By Jim Hoover
Two clowns, Rep. Eric Cantor and Senator John Kyl, performers for their real ringmasters, the rich, walked out of bicameral bipartisan debt ceiling talks.
Ironically, the elephant in the meeting room still remained. Not the Republicans, but the obvious fact that these meetings, for the Republicans, are a media distraction feigning good faith, hiding their undiminished goal of breaking the back of middle-class America.
Democrats and Republicans, alike, should know that it is a circus; for there are clowns, animals and high-wire acts.
Besides breaking the back of middle-class America, Eric Cantor has another goal, that of making John Boehner, who has done a poor job as Speaker of the House, look bad. Cantor wants to relieve Boehner of his position. In contrast, John Kyl is just a clown, whose most adept role is demagogue.
For Republicans, but also among Democrats and those of us who pay attention, the expectation is high that Democratic leadership will again fold to right-wing radical thinking. This is based on recent history. Even with polls against Republican thinking, the influence of the rich still seems to be the trump card.
Democrats are at least making noises that the Bush tax cuts for the rich must be rescinded.
But are they posturing before the cameras?
Contrarily, Republicans want even more tax cuts for the rich and more spending cuts affecting the poor and the middle class. Democrats overwhelmingly have the polls on their side, but it’s still not clear if that matters in the end, due to plutocratic pressures.
Nevertheless, the latest Pew Poll (June, 2011) does not favor rich interests:
| Policy | Percentage For |
| Raise Social Security contribution gap | 72 |
| Raise income tax on income over $250,000 | 67 |
| Reduce military commitments overseas | 65 |
| Limit tax deductions for large corporations | 62 |
But does the middle class finally know that polls alone aren’t going to cut it?
The rich are ruling by proxy and if our voices don’t disrupt the corporate-media drone, we are toast.
And you can take that truth to the bank… whoops, which ones screwed us before the recession? Plant it in your back yard? That is, if you’re not foreclosed.
Can we take it to the streets, or does the corporate media only cover corporate-sponsored “tea party” demonstrations? A case in point: How many of you saw a hundred thousand middle class people demonstrating in the streets of Madison, Wisconsin a few months ago?
See the problem?
