Ladies and Gentlemen, You Wuz Robbed
North Bridge, Concord, October 25 2008
There is never a bad time to make a pilgrimage to Concord and the Old North Bridge, where the embattled farmers stood, and in firing that shot heard round the world made an exceptionally explosive case for participatory democracy. There is never a better time to do the same than when you can stand by that “rude bridge that arched the flood” and listen to a man who, as much anyone I can think of, has spent the past several decades making that same case, albeit in somewhat less sanguinary form. And so last Saturday I joined with the remnants of what was, not so very long ago, a genuinely powerful third-party people’s movement to listen to Ralph Nader deliver a brief speech against taxation without representation. His major bone of contention: the so-called “bailout,” the transfer of 700 billion dollars of your money to a financial sector that possesses loyalty to neither flag nor soil, that buys your “elected leaders” with the same enthusiasm it does pork bellies and risky mortgage instruments, and one which regularly sends its own representatives to Washington to serve as the chief guardians of your money and its interests.
Nader at Minuteman Park, Concord, October 25 2008
Neither Obama nor McCain sees any problem with this. At all. Why, quite the opposite:
- In this corner, representing the administration, Henry Paulson. The current Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Paulson is the former CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs.
- In the far corner, representing Senator Barack Obama, Bob Rubin. A former Secretary of the Treasury and a chief Obama strategist, Mr. Rubin was once co-chair at … why, whaddya know—Goldman Sachs (as well as heading up Citigroup). And next to him, the gentleman who oversaw Obama’s VP selection, James Johnson … former head of Freddie Mac.
- In the third corner, representing Senator John McCain, John Thain. Mr. Thain is one of McCain’s top advisors; previously in charge at Merrill Lynch, he oversaw its sale to Bank of America—which he currently heads.
These are the gentleman who just oversaw the transfer of $700 billion of our money—money which we haven’t even borrowed yet!—into the coffers of their past, present, and future employers. While you cheered Obama and mocked Palin, while you got all dewy eyed thinking about hopiness and change, while you were laughing at the SNL skits and snarling at Joe the Plumber, several of the richest folks in the country absconded with seven hundred billion of your dollars.
Now why would this group of silver-haired white guys in bespoke suits do such a thing? Well….
- Thanks to his work at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Thain received $300 million in Goldman stock.
- At Merril Lynch, Mr. Thain will receive at least $50 million per year in compensation. Obama advisor Bob Rubin gets around $17 million a year from Citigroup.
- And Bush Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulsen? In his career at Goldman Sachs he built up a personal net worth of over $700 million, according to estimates.
These firms invested a lot of money in these guys. I’d say they came through in spades, no? But simply placing your toady next to the presumptive emperor guarantees nothing, so they’ve also invested a hell of a lot in both major candidates—investments that obviously paid off a lot more handsomely than did those bundled mortages. How much?
2 Goldman Sachs $743,371
4 Citigroup Inc $499,598
6 JPMorgan Chase & Co $478,462
8 UBS AG $419,350
9 Lehman Brothers $391,624
14 Morgan Stanley $344,130
16 Latham & Watkins $328,879
That’s the amount of money these princelings invested in Obama. As of October 19, Obama has received $27,856,322 from the Financial, Insurance, and Real Estate Sector—more than other sector than the Lawyers and Lobbyists who’ve shelled out just over $ 28 million for Change They Can Believe In (the numbers to the left indicate where they rank on the roster of Obama donors).
