A Team of Zombies, and Zombies Defending Zombies

[balantz]

A Team of Zombies, and Zombies Defending Zombies

by: David Sirota

Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 12:47
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11413



Per Natasha's post this morning, and my CNN interview earlier this week, I wanted to pass along my new newspaper column out today which looks at how the Obama administration, far from creating a "Team of Rivals," has instead created a Team of Zombies. And unfortunately, that has some very serious policy consequences.

Obama's national security team includes not a single opponent of the Iraq War (see below for an interesting wrinkle in this - zombies defending zombies).* It is chock full of Bush administration political appointees who are - somehow - being held over. Not surprisingly, we've just seen this team ask for a massive increase in defense spending.

Likewise, Obama's economic team is filled with the same deregulating, pro-bailout, pro-NAFTA pro-outsourcing hacks whose policies brought the economy to its knees. And that's not just at the top levels, as we see, it's all throughout the government's economic bureaucracy. And, of course, the new economic advisory board Obama announced today has just two representatives from organized labor, and is teeming with right-wing economists (Martin Feldstein of the Reagan administration); CEOs from corporate outsourcers (GE and Caterpillar) and Wall Street firms (UBS); and board members from bailed-out investment houses (Laura Tyson from Morgan Stanley).


I agree with Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) who has said he thinks Obama is being ill-served by this team - and I think he's being ill-served precisely because he hasn't put together a real team of rivals. He's put together a team of ideological zombies - members of Permanent Washington whose careers somehow cannot be killed as they mindlessly lunge forward with the same kinds of policies and political theologies that the country resoundingly rejected during the election.

The silver lining, of course, is that the progressive movement, working in tandem with progressive members of Congress, has actually forced Obama to reject at least some of the ideological bent of his team of zombies. It will be this "Make Him Do It" Dynamic that will ultimately be the difference between substantive change and mere hopeful rhetoric, because that is what will pry Obama away from the zombies he's surrounded himself with.


- clip -

[balantz]

1. Team of Zombies, Part II: The "Outside" Economic Advisory Board

Team of Zombies, Part II: The "Outside" Economic Advisory Board

by: David Sirota

Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 15:00
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11417


Just to reiterate, President Obama today announced his "outside" economic advisory board, which is supposed to give him alternative economic viewpoints from the team of zombies he has working directly in the White House. Sadly, this "outside" board is made up mostly of Establishment and corporate insiders. Here's the list:

- William H. Donaldson, George W. Bush's S.E.C Chairman

- Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President & CEO, TIAA-CREF

- Robert Wolf, Chairman & CEO, UBS Group Americas

- David F. Swensen, CIO, Yale University

- Mark T. Gallogly, Founder & Managing Partner, Centerbridge Partners L.P.

- Penny Pritzker, Chairman & Founder, Pritzker Realty Group

- Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO, GE

- John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers

- Jim Owens, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar Inc.

- Monica C. Lozano, Publisher & Chief Executive Officer, La Opinion

- Charles E. Phillips, Jr., President, Oracle Corporation

- Anna Burger, Chair, Change to Win

- Richard L. Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO

- Professor Laura D'Andrea Tyson, board member of Morgan Stanley

- Martin Feldstein, former top economist in the Reagan administration

This is about as bad as it gets - labor outnumbered 2 to 13; Wall Street insiders like Tyson, Gallogly and Wolf (the latter who is the boss of Phil Gramm and whose bank was a central part of the meltdown); Reagan and Bush officials...it's just more proof that D.C.'s zombie culture is alive and well.

[exboyfil]

3. What I love about this board is the fact that one of our

chief business rivals is on the board. I wonder if Obama is going to play favorites in that industry.

Also consider the presence of Immelt from GE in light of the push for Green Technology. Like in everything follow the money and draw your own conclusions.

[balantz]

5. Kick

[leftstreet]

2. K&R

Excellent article

[Demeter]

4. True Gothic Horror

I hate horror. 8 years was enough, thank you!

[Hugin]

6. Speaking of Zombies...

and of a general feeling of inevitability.

I'm reminded of the movie "28 Weeks Later" when General Stone realizes that the situation on the ground has... How do I say it? Deteriorated.

Quote from IMDB:

"Stone: Clear channels to Control. Control One this is General Stone. All forces under my control prepare to execute "Code Red" on my command.

Stone: Abandon selective targeting. Shoot everything. Targets are now free. We've lost control."

Link: http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0115378/quotes

Now, in reference to the economic situation two questions come to mind.

Was it ever really under control?

and

Where's our "Code Red"?

[tomreedtoon]

7. "Code Red" = Kill anyone you see. It's coming.

Just wait until the rioting starts. Which is probably months away, when the layoffs continue. Why do you think there is a substantial armed military force stationed in the United States, for the first time ever? They're there to conduct "dissent suppression," or as they called in in Revenge of the Sith, Code 66.

And there will be certain DU members who have been waiting for it; the mass deaths will justify their hatred of Obama and of government in general. Until it comes time for Code Red to hit them...