Special interests, politics, history and Obama

[Hamlette]

I just finished reading Last Call which is the history of prohibition in this country. I was a history major in college and I'm ashamed I didn't know or remember this.

If you think the fundamentalist Christians and special interests are powerful now, think about prohibition.

Powerful rich assholes like DuPont wanted to outlaw alcohol because it would make his workforce more productive.

Christianists wanted it outlawed because it was immoral.

The KKK wanted it outlawed because they were Christian and blacks could drink . . . or something (I admit I didn't really understand why the KKK got behind prohibition so strongly).

Whites even argued that there would be fewer lynchings if blacks couldn't drink (and do bad things.)

And the feminists wanted the vote and they made an unholy alliance with all of the above to go for prohibition in exchange for support for the vote.

And, the progressives backed the fundamentalists and the KKK and the powerful rich assholes because drink was bad for poor people.

Think about what this took. A country that drank three times as much per person as we currently consume. Taxes on alcohol were 1/3rd of the tax revenue for the federal government.

They even had to agree to and pass an amendment to allow for income tax just to pass prohibition!

You think the battle against the special interests, the Christianists, the rich old white guys like DuPonts and Kochs is something new or somehow more difficult now, I beg to differ. We've been fighting them for a long time and they've always played dirty. And they will always be with us. As my mom used to say (undoubtedly stolen), the battle is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong but to he who endureth unto the end.

Vote. Donate. Volunteer. The guys on the other side are mean and strong and will fuck us up if they are given half a chance.