When push came to shove, ol’ maverick McCain, the hero of campaign finance reform, also proved a good bet, didn’t he? Putting his “campaign on hold” so he could strut around the Hill making a lot of noise before joining Bush and Obama in endorsing this horrifying deal. And, not incidentally, raking in $25,163,554 from the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector—including $7,724,304 from Securities and Investment firms and $2,091,541 from commercial banks. McCain’s donor roster looks like this:
1 Merrill Lynch $349,920
2 Citigroup Inc $290,101
3 Morgan Stanley $249,377
4Goldman Sachs $220,045
5 JPMorgan Chase & Co $210,992
7 Credit Suisse Group $175,503
11Wachovia Corp $150,006
13 Bank of America $142,776
14 UBS AG $141,365
15Greenberg Traurig LLP $141,137
19 Lehman Brothers $115,707
20 Bear Stearns $108,000
So not only did this “bailout bill” receive minimal debate in Congress; it was not debated at all by the two candidates, both of whom, after consultation with their “advisors” and a quick look at their contributors decided that, what the hell, yeah, $700 billion sounded about right, and that based on both their history and current behavior these firms could be trusted implicitly to handle the loot in a manner both competent and with the very best interests of the American people at heart. Yup. And did I use the word “debate”? Hah. A few progressive Democrats and populist Republicans clucked for a few days, but the movement of sack of cash from your homes to the investment firms’ safes was a foregone conclusion. Obama and Bush and McCain agreed that “something must be done!,” and their little clique of Wall St CEOs knew that something meant forking over undreamed of sacks of loot to their employers, and the deal was rubber stamped, and handshakes were exchanged all around.
And the American people? The ones who are suddenly feeling all empowered, the ones that are allegedly so angry? What did they do about this? Why, they went to Palin-McCain rallies and beat their chests and yowled “U-S-A! U-S-A!” and went to Obama rallies and bleated about “change.” They passed round scathing emails implying that Obama wants to bomb the Pentagon and that Sarah Palin wants to exterminate polar bears. And the Paulsens and Rubins and Johnsons and Thains smiled and found it good. Caught up in the bright lights and crimson outfits and minutely choreographed stadium shows, they ignored the quiet, warmly-lit penthouse offices where the theft was plotted and perpetrated, and they ignored those shining a light into them—the Naomi Kleins, the Danny Schecters, the William Greiders, preferring their Jon Stewarts and Tina Feys and Wolf Blitzers; and they most certainly ignored the meaning of April 19 1775.
And, of course, they ignored the man in the fourth corner. The guy who doesn’t represent anyone but the people. The tribune, for what that’s worth come the hour of empire. Here’s a short clip of what he had to say about the matter while in Concord.
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
I’ve dabbled lots with the idea with voting for Obama. He’s wicked smart. Disciplined and ostensibly high- minded like I’ve rarely seen in a politician, at least at the level he’s operating on. The rest of the world wants him in power so madly for a reason; he’s the logical choice, the perfect choice to restore some degree of credibility and integrity to American leadership. He’s both genuinely humble yet relentlessly optimistic. A remarkable man. And while I’m accustomed to politicians who play to the base, then govern from the center; there’s still some wan hope that he’s simply feinting to the center, that come January he’ll break into a deep post pattern down the left sideline. But it’s a pretty forlorn hope, that, and the evidence doesn’t give it much weight. Because behind the misty abstractions—smarts discipline credibility integrity humility optimism—I see something all-too-solid, a mountain of cold hard cash in the hundreds of billions.
I’ve written extensively elsewhere about why I believe that third parties are so essential if so tragically inconsequential, about what a profoundly important antidote they are to two parties so enmired in this sewer of graft—because that’s exactly what it is, a series of bribes that ensure that it’s Goldman Sachs and not you who has the President’s ear and moves his pen. You thought long and hard before writing that check made out to the campaign for $25, or $50, or $100, but you went ahead and did it because it seemed important, because you wanted to be a part of this movement, wanted to be a part of the “we” in si se puede, and god knows I don’t blame you—quite the opposite in fact. But how much weight do you think your widow’s mite is going to carry when it’s your interests versus those of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and when their lords sit at the king’s right hand?
And I’ve written extensively about why I believe that Ralph Nader deserves more than our respect and applause; about why he deserves our attention, deserves a fair hearing, and, if, afterwards, we agree with him, why he deserves our support, efforts, and sustenance. I’ve never once regretted my previous votes for Nader, either. But this year … well, we’re all susceptible to charisma, to glamour, and to unwarranted optimism. I tasted the apple. It didn’t taste quite as rancid as many did in the past, though there were maggots aplenty (Palestine, Afghanistan, defense spending, etc). Maybe I actually went so far as to bite the thing, pulling the lever for Obama in the primaries. But then came the “bailout,” and I spat it out. I know a little bit about the machinations of the plutocracy, but that was too damn much, even for me, to stomach.
