Republicans are missing a golden populist opportunity

[Bgno64]

Smart Remarks:

The country is outraged (as opposed to OUTRAGED!!!, legitimate anger as opposed to theatrical faux anger designed specifically to score political points) about the Gulf spill. This may well go down as the greatest environemental catastrophe in American history, perhaps ultimately world history; and the Republicans could be scoring point after point if their populism on this was genuine; if they in fact were as angry at BP as they are at the government which they say bungled the response.

But Republicans give every indication that they are not as angry at BP as they are at government. And indeed, those who follow current events realize that ideologically, the Republican Party, or at least its right-wing revolutionaries, cannot be as angry at BP as they are at government. For corporations are good and virtuous, the engines that drive society, and must not be impugned!

Freedom, for these conservatives, means (and I sometimes suspects only means) free enterprise; BP represents free enterprise, so sure, conservatives may bash BP a little here and there. But they are ideologically incapable of holding a corporation to account. They just can’t do it.

And because they can’t do it, they miss the opportunity. The public is not swallowing, nor will swallow, the conservative insinuation that government bears more responsibility for the spill than BP; the public, frankly, wants BP whacked. The public is tired of corporatism, and would respond - overwhelmingly, I’m convinced - to legitimately populist, anti-corporatist leadership. But Republicans - least of all the likes of Bachmann - simply can never provide such leadership.

For Bachmann and her ilk are not only shills for BP - they are shills for all the BPs of the world. Tragically, so are the Democrats, though they often try to obscure this, as opposed to loud and proud conservatives. But because Democrats are so compromised, a huge opportunity exists for Republicans to come in and say we are going to hold big business to account. They are in the process of missing that opportunity. But if you listen to the likes of Bachmann, you get the idea that they don’t get it. Well, why should this time be any different.

[MisterP]

if they embraced real populism, they couldn't be conservatives any more nt

[damntexdem]

4. But the important thing is -- they wouldn't get the corporate money any more.

And that goes for quite a few Dem pols, too.

[MisterP]

1. duplicate nt

[BanTheGOP]

2. Who CARES how the repugs could get popular...

Frankly, both the republican party AND the oil companies need to be banned. Pure and simple.

Then NOBODY would have ANY problems. None whatsoever.

[Demeter]

3. The GOP Doesn't Do Populist Opportunity

It does Corporate Opportunity with a little dollop of bread and circuses on top.