Crying "class warfare" is a diversionary tactic formerly used almost exclusively

[Atticus]

by wingnut shock jocks like Limbaugh, but which has now been adopted by wingnut politicians like Mr. Boehner et al. The GOP pols have recently resorted to it with increasing frequency and for the same purpose: to change the subject and play the victim of "Obama's socialist agenda"!

You see, these gilded anal sphincters know that their push to preserve the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans---who, coincidentally, fund most Republican campaigns---is a loser. Even most "low information" voters understand that we cannot afford to borrow $700 billion from China---to be repaid by the middle class---so that the richest of the rich can pocket an average tax saving of $100,000 each!

"Class warfare?" You betcherass, but the "bottom 98%" didn't start this conflict!

THEY opposed workers' rights to organize; social security; unemployment compenstion; worker's compensation; the 40 hour week; overtime; women's right to vote; and, in general any form of government regulation or other impediment to unfettered laissez faire capitalism.

WE want our fair share of the pie WE helped make, a decent standard of living which includes reasonable access to healthcare and education and the opportunity for upward mobility.

Bil Keane's "The Family Circus" featured a cartoon years ago that stuck with me. In it, little Billy, clearly in trouble as Mom comforts a bawling Dolly in the background, explains to his glowering father: "She started it when she hit me back!"

THAT'S what has Boehner's and Cantor's and McConnell's panties in a twist: we're hitting back!

How overdue is that?

[Xipe Totec]

1. Class Warfare? I'm waiting for it

So far, it's been a one sided scourge fest.

You can't have warfare when one side does all the beating, and one side does all the beating taking.

[Recursion]

2. Campaign contributions

Democrats, as we have for the past several decades, exceed Republicans in all campaign contribution sizes except $20 or less. (For that matter in 2008 we exceeded them in that category too.)

[lonestarnot]

3. Richie Rich only one whining.

[toddwv]

4. I just ran across the following article.

It is an excellent summary of the true class warfare that the right has been successfully waging for over 1/2 a century now. If you aren't fired up after reading this, well, there's not much anyone can do to help you. Might be a bit longish for some but it's a good read.



http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/david-michael-green/29721/mission-accomplished-the-reagan-occupation-and-the-destruction-of-the-american-middle-class>Mission Accomplished: The Reagan Occupation and the Destruction of the American Middle Class

Eighty years ago, something occurred in America that was never supposed to happen. An aristocrat came to the presidency and engineered a policy revolution that created a broad and prosperous middle class where it had not existed as such before.

To do this, Franklin Roosevelt and his party had to rewrite the existing rules of wealth redistribution in the United States such that the traditionally fantastically wealthy overclass (which had grown even fatter as the industrialism of the prior century concentrated wealth yet further) would become merely tremendously wealthy from that point forward, in order to leave enough for others to live a decent life.

Needless to say, this rankled the country club set, but, remarkably, they more or less made peace with this development during the early decades of the post-war era, and largely cooperated with the new economic order. So did their political representatives. The Eisenhower administration was the first chance after twenty years of the New Deal to dismantle the newly created American welfare state, and Ike not only refused to take that opportunity, but famously labeled those in his party who wanted to as "stupid".