Most discussions about the Democratic party in this election cycle focus on the remarkable rise of progressive Democrats, such as the Florida state representative Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who scored an upset win in the Democratic US Senate primary on Tuesday. But an equally big story is the remarkable decline of corporate Democrats. Some Democrats worry about this.
My old friend James Carville compares the current wave of progressive primary wins to progressive campaigns in 2016 – especially that of Bernie Sanders – that he believes fractured the Democratic coalition. Even if James is right about 2016 (and I don’t believe he is), his assessment is irrelevant now because we’re at a radically different point in US politics than we were 10 years ago. The silver lining in the dark storm cloud of Trump and his detestable regime is that it has exposed the greed, venality, cupidity and corruption of the US’s corporate elite.
Trump has allowed the CEOs of giant corporations and the titans of Wall Street to do whatever they want as long as they suck up to him. And he’s providing all sorts of corporate welfare to those who generously woo him – no-bid government contracts, exclusive licenses, tax loopholes, tariff exemptions, use of public lands, and permission to become even bigger monopolies. Trump has thereby unveiled a truth about corporate America that for many years has been hidden behind a soothing blanket of corporate PR bullshit about social responsibility, corporate charity, and “trickle-down” economics.
That truth is the captains of corporate America are so rapacious that they’re willing to throw average working Americans under the bus to make billions more. Corporate avarice under Trump has become so blatant and corporate America’s contempt for the needs of average Americans so flagrant that most Americans are now catching on. They’re voting for progressive Democrats not because they want socialism, support the Democratic Socialists of America, or reject candidates called “moderate”.
They’re voting for candidates whom they believe will fight to make housing, food, healthcare and childcare affordable to average working families. And who’ll take on Trump’s billionaire backers, CEOs and Wall Street titans who are rigging the economy against them. Much of the corporate media won’t tell this story.
When Dr Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic primary over Haley Stevens, the media overflowed with accounts of how much smaller El-Sayed’s margin of victory was than polls had predicted. Yet the most remarkable thing about El-Sayed’s victory was that he won despite being dramatically outspent by Super Pacs arrayed against him. Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a senatorial race ever made by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which traditionally supports pro-Israel candidates but in recent election cycles has supported candidates most favored by corporate America.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
