Ragging Populism

Class Warfare! Both political parties are using it and both sides are crying foul. Republicans don't want to be chastised for being successful or portrayed as greedy Robber Barons and Democrats don't want to be portrayed as welfare dependents. There has to be a name for what both parties are doing. It's called POPULISM.

In times like these, who wouldn't at least identify with the general sentiments of populist thinking? While populism generally centers around income and anger from the middle class, working class, and the working poor, there's more than one shade of populism. The two dominant forms these days is Tea Party Populism and Occupy Wall Street Populism.

The Tea Party sees the Federal Government as the primary reason for the nation’s economic distress. They see a government that's over spent, taxes too much, is too intrusive into personal lives, assaulting individual liberties, redistributing hard earned personal wealth to those that they perceive shouldn’t be helped, and regards anyone that uses or is dependent on social welfare as part of the unemployment problem.

On the other hand, the Occupy Wall Street movement has a much stronger connection to the turn of the century Trust Busting of “Teddy” Roosevelt, the Women’s Suffrage movement, the rise of Organized Labor during the Great Depression, the FDR New Deal social programs that are the sacred cows of many of today’s fiscal debates.

Occupy Wall Street sees big financial firms, banks, and massive corporations as the problem. They look at how lawmakers in Washington, D.C. were influenced to loosen regulations on their respective industries which allowed them to take on huge financial risks that were fueled by pure speculation and greed. They see a corporate financial sector that gets bailed out with taxpayer money, receives preferential treatment through corporate tax deductions and loopholes, and acts as if they are entitled to all these benefits and don’t have to be accountable for the money they have received from the American Taxpayer.

They also pull a great deal from the 1960s Civil Right Era and tendencies towards inclusivity and strength through diversity. Occupy Wall Street sees social and economic inequity as the driver of the nation’s economic distress, brought on by corporate greed and capitalism run amuck. Occupy Wall Street also reflects some of the outgrowth of protests against globalization across the globe, many of which are marked by violence and hooliganism.

Both forms of Populism have their roots in early American political thought, but they are more a collection of different periods rather than being tied to one definitive historical event. The Tea Party can trace their theoretical justification all the way back to the Anti-Federalists, like James Madison, Patrick Henry, James Winthrop, and even to some degree Thomas Jefferson. These were people that advocated for a small Federal Government and significant local control. They also championed low taxes, especially as they related to the Federal Government, and advocated for states rights over Federal control.

The Tea Party also reflects a strong religious fundamentalist streak that harkens of Puritanical influences and hard line socially conservative policies. There are strong tendencies toward regionalism, nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment, racism, and islolationism. There is also a fear and paranoia element to the Tea Party that flashes back to Senator Eugene McCarthy and the “Red Scare”.

Regardless of which side of Populism you stand, both parties are using the nation's economic distress as political fodder for the November elections and are totally ignoring the realities of poverty than over 15% of our fellow Americans have fallen into. According to Washington Post opinion writer, Michael Gerson,

"GOP candidates seldom mention the problems of the poor, for fear of being viewed as ideological weaklings. Elected Democrats are advised by their pollsters to focus on the challenges of the voter-rich middle class. No President - indluding Barack Obama - is naturally inclined to talk about conditions that have grown worse on his watch." 

The Roanoke Times is featuring a series called "Making it".  These are stories about the new reality for many that were in the Middle Class, or at least the Working Class.  This past Sunday's story focused on Piper Lane and Paul Davis who are "Learning to live without." It's a very powerful story of how people that were working hard and playing by the rules are living on the edge.  My hat goes off to them.  If I were in their shoes, I'd be angry and wanting to blame someone, but these folks are doing something about it. They're making it, but just barely.

For all intents and purposes, they're the example of those that were solid middle class, small business owerns, who have seen the work dry up and have bills piling up - not from living beyond their means, but from the basics of trying to live and having little to no work.  They aren't just sitting around feeling sorry for themselves, but scratching and clawing together anything they can, and they're also getting politically involved.  So watch out!  This is the reality of poverty today, regardless of how inflamed Populism gets or how much either political party tries to leverage it to their advantage. 

GOP playing "Chicken" with the Debt Ceiling

On Tuesday, May 31st, the GOP controlled House of Representatives voted down a "clean" bill to increase the Federal Government's Debt Limit by $2.4 trillion.  By a vote of 97 - 318, the symbolic vote on the "clean" bill went down to defeat as expected.  All House Republicans voted against it and were joined by 82 Democrats. 

