MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, probably the world's smartest leftist (my characterization), spoke at the University of Wisconsin recently, and had some choice words for those of us taking some much pleasure in mocking and ridiculing the Tea Party.
And even more, he said that the only people offering answers to the righteous concerns of the American people about out-of-control, bailouts, unemployment, etc., are Fox News, talk radio and Sarah Palin!
Excerpts from Chomsky's speech:
Ridiculing the tea party shenanigans is a serious error . . . For over 30 years, real incomes have stagnated or declined. This is in large part the consequence of the decision in the 1970s to financialize the economy . . . The bankers, who are primarily responsible for the crisis, are now reveling in record bonuses while official unemployment is around 10 percent and unemployment in the manufacturing sector is at Depression-era levels.
. . .
The financial industry preferred Obama to McCain . . . They expected to be rewarded and they were. Then Obama began to criticize greedy bankers and proposed measures to regulate them. And the punishment for this was very swift: They were going to shift their money to the Republicans. So Obama said bankers are "fine guys" and assured the business world: "I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free-market system." People see that and are not happy about it.
. . .
People want some answers. They are hearing answers from only one place: Fox, talk radio, and Sarah Palin.
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