The war between the Right and the Center

[andym]

We are witnessing the biggest war between the Right and the Center in decades. For those who remember Reagan, the Right's strategy was depicted then by some as one which would bankrupt government by tax cuts until deficits would make it necessary to cut the federal government back to 19th century levels.

Tea party Republicans seem to believe that they are the soldiers who will finally cut the federal government down to size, and their budget to cut 100 billion from the federal budget this year is surely evidence of that.

Opposing the Right's anti-federal government, pro-free market war is the centrist Democratic party that now promotes beliefs that many liberal Republicans would have approved 30-40 years ago. The difference between the Center and the Right is that the centrist Democratic Party still believes that government can play an essential positive role in peoples' lives , while the Right believes the government is a threat to "freedom." What most differentiates the Center from the Left, is that the centrists are not anti-corporate power.

The Left appears weak and disorganized (just think back to the health care debates and how many more Tea Partiers took a public role in influencing the debate), more prone to complain about the centrist Democratic Party than to fight the proposed destruction of government. Essentially, the Left has been sidelined. If the GOP succeeds in cutting government and promoting the idea that only the free market is right for America, the possibility of any substantial Left-leaning legislation (such as Medicare for All) will be lost for another generation.

The biggest question is how can the Left contribute to the fight against the Right's policies, while simultaneously pushing the Democratic Party back to the Left. Any practical suggestions?

[bluestate10]

1. The Center will prevail.

I for one think that it is good that the Left is on the sidelines for this fight, republicans must be defeated by the opposing side illustrating the insanity of republican proposals. No side can do that better than the center because proposals will be vetted with laser like focus, the issue will not be about some ideal state as much as it will be about what is more practical in society.

[polichick]

2. Yes, the corporations will prevail - actually, already have. nt

[andym]

8. The battle is not about the corporations.

America is one of the most pro-corporate countries in the world.
If corporate power is the only issue one cares about, then there is no "war."
The center and right both support corporate power.

It's about whether there will continue to be a federal government that tries to make lives better: through social programs, the US postal service, National Public Radio, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, etc.

[polichick]

9. For the left, the battle is about corporate control of our government...

...a government that is supposed to be of, by and for the people.

[andym]

12. I agree that the battle against undue corporate power is the "real" battle

But it does occur to me that at least one aspect of the anti-corporate battle may be settled by a GOP victory in the anti-government war. If the GOP succeeds, they will diminish government power so much, that it won't matter whether the corporations control the government, since the government will have withdrawn from any regulatory role whatsoever. So government corruption by corporate power will not be necessary. That's because it will result in a utopia for corporate greed and power.

In such a scenario, corporations could then do whatever they want with impunity (even more so than they do now, since lawsuits and regulations will be completely eliminated), corporate power will reach an apex. With no government to oppose them, the sky's the limit to the damage that they might do. Of course, many believe that that day has already arrived and things won't be much different than today. But I do disagree on this point. If all attempts at regulation are eliminated, then all of lives will be much worse. That's why I believe the war between the Center and the Right to be important to the Left as well.

[polichick]

17. Sometimes I think, the sooner we hit rock bottom (total corporate rule)...

...the sooner enough people will wake up to do something about it.

My 30+ years of Democratic activism feels at this point like wasting time and effort on an addict who is happy with the status quo and doesn't want help. In many cases, things don't get better until the addict crashes and burns - heartbreaking as it is to watch.

[RKP5637]

3. I agree in that as you say, "No side can do that better than the center because proposals

will be vetted with laser like focus, the issue will not be about some ideal state as much as it will be about what is more practical in society." IMO it is better for the left to augment the center than to go it alone in that the center fighting the right might be more akin to fire fighting fire.

[Hello_Kitty]

7. Overton's Window is something you should familiarize yourself with.

And soon.

[treestar]

4. Corporate power = money to spend on elections, which would

work only because people respond to high spending campaigns. That is where to attack the problem. Get people to think. Just because a candidate spent big money on a slick ad does not mean he'll be the best one in office. People let the ads manipulate them.

