We are finally witnessing the decline of corporate Democrats | Robert Reich
The Guardian · L · trust 29/100
‘Corporate avarice under Trump has become so blatant and corporate America’s contempt for the needs of average Americans so flagrant that most Americans are now catching on.’ Photograph: Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen ‘Corporate avarice under Trump has become so blatant and corporate America’s contempt for the needs of average Americans so flagrant that most Americans are now catching on.’ Photograph: Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock Opinion Democrats We are finally witnessing the decline of corporate Democrats Robert Reich Americans are backing progressives not because they want socialism, but because they want candidates who will fight for the working class
M ost discussions about the Democratic party in this election cycle focus on the remarkable rise of progressive Democrats , such as the Florida state representative Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who scored an upset win in the Democratic US Senate primary on Tuesday.
But an equally big story is the remarkable decline of corporate Democrats.
Some Democrats worry about this. My old friend James Carville compares the current wave of progressive primary wins to progressive campaigns in 2016 – especially that of Bernie Sanders – that he believes fractured the Democratic coalition.
“Bernie Sanders is the reason that Donald Trump is president,” the Democratic strategist said recently, claiming that Bernie’s primary challenge to Hillary Clinton convinced voters in battleground states that establishment Democrats were no different from establishment Republicans, thereby weakening her prospects in the general election.
Even if James is right about 2016 (and I don’t believe he is), his assessment is irrelevant now because we’re at a radically different point in US politics than we were 10 years ago.
The silver lining in the dark storm cloud of Trump and his detestable regime is that it has exposed the greed, venality, cupidity and corruption of the US’s corporate elite.
Trump has allowed the CEOs of giant corporations and the titans of Wall Street to do whatever they want as long as they suck up to him. And he’s providing all sorts of corporate welfare to those who generously woo him – no-bid government contracts, exclusive licenses, tax loopholes, tariff exemptions, use of public lands, and permission to become even bigger monopolies.
Trump has thereby unveiled a truth about corporate America that for many years has been hidden behind a soothing blanket of corporate PR bullshit about social responsibility, corporate charity, and “trickle-down” economics.
That truth is the captains of corporate America are so rapacious that they’re willing to throw average working Americans under the bus to make billions more.
Corporate avarice under Trump has become so blatant and corporate America’s contempt for the needs of average Americans so flagrant that most Americans are now catching on.
The silver lining in the dark storm cloud of Trump and his detestable regime is that it has exposed the greed, venality, cupidity and corruption of the US’s corporate elite They’re voting for progressive Democrats not because they want socialism, support the Democratic Socialists of America, or reject candidates called “moderate”.
They’re voting for candidates whom they believe will fight to make housing, food, healthcare and childcare affordable to average working families. And who’ll take on Trump’s billionaire backers, CEOs and Wall Street titans who are rigging the economy against them.
Much of the corporate media won’t tell this story. When Dr Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic primary over Haley Stevens, the media overflowed with accounts of how much smaller El-Sayed’s margin of victory was than polls had predicted.
Yet the most remarkable thing about El-Sayed’s victory was that he won despite being dramatically outspent by Super Pacs arrayed against him.
Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a senatorial race ever made by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which traditionally supports pro-Israel candidates but in recent election cycles has supported candidates most favored by corporate America. Aipac’s ads in favor of Stevens and against El-Sayed never even mentioned Israel.
Outside Super Pacs put an estimated $54m to $60m into backing Stevens and opposing El-Sayed, compared with only about $5m for El-Sayed. Pro-Stevens groups outspent El-Sayed on TV advertising alone by more than 12 to one ($26.9m to $2.1m) in the closing weeks. An average of $95 was spent for every vote against El-Sayed versus just $9 per vote for him.
The race between Stevens and El-Sayed was a proxy fight over the future of the Democratic party. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer backed Stevens and encouraged donors to back her campaign, as did other corporate-aligned politicians such as the Michigan senator Gary Peters. On the other hand, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported El-Sayed, as did progressives such as the US senators Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren.
El-Sayed justifiably made a campaign issue out of how much corporate money was backing his rival. He argued that Democrats should reject corporate influence and embrace an agenda that helps average Americans. His campaign centered on providing Medicare for All, lowering prescription drug costs, and banning corporate Pac money. “We’re in a situation right now where the rich keep getting hyper-rich on the backs of figuring out how to monetize everyday people,” El-Sayed told the Associated Press while supporters chanted: “Money out of politics! Money in your pockets!”
Read more El-Sayed’s victory marked a turning point for the corporate wing of the Democratic party.
I saw the start of the corporate Democrats in the early 1980s, when Democrats in Congress began drinking from the same campaign funding trough as the Republicans, mostly from big corporations.
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