You know, I was a long time NY Giants fan. Later, when I lived in Philly, I embraced the Eagles. Now I live in Boston, where I have learned to loathe the Patriots. So that while I would have loved to see the Eagles in the Super Bowl last season, I was smiling a whole lot that night—it felt good to see the Pats lose, and ya know, like I said, the Giants were my team once. I still like seeing them playing well.
That’s how I’m going to feel Wednesday morning. God willing. My god, after eight years of the Lord of Misrule, we can’t help but celebrate.
And as I said, I abandoned my man Dennis Kucinich this time and voted Obama during the primaries, something I could not do for John Kerry in either the primaries or the general. And when my daughter shook Obama’s hand in a New Hampshire gym on a freezing morning back in January, I told her to remember that. Not just because I knew even then that history was being made, but because I think he’s a sincere man, and a good man. And I know already that like you, I’m going get choked up when a black man, and a man of my generation, and a man with a soul, stands in front of 70,000 plus people in Chicago and accepts the results.
Then, of course, I’ll get down on my knees and pray / We don’t get fooled again…
Still: we could do worse. We could do lots worse. I know that.
I’m Mad as Hell…
But I’m old, or I feel old, now, and I feel tired; I’m weary of not-doing-worse; I’m real tired of being lied to, misled, flattered, treated like a damn fool, ripped off. Tired of being fooled again and again and again. Like Stephen Dedalus, I fear those big words that have made us so unhappy. Like Howard Beale
I’m mad as hell, and while I am doubtless gonna have to take and take it and take it evermore, I’ll also take every opportunity not to acquiesce in the ongoing rip-off, not only of my money, but of my democracy. What shreds of the same have been cherished and brandished by Citizen Nader, who has been battling—incessantly—the powers that be on the Hill before a political career was a twinkle in the eye of the other two candidates.
Vote for Obama if you must. If you live in a battleground state, hell, maybe you really must; even Howard Zinn thinks so. But if you don’t—if you live in New York, where I lived for ten years, or New Jersey, where I lived for twenty, or Massachusetts, where I’ve resided for eight, then nosupper tonight bids you Vote for Ralph Nader for President of the United States of America on Tuesday. (Incidentally, Zinn will be).
Oh, and no damn nonsense about this being a meaningless vote. It’s All Saints Day for goddsake, or is still as I write this, so think about some saints. Studs Terkel maybe for one, dead 24 hours and already missed. Or maybe Izzy Stone. And what Stone said:
The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing – for the sheer fun and joy of it – to go right ahead and fight, knowing you’re going to lose. You mustn’t feel like a martyr. You’ve got to enjoy it.”
This might be Nader’s last hurrah. I dunno. I don’t know where we go from here, either, to be honest, but I know that we the disaffected have to somehow unite. There are a lot of people in Boston trying to figure out how. I’m going to work with some of them. If you’re disaffected, it’s no time to retreat; you can probably find some like-minded people. But in closing let me say:
Thank you, Ralph. For keeping the flame, for making the Revolution relevant. For treating us like adults. And for always demanding that we act like adults. A thousand thanks; that, and my vote.
The Concord River, looking south from Old North Bridge, Concord, October 25, 2008
You know, the Concord area is sublime this time of year. You really should visit if you can. I got chills up my spine when I walked across the bridge, just like I still do each time I make out a ballot; maybe you will too. If you do, visit Henry David Thoreau’s grave—it’s right up the street from North Bridge, and a few steps from the graves of Hawthorn, Emerson, and Alcott. There’s a plaque a hundred yards from the bridge with some words of his. They’re worth pondering.
Minteman Park, Old North Bridge in the background
