Thomas Frank: Listen, Liberal! Whatever Happened to the Party of the People?

[KoKo]

Thomas Frank: Listen, Liberal

Published on Apr 14, 2016

It is a widespread belief among liberals that if only Democrats can continue to dominate national elections, if only those awful Republicans are beaten into submission, the country will be on the right course.

But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the modern Democratic Party. Drawing on years of research and first-hand reporting, Frank points out that the Democrats have done little to advance traditional liberal goals: expanding opportunity, fighting for social justice, and ensuring that workers get a fair deal. Indeed, they have scarcely dented the free-market consensus at all. This is not for lack of opportunity: Democrats have occupied the White House for sixteen of the last twenty-four years, and yet the decline of the middle class has only accelerated. Wall Street gets its bailouts, wages keep falling, and the free-trade deals keep coming.
With his trademark sardonic wit and lacerating logic, Frank lays bare the essence of the Democratic Party's philosophy and how it has changed over the years. A form of corporate and cultural elitism has largely eclipsed the party's old working-class commitment, he finds. For certain favored groups, this has meant prosperity. But for the nation as a whole, it is a one-way ticket into the abyss of inequality. In this critical election year, Frank recalls the Democrats to their historic goals-the only way to reverse the ever-deepening rift between the rich and the poor in America.

[zentrum]

1. Thomas Frank is great.

[appalachiablue]

2. K & R. Excellent Talk and Q & A in Seattle. Nobody can pull it all together

and give an informative presentation with humor and lightness like Tommy Frank. He's particularly correct about the dominance and prestige of the "professional, creative, innovative" class favored by the New Democratic Party and in the administrations of Clinton and Obama. I can recall people preceding the names of cabinet staff with 'he's Harvard, Harvard' (one whose career ended over financial ethics issues).

Discussing his new book "Listen, Liberal!" with Thom Hartmann, it was interesting when Tommy mentioned in contrast that FDR's highly effective cabinet team came from a broad range of fields including one member who had been a social worker in Iowa and many were from various schools and regions of the country. How inbred now are a large number of top elites in DC and NY in terms of their Northeast university education.

[KoKo]

3. Yes...and not only that but the inbred MSM

who party and socialize with the same DC/Wall Street crowd they are supposed to be covering. Where is a MSM that caters to "the People?" With local newspapers dying we have little local coverage or investigative journalism. And, internet investigative journalism struggles for money to survive.

Discussing his new book "Listen, Liberal!" with Thom Hartmann, it was interesting when Tommy mentioned in contrast that FDR's highly effective cabinet team came from a broad range of fields including one member who had been a social worker in Iowa and many were from various schools and regions of the country. How inbred now are a large number of top elites in DC and NY in terms of their Northeast university education.

[appalachiablue]

4. All true, I consider the Media Pundits esp. on TV, a Club essentially. Totally connected

and inbred moving from print to cable, one cable channel to another and echoing the Insider Views and Talking Points for status and access. Probably 15 commenters on CNN and MSNBC have been or are associated with the Clintons through campaigns, PR firms, the WH, more. Hill's 7th largest donor Time Warner owns CNN; and Chelsea had a nice $600K NBC special reporter job.
Likewise political strategists as in Obama's team, Gibbs, Plouffe, etc., leverage their experience to move into the corporate world of Google, Uber, McD's, whatever. Same for Congressional staffers who avail the same Revolving Door of their bosses- work in govt. for a while and then use that influence, the connections and some communications and administrative experience to get a job with Exon, Monsanto, BP, you name it.

In one of Tommy's talks on "Listen, Liberal!", I forget which, he mentioned that Congress members would teach a class at a university or return to good works in their home community after retiring. How refreshing. But that was before the Roaring Eighties as I call it, when money began flowing widely from deregulation, Reagan's tax cuts for the wealthy, union busting, outsourcing companies to cheaper locations and more.
The onslaught of Lobbying firms in DC and their dominant presence took off during the 1980s with Reagan, but accelerated since 1971 with the CALL from conservative, tobacco company attorney, later SC justice Lewis Powell's issuance of his infamous, conservative Manifesto and Call to Arms for Businesses (under attack in the 60s and 70s!).

The massive plan was for businesses and trade assns. to relocate and influence legislation and the political process in DC; takeover academia and eliminate the troublemaker anti war hippies and 'radical' students on campuses; control the Media and the Message: attack the environmental movement that was affecting their Bottom Line $; and fight regulation of business by government aggressively, namely serious threats posed by anti cigarette smoking research; scientist Rachel Carson's studies on the dangers to living organisms of pesticides like DDT and her seminal book, "Silent Spring" (1962) that JFK even read; also Nader's advocacy and Raiders who fought for consumer protections and safety in the Auto and other industries.
The cons have done a bang up job in their sweeping mission and Counter Revolution of Reagan. For now that is, enough is enough!

[KoKo]

5. Excellent Post.. Everything you say...

couldn't agree more from what I've watched through the decades.

Also, there have been excellent books and articles written about the decline of quality and content of our media and proposed reforms for years--but, that vanished somewhere near the end of the Bush Administration when the election was in full swing. After Obama was elected there's been little done or written about what has become of hope for a free and open Media

The growth of the internet was a good thing for awhile because it exposed much of what the the MSM (particularly the TV Media) refused to cover, but that, too, has been eroding. The Corporate Control has increased with just Five companies owning most of our TV and Print /Internet Media. And what's left, that Murdoch doesn't own, now has Tech Giants, Silicon Valley Moguls and Wall Streeters buying up what were traditional Magazines and Newspapers that did have a history of both investigative reporting plus some focus on the concerns of those who live areas of the country that were outside the DC/NYCity insular views.

I think Bernie would put people on the FCC who would work for the people and tighten regulation in some of our watch dog agencies that could begin to turn things around. It wouldn't happen overnight but I think he would make more of an effort than Obama did. There are things a President can do if they want to lead and have the people behind them. We've seen Obama finally use Executive Action in the final months of his Presidency where he was reluctant to do it before when it could have made a difference. So it can be done.