The current debt limit is set at $14.3 trillion and if the bill had passes, would have gone to $16.7 trillion.  Now you might say that teaching the Federal Government a lesson, like credit card companies do by not increasing a person's credit limit when they have maxed out their credit card, seems reasonable and the Federal Government should live within their budget.  Fair enough except for one thing,...the Federal Government is not the average consumer. 

Tied to the debt ceiling is our credit rating, which as it stands now is still very, very good.  Just for comparison sake, Greece was recently downgraded, again, from B1 to Caa1.  As one international business analyst on CNBC described it, this is almost Junk Bond level and very close to a point where the nation of Greece could default on its debt payments.  The United States is still in the AAA rating level, but if we can't pay our bills it affects the rest of the world in really bad ways. 

The simple fact is that the Republicans are more scared of the anti-tax, anti-government Tea Party wing of their caucus than they are of an even worse, shall we say nightmare scenario, of the U.S. government possibly defaulting on its debt obligations.  Heck, the GOP won't even consider raising taxes on the wealthy.  Their solution, only balance the budget and reduce our national debt by cutting the Federal Budget.  Tied to that faulty logic is cutting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security which are paid for separately and aren't even the reason for our national debt.  That's it.  That's their path to prosperity. 

The Democrats on the other hand, don't want to cut any more from the budget and see their best opportunity to drive home the point that while tax payers don't want to pay anymore in taxes, they don't want to see any cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.  If it means tax payers have to pay a little more in taxes to continue these programs, as well as other popular social programs, they'll do it. 

This sentiment has been aided by Congressman Paul Ryan's budget proposal that turns Medicare into a voucher program and shifts more of the health care costs away from the Federal Government and onto seniors.  Simply put, this idea has gone over like a lead balloon. 

It seems like the GOP would clue in and be more fearful of the American Voter than the fringe elements of their Tea Party caucus.  During the 2010 Mid-Term elections, Republicans did a masterful job in scaring seniors and others that depend on the very programs they now propose gutting in order to balance the Federal Budget.  They were just as adept at painting Democrats as out of the mainstream and tagging them with the bad guy lable.  It's clear now, the tables have turned. 

It's not an overreach, or a stretch, to label what the GOP and their Tea Party caucus are trying to do as outside of the mainstream of America, or shall we say extreme or FRINGE.  This is a very dangerous game the Teapublicans are playing with the Debt Ceiling, and if they don't stop the losers will not only be their House Majority or chances at regaining the Senate or the White House, but the American people.

If you can't argue the facts, then just make something up

So, Anderson Cooper of CNN was interviewing Congresswoman Michele Bachmann a couple of nights ago and was asking her some questions about specific things she would cut to reduce the National Debt and get the Federal Budget under control.  Here's the interview... 




Not sure if the cool response Bachmann received from the GOP Leadership (establishment) was a result of this interview, but I'm sure it didn't help her chance to move into the Leadership.  If this is the way the Tea Party "Caucus" Chair plans to govern, the GOP is in trouble. 

Michele Bachmann is knock, knock, kockin' on the GOP Leadership door

In all due deference and respect to Guns 'n Roses classic, "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", the first real test of the Tea Party's influence is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's bid to move up into the GOP Leadership.  Click here for the story from Politico. 

If there's a poster child for demagoguery and evangelical nationalism, Michele Bachmann fills that role perfectly.  Let's see if the Speaker-in-waiting, John Boehner, and the Majority Leader-in-waiting, Eric Cantor, will answer the Tea Party darling's call. 

Will fiscal discipline mean longer Bread Lines?

Despite the demagoguery of TARP and the Stimulus by establishment Republicans, and the Tea Party movement that is being co-oped by the GOP, one of the things that is keeping people fed is TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). 

So, with Tea Party candidates poised to have a better than noticeable presence in both the House and Senate, banging the drum of "No Compromise" with Democrats or the White House, what does this bode for the nation's strained social safety net? 

In today's Roanoke Times, there's an article on the modern-day version of Depression Era Bread Lines.  Despite the so-called waist and failure of the Stimulus, TANF funding, along with Unemployment and a whole host of other programs, have been a life line to millions directly impacted by the Great Recession.  These programs are in the cross hairs of the Tea Party Movement and the GOP Establishment. 

The reality is that contemporary Bread Lines exist.  But what if the Stimulus had not passed?  How much longer would they be? 

TODAY IS ELECTION DAY. 

VOTE YOUR FOR YOUR PRINCIPLES AND YOUR HUMANITY. 

GO VOTE! 

Healthcare: Repeal and Replace? GOP might be misreading the Tea (Party) leaves

Time, after time, after time, Republicans hammer away at the "fact" that most Americans didn't want the health care reforms that are now law.  It's clear, the polling done over the last six to eight months has been pretty consistent in the opposition to the new health care law that began to go into effect in earnest just a few days ago.  But when you dig deeper, opposition to health care reform mainly rest on the Republican side. 

