Now that my Why Socialism Failed and Saul Alinsky series are over, I have launched a new one just in time for the busy U.S. Democratic primary season over at Liberty Nation.
Titled “Exposing Political Clichés,” I take a look at the standard tropes that politicians employ. The first one I examined was the poverty is a virtue, wealth is a sin philosophy.
Here is an excerpt:
One of the more popular tropes among those seeking the White House, or any public office for that matter, is informing everyone how impoverished they were growing up. Or, at the very least, their humble beginnings.
If you haven’t noticed it, this is how the presidential hopeful on the debate stage typically does it:
“Thanks for that question on small business, Anderson. Well, as you know, I was brought up in a family of eight, living in a two-room shack in Biloxi, MS. My father tried to live the American dream by starting his own business, repairing dolls – he called it A Doll’s House. We didn’t eat very much, relying on roadkill for dinner and rain for our water consumption. My mother was a sick woman, my two brothers had lice, and my sisters suffered from Dr. Strangelove Syndrome. So, yes, I was so poor as a kid. Now, to your question: No, I would not agree to a 5% tax increase on employers with fewer than ten employees.”
This may be an exaggeration, but it is a strategy you can expect to see as the primaries heat up. Minorities – Sen. Cory Booker (D-NY), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) – will talk about how racism tried to oppress them. The wealthy white candidates, like former Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), will brag about how they went to the bathroom in an outhouse and ate raw carrots for breakfast. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg will reveal how hard it was to find a new chauffeur.
You can read more here.
Here are the other titles:
Andrew Moran 