by John Reimann
Gerald Seib is the chief correspondent covering politics in Washington D.C. for the most important newspaper of Corporate America – the Wall St. Journal. That’s why when he writes, people should listen.
George Zimmerman – they had to appease the racists
A recent column of his bemoans the situation in the US Senate. What he wrote also helps explain why George Zimmerman was acquitted. Seib wrote: “The Senate is in danger of undergoing a partisan meltdown…. The Senate… has become polarized and riven by passions and partisan fractures.” Seib explains that the “framers of the Constitution” designed the Senate to be able to rise above such “partisan fractures.” In other words, it was designed to represent the interests of the capitalist class as a whole, rather than individual factions of that class.
Many workers today would tend to ignore these developments. They tend to feel that the whole system is “corrupt” and what the politicians do is not our concern.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
It’s like a big game hunter who refuses to study the behavior of the major beasts of prey.
As the crisis of US capitalism deepens, increased attacks on the working class become necessary. To enable those attacks, it is necessary to increase the prejudices and confusions that have always existed.
Ron Paul and son and US Senator Rand Paul. Both have been associated with the Nazis.
In a bygone era, it was said that the entire membership of the Republican Party could be fit into one country club. But that was in an era when the base of support for capitalism was almost unchallenged in the US. Those days are dead and gone. A recent poll for instance, showed that over one third of Americans view socialism favorably. That figure is bound to rise as amongst young adults (19-29) the figure is 49% (vs. 43% who have a negative view).
In order to counter this, one wing of the representatives of the US capitalist class have to stir up all sorts of prejudices and religious confusions. These include racism, anti-immigrant feelings, and sexism. It also includes the reliance on mysticism that Christian fundamentalism bases itself on. The Republicans are increasingly basing themselves on these fervors, and they reflect that at all levels of US politics – all the way up to the US Senate.