The True Nature of Centrism
Anyone (after we got to know Joe Lieberman, anyway) who thinks that the so-called centrists or bipartisans in this country are really well-meaning people just trying to find a middle way to solve this country's problems, is so delusional that maybe at this point they cannot ever be reached by facts. Nevertheless, here's a little diagram that's been making the rounds lately that should do the trick if you ever start to hear the siren song of this phony propaganda. It's a chart of the trustees of an organization known as "Third Way," which is currently the leading group pushing the "grand bargain," in which ordinary Americans will give up their pensions, Social Security and medical care in return for a vague promise from the rich to do something nice, some day. This copy of the list has had the occupations of the trustees marked on it, and it makes interesting reading:
Of the 25 trustees whose occupations could be discovered, 20 of them are "investment bankers," i.e. rich corporate vultures who make huge fortunes out of ravaging various segments of the economy. You would have to be crazy to think that a single one of these people would ever take an action or advocate a position for any other reason than his own immediate personal benefit. Yet they are portrayed in the mainstream media as altruistic do-gooders who are only trying to use their experience to do the best thing possible for all the rest of us (which always involves us paying and them getting richer, strange to say.)
And of course, people fall for it. And so, "austerity" reigns- our austerity of course, not theirs- and we sink deeper and deeper into a hole, the bottom of which no one can see,
And of course, people fall for it. And so, "austerity" reigns- our austerity of course, not theirs- and we sink deeper and deeper into a hole, the bottom of which no one can see,
Comments
So whenever someone talks about themselves as 'centrist' I immediately mark them down as moderately conservative.
There really isn't a true progressive movement in the US any more. There are some, (Sanders,Franken,Schatz,Hirono, etc.) but they're few and far between in our government.
The words 'communist' and 'socialist' are thrown around without thought, simply as pejoratives nowadays. Anyone who cares about anyone who isn't one of the 'ruling class' is called commie-socialist-whatever the insult of the day is.
It's really sad that so many have bought into the idea that the poor and what's left of the middle class have to support the ultra-rich. Most ultra-rich have made their money by speculation rather than 'job creation'.