According to another AP-GfK poll, those that think the new reforms don't go far enough out number those who don't want government involved in health care at all by 2 to 1.  Yes, that's right.  Twice as many people feel the reforms don't go far enough. 

Bottom line, most Americans wanted Healthcare Reform.  They just wanted much bigger reforms.

FINALLY, a common sense Conservative,... too bad he's on his way out

Republican Congressman Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who is as conservative as they come, was defeated for re-election in the Republican Primary.  No chance that seat was going Democratic, but he just wasn't conservative enough.  Why?  Listen to the interview by CNN's John Roberts: 



This hard, hard turn to the right in the GOP is going to devastate this party, if not relegate it to permanent minority party status after this election.  The damage to the GOP brand, the party of Lincoln, is so bad that whatever remains will be a shell of its former self. 

I'm not sure how Moderate Republicans will be able to stay in the GOP?  While I will disagree a whole lot with Conservatives like Congressman Inglis, there is a place for people like him in Congress.  Not a bunch of folks who will only intensify the white-hot rhetoric and push outright lies, misinformation, and distortions as absolute truth. 

5th District Tea Party Candidate heavily in debt due to medical expenses

If there is any better example of why comprehensive Health Care Reform was needed, 5th Congressional District candidate and Tea Party Activist Jeff Clark is it.  One problem,... Clark didn't support it.  And as far as anyone can tell, neither Clark or Republican candidate Robert Hurt have said what would be better.  Click here for the News Advance story. 

While being in debt resulting from serious health care issues is not uncommon, debts relating to failure to pay for car repairs from an accident, non-payment of taxes, and library fines might seem nit-picky but they start to catch up to a person with an established record of bad credit.  Makes any argument about out-of-control government spending meaningless coming from someone who has a problem practicing what they preach. 

At this point Clark would be lucky to get above 5%, thus making him a non-factor in the 5th Congressional District race. 

Fallout from the Tea Party-NAACP not a barrier to formation of Tea Party Caucus

There have been casualties on both sides of the Tea Party-NAACP dust-up.  As a result of the Tea Party Resolution the NAACP passed last week, The Tea Party Federation (the defacto governing body of the movement) have expelled the Tea Party Express and it's leader, Mark Williams, because of a racist satirical blog post in response to the NAACP resolution calling elements of the Tea Party Movement, of all things, "racist."  As a result, leaders from both the NAACP and The Tea Party have been engaged in dueling interviews and sometimes being interviewed at the same time.   

It appears that the NAACP, and people tied to the civil rights organization, are also being caught up in the aftermath.  Because of a video tape that surfaced and has caught fire in the conservative bloggaspher, the United States Department of Agriculture has sacked  Shirley Sherrod, its Director of Rural Development in Georgia.  In the excerpt that has been circulating, Sherrod speaks at an NAACP event where she talks about how a white farmer she was trying to help, was being difficult and because of his race, she admittedly doesn't bend over backwards to help resolve his problem with possible foreclosure on his farm.  This occurred over 24 years ago and while she was at a different job.  According to interviews with Sherrod, she had repeated calls from officials at the White House pressuring her to resign, because the story was going to be on Glenn Beck. 

Some notable members of the GOP, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner, are putting as much distance as they can between them and the Tea Party.  But, with all the public discussion about the racists and extremist elements within the Tea Party Movement and the recent moves by the Tea Party to address these issues, it has not diswayed Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann from filing paperwork to form the Tea Party Caucus in Congress. 

Its pretty clear that the Tea Party has made an indelible mark on the GOP and the candidates that are running under their banner for the 2010 Election Cycle.  The movement has propelled some of the GOP's most conservative and extremist members to the primary nominations over more establishment candidates.  An election cycle that was shaping up to be the best for the GOP since the 1994 GOP tsunami is now looking less like a probable wave and more like a ripple in a small pond because of the rift(s) that are forming within the Tea Party Movement. 

With the newly formed Tea Party Caucus being led by Michelle Bachmann, it will be interesting to see who will self-identify with the Tea Party now that the labels of racists, bigots, and extremists are permanently tattooed to those that stand with the movement. 

Picture found at:  http://www.indecisionforever.com/files/2009/11/michele-bachmann-rally-podium.jpg 

Tea Party: Would there be a movement without Nativists, Birthers, Bigots, Anti-Semites, Gay Bashers, Ultra-Nationalists, and Racists?

