The Cloak of Cultural Liberalism



Blue in the Bluegrass quotes Firedoglake quoting The New York Times, whose reporter Thomas Kaplan writes "Bucking a trend in which states have been seeking to restrict abortion, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is putting the finishing touches on legislation that would guarantee women in New York the right to late-term abortions when their health is in danger or the fetus is not viable."

BITB succinctly comments

Don't fall for it. The biggest obstacle to progressive legislation on all issues, including abortion, is the money influence of the financial industry. 

We know who owns the repugs, and know what to expect from them as a consequence.  Far more dangerous are the Democratic politicians whose social liberalism hides their eagerness to betray the working class.

Give her (or, less likely, him) a 98%.  The ranks of such Democrats are growing, unfortunately, and include such individuals such prominent politicians as Bill Clinton, Cory Booker, and Ed Rendell.  Though surrogates of Barack Obama, all three criticized their party's presidential nominee when in May, with Mitt Romney's nomination was all but certain, the President had the temerity to point out

When you're president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not simply to maximize profits.  Your job is to figure out how everybody in the country has a fair shot. Your job is to think about those workers who get laid off and how are we paying them for their retraining?”

I think there are folks who do good work in that area, and there are times where they identify the capacity for the economy to create new jobs or new industries.  But understand that their priority is to maximize profits. And that's not always going to be good for communities or businesses or workers.

It should come as no surprise that private equity enthusiasts are held in high esteem by the mainstream media, nor that the former have been generously supplied with funds by the industry.     (For Clinton, see here; for Booker, here; for Rendell, here.)   But as the aforementioned blogger suggests, we should not be impressed by the cultural liberalism which "hides their eagerness to betray the working class."  The analysis is excellent, but would have been more timely and potent if she had included an additional phrase.  Following the word "abortion," the words "and same-sex marriage" should have been added.

As Karen Heller of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month, executive director Carol Tracy of the Women's Law Project has noted abortion "is absolutely critical to women's participation in society, and certainly in the workplace.  Roe is the core. It's the basis for all other women's rights.  If you can't control your reproductive health, you can't fully participate in society."

Tt is not accidental, however, that while advocating policies enriching the 1% at the expense of the 99%, Clinton, Booker, and Rendell all have come out in support of same-sex marriage, Andrew Cuomo's signature issue.  Same-sex marriage has nothing to do with power arrangements, and support for the policy keeps the former President, the would-be New Jersey Senator, and the former Pennsylvania Governor invited to all the right parties... where, perhaps, they can exchange hugs and handshakes with individuals such as this this man.




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