Corporations have gamed our political system so effectively that the two-party system competes to serve corporate interests which Corporations defend as, "What's good for GM (corporations) is good for America (We the People)". Both parties, both the DLC Democrats who control the Democratic Party and Republicans, are corporate tools.
At the top of Big Businesses' shopping lists to Democrats and Republicans is "Give us more money. And if you can't do that, if you can't fool the average American voter into going along with that, then let us be able to rake it in as we've been doing."
That's what Obama's "healthcare reform" legislation was all about. Republicans had their turn at delivering to Big Insurance and PhRma in 2003 with the Medicare Reform Act. After that, corporations shifted their donations to the Democrats.
When politicians have had the chance to reform campaign financing (all publicly financed) and elections, they've refused and made it more 'exclusive' (harder for third party/independent challengers), controlled by corporate media and accessible by only those with huge bankrolls.
As an old liberal Democrat who has lived through decades of party politics, I suggest that you consider Democrats and Republicans as working on the same side, as tag relay teams. Or 'good cop/bad cop'. One side (Republicans) make brazen frontal assaults on the People, and when the People have had enough for that round, they put Democrats into power because of Democrats' populist rhetoric.
But once in power, Democrats consolidate Republicans' gains from previous years, and continue on with Republican policies, but renamed, with new advertising campaigns. They throw the People a few bones, but once Democrats leave office, we learn that those bones really weren't even what the People thought they were.
Whenever the People get wise to the political shenanigans and all of the different ways they've been tricked and start seeing Democrats as no different than Republicans, Democrats switch the strategy. They invent new reasons for failing to achieve the People's business -- This current excuse ("because Democrats are nicer, not as ruthless, not criminal", etc.) is custom-tailored to Obama's 'bipartisan cooperation' demeanor, and is smirk-worthy when you realize they're trying to sell that they're inept, unable to achieve what they were put into office to do, and that that's somehow "a good thing".
That's what Obama's selling -- More of the same as the last 3 years. More bipartisanship, more "centrism", more "pragmatic caving". Obama isn't selling what we learned works in an economic depression/recession. Obama isn't pushing for massive spending and support for the poor and middle classes. Obama's offering small change programs, and cuts to Medicare, as well as putting SocialSecurity on the table.
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