This weekend the major media revived the idea that Vice President Joseph (Joe) Biden could enter the Democratic Presidential primaries. That isn't as exciting as watching Donald Trump beating up on his Republican rivals, but it reveals much about Democratic Party and American politics.
The basic idea is that while the nation might be ready for a female President, that female might not be Hillary Clinton. She is taking a bit of a bruising from the "progressive" wing of the Democratic Party, now led by Bernie Sanders, who until recently was an independent socialist, not a Democrat at all. And of course the the conservative media, which is most of the media, treat Hillary like she is some combination of Bloody Mary and Joe Stalin's wife.
Joe Biden would be promoted as a fresh face that can unite the Party. Once its bureaucracy, donors, and likely even voters, reject the Bernie Sanders bid.
People forget what Joe Biden stands for and where he comes from. A narrative a personal grief and service as Vice President under Barack Obama is supposed to make us forget his deeper, darker, shadier past.
Joe Biden come from a pocket borough, and not just any pocket borough.
The term pocket borough came from Britain to indicate an election district where a very few people chose someone for Parliament. It did not so much result from corruption as from the migration from rural areas to cities, combined by leaving the districts drawn in ancient past in place. But once the pocket burroughs existed, it was easy for rich people to control them, and thus control Parliament.
A similar, if not quite as dramatic, situation exists in the United States, set in cement when the Constitution was drawn up. Each state gets two Senators, no matter how small its population.
Bernie Sanders is from the state of Vermont. It has a population of about 627,000. In other words, its entire population is equivalent to a mid-size city in one of the more populous states. Yet it gets two U.S. Senators. In this state we had liberal capture, or socialist capture if you will, or at least capture by Bernie Sanders. He has never accomplished much in the U.S. Congress, but he has somehow kept the voters in Vermont happy.
Before the Vice Presidency Joe Biden was Senator from Delaware. That state has a population of about 936,000, but is much more urban/suburban than Vermont. Most importantly Delaware is the most corrupt state in the nation, if by corrupt you mean rich people and their banks and corporations getting their way. Delaware is so corrupt that corruption (of the corporate type) is legal.
Most notably, Delaware has the loosest laws to control corporations in the nation. It is so lawless that most corporations of any size in the U.S. incorporate themselves in Delaware, even though their corporate headquarters are in other states.
So as Senator, Joe Biden was essential representing corporate America. The last time he tried to run for President I called him the Senator from Visa Card.
On the plus side Biden seems to have been less interested in pushing foreign wars than Hillary Clinton. When it comes to the Presidency, you have to pick your poison, if you want to have some chance of backing a winning candidate. If you want to vote your progressive conscience there is always the Green Party candidate. Though I think Hillary is actually reasonably environmentally friendly and progressive, when compared to the other choices.
Perhaps the bigger question is not who should be President, but why the Senate should be institutionally riddled with corruption. The Constitution should be amended to apportion the Senate to make each Senator represent roughly the same number of people, like other offices in the U.S.
Showing posts with label Joe Biden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Biden. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2015
Friday, October 10, 2008
Fascism, Catholicism, and Vichy France
It is just a coincidence that I am writing more articles on the relationship between fascism and the Roman Catholic Church at a time when Joe Biden, a Catholic, looks likely to be elected Vice-President of the United States of America. Joe Biden does not strike me as religious. I am more worried that his record as a Senator seems to be mainly acting as a servant for Mastercard/Visa. He also helped broker the deals that allowed banks to combine with stock brokerage houses during the Clinton administration, a key ingredient in much of today's troubles.
I have been writing and gathering notes on the thesis that Fascism is closely bound up with the Catholic Church for decades. Then I found a used book, The Vatican In World Politics, by Avro Manhattan. I recently finished reading the book, and am now adding essays to www.iiipublishing.com using information from the book supplemented or fact-checked with more standard histories, for instance Alfred Cobban's A History of Modern France, volume 2.
