Will Dems Ever Stop Being Craven Tools of Wall Street?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/will-dems-ever-stop-being-craven-tools-wall-street


To put it crudely, the dilemma facing the Democratic party comes down to this: Will Dems decide next time to stand with the working people, or will they stick with their big-money friends in finance and business? Some twenty years ago, Bill Clinton taught Democrats how they can have it both ways. Take Wall Street’s money—gobs of it—while promising to govern on a heart-felt agenda of “Putting People First.”

It worked, sort of, for the party. Not so much for the people. New Democrats prevailed. Old labor-liberals lost their seat at the table. Among left-wing malcontents, Bill Clinton became “slick Willie.”

Now economic adversities have blown away the Clinton legacy, which is rightly blamed for much of what happened to middle-class wage earners. New voices like senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherod Brown are demanding a new new politics—big governing reforms that really do put people first. The old New Dems are stuck with their moderation and obsolete economic doctrine that is utterly irrelevant amid the nation’s depressed circumstances.

Sooner or later I expect politics will change, because the injuries and adversities will not go away in the absence of stronger government interventions. For now, however, the Clintonites are the Democratic Party, having deliberately excluded liberal thinkers and activists from the ranks of government policymakers for two decades. Economic experts recruited by the Obama administration are more likely to have been trained at Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. They do not personally share the public’s anger.

[KG]

1. not anytime soon.

[think]

2. A government that represented the people. Wouldn't that be nice.....

[SamKnause]

3. No, the U.S.

government is corrupt.

It represents the needs and wants of the 1%.

They bought it 'fair and square' thanks to legislation passed or revoked by our 'esteemed' representatives and the decisions handed down by our 'Supreme Court'.

The 99% are needed for tax revenue, slave labor, and to keep our prisons overflowing.

Everything that is happening in this country is being steered by the few families that control this entire planet.

Nothing that is happening is accidental !!!!!!

Our country is being dismantled intentionally !!!!!!!

No one ever dreamed they would have the nerve to come after the U.S. economy, our labor force, and our 'democracy'.

This could never have been accomplished without the traitorous insiders; (aka politicians).

[stillwaiting]

4. When we publicly fund elections, have lobbying HEAVILY restricted or eliminated for the bribery that

it is, and if we pass laws that prohibit corrupt Congresscritters from being rewarded with lavish jobs after their stint in Congress, then we might get the Democratic Party to represent the people over monied interests.

We'll have to get this work done first, and it really is the most important work that can be done in my opinion, but we continue to get sucked in to the political games surrounding the next election. While electing Dems is important to prevent more harm from being done to the 99%, changing the way business is done in D.C. is much more important.

[Dragonfli]

7. You have it exactly right / see my post below written before reading yours / nt

[hobbit709]

5. don't hold your breath waiting!

[Dragonfli]

6. Not until the money is taken out of the equation.

As well as the very lucrative jobs after, as an example the last leader of the DLC Harold Ford Jr. now makes a rather exorbitant salary working for Morgan Stanley.

[socialist_n_TN]

8. Two questions: Why should they? And when have they ever?...

In order to counter the "Red Menace" of the 30s when there was a real push for a workers state, the Democratic Party took a position of giving the working class a few more crumbs from the tables of the wealthy. These reforms hoodwinked workers and saved capitalism from itself. And the Dems have been gaining dividends from the working class off of these reforms ever since.

Except that the Democrats have never been a party for workers. They don't even CLAIM to be a party for workers. They are supposedly a party for ALL classes, proletarian and bourgeoisie. The problem with this attitude is that it doesn't work over the long term. When push comes to shove, during EVERY ONE OF THE PERIODIC DOWNTURNS IN THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM, THEY SIDE WITH THE OWNERS OVER THE WORKERS. And the worse the crisis, the more obvious that becomes.

Class struggle is a zero-sum game. To quote a well-known source, "You can't serve two masters". For the Democratic Party to become a true workers' party, they will have to side with workers against the bourgeoisie at some point. And that has never happened.