Iacocca: Where the Hell is our Outrage?
McClatchy says that lack of funds is hobbling the Republican attack machine. It could be that the country is in such a mess that even rich cranky white people are not sure they trust McSame not to give us another Bush term.
Amid rumors of Chrysler's impending bankruptcy, Lee Iacocca has shown back up to a hero's welcome. However badly his relationship had ended with the firm, it is still there in large part because of his leadership back in the 1980s, leadership you don't find every day anymore, as he points out:
Here is what he said in his recent book:
' "Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."
"Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
"& someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions.
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That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
"I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
"I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty & I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.
"Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them — or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.
"And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
"There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
"On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. & That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq — a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith-based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know what will.
"So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership. '
So if Republicans like Iacocca are this upset with the direction of the country, you can understand what McClatchy says about the past funders of the noise machine (I'm not saying Mr. Iacocca was one) just not having their heart in it this time.
posted by Juan Cole @ 6/30/2008 01:05:00 AM
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14 Comments:
It is early days, and I would not be lulled into a sense of complacency by the seeming withdrawal of the attack machine. They'll be back.
Iacocca for President...!
Dear Professor Cole,
Mr. Iacocca's words are an echo of what I have been saying to anyone who will listen for some time. I write and call my Congressional representatives and get the impression I may as well speak to my dog (I live in Texas).
I am somewhere between intense anger at Bush and our totally ineffective but sometimes dangerous government and resignation.
What will it take to wake us up and demand accountability; it is our government.
First confirmation of direct involvement by current administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development, likely to stoke criticism
kudos to Mr. Iacocca for telling it like it is, but can he bring us cheap Oil ( and boost the ginormous profits of western oil corporations ) like our esteemed president of vice, Richard 'Dick' 'Shooter' Cheney?? i think not. granted that Mr. Iacocca did not have to murder over a Million Iraqis and displace about 5 Million in order to steal that Oil like Richard 'Dick' 'Shooter' Cheney has had to do. but hey, you war criminally invade and occupy Oil producing countries with the politicians that you have.
Where's the outrage ???
Two thirds of the country IS outraged. Unfortunately the other third runs the show and is calling the shots.
I'll be looking forward to the next installment of Mr Iacocca's book where he explains in detail what we ought to do about it. I'm not being glib. I'll be happy to participate in any organized effort to dissolve the present two-party political system. That has to be the number one priority.
Iacocca is worth millions and he has friends who are worth millions. Would they be willing to contribute the funding necessary to start dismantling a portion of the Establishment political system? How about a gesture of goodwill and serious intent like funding Cindy Sheehan in her bid to replace the odious Nancy Pelosi in November? Would an high profile personality like Iacocca and maybe his friends get out there and promote Sheehan's campaign, and ensure she has a steady and substantial cash flow? Or is this just more armchair commentary from another very comfortable multi-millionaire, a guy who really is in a position to do something but lays that responsibility on the working stiffs who are working overtime to pay their monthly utility bills?
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Iacocca has always been a Democrat, to my knowledge he was never a Republican - a google search will bring up the info.
oh, there's plenty of outrage! to be sure. In ‘06 the Americans threw out the incumbent Republican leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, in what could only be characterized as a stunning upset. In ‘08 American Democrats refused to confirm the party's presumptive nominee, selecting their own progressive movement candidate (and by doing so the people have perhaps forever changed their political process par le réseau).
Americans no longer support the occupation of Iraq ~ I daresay Over Here there is a pervasive sense of shame about it, though there is palpable pity felt for the soldiers, sailors and airmen serving in that endeavour: we hope they can manage to survive until relieved of the nightmare of endless tours of duty Over There. The idea of "a victorious occupation" now seems to most Americans as absurd a notion as it sounds, fwiw.
Evidently what Americans do NOT have are leaders who act in response to the democratic, electoral process = the now quite well-known collective will of The People. History reveals that Americans get quite nasty when their will is ignored: there is a reason why our forefathers stuck that Second Amendment = the right to bear arms in there, after all (hint: when leaders get too big for their britches :)
The way i see it, fwiw ~ the first order of business for the angry American electorate will be regaining control of the Executive branch... After which there will be a merciless purge of the US officer corps, followed by a second, we hope not too nasty culling of the so-called neocon movement and all these AIPAC-supported political leaders in Congress (including the Democrats).
oh, there will be hell to pay, Professor, bien sûr!
"Don't get mad, get even."
The Americans are actually quite good at showing outrage, but the Establishment either shrugs off or comes up with with a variation on the "we feel your pain."
What is needed is not outrage but practical steps. Here are some examples:
1) Terminate the Presidential Pardon.
2) Support the law enforcement people in their undeclared war against corruption and treason.
3) End the primaries circus. All states can vote in one day.
4) Cap campaigning spending to few millions only.
5) Accept that rich lobbyists rent politicians, inevitably.
6) Establish a powerful, totally independent, national audit office.
Good luck
Lee nailed it. We have a leadership crisis, fostered by corporate Republicans and their Demoratic couterparts. When politicans optimize laws and regulations for business, they suboptimize the country.
We're seeing the combination of widespread influence peddling and incredibly arrogant, violent, and incompetent leadership. It's not pretty.
I tend to agree with Mr. Iacocca. I'm sure some of my family and friends are worried that all the events in the world disturb me as much as they do. Supposedly it's angry old men but I'm not old (well, maybe to my jr. high school students). Really, I think the American people are so ignorant that they don't know what recourse they have at this point. I think there's a pervasive sense of helplessness at this point. Obviously many many people are outraged, but they also feel powerless and don't know what to do. Often people succumb to futility. Sad. People in this country are brainwashed and they vaguely realize it, but this country has just about stripped people (they've conceded some of the will) of their will to protest. But there is some serious outrage. It's just we have a horrible, completely embedded media which won't tell any of these truths. Sad but true. We just gotta keep tellin' the truth.
About Iacocca's politics, he did ads supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos against Dem Jennifer Granholm.
First off, it seems to me that all of the things that Mr. Iacocca rightly complained about reflect the views of Liberal Democrats, and it's clear that these outrages are the fault of the right wing along with the "moderates" who lent their support. If you look at those who opposed these policies, they were generally the most liberal of the Democrats. If you look at those who supported these policies, they are the right wing who championed them and centrists who went along with it. Otherwise, I applaud his comments.
Next, for those of you who want more choices without a spoiler effect, there are reforms that can achieve this. I suggest that you join a local Center for Voting and Democracy (http://fairvote.org) affiliated group and make yourself available to work on ballot initiatives and other legislation.
Also, open your mind to things like ranked choice ballots and multi-seat congressional districts. It may seem strange. It may not be exciting, but these sorts of reforms are what will open the door to get Greens, Libertarians, more independents and others elected. It will also make the system much harder (some say impossible) to game.
Content aside, can a "ship of state go over a cliff"?
People ARE outraged but the corporate media doesn't accurately report it. And then we the people get blamed for being too lazy or stupid to care about what's going on. If you want proof, look at the amount of progressive activism there is on the internet and how desperate the corporations are to get control over it.
Corporations run this country and the Democratic leadership is in their back pocket as much as the Republicans. I just pray President Obama will use the will of the people to force the congress to work for the citizens and not the corporate fat cats.
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