Yesterday I posted Pius XI, Petain and the Rise of Fascist Vichy France. This outlines the Catholic influence on French fascism, and that means the influence of Pius XI. It adds another nail to the thesis that Pius XI was the architect of modern fascism. He and his Secretary of State (later Pius XII) and other representatives worked closely with each of the major fascist leaders (Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Francisco Franco, Philippe Petain) and many minor ones. While not all fascists were Catholics, all of the fascists who became dictators were.
Again, coincidentally, the old disputes about Pius XII failing to do much to save the Jews in fascist Europe from the Holocaust is in play because the current Pope, Hitler-youth graduate Benedict XVI, is trying to make Pius XII a saint. The mainstream coverage of the dispute is typically shallow. Pius XII was not some well-intended religious figure overwhelmed by those terrible Nazis. He was an engineer of the Holocaust, at least in the sense that he worked tirelessly during the 1930's to bring fascists to power.
It is often argued that Mussolini was not such a bad fascist, and that Hitler's persecution of the Jews went against the wishes of the Catholic Church. This is why a look at Petain and fascist Vichy France is so important. Fascism in France was an almost exclusively Catholic phenomena. Vichy France policy and practice therefore reflects the wishes of the Catholic hierarchy and Pius XII. In Vichy France the Catholic Church was the state Church. And Vichy France persecuted Jews, and everyone who was not Catholic, including non-Catholic Christians. If Vichy France did not put Jews in ovens, that had more to do with timing than with intent. Before Petain and crew could get around to doing it, the Russians were rolling the German army back towards Poland and the Allies were kicking Axis armies in North Africa and then Italy. Petain's thugs were too busy trying to kill Resistance fighters (many of whom were Jews) to build ovens.
If you want to learn more about fascism, I have gathered my essays on the topic on my Fascism main age. I'll be adding more essays there as I have time to write them. Did you know that Poland had a fascist regime before Hitler attacked it? It was also Catholic, but Pius XII decided to sacrifice it for the greater good: Hitler's promise to exterminate the atheist communists of Russia.
Where is this going? President George W. Bush accused militant Islam of being "Islamic Fascism." Leftists have accused George W. Bush of being a fascist. In this name game fascism just means "bad." There is little or real analysis added by the word. Fascism has something in common with all governments, and would-be governors: the use of force. Comparisons of any government or political groups to the fascism of Pius XI, Mussolini, Hitler, or Franco can be enlightening, but only if we know what that old fashioned fascism really stood for.
I have been writing and gathering notes on the thesis that Fascism is closely bound up with the Catholic Church for decades. Then I found a used book, The Vatican In World Politics, by Avro Manhattan. I recently finished reading the book, and am now adding essays to www.iiipublishing.com using information from the book supplemented or fact-checked with more standard histories, for instance Alfred Cobban's A History of Modern France, volume 2.
Yesterday I posted Pius XI, Petain and the Rise of Fascist Vichy France. This outlines the Catholic influence on French fascism, and that means the influence of Pius XI. It adds another nail to the thesis that Pius XI was the architect of modern fascism. He and his Secretary of State (later Pius XII) and other representatives worked closely with each of the major fascist leaders (Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Francisco Franco, Philippe Petain) and many minor ones. While not all fascists were Catholics, all of the fascists who became dictators were.
Again, coincidentally, the old disputes about Pius XII failing to do much to save the Jews in fascist Europe from the Holocaust is in play because the current Pope, Hitler-youth graduate Benedict XVI, is trying to make Pius XII a saint. The mainstream coverage of the dispute is typically shallow. Pius XII was not some well-intended religious figure overwhelmed by those terrible Nazis. He was an engineer of the Holocaust, at least in the sense that he worked tirelessly during the 1930's to bring fascists to power.