The NAACP has passed a resolution labeling the Tea Party Movement as racists.  The Tea Party has denounced it calling the resolution "unfair."  Sara Palin, darling of the Tea Party Movement, has quickly fired back calling the NAACP resolution "false, appauling, and a is a regressive and divisionary tactic to change the subject at hand." 

The real simple way to prove the Tea Party Movement isn't racist is to kick these people out of the movement. But wait,... would their be a Tea Party Movement with out the racists, nativists, birthers, bigots, Anti-Semites, gay bashers, and ultra-nationalist that have taken over the movement?  

I understand the anger and frustration with the mismanagement of our Federal Government and its finances, but the watershed event by which the movement has galvanized around, The Boston Tea Party, was not a reaction to being taxed but being taxed without their representation, input, or consent. 

In the modern world, governments cannot function without tax revenue by which to reinvest into it's citizens and create the conditions of individual liberty and freedom for private citizens to live free or die.  Things like roads for the commerce of our nation and individuals to be able to participate in that commerce.  Schools, so that individuals can gain knowledge and understanding to see how people with power and money manipulate the uneducated to advocate for the benefit of the few rather than the greater good. 

Americans have representation, can provide input into the democratic political process, and can offer their consent or opposition. The Tea Party Movement is a shame and is represented by those that the NAACP has accurately labeled, racists.   

So again, would their be a Tea Party Movement with out the racists, nativists, birthers, bigots, Anti-Semites, gay bashers, and ultra-nationalist that are the face of the movement? 

Don't tell the Tea Party (TARP turned a PROFIT!)

As reported on Politico's Morning Money section, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (a.k.a. TARP) has turned a profit.  According to a new report issued by the Financial Analyst firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods on July 6, 2010,... "Overall, TARP CPP investments appear to provide positive returns to the Treasury."  Additionally, for the 61 banks that have fully repaid their TARP loan the average Return on Investment (ROI) was 10.3% with six having a ROI greater than 20%. 

Keep in mind that TARP was a program started under the Bush Administration and carried over to the current Obama Administration.  While a 15% ROI is generally considered a good measuring stick for the soundness of a good investment, at this point anything that shows positive returns from the Treasury's bailout of these badly (if not criminally) mismanaged banks and global financial firms, indications are that things are moving in the right direction. 

Another bit of good financial news today comes from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  As reported by the Associated Press the IMF has raised it's 2010 World Growth Forecast, lead by the United States and China.  But, the IMF does offer a bit of caution.   According to Jose Vinals, who oversees the IMF's monetary and capital markets department, Europe's debt problems "could spill over to other regions and stall the global recovery." 

This leads to the question that everyone that has been negatively affected by the Great Recession has asked:  What would things look like and were would we be if the Federal Government hadn't enacted TARP, bailed out the American Auto Industry, or passed the Stimulus?  Would we be looking at national unemployment at the levels of the Great Depression of 25% or greater if we hadn't? 

Unfortunately, in may areas of the nation this is the reality.  In Martinsville and Danville, Virginia the actual unemployment numbers are over 20% and 16% respectively.

For all the anger and railing against the Federal Government from the Tea Party over bailing out these financial institutions, and how the Government has done nothing but screw things up since the Obama Administration and Democrats have been in control, this strategic investment in our Capitalist system seems to be working right. 

The surest way to reduce the size of the Federal Government, or any state and local government, is for unemployment to continue at the current levels of around 9.5%, or have them go higher.  When people are out of work they pull back on spending and paying sales taxes, and among other things they can't pay their income and property taxes.  All of these revenue sources are what funds our Federal, State, and Local governments. 

Counter to the path that much of Europe is taking these days through Austerity (focusing on reducing their national debts by cutting their budgets and government services), Political Scientist and Economist Paul Krugman argues that the Stimulus was too small to begin with and we need more, not less.  There is nothing more that will send fiscal conservatives and Tea Party activist into a tirade than calling for more government spending that adds to the national debt. 

But, as Krugman suggests from his rounds on this past Sunday's talk shows, more government spending now could be all the difference in sustaining the recovery or having us slide into a full blown Depression.  More Stimulus will not impact the level of long term national debt, which will take years to pay down. 

At this point, with incumbents from both major political parties hunkering down or heading for the hills for the duration of the 2010 campaign season, the likelihood of a new stimulus package along the lines Paul Krugman is suggesting are about as likely as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Neal Bortz becoming normal/reasonable people. 

The point is that TARP is actually working and not everything that the Federal Government does turns into a train wreck.  It is going to take time to correct 30 years of financial deregulation and bad monetary policy. 

Photo by:  http://www.treehugger.com/20090730-wall-street.jpg