Wrecking Dr Rec
I’m writing this one on the fly, so if it’s a bit sloppy, [insert famous Steve Martin gag phrase]
Over at Citizens for Legitimate Government, Michael Rectenwald opens up an examination of why concerns over corporate sponsorship of political candidates is nothing to be concerned about:
…what we mean by “corporate” today is its popular, connotative sense. In this sense, “corporate democracy” means that our democracy has, presumably, come under the sway of corporate (business) dominance. That is, for-profit corporations control the funding, the agenda, and ultimately the politicians whom they select and ‘elect’ into office. As such, “corporate democracy” is an oxymoron. It cannot exist.
I would like to suggest to the self-styled “Dr. Rec” that maybe he’s been a bit too busy to read certain current events.
The most recent example of corporate interference was the attempt by Fox News to keep both Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter out of the coming January 6th Republican debate because of their low polling numbers. New Hampshire Republican Party state chair, Fergus Cullen actually complained that “the media should not be in the …. business of excluding serious candidates”. While I do not support either candidate, I do feel that Ron Paul has a lot to say that deserves a hearing. As for Duncan Hunter, he’s his own worst political nightmare.
But the point is this: Fax News, a corporation, is attempting to decide for the New Hampshire voters - and by extension the rest of the electorate - who is going to be allowed to campaign for our support. Clearly there is room for abuse in this situation, and Fox isn’t known for sticking strictly to the rules.
Prior to this incident, The Des Moines Register “decided” for the Iowa caucusees that some of the Democratic candidates would be excluded from the debate they sponsored under the flimsiest of buggy-whip reasons: that in the Age of the Internet, because a candidate hadn’t established a physical campaign office in the state, access to the voters through the doorway tightly controlled by The Register would be denied.
In my book, these two instances of interference with the exercise of the Will of the People looks a whole lot like that “corporate democracy” that “Dr. Rec” insists cannot exist.
After slaying this straw man, “Dr. Rec” slides in a little hype to boost Hillary’s chances, which current news reports indicates she could use. Things are just a bit too tight to ensure victory in Iowa, and the popular feeling about Hillary’s too-close-for-comfort ties to certain corporations (in the Mussolini sense of the term) can’t be helping any. This is the real reason “Dr Rec” started off on a distraction movement concerning the largest reason Hillary makes thinking voters nervous.
And while “Dr. Rec” thinks that the term “corporate whore” is gender-specific and aimed exclusively at Hillary, I’d like to illuminate the darkness for him. I think that the front-runner Obama and the also-running Joe Biden are also corporate whores. Biden sponsored a bill restricting bankruptcy rights for individuals under the guise of “reform”, and Obama talks better than he walks when it comes to supporting the commonweal of the majority.
I’ll close with a personal note to Dr. Rectenwald. I’ve read many of your past articles, and have also linked to them on occasion, because I felt that you had something to say that deserved hearing. I just wish you would go back to that activity, which included exposing the propaganda of the Bush administration. It doesn’t suit you to succumb to the same temptation when someone you support isn’t catching on with the public as desired.