It is often argued that Mussolini was not such a bad fascist, and that Hitler's persecution of the Jews went against the wishes of the Catholic Church. This is why a look at Petain and fascist Vichy France is so important. Fascism in France was an almost exclusively Catholic phenomena. Vichy France policy and practice therefore reflects the wishes of the Catholic hierarchy and Pius XII. In Vichy France the Catholic Church was the state Church. And Vichy France persecuted Jews, and everyone who was not Catholic, including non-Catholic Christians. If Vichy France did not put Jews in ovens, that had more to do with timing than with intent. Before Petain and crew could get around to doing it, the Russians were rolling the German army back towards Poland and the Allies were kicking Axis armies in North Africa and then Italy. Petain's thugs were too busy trying to kill Resistance fighters (many of whom were Jews) to build ovens.
If you want to learn more about fascism, I have gathered my essays on the topic on my Fascism main age. I'll be adding more essays there as I have time to write them. Did you know that Poland had a fascist regime before Hitler attacked it? It was also Catholic, but Pius XII decided to sacrifice it for the greater good: Hitler's promise to exterminate the atheist communists of Russia.
Where is this going? President George W. Bush accused militant Islam of being "Islamic Fascism." Leftists have accused George W. Bush of being a fascist. In this name game fascism just means "bad." There is little or real analysis added by the word. Fascism has something in common with all governments, and would-be governors: the use of force. Comparisons of any government or political groups to the fascism of Pius XI, Mussolini, Hitler, or Franco can be enlightening, but only if we know what that old fashioned fascism really stood for.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Barack Obama and Sarah Palin
Citizens of the United States can't lose in the next election. Either we will have a non-white President, Barack Obama, or we will have a female Vice-President. Either would stand in contrast with centuries of white male dominance of American politics.
On the other hand, citizens of the United States can't win the next election. Unless they are already among the economic winners. Despite being a working-class woman who became Governor of Alaska almost by accident, Sarah Palin, even if she become President, belongs in the Chicago School of economics (free-market capitalist). Barack Obama, despite being a super-educated product of super-educated parents, one of African ancestry, actually taught law at that very Chicago School.
For those sophisticated enough to see beyond Presidential election cycle dog-and-pony shows, this is going to reinforce the most basic lesson in the politics of change in the United States of America. Winning civil rights for groups of people denied civil rights is simply not on a level playing field with economic justice. In the later half of the 2oth century a variety of groups had their rights recognized: African-Americans, Native Americans and other citizens not of European descent, women, the disabled, and homosexuals. That is a good thing. It was not easy. People struggled and quite a few people died getting these reforms.
But in 2008 we have less economic equality of opportunity, much less economic equality, than we did in 1950. There are women and minority CEOs; there is a black middle class. The new discrimination is economic. It is harder today to get out of poverty than it was in the 1950's, regardless of your sex or race. Schools are worse. Destructive cultural habits - drugs, alcohol, negative attitudes towards education and work - are more prevalent among the poor and working class.
The class system has ossified. Requirements for entering professions have been elevated. A college degree is not nothing, it creates opportunities that a high school degree does not, but in most cases to get a chance at a good job you need a graduate degree. The economics of staying in college and then graduate school are daunting even for students from highly-educated families; they are nearly impossible for those who have working class parents and received their early education in public schools.
Tax codes are fiddled with, but in the end the rich must be taxed in the United States. They are the only people with money. Here I do not mean the super-wealthy, I mean the people who have professional and management jobs as well.
The ruling class has not stopped ruling. They have just admitted blacks and women to the club. It is funny to see the partisan froth being whipped up. On the right Barack Obama, a man whose economics are nearly identical to Ronald Reagan's, is blasted as a Communist. On the left Sarah Palin is being called a Neanderthal for her views on abortion, even though she is the first working class person I know of ever to be nominated for the Presidency or Vice-Presidency.
As people go, thinking within the two-party, one ruling class system, I think all four candidates are decent people who would try hard to do a good job. Of the four I like Joe Biden the least because of his ties to credit card companies, but then someone has to pay for people to buy their political offices.
Just don't expect anything beyond the usual posturing once the election is over. The basic economic structure and tax structure will not change. Your status in life will depend mostly on the status you were born with. With great effort, you can prevent yourself from sinking further still.
