Eric Alterman: The New Congress and the Coming Class War

[marmar]

from The Nation:



The New Congress and the Coming Class War

Eric Alterman
January 6, 2011


According to Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, the president recently told friends, "All I want for Christmas is an opposition I can negotiate with." Well, he had one, briefly, so long as he was willing to cave in to its demands to bust the budget with a massive gift of more than $130 billion in tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of the country and the gutting of the estate tax. That cleared the decks for other "victories" and "compromises" and led to widespread insider approval of Obama's ability to "make the system work." Like 13-year-olds at the movies, pundits love "action," period, never mind its consequences.

It's hardly surprising that few of them noticed that even during this decidedly brief Era of Good Feelings, Republicans refused to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Instead, both parties agreed to extend current levels of funding temporarily to avert an immediate government shutdown, with the mutual understanding that the postelection House will be much stingier than the old one. So Obama bought himself some peace in Hawaii, but at the cost of returning home to a metaphorical house on fire.

What is not understood by those who cover contemporary conservatives (and, one fears, by those who negotiate with them) is that while they like to talk about all kinds of values, these are always subordinated to a single, unchanging and uncompromised goal: class warfare.

Think about it. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush talked incessantly about fiscal responsibility and lost no opportunity to denounce deficit spending, but these principles flew out the window when it came time to cut taxes on the rich. The new bunch are even worse. Incoming House Ways and Means Committee chair Dave Camp recently told George Will that one of the biggest problems with our tax system is that too few poor people pay income tax. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/article/157531/new-congress-and-coming-class-war

[leveymg]

1. The 112th Congress Class War just started but we've been losing for 2 years.

Outside the House, we don't have a leadership that's on "our" side. Gee, I wonder why the GOP have already gotten practically everything they really want while in the minority?

[tularetom]

2. Reminds me of the Roman Senate from History of the World Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYqF_BtIwAU

[bullwinkle428]

3. Repuke : "too few poor people pay income tax" - yes, we've seen that meme

pushed here on occasion as well.

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. This is straight from the greasy lips of Rush Limbaugh

In fact, much of the insanity on the right-wing has its genesis with the thrice divorced, drug addicted, alleged pedophile Rush Limbaugh. Maybe someday liberals and Democrats will understand and focus on the source of these insane positions.

[socialist_n_TN]

5. Well if we ever fight back it might be a class war.............

Right now it's just a class massacre. And we're the ones being massacred.

[Quantess]

6. Yes, I was just thinking about this today,

while I was out running with the dog. If it's a class war, all I can say is that we are losing badly.