Another worthy Tomgram

Tomgram: Thomas Frank, Why the Tea Party Needs Mitt

Posted by Thomas Frank at 8:07am, January 8, 2012.

Ode on American Earnings
A Poem for Campaign 2012

Goldman Sachs ($367,200)
Credit Suisse Group ($203,750)
Morgan Stanley ($199,800)
HIG Capital ($186,500)
Barclays ($157,750)
Kirkland & Ellis ($132,100)
Bank of America ($126,500)
PriceWaterhouseCoopers ($118,250)
EMC Corp ($117,300)
JPMorgan Chase & Co ($112,250)
The Villages ($97,500)
Vivint Inc ($80,750)
Marriott International ($79,837)
Sullivan & Cromwell ($79,250)
Bain Capital ($74,500)
UBS AG ($73,750)
Wells Fargo ($61,500)
Blackstone Group ($59,800)
Citigroup Inc ($57,050)
Bain & Co ($52,500).

Now, if that isn’t a poem that sings the (corporate) body electric, I don’t know what is.  According to the invaluable OpenSecrets.org website, it’s also the list of the top 20 contributors to presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign.  It’s his “people,” so to speak.  And if he weren’t to get the nomination, those involved (or their PACs, employees, owners, and top execs) would be someone else’s people because places like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase -- four of whose officials recently held a $2,500-a-person fundraiser for Romney in New York City -- just love presidential candidates.  They are simply so much more civic-minded than the rest of us.

As it happens, another must-read ode to our screwy moment has entered our world.  Just out from Thomas Frank (author of the bestselling What’s the Matter with Kansas?) is a riveting new book on the Tea Party and the country.  It’s focus: how for almost two post-economic meltdown years -- until, that is, Occupy Wall Street came along -- we were left in a land of activists (and Republican operatives and billionaires) promoting a set of positions so wild that, under normal conditions, they might send you to an asylum, not the White House.  It is a movement, Frank writes, “in favor of the very conditions that had allowed Wall Street to loot the world.”

It’s as if, having had your city ravaged by Attila the Hun, you formed a movement in total outrage that essentially begged Attila to take another whistle-stop hop through your wrecked community.  The book, with a title to die for, is Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right, and Frank has a little advice for the Tea Party whose life he’s chronicled and whose rank-and-file activists could still help put a quarter-billionaire in the White House to defend his financial betters. Tom

Comments

[Wing Nut]

Rocky,

I see you and Tom are getting used to the idea of President Romney in the White House. Let it wash over you my friend, because Obama is on his way out.

Take care,
WN

[Ron Paul 2012]

Debt crises for dummies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li0no7O9zmE

[Rocky]

It's all about money WN and if you have money he's your boy. Some of us just don't happen to be part of that privileged class nor aspire to be. WN do you have the same type crystal ball as Paul Grenier? There may have been a recall on some of those earlier models.

[Ron Paul 2012]

Ron Paul in Hollis NH 9/9/12

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RonPaulCampa

[Wing Nut]

"Some of us don't happen to part of that privileged class nor apsire to be".

What class are you referring to Rocky? The "American" class. Last time I checked this country was all about having the freedom to work as hard as you want to achieve as much success as you want. Oh ya, I forgot that changed when BHO got to office and decided to wage class warfare against hard working, successful Americans.

Take care,
WN

[Ron Paul 2012]

Hey, look who else is voting for Ron Paul now! Way to go Rocky!!

http://www.swagpic.com/sites/default/files/Rocky_300.gif

[Rocky]

The illusion that the average working class person has that they will reach that 1% class is the same illusion that the people have when they buy a lottery ticket. Yes it can and does happen, but the odds are stacked against you. You Obama bashers have a lot in common with the Bush bashers, you have no sense of history and a selective memory.

[Wing Nut]

Rocky,

I'm under no illusions whatsoever. I don't expect to ever be a part of the 1% club. That being said, I don't believe those who have achieved 1% status should be vilified. Further, I don't think it is appropriate or helpful for our Commander in Chief to vilify them. What he's doing is a well-orchestrated distraction from his miserable economic record over the past 3 years. What he fails to understand is that most Americans are not dumb enough to fall for his games any longer. At least those of us who don't drink the Kook-Aid are cognizant of what he's doing with his class warfare bit.

The most liberal President in history is about to see that the majority of America is center/right and have had enough.

By the way, even if you tax the 1% at 100% of their income you will not solve the deficit problem. The problem is a spending problem Rocky, not a taxation problem. The government is simply too large and spends too much. Too bad Obama hasn't figured that out yet.

Take care,
WN

[Wing Nut]

Rocky,

I also find it interesting that Tom highlights Romney's $2,500 per plate fund raiser but fails to mention that Obama has done the exact same thing (multiple times in the past). What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.

Typical left wing propaganda. Liberals sure are hypocrites. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid Rocky.

Take care,
WN.