The vast majority of incumbents will be elected to Congress, as always. Democrats who supported the Republican agenda when that buttered their bread, like Congressman Mike Thompson of California, will still want to eat buttered bread. The Democrats (presuming Barack Obama wins) will throw breadcrumbs to their constituencies. Environmentalists will get some tighter regulations. Women will get a few cabinet posts. Gun control freaks will see a few types of guns added to the banned list.
But the basic attitude of Barack Obama and crew will be: Don't ask what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. Don't expect Barack Obama or John McCain either to do anything about excessive CEO pay, the fact that capital gains can go untaxed for decades, the lack of sufficient federal dollars to include locally produced, healthy, organic foods in the free and reduced lunch program for public schools, or any other issue that will actually help those at the bottom get a chance at the having the economic privileges of those in the middle; or that would allow those in the middle the same economic privileges as those at the top.
On the other hand, citizens of the United States can't win the next election. Unless they are already among the economic winners. Despite being a working-class woman who became Governor of Alaska almost by accident, Sarah Palin, even if she become President, belongs in the Chicago School of economics (free-market capitalist). Barack Obama, despite being a super-educated product of super-educated parents, one of African ancestry, actually taught law at that very Chicago School.
For those sophisticated enough to see beyond Presidential election cycle dog-and-pony shows, this is going to reinforce the most basic lesson in the politics of change in the United States of America. Winning civil rights for groups of people denied civil rights is simply not on a level playing field with economic justice. In the later half of the 2oth century a variety of groups had their rights recognized: African-Americans, Native Americans and other citizens not of European descent, women, the disabled, and homosexuals. That is a good thing. It was not easy. People struggled and quite a few people died getting these reforms.
But in 2008 we have less economic equality of opportunity, much less economic equality, than we did in 1950. There are women and minority CEOs; there is a black middle class. The new discrimination is economic. It is harder today to get out of poverty than it was in the 1950's, regardless of your sex or race. Schools are worse. Destructive cultural habits - drugs, alcohol, negative attitudes towards education and work - are more prevalent among the poor and working class.
The class system has ossified. Requirements for entering professions have been elevated. A college degree is not nothing, it creates opportunities that a high school degree does not, but in most cases to get a chance at a good job you need a graduate degree. The economics of staying in college and then graduate school are daunting even for students from highly-educated families; they are nearly impossible for those who have working class parents and received their early education in public schools.
Tax codes are fiddled with, but in the end the rich must be taxed in the United States. They are the only people with money. Here I do not mean the super-wealthy, I mean the people who have professional and management jobs as well.
The ruling class has not stopped ruling. They have just admitted blacks and women to the club. It is funny to see the partisan froth being whipped up. On the right Barack Obama, a man whose economics are nearly identical to Ronald Reagan's, is blasted as a Communist. On the left Sarah Palin is being called a Neanderthal for her views on abortion, even though she is the first working class person I know of ever to be nominated for the Presidency or Vice-Presidency.
As people go, thinking within the two-party, one ruling class system, I think all four candidates are decent people who would try hard to do a good job. Of the four I like Joe Biden the least because of his ties to credit card companies, but then someone has to pay for people to buy their political offices.
Just don't expect anything beyond the usual posturing once the election is over. The basic economic structure and tax structure will not change. Your status in life will depend mostly on the status you were born with. With great effort, you can prevent yourself from sinking further still.
The vast majority of incumbents will be elected to Congress, as always. Democrats who supported the Republican agenda when that buttered their bread, like Congressman Mike Thompson of California, will still want to eat buttered bread. The Democrats (presuming Barack Obama wins) will throw breadcrumbs to their constituencies. Environmentalists will get some tighter regulations. Women will get a few cabinet posts. Gun control freaks will see a few types of guns added to the banned list.
But the basic attitude of Barack Obama and crew will be: Don't ask what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. Don't expect Barack Obama or John McCain either to do anything about excessive CEO pay, the fact that capital gains can go untaxed for decades, the lack of sufficient federal dollars to include locally produced, healthy, organic foods in the free and reduced lunch program for public schools, or any other issue that will actually help those at the bottom get a chance at the having the economic privileges of those in the middle; or that would allow those in the middle the same economic privileges as those at the top.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Barack Biden Boys Ball Club
Presumed Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama decided that women did not need to be represented on the party ticket, instead choosing notorious plagierizer, bank corporation errand boy, and militarist Joe Biden, currently Senator from Delaware, as his running mate.
