“Utter insanity and stupidity”: Ex-Reagan adviser unloads on GOP

[G_j]

http://www.salon.com/2015/05/14/utter_insanity_and_stupidity_ex_reagan_adviser_unloads_on_gop_lobbyists_and_the_myth_of_the_moderate_republican/

In American politics, for whatever reason, the most forceful and articulate critics of political parties or movements are often apostates. The list of names of redeemers — or traitors, depending on where you stand — is too long to recount here; but one of the more recent addition would have to be Bruce Bartlett, the historian and former member of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations who has since become one of movement conservatism’s most scathing critics. (To get a sense of what we mean, just go to his Twitter page and search “wankers.”)

Recently, Salon saw the onetime aide to GOP Rep. Jack Kemp (the party’s 1996 vice presidential nominee) criticizing a piece about a campaign finance reform-oriented GOP presidential candidate from Harvard Law’s Lawrence Lessig. We decided to reach out, and ended up speaking with Bartlett over the phone for about 30 minutes. Our conversation touched on Lessig’s piece, Bartlett’s contrarian view of campaign finance, and why he thinks lobbying is one of the most insidious threats to American government. A condensed and edited transcript of our conversation can be found below.

What element of Professor Lawrence Lessig’s Daily Beast piece on a reform Republican challenging Clinton — which, I should just note, he admitted was fanciful — did you find most unrealistic?
Well, the impression I had [was] that he, like many other people, such as David Brooks, seems to be longing for a moderate Republican savior who they believe is out there somewhere and [will] rescue the Republicans from utter insanity and stupidity. Lessig has this belief … that the only reason this white knight savior hasn’t emerged is because of problems in campaign finance. So he has this scheme for mobilizing the millions of small donors that he, for some reason, believes are out there longing for this White Knight moderate, who can channel an adequate amount of funding to this White Knight. I think that’s just ludicrous; it’s just nonsense.

..more..

[blm]

1. There ARE NO MODERATE Repubs left. Rove/Bushes courted and nurtured the RW Frankenstein

that exists today. Their opportunism saw only morons easily angered and duped, so they kept them angry and duped.

Fvckin' Fascist!

[DLnyc]

2. Wow, lays it out there pretty clearly!

I think this is a big reason many Americans are utterly fed up with electoral politics -- the bulk of the real power seems to lie with the large corporations, so even if you manage to elect somebody who says what you like to hear, it is unlikely they will end up doing much other than what those corporations want.

Unless you can find someone who is really willing to buck the trend and get a large-scale popular movement going that can actually change the system via direct action like strikes and boycotts.

IMHO

[Dont call me Shirley]

3. Lobbying, legislation for sale, needs to be ended.

[tclambert]

4. He's right about lobbyists, who now write many of our laws.

And since I can't afford a lobbyist of my own, I'm shut out of our current political system. People or corporations who can afford lobbyists have extra special rights that normal people just do not have.

[G_j]

5. what's the problem?

This is America, we are FREE to hire a lobbyist anytime.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Ain't Freedom Grand

Anytime you and i want to give a lobbyist $10 million to do our bidding in Congress, we're free to do it. Now what did i do with that extra 10 million?

[G_j]

7. which goes to show, it's your fault

for not being motivated enough.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. I'm Motivated Enough!

I just can't find that $10 million. That's carelessness, not laziness!

[tclambert]

8. Exactly right. If only I hadn't squandered all my money on food and such . . .

I suppose it's just misplaced priorities. If I had saved all my money and made hiring a lobbyist my first priority . . . nah, I still couldn't have afforded one.