Posted on 01/21/2015 5:23:42 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
On Tuesday night, Senator Ted Cruz appeared on Fox News to respond to the State of the Union address — and talked about how the US economy was only working for the "top 1 percent," who he said have gotten "fat and happy" under Obama's administration.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
Cruz's rhetorical move is unusual for a prominent Republican, particularly a presidential contender. This emphasis on the "the 1 percent" has long been condemned by many in the party as class warfare. For instance, Sen. Marco Rubio said in 2012 that "convincing one group that their life isn't doing better because another is doing too well" is "divisive."
But Cruz's line is the latest example of why many Republicans are reacting to the latest good economic news by sounding more like Elizabeth Warren, as Matt Yglesias wrote recently. The solutions they're proposing are quite different from Warren's — but, at least rhetorically, their diagnosis of the problem is getting more and more similar.
What Cruz said
Cruz began with a common refrain, saying that Obama’s speech "doubled down on the same failed policies of the past six years." He added, "It’s not working." But when anchor Megyn Kelly pressed Cruz for more specifics, his response was more interesting:
KELLY: He says it is working. He calls it "middle-class economics" and says "the verdict is in, it’s working." Some of the stats offered by the president and in some of the news reports today: Unemployment down to 5.6 percent. Gasoline prices down. Stock markets are up. Economy grew by 5 percent in the third quarter of last year, its fastest rate for more than a decade. How can you hit him on the economy?
CRUZ: Because the facts are, we’re facing a divided America right now when it comes to the economy. It is true that the top 1 percent are doing great under Barack Obama. Today, the top 1 percent earn a higher share of our national income than any year since 1928.
He continued by citing wage stagnation, Americans dropping out of the workforce, and even said that the "rich and powerful" have gotten "fat and happy":
CRUZ: "The sad reality is, with big government under the Obama administration, the rich and powerful, those who walk the corridors of power in the Obama administration, have gotten fat and happy. But working men and women across this country — we have the lowest labor force participation since 1978. The reason the unemployment rate keeps dropping is millions of people keep dropping out of the workforce altogether so they’re not counted in that number. And, I’ll tell you, wage stagnation. For over a decade now, median wages have stagnated, and this is an administration that benefits those with connections to Washington with influence."
What it means
Now that the economy is in better shape than at any other time during the Obama presidency, the GOP is trying to sharpen its messaging on what, exactly, still isn't right.
Cruz’s rhetoric about the top 1 percent and wage stagnation is striking and calls to mind that of not only Elizabeth Warren, but Sen. Bernie Sanders, a socialist from Vermont weighing a run for president. (The statistic that the top 1 percent’s share of the economy is the highest since 1928 is a favorite of Sanders’.)
But of course, Cruz’s focus on "big government" as the problem is very different from Warren or Sanders. So while the GOP senator has adopted a similar diagnosis of the problems we face, he certainly isn’t calling for similar solutions.
The context is that Cruz is gearing up for a likely presidential run. The Washington Examiner’s David Drucker reported Monday that Cruz’s campaign "could start before this spring." Drucker added that Cruz is planning to give a top campaign position to GOP operative Jeff Roe, and quotes a source calling Roe "a mean, bare-knuckles brawler."
But it’s clear that Cruz isn’t turning against all of the 1 percent. Politico’s Ken Vogel reported this week that Cruz will attend a summit hosted by the Koch brothers’ political operation this weekend. Cruz’s argument that "those with connections to Washington" have unfairly benefited is a favorite of Charles Koch, who has condemned government "cronyism."
Well said. It seems to offer something for the left but then takes it back.
Forget it Jake.
Its Vox.
What Cruz says here is 100% truth. Nothing wrong with taking liberal talking points and steering yokels in YOUR direction!
It’s the Democrat formula for success.
Entitlement Army to provide the votes.
Crony Capitalists to provide the campaign dough.
Most of the 1% are regime affiliates.
Nonsense. He’s merely pointing out what the Democrats have mostly hidden from people with the help of the media. MOST of the billionaires and the rich and privileged, and those who run Wall Street are Democrats, and most of them give big bucks to crooked Dem politicians in return for favors.
The Koch Brothers are a major exception, and even the Koch Brothers donate plenty to Democrats.
Look SOMEONE in some political party, needs to stand up for American workers.
Legal American workers. Both parties have been selling off American businesses for so long, that China now exports more than America does.
And is (rapidly) growing.
Someone needs to stand up strongly for American workers. It has been an entire generation, since either party stood for American workers.
Bring back American jobs, and make stuff right here.
Vox = Ezra Klein
” but, at least rhetorically, their diagnosis of the problem...”
No. At *most* rhetorically.
No one on the MSM finds it surprising that Chelsea Clinton buys a $10 million “starter” home in Manhattan...
Why don’t any links to Vox require the same type of labeling that SATIRE posts do?
Vox isn’t a news site. It’s a parody of Pravda, just without the intellect. Please stop posting their stuff. It’s pointless.
zzzzzzz
How much did you pay Jim for the site? What are the taxes on a transaction like that? What are your plans for the site in the future? Are you taking us in a different direction?
Well excuse me, that doesn’t change the point that nobody is standing up for America anymore.
Everyone, in both political parties, is completely sold out to China. China meanwhile keeps on gobbling up, what used to be America’s factories.
America needs to bring back jobs to America, and stop subsidizing China.
China is now exporting more than America exports. And is rapidly growing.
GOP stand up for American workers.
You won a majority. Use it. Bring back American jobs.
Who do these college students and screaming masses believe the President caters to, associates with and does his fundraising from? Was it not in his own interest that his policies have created more one percenters, even as he has decried their wealth publicly?
Certainly, it must be the same 1% he loves to hate when he's speaking to minorities and those he labels as "middle class."
And, when his term is over, do they not think he will join the Clintons in amassing a fortune himself?
But the fact of the matter is that the rich DO get richer in a Democrat administration.
The rich get richer in a Republican administration, too. But the middle class and the lower class get richer, as well.
Widening "income inequality" is almost always a function of Democrat policies. The rich can always deal with them -- even profit from them. But the middle class gets crushed by higher taxes and greater regulation.
In the fifty years since the start of the War on Poverty, the proportion of Americans under the poverty line has retreated only once -- during the Reagan administration.
Matt Yglesias wrote this? That's all I need to hear to know its completely wrong and misunderstood, and to move on to something else.
It’s all in place and ready to go:
http://www.obamapresidentialfoundation.org/
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