health insurance and real access to health care.
As long as corporate interests and big money rule the election process and "our" representatives have to depend on "them" for the money to run again and keep their positions of privilege "we" won't ever be at the table on anything that matters.
Posted by: knowdoubt on May 31, 2009 11:01 AM