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Dr. Reich is up to his usual shenanigans. He rails against big business and billionaires, but gets confused as to who advocates for what and who is the bad guy.
As usual, Dr. Reich is reinforcing The Narrative in service to The Agenda. But this time he argues himself into a corner, unable to articulate why Trump is bad for doing the same things Bernie Sanders was advocating for.
It's really a incoherent mess. This is worse than usual for Dr. Reich.
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Friends,
So many of you have asked me how one of the most loathsome people in America was just reelected president that I thought you might find it helpful if I shared with you some personal history. This may also suggest how to root out Trumpism.
(...)
***
Fast forward to today. (Finally he gets to the point.)
Friends,
So many of you have asked me how one of the most loathsome people in America was just reelected president that I thought you might find it helpful if I shared with you some personal history. This may also suggest how to root out Trumpism.
(...)
***
Fast forward to today. (Finally he gets to the point.)
Much of the political establishment denies what has just occurred. They prefer to attribute Trump’s reelection to political paranoia, xenophobia, white Christian nationalism, and the weaponization of the internet with racism, misogyny, or nativism. (You mean these Leftist talking points aren't true?)
Wrong. Trump has been able to channel the intensifying anger of the white working class away from the real causes of working-class distress — away from the big corporations, wealthy individuals, and denizens of Wall Street whose money has rigged the game against average working people. (?? Trump's message has always been populist. He hasn't channeled anyone's rage anywhere.)
It was not the first time in history that a demagogue has used scapegoats to deflect public attention from the real causes of their distress, and it won’t be the last. (Waaait. So the scapegoats Dr. Reich prefers are big corporations, wealthy individuals, and denizens of Wall Street. Does that also make Dr. Reich a demagogue?)
In 2016 and then again in 2024, Trump galvanized millions of blue-collar voters living in communities that have never recovered from the tidal wave of factory closings and loss of good jobs.
Big money in politics has been the root of the problem. Campaign donations from wealthy individuals and big corporations have turned the economy over to large corporations, CEOs, and billionaires. (No, big government is the problem. If government weren't so unconstrained, if government wasn't so powerful, if government wasn't so corrupt, then none of these issues would be relevant. There would be no reason to try to shift policy with campaign donations if elected leaders didn't have the power and oodles of government money at their disposal.
Wrong. Trump has been able to channel the intensifying anger of the white working class away from the real causes of working-class distress — away from the big corporations, wealthy individuals, and denizens of Wall Street whose money has rigged the game against average working people. (?? Trump's message has always been populist. He hasn't channeled anyone's rage anywhere.)
It was not the first time in history that a demagogue has used scapegoats to deflect public attention from the real causes of their distress, and it won’t be the last. (Waaait. So the scapegoats Dr. Reich prefers are big corporations, wealthy individuals, and denizens of Wall Street. Does that also make Dr. Reich a demagogue?)
In 2016 and then again in 2024, Trump galvanized millions of blue-collar voters living in communities that have never recovered from the tidal wave of factory closings and loss of good jobs.
Big money in politics has been the root of the problem. Campaign donations from wealthy individuals and big corporations have turned the economy over to large corporations, CEOs, and billionaires. (No, big government is the problem. If government weren't so unconstrained, if government wasn't so powerful, if government wasn't so corrupt, then none of these issues would be relevant. There would be no reason to try to shift policy with campaign donations if elected leaders didn't have the power and oodles of government money at their disposal.
The problem always is, government.)
Large corporations, CEOs, and billionaires have embraced global trade without giving blue-collar workers any means of coping with it.
They have turned Wall Street into a gambling casino without insuring (sic) the rest of America against the risk that those bets would turn bad. ("They," meaning large corporations, etc.)
They have allowed giant corporations to monopolize without giving workers the countervailing power to unionize. ("They," meaning government. Ergo, giant corporations are working in concert with government in opposition to the interests of the American people.
Large corporations, CEOs, and billionaires have embraced global trade without giving blue-collar workers any means of coping with it.
They have turned Wall Street into a gambling casino without insuring (sic) the rest of America against the risk that those bets would turn bad. ("They," meaning large corporations, etc.)
They have allowed giant corporations to monopolize without giving workers the countervailing power to unionize. ("They," meaning government. Ergo, giant corporations are working in concert with government in opposition to the interests of the American people.
But there's only one part of this equation in Dr. Reich's gunsights, big business. He's completely silent on the many problems government has caused.)
This was the premise of Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign. It was also central to Trump’s appeal (“I’m so rich I can’t be bought off”) (Wait, what? Dr. Reich just claimed Trump diverted peoples' attention from the real causes of our problems. But now we find that Trump did the same thing as Bernie? What?)
This was the premise of Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign. It was also central to Trump’s appeal (“I’m so rich I can’t be bought off”) (Wait, what? Dr. Reich just claimed Trump diverted peoples' attention from the real causes of our problems. But now we find that Trump did the same thing as Bernie? What?)
— although once elected he delivered everything big money wanted. And, of course, his promises were empty ones. (Politifact would disagree.)
In the 2016 primaries, Bernie Sanders did far better than Hillary Clinton with blue-collar voters. He did this by attacking trade agreements, Wall Street greed, income inequality, and big money in politics. Sanders sought to remedy the disease of the Democratic Party — its abandonment of economic populism and of the American dream.
Now that Trump has been reelected and his Republican lapdogs are in control of the Senate and likely to be in control of the House, it’s critically important for Democrats, progressives, and everyone concerned about social justice to see where the anger in America’s heartland has come from, to channel it toward its real causes, and to commit to taking power back from the big corporations, CEOs, and billionaires. ("How to root out Trumpism." Well, I guess he'll never tell us...)
In the 2016 primaries, Bernie Sanders did far better than Hillary Clinton with blue-collar voters. He did this by attacking trade agreements, Wall Street greed, income inequality, and big money in politics. Sanders sought to remedy the disease of the Democratic Party — its abandonment of economic populism and of the American dream.
Now that Trump has been reelected and his Republican lapdogs are in control of the Senate and likely to be in control of the House, it’s critically important for Democrats, progressives, and everyone concerned about social justice to see where the anger in America’s heartland has come from, to channel it toward its real causes, and to commit to taking power back from the big corporations, CEOs, and billionaires. ("How to root out Trumpism." Well, I guess he'll never tell us...)
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