Politicians: servants of the wealthy

Sept. 15 — It is impossible to look at the current crop of political presidential aspirants and not be struck by their level of subservience to the wants and needs of the owner class.

Like puppies panting in the presence of their masters, the politicians, emboldened by the unconscionable Citizens United decision, are at the feet of the billionaires for scraps to better serve their betters.

Now, one billionaire can field a half-dozen pols, and by so doing, can determine not just who runs, but who wins — and what laws will be passed.

Why not?  They own them, don’t they?

But still, that is not enough. For witness the emergence of New York real estate executive Donald Trump.

Trump brags, at every opportunity, of his enormous wealth. By so doing, he intimidates his potential rivals, who are used to bending their knees to such men. But he also represents the distrust of his class, for rather than hiring politicians, he runs himself, to lock in his class dominance.

Nor is this solely a Republican affair, for Democrats, who run on emotional appeals to labor unions and working people, once in power lead to the interests of Wall Street — the source of the lion’s share of their donations.

Their strategy, of talking labor while pleasing capital, was seen in the destructive NAFTA pact [the North American Free Trade Agreement], which decimated manufacturing jobs in the U.S. by the millions.

Bill Clinton hustled NAFTA like a street dealer selling crack, selling dreams that turned to dust.

Now, the Clintons return, posing as the saviors of the working class, when their treasured NAFTA ripped away tens of thousands of jobs annually, undermined unions and transferred vast wealth to Wall Street.

When Texas businessman and 1992 and 1996 presidential candidate, H. Ross Perot, predicted NAFTA would produce “a giant sucking sound” of lost jobs, the media pundits laughed at him, making him sound like a fool.

History proves his words were true.

Politicians: servants of capital; promisers of progress; but bringers of disaster.