The crisis of the 'Gentry Presidency' (Obama has failed in the eyes of Marxists)

PoliticO ^ | September 14, 2011 | Joel Kotkin

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

The Obama administration’s belated attempt to address the looming employment crisis — after three years focused largely on reviving Wall Street, redoing health care and creating a “green” economy — reflects not only ineptitude but a deeper crisis of what is best understood as the “gentry presidency.”

Unlike previous Democratic presidents, including John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama’s base primarily lies not with the working and middle classes, who would have demanded effective job action, but with the rising power of the post-industrial castes, who have largely continued to flourish even through the current economic maelstrom.

From the beginning, Obama has been nurtured and supported by an array of influential leaders in finance, technology and real estate who supported his rise. In the run-up to his nomination, he attracted more money from Wall Street than Hillary Clinton, New York’s senator. Later, he pummeled the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), by a wide margin among financiers.

To be sure, Obama’s ground game relied on organized labor, particularly public-sector unions, African-Americans, Latinos and progressive activists. But these groups have not emerged stronger from his three years in office.

Instead, the major winners of the Obama years have been the big nonprofits, venture capitalists and, most obviously, the financial aristocracy. These have all benefited from the Ben Bernanke-Timothy Geithner — previously the Bernanke-Henry Paulson — policy of cheap money and near zero-interest rates, which have depressed the savings of the middle classes but served as a major boon to Wall Street. This has benefited mostly the wealthiest 1 percent, which owns some 40 percent of equities and 60 percent of financial securities.

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

No, wait, it gets better . . . . .

These developments, as Marxists might put it, reflect the fundamental contradictions of gentry liberalism. Essentially, gentry liberalism reflects the coalescing interests among the financial, technological and academic upper strata. For these people, the Great Recession was brief and ended long ago. All depend heavily on high stock prices to maintain their wealth. Their interest in the overall U.S. economy — particularly the Main Street grass roots — has become ever more tenuous with their increasing ability to shift assets to East Asia and other developing country hot spots.

These prerogatives have been neatly protected under Obama. In the past, administrations let corporate scofflaws, like the savings and loan companies, collapse. Some were sent to jail.

But this time, the Wall Street elites have been allowed to skate through their own self-created crisis with astounding agility. Not only have they stayed out of the slammer, but they have been enjoying the best of times.

Yes you read that right. Not only is this a complete slam of Obama but it comes from PoliticO. Apparently the Left has had enough of The Boys From Bill Ayers.

[SoCal SoCon]

Nice to see 0 slammed by other libs as well.

[Eva]

Obama’s plan is to catch the Republicans in a “Heads, I win, tails, you lose scenario with his fictitious jobs bill. At the base of the bill is Patty Murray’s S. 942, The Infrastructure and Transportation Re-Investment Act, that funds Gateway projects around the country, the main one being in Patty Murray’s home state of WA. Not coincidentally, Patty Murray’s husband is employed by SSA, the company that is building the terminal. SSA is actually an ILWU company that is owned by CARRIX, the largest cargo moving company in the world. The largest stake holder in CARRIX is Goldman Sachs and the cargo will be moved by Warren Buffet’s BNSF.

SSA has recently been in the news for violent union tactics at a grain terminal in Longview. That is just a preview of what the country is in for if Obama’s jobs bill doesn’t get passed and Obama is hoping it won’t.

The jobs bill is packed with issues that the Democrats have been opposing for years, issues that the Democrats will be more than happy to give up as a form of compromise with Republicans, like those bridges in North Carolina.

Then when the bill doesn’t pass and people are upset with the Republicans for not funding those bridges that the Democrats have finally said need to be funded, the bill will go to Patty Murray at the super committee and she will push for the parts of the bill that the Democrats really wanted all along, S.942.

[Gene Eric]

Marxist peg in Liberty hole no worky.

Go suck on it, jackass.

[bronxville]

Very interesting crony capitalism info. It would be good to get the information out there via a news thread...

[nathanbedford]

The author is trying to tell us that socialism will work if we simply put the right Socialists in charge next time and to make that argument he slides the axis along the scale and shifts concern for one "elite" class to another flavor of the week.

Same old same old in a new "analysis" with a new victim group.

