[Peace-discuss] [Peace] Robert Reich’s letter to ‘MoveOn’ CORRECTED

Wed Nov 27 14:42:10 UTC 2019

Deb,

The problems we have currently in this country did not begin with Trump in Jan. 2017. AS the democratically elected President of Honduras ( Manuel Zelaya ) who was deposed in a military coup by Hillary Clinton and Obama in 2009 because he was implementing increased taxes on the wealthy and foreign corporations , increasing the minimum wage , and democratizing the constitutional system of governance in Honduras, said in an interview on Democracy Now several years ago when he was asked about Obama’s foreign policies as “ boss ( Jefe ) “ of the American empire, Zelaya’s immediate response was ; “ The President of the United States is NOT the Jefe ( boss ) of the American empire.

Ever wonder why nothing changes for the better regardless which political party wins the presidency ? Same bipartisan belligerent foreign policy, same focus on privatization and austerity, same expansion of corporate and police powers. Same erosion of individual rights, privacy, and freedom of speech.

The problem the majority of the ruling class ( not the tiny group that helped Trump get elected – Adelson, Mercer, etc. ) has with Trump is that they wanted Hillary Clinton to win because she has a proven track record of being a loyal and dependable servant of the ruling class. Trump on the other hand is an uncertain “ wild card “ who is a pure opportunist with no other ideology  than that, and Trump was campaigning on issues ( that he had no intention of executing ) that was a threat to neo-liberal austerity and neo-conservative foreign policy.

The POTUS has power, but not as much as most people think. The corporate plutocracy ( the ruling class ) is the real power. In particular ; The financial sector, the military industrial complex, The oil / gas / energy sector, and the corporate owned media. 

Below is a recent study that proves this point ( from the BBC ) –

The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite.

So concludes a recent study <http://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/Gilens%20homepage%20materials/Gilens%20and%20Page/Gilens%20and%20Page%202014-Testing%20Theories%203-7-14.pdf>  by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page.

This is not news, you say.

Perhaps, but the two professors have conducted exhaustive research to try to present data-driven support for this conclusion. Here's how they explain it:

Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. 

In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.

Eric Zuess, writing <http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/15/the-contradictions-of-the-american-electorate/>  in Counterpunch, isn't surprised by the survey's results.

"American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media)," he writes. "The US, in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious 'electoral' 'democratic' countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now."

From: Peace [mailto:peace-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Debra Schrishuhn via Peace
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2019 7:15 AM
To: C. G. Estabrook
Cc: Peace Discuss; Peace
Subject: Re: [Peace] Robert Reich’s letter to ‘MoveOn’ CORRECTED

First, I won't be drawn into a round of "whataboutism." Second, to insist that the issues of U.S. policy by and character of the chief elected officer are mutually exclusive is both naive and disingenuous.

On Wed, Nov 27, 2019 at 4:47 AM C. G. Estabrook <carl at newsfromneptune.com> wrote:

And e.g. Kennedy and Clinton weren’t?

One of the most disastrous presidencies of recent times was Carter’s  - it ushered in neoliberalism - while Carter himself by all accounts is a man of decent character.

The issue is US policy, not the character of the chief magistrate (as Sally Hemings might say).

> On Nov 27, 2019, at 4:06 AM, Debra Schrishuhn <deb.pdamerica at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Or maybe it is because Trump is a lawless, bald-faced liar, cheater (in every sense of the term), underhanded, self-serving (and self-dealing), misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic racist with no core principles other than his own advancement and that of his cronies.
> 
> On Mon, Nov 25, 2019 at 3:57 PM C. G. Estabrook via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
> Robert Reich’s letter to ‘MoveOn’ is an absolutely mad appeal by a self-proclaimed 'liberal' to get Trump out of office as soon as possible.
> 
> Why is the political establishment so desperate not just to win the next election but to remove Trump now?
> 
> I think that the answer is to be found in the US grand strategy , followed by all recent US administrations. That depends on maintaining the US control of the world economy by retarding the economic development of Eurasia. (Not a new idea - see the 'Open Door Policy' of 1899.) Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote clearly of the US government's need to prevent the emergence of "peer competitors," Russia and China.
> 
> Trump was the first major party candidate in 40 years to attack the neoliberal and neoconservative policies of previous administrations, which were designed to do that.
> 
> In office, Trump has been compelled or cajoled to acquiesce in those policies, but the political establishment can't be assured that will continue, given the rising populist wave that put him in office. The threat has to be suppressed as soon as possible, and a reliable neolib/neocon executive put in place (by a coup, if necessary, as Adm. McRaven recently argued in the NYT).
> 
> The example of Obama - the first president to be at war throughout two presidential terms, who waged no less than eight wars to constrain Eurasia and protect the economic control of the US 1% and for whom stooges like Reich and McRaven are working, must be followed, insists that establishment.
> 
> (Reich? McRaving? To avoid being Trumped? Do the gods of history have a sardonic sense of humor?)
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