How conveeeenient. Millionaire villagers all agree that nobody cares about income inequality.
by digby
So the Democrats are officially abandoning any kind of populist rhetoric that actually makes people vote in favor of the usual meaningless pablum that’s guaranteed to result in keeping the status quo:
“It was clear in 2013 that income inequality was the top narrative for the White House, but they abruptly switched away from it,” said Jim Kessler, senior vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank that has advised the White House and Democrats to avoid excessive populism. “Income inequality seems like it’s on the back burner now — at least in terms of their rhetoric.”
The shift hints at a broader repositioning of Democratic messaging ahead of the midterm elections and, perhaps, the 2016 presidential race. House and Senate strategists and their pollsters have concluded that they should focus less on the wealth gap and more on emphasizing that all Americans should have economic “opportunity” to get ahead or a “fair shot.”
“Both the White House and the Senate agreed that the decline of middle-class incomes was the most serious issue we face in this country, but the focus had to be on how to get middle-class incomes up, rather than drive other people’s incomes down,” said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), the messaging chief for Senate Democrats.
How convenient for those who are buying up the political system. After all, these politicians come cheap — political bribes cost no more than the change these billionaires find between the soft leather cushions on their Lear jets. In fact, most of the politicians are rich too so they’re personally invested in the idea that it’s just ducky for the wealthy to be exalted as overlords, a status which the rubes can be convinced they too can achieve if only they are “good” enough. What a racket.
He continued:
“There are some who believe it’s better to talk about the negative parts of wealth that people have accumulated, but our polling data show people care less about that and more about how we’re going to help them.”
Oh goodie. He’s going to “help” us. Maybe we’ll get some across the board tax cuts.
The good news is that there is a consensus emerging on this issue, an orgasmic prospect for the Village:
Other conservatives, however, see room for agreement between Obama’s focus on mobility and Republicans, who have also been searching for better ways to address middle-class anxieties.
“I think it actually reflects not necessarily a consensus, but a growing recognition that there is a distinction between inequality itself and a deeper concern about whether there are some people who lack the ability to move up the economic ladder,” said Stuart Butler, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Well ok then.
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