Sloppy And Wrong: Thomas (Whats The Matter With Kansas?) Franks Dumb & Failed Takedown of Bloombergs Gun Control Push So, WTF am I doing defending a billionaire .01% type like Michael Bloomberg? Because Thomas Frank is full of it, thats why. He has a near-foaming screed on salon blasting Bloombergs launch of a gun control campaign. In it he spends much space heaping scorn on some associated Bloomberg blather about doing it to buy his way into heaven. I dont care if Populist Tom Frank hates Michael B; Im not much of a fan either. But so what? The key point, and main error, in Franks blast is that Elite Billionaire Liberalism Always Backfires. The problem with that is that it isnt true. Sometimes, yes, it does. But lots of times, no. I wont reel out a big laundry list here. But take one critical example: have you walked into a public library lately? Thank Andrew Carnegie and his cynical Gilded Age image makeover campaign, which involved planting and promoting free public libraries across the country. (Okay, theres now a backlash against libraries from the tea party know-nothings, and maybe the FBI; but that stuff is not Carnegies fault.) Or do you know an older African-American from the South who is literate? Then thank another Gilded Age billionaire, Julius Rosenwald. Hes the guy who made Sears the last centurys Walmart: he also oversaw the building of more than 5000 Rosenwald schools for blacks, across the south, in the time of deepest segregation, when the public purse was all but closed against black education. Five thousand. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenwald_School) So, cut it the f*ck out, Thomas Frank. Even billionaires can sometimes do something right. Its just a historical fact. Does this mean Im signing up to be an apologist for our current oligarchy? Not just no, but hell no. Tax them, curb them, remember Occupy, yada yada; Im PC on this. But in the meantime, we would be better served by a closer look at the current crop of billionaires, so we can figure out which ones are as bad as we think (e.g., the Kochs), and which ones might be on the way to redeeming some of that money-grubbing. For my part, Im hoping Michael Bloombergs anti-gun hobby is a hit. And if it gets him into heaven; what the hey? salon/2014/04/20/straight_into_the_fox_news_buzzsaw_why_elite_billionaire_liberalism_always_backfires/
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:24:20 +0000