Tag: blackmail

Robert Scheer: Appetites for Wealth

Laura Flanders of GRITtv talks once again with Truthdig.com’s Editor-in-Chief Robert Scheer, author of “The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street“, about Barack Obama’s economic policies and team, about the blackmailing of you and the country and the world by Wall Street, about the financial industry lately booking two thirds of all profits produced by all economic activity in the United States, and about the parasitical mindset that now passes for “success” among the ultra-wealthy and their political servants in a morally warped empire in decline…or in freefall?

“Wall Street was blackmailing us,” says Robert Scheer of the bank bailouts, “And we got nothing in return.” It’s not news to any viewers of GRITtv that Wall Street’s tentacles ran throughout our election, but now that the election is over, we turn again to the running of government. Scheer joined us in the studio recently to discuss his new book, The Great American Stickup, and we asked him to give us some thoughts for after the election as well. Most pressing of all, he asks if either bankers or politicians are capable of thinking in anyone’s long-term interests.



GRITtv.org – November 6th, 2010

Robert Scheer: Appetites for Wealth

What happened to Obama?

In view of the stunning policy reversals Obama has made in the last few weeks, we must conclude that something significant has happened to change the political positions held by Barak Obama. I believe that there are four possible explanations:

1. Obama has carefully reconsidered his positions and decided to turn away from a lifetime commitment to populist and liberal beliefs to embrace the governing philosophy of the Bush administration.

2. Obama has been persuaded that he must continue Bush administration policies to raise political capital for reforms he wishes to pass in Congress (e.g., national health care).

3. Obama has been coerced by blackmail or some similar mechanism into continuing Bush/Cheney policies.

4. Obama was always a “Manchurian candidate” of the plutocracy, and he deliberately misrepresented his positions during the campaign.

I am leaning toward #4. What do you think?