Steering A Firm Course Through The Choppy Waters Of Sucker Populism

I'm really glad that both Alan Grayson and Raul Grijalva don't seem to have any problem making the populist argument that the rich should pay their fair share and that just because they contribute immense sums to the political careers of their favorite lackeys it doesn't mean they should get away without paying taxes. Grayson and Grijalva are both in tough re-election battles-- tough because they fight for ordinary working families and the wealthy special interests are targeting them. Both are responding aggressively, not by adopting GOP talking points and running for cover, but by being exactly who they are. It's why these two guys each has his own page at Blue America-- Alan Grayson's and Raul Grijalva's.

Yesterday Digby did the Blue America letter and even if you haven't signed up to get Blue America letters, this one was posted on her own site, on John's, and here at DWT. It was an ask for David Segal, the progressive state legislator running for Patrick Kennedy's seat in Rhode Island against a couple of stand-for-nothing careerists and an anti-Choice kook. It's very easy for Digby, John and I to support David and to support him with great gusto. He's clear and he's right to the point. He doesn't hedge and the last thing this guy is ever going to do is hide behind Mitch McConnell's skirts. Some Democrats are starting to wimp out on ending tax breaks for millionaires. Segal isn't:

One reason why the working class and people of modest means are willing to vote for Republicans is because they see through corporate Democrats' schtick: They speak out of both sides of their mouths, blunting their rhetoric-- and their principles-- and kowtow to the rich as they go begging for campaign contributions.

We need more Democrats who are willing to stand up for the party's core ideals: The wealthy are paying income taxes at a lower rate than they have in nearly 80 years (with the exception of a blip under Reagan/Bush 1). Amid the squawks of the deficit hawks and as we struggle to reinvigorate the economy, there's simply no sensible reason for this. We know that well-targeted spending (on things like public infrastructure and public transit) leads to more economic growth than do tax cuts for the rich. It's well past time to repeal the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy.

If you haven't contributed yet, please consider helping out. Yesterday my first conversation of the morning was with Digby as we pondered how-- and why-- some Democrats could be buckling to right-wing faux populist pressure to extend the tax cuts for millionaires. We were on the phone an hour going back and forth about it. It was too early to call Amato but if we had, he would have just pointed us to a couple of paragraphs in the new book he and Dave Neiwert have out now, Over the Cliff:

Right-wing populism is essentially predicated on what today we might call the psychology of celebrity worship: convincing working-class schlubs that they too can someday become rich and famous-- because when they do, would they want to be taxed heavily? It’s all about dangling that lottery carrot out there for the poor stiffs who were never any good at math to begin with and more than eager to delude themselves about their chances of hitting the jackpot.

The thing about right-wing populism is that it’s manifestly self-defeating: Primarily those who stand to benefit from this ideology are the wealthy, which is why they so willingly underwrite it. It might more accurately be called “sucker populism."

Maybe we should send copies of the book to all the Blue America candidates-- except Segal; it comes natural to him.