[Antonio Andolini]

Well, WN, we all know that the President has good intentions when he hits the trail for money. He is a Democrat, after all. Romney and those others, well, come on, they're Republicans, so they cannot have good intentions. (Evil, wicked, mean, nasty, oh, and RICH too!)
The sad part is there are folks out there who truly believe such things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI

2016 is coming!

[Rocky]

WN why do you keep defending the 1% ? How long have you had that syndrome? I believe the 1% are doing quite well without your help or sanction. The other night watching the debate, one of your Republican candidate claimed that GW Bush had gotten us into this economic mess with his tax cut and unfunded wars. Another candidate looked at his fellow candidates and said "look at these Washington Insiders who created our economic disaster". You're right WN, most Americans are not dumb enough to believe your right wing rhetoric because history is not on your side. You can bash Obama all you want, but this leaking ship was launched during the previous administration and those of us whose memory is not totally contaminated with partisan prejudice are not impressed with your version of history.

[Antonio Andolini]

"...but this leaking ship was launched during the previous administration..." To continue with your analogy, Rocky, the problem (in 2012) is the current Skipper is not plugging the leaks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxEOiqtV_MA

[Wing Nut]

People who worked hard to achieve 1% status should be admired, not hated or attacked. I'm not saying they are all good people (e.g. George Soros), but I would submit that most of them are and it does no good to attack them because it doesn't solve any problems. It is a distraction which Obama desperately needs because of his failed policies. Apparently it is working because people like you continue to drink the Kook-Aid.

Also, you failed to address my main point. Even if you tax the 1% at 100% of their income (something I'm sure you'd support) you would not reduce the deficit. Until you understand that point arguing with you is completely useless. Washington is spending way too much and Obama has done nothing to stem the tide (in fact he made it much worse with his $1 Trillion stimulus and his very expensive entitlement called health care reform). I agree that Bush started the boat sinking, but unfortunately Obama forgot to call the Coast Guard and is happy to watch the boat go under water.

Take care,
WN

[Antonio Andolini]

Bashing Bush and whining about the 1% are not going to turn this nation around. Neither will partisan prejudice. We need some dynamic leadership in Congress and in the White House. Unfortunately, I do not see that happening, so far, in this election cycle. So, we hunker down and look ahead to 2016.

[Rocky]

As long as big money has the podium in Washington, neither party will be effective. As long as lobbyist dictate legislation the people's agenda will never be heard. When I listen to what most people say on this blog I have to admit that the one candidate that comes the closest to what is being said is Ron Paul. I hope he does well enough in the primaries to influence the Republican platform or that he runs as a 3rd party candidate. Money, money everywhere so why are we broke? Because we're not all broke, a slim minority is doing quite well, thank you.

[warren,]

Obama is doing a worse job than "Skipper" Hale! Is He Still in Hawaii??? How many Expensive Vacation's has this President taken? Also, He is Owened by Goldman Sachs just as much as any other Candidate....except Ron Paul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR7qxtgCgY

Cheer up Tony, 2012 might not be a good year for His planned Repeat. Even so, Romney makes Me sick...

[toonist]

Ron Paul the "only guy opposed to the NDAA" DID NOT EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO VOTE NO on it in the House. So how much did he care about it?

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/​2011/roll375.xml
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/​2011/roll375.xml
clerk.house.gov

[warren,]

Not sure Dennis, Maybe He took His Wife out to Eat that day? But considering that Obama Signed NDAA, yours is a weak rejoinder for a guy so sick of politicking...

Guess they ALL miss votes here and there,

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-mccain-stack-against-bachmann-missed-votes-170008977.html

And We seemed so close to "Pay Dirt" for a moment there... eh Rocky?

[Ron Paul 2012]

A no vote is a no vote when one no vote will only end in a no vote. ;)

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll932.xml

[Antonio Andolini]

Get out and VOTE!

[Wing Nut]

Don't forget to vote for the next President of the United States today. As many people like to say, "Anybody but Obama".

Take care,
WN

[Antonio Andolini]

Continue tacking left, Skipper.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204124204577150942861338400.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

[Wing Nut]

AA,

He cannot help himself. He claimed in his 2008 election campaign to be a "centrist" when in reality he is the MOST liberal president in American history (with all apologies to Jimmy Carter). This fact will be his undoing in my opinion because most of America is "center/right". I for one am counting down the days to the November election. Tick, tock, tick, tock.............

Take care,
WN

[Antonio Andolini]

President Clinton did a similar maneuver, getting elected as a centrist, then pandering to the far left to get reelected. The scary thing with President Obama is that he will stay with the left afterwards. Dumping Daley says a lot. I'll be curious to learn how many Democrats voted in the NH primary and how many did not vote for President Obama. I won't be surprised to see the Obama-Clinton ticket materialize. We shall see.
2016 is coming!

[Antonio Andolini]

Pleased to see that over 40% of Republican primary voters supported candidates that believe in leadership and liberty.
Meanwhile Mitt needed a teleprompter for his victory speech; so if he is the nominee, will both he and the President get to use teleprompter(s) for a "debate." Hamanahmana...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CgNwBh8vOY