As Ross Perot used to say.
Obama is right, of course. Not only about nuclear power and about offshore drilling. But also that the lifting of restrictions on corporate funding of political campaigns means that foreign companies can now buy American elections. Foreign companies, moreover, are often nothing other than foreign states, as such.
You can have the "free" market. Or you can have, among so much else, national sovereignty. You cannot have both.
So, which does the Republican Party want? And why?
Good point. I am not sure what the Republican Party wants, or why. My guess was that they were planning to run as right-wing populists and, if victorious, govern as neoliberals, as usual. Will voters, including Republicans, fall for this anymore?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like, to a certain extent, Obama may have gotten the message of the loss in Massachusetts, and has turned a bit more populist, (although not as much as I would like, but we'll have to see I guess).
From the standpoint of pure political strategy, this was a good move on Obama's part. It seemed to me like the Republicans were planning on campaigning as right-wing populists, which would have been quite effective against the Democrats if they continued to be unresponsive to Main Street. But now it seems like the Democrats are trying to head them off at the pass, so to speak. Let’s just hope the coming election season is not just a rhetorical battle of faux populisms from both parties. I'd like to see some real results.