Dick Armey

[Henry C.K. Liu]

I agree and I do not support their official positions.
You make a very good point that people tend to bite the hand that fed them.  We
have a fair number of these in the left who have now joined the opposition to
attack the left.  China is beset with "democracy activists" who if not for the
socialist revolution, they would have either starved to death, or never had the
benefit of an education.
My point is that the left should exploit this populist root and bring them home
rather than dismissing them as merely being inconsistent and ungrateful.
This is particularly pertinent because the American left suffers from its
perpetual distance from political power, an afflicted somewhat self inflicted by
its fundamentalist tendencies.
Theory without power will not make revolution.
Yet, power by definition, corrupts.
The fact is, people such as Armey and Gramm hold power.  We should simultaneous
work for removing their power by defeating them in elections, as well as
providing intellectual arguments that appeal to their latent populist
sentiments.
Unite all who can be united in a broad progressive front.

Henry

Doug Henwood wrote:


> Henry C.K. Liu wrote:
>
> >I defer to your indigenous credentials.
> >Of course its all relative.  I lived one year in Dallas, and found even the
> >extremt right has deep populist roots with anti big government and anti big
> >business sentiments based on rugged individuality.
>
> Yes they do, but they do so from a region that would hardly be populated
> had it not been for decades of federal education, highway, water,
> agricultural, and military subsidies. Most of these clowns like Armey and
> Gramm have never held a private sector job of any consequence. Armey's
> first job in North Dakota was with the Rural Electrification Association;
> he went on to get degrees and teach at public universities. Then he went to
> Congress, where he's been drawing a federal paycheck since 1985. Very
> similar things can be said about Gramm, Tauzin, etc.
>
> Doug