Robert Scheer: Progressives on the Take

[marmar]

from truthdig:


Progressives on the Take

Posted on Dec 17, 2013
By Robert Scheer


How can President Obama be so right and so wrong in the same moment? On the one hand, he warns us that sharply rising income inequality “is the defining challenge of our time” and pledges to reverse “a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility. ...” But then he once again turns to the same hacks in the Democratic Party who helped create this problem to fix it.

His tough speech on income inequality earlier this month was delivered at the Center for American Progress, founded by John Podesta. As chief of staff to Bill Clinton, Podesta helped lead the charge to deregulate Wall Street, which resulted in the banking bubble that wiped out the savings of tens of millions of Americans.

But instead of chastising Podesta for the errors of his ways, Obama in 2008 appointed him to oversee his presidential transition team. That led to the appointment of Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner, two former Clinton officials responsible for the banking meltdown, to repair it. Just this past week, it was announced that John Podesta would be reappointed as a senior adviser to the Obama White House.

John Podesta should not be confused with his brother Tony, although both were founding partners of the Podesta Group, a lobbying firm that has represented Walmart, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America and BP along with dozens of other multinational corporations. .................................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/progressives_on_the_take_20131217

[on point]

1. Words to con the electors, but deeds to deliver the goods to the PTB

[polichick]

2. Exactly - and it's time for the people to wake up in a big way.

[okaawhatever]

3. Oh, FFS another hit piece. Give me a break. For the last paragraph displayed here, one might

want to know that Tony left the group close to twenty years ago and the author isn't claiming he was at the firm when they represented these groups. He kind of leaves that out of the story so you'll be sure to hate him.
Also, I don't know how Podesta "led the charge to deregulate Wall Street" since it took nothing more than Clinton's signature on the Republican sponsored and backed bill.

This story is irresponsible and uninformed. Sorry, not buying it.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. I've been trying to sort through the disconnect for sometime.

[wilsonbooks]

5. With Obama and most politicians I find

that it is most useful to watch what they do rather than what the say. Playing follow the money works too. Clinton entered the White House with a very modest net worth. He is now worth in excess of 100 million. I think I am safe in predicting that our current president will have a similar net worth in the future.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. I suspect that it's this track record that makes campaign donations so difficult for Dem politicians

Right now Charlie Crist, the front runner for the Dems for the Florida Governor's race, is having a hell of a time garnering financial support outside of the lawyer group.

I think people are beginning to understand that political attorneys on both sides of the aisle are responsible for the Bizarro World we live in, in the Sunshine State.

[xchrom]

7. du rec.

[Octafish]

8. The truth hurts.

The acolytes of Cass Sunstein don't like honest public discussion of the people on Team Obama, including Larry Summers and Jacob Lew and Penny Pritzker.

Thanks to Scheer, people can still get a good idea about what they're all about. Year Five, and it's still trickle down...and it's not just the GOP.