Trickle-Down Hatred

I’ve been in an e-mail thread with a couple friends about this report that shows poverty is up in NY, while welfare rolls continue to decline.

One of them pointed out:

  • average incomes; those that the average joe is making, actually *declined* between 2001 and 2004 despite the purported “growing economy”
  • tax breaks on passive income ALL went to the wealthiest.

gee, what a shock. and it’s that top 20% that has kept the economy humming by spending lots of money. but it’s plainly not trickling down in light of the first stat. this shit’s just wrong. so when i tell my kids that republicans hate poor folks, i’m actually spot on. You hate to over generalize, but in this case, all evidence indicates that it’s warranted. They are a truly mean and hateful party. I cant figure out why the occasional seemingly decent person, like John McCain or Colin Powell, would ever want to be associated with such a group of hatemongers.

Then the discussion turned to trickle-down economics, that collection of policies that allows the rich to become ever richer and the poor to become ever poorer by convincing massive amounts of people to vote against their best interests.

No matter how many times these assholes get in power and try it, they will just rename the whole process and people will buy it all over again because they think they will get money back in their pockets.

I doubt very much you will hear “trickle down theory” anymore in the press or propaganda from the GOP, but it’s what they espouse every time they get in power.

The Democrats need to seize on this like the GOP did with the words “tax and spend.” They need to come up with some immediate dismissal of ANY presentation of the trickle-down theory… “Voodoo economics” was good for a while, but people don’t know what it means anymore. “Tax and spend” is a very clear-cut phrase.

The Democrats need to come up with some great marketing catch-phrase that encapsulates all that the modern GOP stands for on the economic front — tax cuts for the wealthy, shifting the majority of the tax burden to EARNED income, spending like there’s no tomorrow, and increasing the size and cost of government to keep closer tabs on you and your family.

It just amazes me as well that all these republican pundits are talking like they’re victims of some democratic/atheistic conspiracy. They’re always the underdogs, aren’t they? They rally against the “mainstream media,” when guys like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity get the highest ratings on terrestrial radio, and FOX News has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC. Recently, they have started crying about the “War on Christianity.” Um, isn’t it true that some 80% of Americans consider themselves “Christian??” Yeah, you poor oppressed souls.

This is not even talking about the fact that the Republicans have now been in TOTAL CONTROL of the government for a few years now, and yet take no responsibility at all for their numerous disasterous missteps, pure-out blunders, and the general overall state that this country is in at the moment. And they still drone on and on about the Ted Kennedys who are just trying to get them to throw some bread to the poor. Honestly. How much longer can they claim to be the “persecuted minority??” It’s total bullshit.

It’s like a bunch of grade-school kids playing “king of the mountain.” The bully at the top isn’t content with holding his ground and fighting for it, no… He just wants everyone else to SIT DOWN and be subject to his rule. Don’t oppress me, you snot-nosed little punks, because I’ll cry like the baby that I am if you even attempt to push me over. I’m the king, and you should respect me just because I’m king, and don’t challenge me or I’ll call the teacher over. Meanwhile, I know you all think I’m the bully, but I’m going to cry and cry and cry about how YOU’RE really the bullies, all trying to push poor little me off this here mountain.

Never mind the fact that the teacher would NOT approve of this bully sitting on top of the mountain, any more than god would approve of the way the GOP is treating the poor and middle-class of this country.

“They’re just lucky we let them buy our oil at $3 a gallon.”

4 Comments

  1. I think that you make some good points. however, I think it is unproductive (and misleading) to resort to name calling. just like the far right (the actual moderate right does not seem to much exist anymore, and where it does it sometimes gets lumped in with democrats, while moderate democrats get called “liberals”) doesn’t seem to understand the views of those on the left and middle, (so calls them traitors, in the most egregious cases), the left understands the views of those on the right, but not the individuals themselves, and so calls them all these names, without recognizing that in many instances they are driven by belief, which makes it hard for them to reasonably engage with facts or views that present a direct conflict.

    one of the many reasons the democrats lost an election in 2004 that they should have easily won, is that they faiiled to recognize this, (..failed to understand their opponents, failed to understand precisely what they were communicating,and why (and to who, and how to do it themselves,but I digress).

    in addition, name calling just turns off middle america from the message of the left, and undermines their credibiliyt, when in some instances they may otherwise have a very effective message to communicate.

    in addition, a lot of what you write, while again, perhaps good points, is conclusionary in nature, so taht it doesnt really make the effective case to those who don’t already know.

    that said, your conspiracy point, about how the media and all is agains them, point is brilliant. democrats, however, dont seem to understand the connection between this, and their success.

    to get to the gist of this; democrats have had their asses handed to them over the last five years. they have lost not only to the right,but the far right, which has also managed to continue to convince the american people that the media is liberal (see this piece to shed some new light on that http://www.pressthenews.com/dmilbank_ltr.html )and that, again, moderate democrats are all “liberals” as well. and they have lost while things have been poorly mismanaged.

    how? because in all of this, i have gone to web sites that talk gleefully about how the President’s poll numbers are down, or how peolple agree with them, or how poorly “the republicans” are doing, without effecitvely conveying the message that needs to be conveyed. but worse than that, not only are these foregone opportunities, it is in fact doing the opposite of what the right wing effecitvely does. republicans know how to use optimism for them (sharing that optimism with the american people) democrats know how to use optimism agains themselves (being gleeful over indicators that instead only increase the importance of effectively communicating their messag, when, instead, they conclude that “everybody now gets it” which was the attitude that created this mess in the first place.

  2. hope you dont mind. as one example of the above, here’s a point about the wiretap issue that has not been made by the mainstream media,that needs to be turned into THE story

    http://www.pressthenews.com/dancing_on_the_edge.html

    and with respect to one or two of the things in the above post, and some application, in the context of the wiretap debate and dissatisfaction over this general tendency of the government under the current right wing leaderhip to increase control over the citizenry while undermining freedom protecting processes and engaging in poor if not harmful policies to boot, http://www.pressthenews.com/h_taylor.html

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