Note, the author leaves plenty of room for a new "radical transformation." In other words, there is plenty of room to ditch the capitalist system and impose his Valhalla on us all.

[Lazlo in PA]

Things are far more damaged in the WH than is let on if their own internet outlet, Polutico, is turning on them. I still think that Obummer isn’t going to be the Rat nominee. Things are spiraling out of control for him.

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

They feel the need to throw Obama under the bus and this is how it comes out.

[Senator John Blutarski]

I concur. The fundamental socialist strategy remains valid and sacrosanct for the author. This is nothing more than a long-winded critique of tactics. However, with the unhappy consequences of five decades of creeping socialism lapping around its ankles, the American public may finally be coming around.

Let’s hope so.

[Louis Foxwell]

Nice to see 0 slammed by other libs as well.

...and call for the very policies championed by Palin. Crony capitalism and gentry aristocracy are the hallmarks of Obama's policies.

At its heart Marxism depends upon feudalism, resources in the fewest hands with the greatest allegiance to the king. This is the very structure Obama is succeeding in creating.

Sarah is our only clear hope for extracting our nation from this dreadful trap.

[bert]

In the beginning, way back there, someone developed a plan and a script for that plan.It lasted four years and included a series of planned appearances and speeches to highlight the various elements and objectives of the plan. The path for the reelection was clearly laid out

The plan was approved and put into effect.

Here we are years later and they are still following the plan. The fact that the plan might be obsolete and overtaken by events is of no import....... the plan must be followed.Current events be damned.

[Eva]

I’ve been trying, but it’s difficult to get any traction with anyone in the media. They don’t seem to want to touch it. I even emailed Glenn Beck a few months ago. Maybe I should try him again, since he is back from Israel and his TV show is up and running on the internet.

By the way are you in NY?

[bronxville]

You have amazing information. How about gateway pundit? Could you do a Vanity thread? Can I help with some research?

Yes, NY.

[bronxville]

I’ll look up the board members and advisors later unless you’ve already done it. You’ve done a lot of homework already. Almost ready for prime time. :)

[Eva]

The environmental groups were all up in arms about this project in the beginning and told me that the reason that Governor Gregoire and Maria Cantwell were facilitating the terminal is because their is tremendous pressure out WA DC being put on them.

The coal is just the first phase of the project and China has told the developers that the Chinese market for the coal is extremely time limited, like 3 years. The terminal won’t even be built in three years. The goal is grain (thus the union violence in Longview) The developers have told a group of western farmers that they can get the federal restrictions on growing grains and soy beans lifted if they will agree to ship the grain through the SSA terminal to China.

The goal of the Obama administration is to switch the center of shipping away from the Mississippi to the west coast and Asia through Special Economic Zones (UN Agenda 21). The first step in this agenda was to reduce the dredging on the Mississippi last year (before the floods). I think that the level of the river was reduced by 2 feet, which could have made the difference in the flooding in some areas, but definitely resulted in a slowing down of shipping on the river.

Oh, and there’s more. The Chinese are working on building a Special Economic zone of their own in the US, south of Boise, Idaho. They not only intend to build a factory to make machine parts, they intend to bring in the workers, too.

[Eva]

Here' s a link to the story about the reduced dredging on the Mississippi that first alerted me to the issue.

Crucial Trade Waterway Under Threat

Forget about that personal stuff in NY, my daughter's husband doesn't want her to get involved.

[bronxville]

“The developers have told a group of western farmers that they can get the federal restrictions on growing grains and soy beans lifted if they will agree to ship the grain through the SSA terminal to China.”

This is interesting and where we might be able to zone in if there’s documentation on the who, what, where...

Thanks for your link Eva. I’ll read it tonight. I notice Patty enjoys touting that she was a “tennis shoe” mother and perhaps dependent on government daycare for her kids and when it was taken away she went activist. Not sure when this was but I’m guessing they must have been poor at the time. Yet I had just scanned a 2004 (seemed to be about the same thing we’re talking about here) article where they were worth $800T - don’t know if it includes the house...I find it amazing that they enter the WH broke and on leaving they’re millionaires. Anyway I’ll mail you later. I’d already mailed you on the other topic and see all is good.

[Eva]

No Murray wasn’t dependent on the gov’t for day care, she was a nursery school / day care teacher.