There had been speculation that if Senator Obama did not choose Hilary Clinton for the ticket, he would at least choose a woman. But Barack Obama is all about getting elected, and he figures with no women on either of the two major party tickets, women will tend to vote Democratic as they have in the past. Pleasing the financial establishment is more important that pleasing women, so the man who brought us the new bankruptcy law (basically making getting out of consumer debt through bankruptcy proceedings impossible, though corporations can still easily shed their debt), Joe Biden, got the spot.
But what else would you expect of Barack Obama, a man who knows the Democratic Party was founded by a slave trader (President Andrew Jackson), who stewed his ambition in the corrupt Chicago school of Democratic Party politics, and whose campaign has been marked by vague promises targetting the nation's most naive Democratic primary voters?
Joe Biden's bid for the Vice-Presidency brings up deeper issues of Democracy in the United States. He is a Senator from Delaware. The population of Delaware is about 865,000, ranked 45th of the states. Yet Deleware gets 2 Senators, the same as California with a population of about 36.5 million. Buying a Senator in California is expensive (both Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are already fabulously wealthy), but apparently buying Joe Biden was mere pocket change for MBNA, a bank known mainly for its credit card business, which was absorbed into Bank of America a few years back.
Of course Joe Biden is not an entirely bad man. Within the mainstream spectrum he has often been on the side of things I like, especially where social issues (abortion, women's rights, civil rights) don't interfere with economic issues (like MBNA's ability to charge what it liked for credit card interest and fees, then change the bankruptcy laws to trap its customers in perpetual debt slavery).
Expect leading Democratic Party women to stand behind their men; that is how they get their own bread buttered.
Want to show that you are not trapped in the two party system? The Green Party has an all woman ticket, former member of the House of Representatives from Georgia, Cynthia McKinney, and civil rights activist Rosa Clemente.
More data:
New York Times background article on Joe Biden
There had been speculation that if Senator Obama did not choose Hilary Clinton for the ticket, he would at least choose a woman. But Barack Obama is all about getting elected, and he figures with no women on either of the two major party tickets, women will tend to vote Democratic as they have in the past. Pleasing the financial establishment is more important that pleasing women, so the man who brought us the new bankruptcy law (basically making getting out of consumer debt through bankruptcy proceedings impossible, though corporations can still easily shed their debt), Joe Biden, got the spot.
But what else would you expect of Barack Obama, a man who knows the Democratic Party was founded by a slave trader (President Andrew Jackson), who stewed his ambition in the corrupt Chicago school of Democratic Party politics, and whose campaign has been marked by vague promises targetting the nation's most naive Democratic primary voters?
Joe Biden's bid for the Vice-Presidency brings up deeper issues of Democracy in the United States. He is a Senator from Delaware. The population of Delaware is about 865,000, ranked 45th of the states. Yet Deleware gets 2 Senators, the same as California with a population of about 36.5 million. Buying a Senator in California is expensive (both Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are already fabulously wealthy), but apparently buying Joe Biden was mere pocket change for MBNA, a bank known mainly for its credit card business, which was absorbed into Bank of America a few years back.
Of course Joe Biden is not an entirely bad man. Within the mainstream spectrum he has often been on the side of things I like, especially where social issues (abortion, women's rights, civil rights) don't interfere with economic issues (like MBNA's ability to charge what it liked for credit card interest and fees, then change the bankruptcy laws to trap its customers in perpetual debt slavery).
Expect leading Democratic Party women to stand behind their men; that is how they get their own bread buttered.
Want to show that you are not trapped in the two party system? The Green Party has an all woman ticket, former member of the House of Representatives from Georgia, Cynthia McKinney, and civil rights activist Rosa Clemente.
More data:
New York Times background article on Joe Biden
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