10 Irreparable Democrat and Republican Flaws - An Opening for a Third Party? Is the veneer cracking? Is the ground shifting? Are the two major parties unwittingly collaborating in bringing forth a third party? Are they slitting their own throats? If you were in the audience of a lecture delivered by New School professor Richard Wolff in NYC this past week, you could only agree with his pronouncement: both parties are on shaky ground and that a third party emergence is inevitable. In his talk, Capitalism and Deepening Inequality, Dr. Wolff -- freshly off a highly-applauded interview on the Bill Maher show -- laid out five flaws for each established party. Each are riding the tiger they feel they have tamed. Five Republican flaws -- all found in carefully constructed constituencies The Rich. They are clearly positioned as the party of the rich (no kidding), but the problem lies in the fact that they are too few in number to matter. For all their money, they still only comprise one percent of the population. No matter how artfully Gerry-rigged the electoral district, the rich will not outvote anyone. So, what to do? Create a hegemony. Use the money to create the numbers. For example? The Military. Lots of votes there, and members of the military have generally voted Republican. Wolff describes their tacit understanding as,You vote for us, and well watch out for you. Sure enough, the Republicans approve nearly every request the Pentagon makes -- regardless of the price tag or even if the appropriation makes sense. In appreciation, the military often through no-bid contracts, buy their toys and materiel largely from Republican-geared manufacturers or service providers. These businesses -- you guessed it -- contribute overwhelmingly to the Republican party. Oh frabjous joy! Money, and voters too. On reflection, this supplies funding, voters and business support, but still not in voting numbers large enough to move the needle. Now, what? As for the Dems, here are a couple to think about... The five flaws in the Democratic Party base Big Business (aka The Rich). However they deplore Big Business and Banks in public, Democrats line up to accept their money offstage. Money is the mothers milk of politics, and Democrats are just as good at milking as their friends across the aisle. This is mutually beneficial, the rich cover their bets and Dems get bankrolled. Still, not enough votes there. Next! The Poor. Thanks to the Wall-Street-generated recession, banksters and predatory lenders, the Dems now have a lot of poor folk. Some of them even vote. Just convince them that you are your friend, as you have for decades, and their votes are yours. Unions. Stalwart voters of straight Democratic tickets. Remind them that you are the party of FDR. More importantly, point out that your opponents are the party of Whats-His-Name, Romney. That will scare up votes. An updated Will Rogers quote today would read: We have the best government that (their) money can buy. Perhaps it is time for a third party, professor Wolff intones to his audience. And, dont think that this is impossible. Look to Greece. (full article at link) huff.to/1sI8Z5N
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 18:21:31 +0000
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