Left-Right Attacks

We have long ago concluded that extreme right-wing, left-wing attacks on each other have little to do with what is in the best interest of most Americans in the lower segment of the income distribution. These attacks have only one purpose--to dislodge the opposition and take control of a political office, an administration, or any other political unit that is in a position to distribute "goodies." The goodies mean different things to different people. For some, they are emotional feelings associated with being part of a group that is in charge (an X or Y administration or some Congress person). For others, the goodies may mean an appointment in a local, state, or federal agency. And for the "big hitters" the goodies are lucrative government contracts, with some of the money being returned to the official or the party in the form of contributions.


So, extreme left-right partisan attacks are mostly emotional nonsense for the large majority of the partisans, while those who will belly-up to the bar for the politically-linked dollar benefits sit in the background and wait for their goodies.


The only genuine critiques of this form of "cronyism" are found in the Tea Party and Occupy Movements. The former are more organized than the latter, but what they have in common is a critique of the current political system, although they often have different targets. Moreover, they have been led to believe that they have reason to fear and hate each other. What they also have in common is that they are manipulated by segments of the national political parties (Republicans and Democrats) that use them for their own purposes. But as we have predicted elsewhere, the TP and OM will one day join together. Why? They are unified in their opposition to defense spending, to business as usual when it comes to spending tax dollars, and they agree on the need for term limits. That is a good basis for a unified movement, assuming that they can smell the "bullshit" associated with most "social issues."


So, extreme left-right ideologues are "whistling past the graveyard" because they have little to offer the bottom 50-80 percent of Americans who sit on the sidelines while nothing happens to benefit them--except for the promise of a $12 an hour minimum wage, a path to citizenship, or federal social welfare benefits---which will keep them in the same places they currently occupy.