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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIowa: The Meaningless Sideshow Begins (Matt Taibbi)
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The 1% donors are remarkably tolerant. Theyll give to just about anyone who polls well, provided they fall within certain parameters. What they wont do is give to anyone who is even a remote threat to make significant structural changes, i.e. a Dennis Kucinich, an Elizabeth Warren, or a Ron Paul (hell will freeze over before Wall Street gives heavily to a candidate in favor of abolishing their piggy bank, the Fed). So basically what that means is that voters are free to choose anyone they want, provided it isnt Dennis Kucinich, or Ron Paul, or some other such unacceptable personage.
If the voters insist on supporting such a person in defiance of these donors this might even happen tonight, with a Paul win in Iowa what you inevitably end up seeing is a monstrous amount of money quickly dumped into the cause of derailing that candidate. This takes overt forms, like giving heavily to his primary opponents, and more covert forms, like manufacturing opinions through donor-subsidized think tanks and the heavy use of lapdog media figures to push establishment complaints.
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Thus the guy like George W. Bush, who dodged the draft and lied about his National Guard Service, steams to re-election, while a guy like Howard Dean really not any kind of real threat to the status quo, whose major crimes were being insufficiently pro-war and finding an alternative source of campaign funding on the net magically falls off the map and is made a caricature after one loony scream before Iowa.
The reason 2012 feels so empty now is that voters on both sides of the aisle are not just tired of this state of affairs, they are disgusted by it. They want a chance to choose their own leaders and they want full control over policy, not just a partial say. There are a few challenges to this state of affairs within the electoral process as much as I disagree with Paul about many things, I do think his campaign is a real outlet for these complaints but everyone knows that in the end, once the primaries are finished, were going to be left with one 1%-approved stooge taking on another.
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http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/iowa-the-meaningless-sideshow-begins-20120103#ixzz1iQpeoNXj
He has a point about Elizabeth Warren, but Ron Paul is a corporate tool.
Paul signed Grover Norquist's pledge.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/120111-federalpledgesigners.pdf
He signed it in 2008 too: http://www.atr.org/rep-ron-paul-signs-presidential-taxpayer-a1489
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/01/02/395363/gop-economic-agenda-for-the-one-percent/
Enrique
(27,461 posts)everything you say is true, imo, but Taibbi is very specific about why he says Wall Street won't support Paul, it's because of his position on the Fed. I don't know if it's true or not, but your graphic doesn't address it.
"true, but Taibbi specified the Fed everything you say is true, imo, but Taibbi is very specific about why he says Wall Street won't support Paul, it's because of his position on the Fed. I don't know if it's true or not, but your graphic doesn't address it."
...but I don't think Paul's position on the Fed has anything to do with it. I mean, by supporting policies to eliminate regulations and lower corporate taxes, Wall Street would have a run of the place.
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)I can't wait for Sister Sarah to come out!!
ProSense
(116,464 posts)party of the one percent.
monmouth
(21,078 posts)Whomever is married to Julia Koch (her photo with her couture dress was in the paper) were in attendance. They are neighbors
on South County Road...
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)I read KO's twitter post the other day and just about fell out of my chair laughing when I read that.
No love lost there between Olbermann and Trump.
monmouth
(21,078 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,369 posts)Schweitzer 2016.
mmonk
(52,589 posts)killbotfactory
(13,566 posts)All he would accomplish, with a republican congress anyway, is gutting social welfare programs and shitcanning as many regulations on the corporate world as possible. All this other crap he supports that have so called progressives swooning for him, like the drug war, and our use of military power, he would be effectively blocked from doing anything meaningful on.
CarmanK
(662 posts)The repugs want to KILL MEDICARE, not kill medicare as we know it.
It is KILL MEDICAre and introduce privatized insurance network subsidized with vouchers.
It is not Medicare, it is a whole new approach to Health CARE delivery for seniors.
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)Are the big Wall Street banks or hedge funds in fact contributing to Ron Paul?
Or is Taibbi's offense that he called the Federal Reserve a piggy-bank for Wall Street?
Thanks anyway for hyping another fine column by Mr. Taibbi. He deserves all the readers he gets, including the ones you send his way.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)"Did Taibbi write anything untrue?"
...I say he did?
"Or is Taibbi's offense that he called the Federal Reserve a piggy-bank for Wall Street?"
Are you offended that I called Ron Paul a corporate tool?
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Are you going to vote Republican in November?
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)Have you contributed to his campaign?
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Um, no. Find a single post where I say anything nice about him.
Wish the same absence was there on your side...
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)your support for Republicans on this forum in the broadest - or most colorful - possible light.
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)The same logic: Anyone who opposed the Iraq war supported Saddam.
Anyone who opposed Bush supported the terrorists.
You're striving for an greater extreme.
Anyone who doesn't support Obama on all points, even critique from the left - especially from the left! - supports Republicans.
PS: Oh, and "supporting Obama" means conducting non-stop witchhunts for heretics. Because that's the way to sway the undecided readers who might wander in here!
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)"non-stop witchhunts for heretics"
You think anybody cares that much about you and your piddling 2% of the vote? Please.
By the way, I like Tiabbi and this article, so I guess there goes your whole completely invented, but charmingingly melodramatic, martyrdom scenario.
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)First, demonstrate obsession with certain persons by way of a daily multi-thread witchhunt.
When called on it, laugh VERY loud at the notion that you care about these people.
Biggest ROFL smiley wins!
ProSense
(116,464 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,349 posts)I believe Matt nailed the systemic dysfunctiion that money and the corporate media have come to play in brainwashing the people in pre-selecting their choices.
Thanks for the thread, ProSense.