Get people to listen to the candidates rather than others' opinions of the candidates. Make up your own mind. That ought to be the slogan. Appeal to their vanity - that is, you don't have to depend on Rush or whoever. He's no expert. If you listen to the candidates you can make up your own mind.

[Starry Messenger]

5. I don't believe there is a war between the Right and the Center.

They use their perceived differences to further their mutual aims.

[polichick]

6. You got it! nt

[andym]

10. There is a war, but not about the issue you care about: corporate power

So to you and many others on DU, such a war is not important.

I think I understand why as well-- it's because the modern Right and Left define themselves by that which they are "against":

Conservatives are AGAINST government and governmental power, because they are afraid of the power it exerts on their lives.

Progressives/Liberals are AGAINST corporate power because they are afraid of the power it exerts on their lives and communities.

It is the fight against what is considered most evil that appears paramount to both groups.

The reason why it's a real "war," is that conservatives are really battling their enemy (government). The reason why many on DU disagree is because it seems to have little to do with the "real" battle against corporate power.

[Starry Messenger]

13. I don't really understand your response.

Are you saying the Center is against...something? And it is more real than what the left is against? The center is a mushy amalgamation of pro-capitalist social liberals that give vague lip-service to some idea of a social net, but are quickly giving away the store to the right wing in an effort to consolidate what they think is real power. They enable the right wing agenda by not being "against" things. They don't like what the left represents...at all, since they know what the left wants and it doesn't square with their goals, at all. But they need our lefty numbers to tip the scales in elections, so they give us a few crumbs after they and their cronies on the right have pretended to fight. The left is the only thing keeping the center from lurching completely to the right. The right are free market anarchists who have gotten worse over the years because of the concessions they keep getting from the center.

[andym]

14. No, let me try to clarify

The Center, as represented by the Democratic Party, is not particularly against anything. Rather, it is defending the value of the federal government as an agent for people's benefit against the conservatives. The anti-corporate and pro-government policies of FDR liberalism have been split apart and are no longer linked. Anti-corporate power policies are weak, but the centrists in the Democratic Party are trying to defend the idea that government can make a difference, that is, it is not "the problem" as Reagan declared. If this battle is lost, then corporate power in the USA will reach an apex, and capitalism will return to the time of the Robber Barons, where anything goes.

[Starry Messenger]

16. Thank you, I appreciate the clarification.

I think I know what you are trying to say. We might fundamentally disagree on the effect of this defense of the role of government by the centrists.


It might be that I have been in the weeds of opposing education reform all year and have a different perspective on what the center is trying to preserve. In my little patch of grass, Democrats are still using the structure of the state to have oversight on private enterprise (charter schools and other "schools of choice"), the same way the FAA has over private airline companies. So, government "makes a difference" but only as a regulating office, not as a policy maker and direct provider of services that is beholden to the tax-payer. This isn't really "far enough" in the view of the strict free-marketer conservatives, but materially it comes down to the same effect--deregulation and privatization. I see this happening in many sectors, not just education. The overall result will be much the same as if we just got rid of public education all-together--it might take longer, but the demands of profit and capitalism will tend to erode the people's control over something that should be a common resource for the public good.

That is why I see the importance of a strong left to counteract the center and the right. I see the center as actually materially aiding the return to Robber Baron systems, rather than acting as a last ditch firewall against it.

[leftstreet]

11. Oh please. The Right and the Center have never been so homogeneous

The problem here is there is no Left to oppose them

[andym]

15. I agree that the Left is now so weak as to not oppose the rightward movement

and that's a BIG problem. Right now the centrists in the Democratic Party are playing defense against a conservative onslaught to weaken the federal government to the point of irrelevancy with associated brainwashing of the public to enjoy America's "freedom" from government. This will increase corporate power, from its already strong position, as well as cause grief for many Americans. It is my belief that the Left needs to engage both the Center and the Right now in a productive way immediately. The Center must be pushed back to the left, or the US will suffer the consequences. The only question is how to to this effectively, before it is too late.

As for being AGAINST something, the Right opposes government and the Left opposes corporate influence. The Center just plays defense (see above) against the Right.