Manufactured enemies who have much more in common than not

[Stinky The Clown]

In Wisconsin, the recall election ballot war pitted the unionized middle class workers against the non-unionized middle class workers. The vote of the 1% was a drop in the bucket, if it even existed at all.

One of the warring sides earns an average of $41,000. The other warring side earns an average of $49,000. As a percentage, that is a significant 20% spread. But when one zooms out a bit, that's not a lot of difference.

So why do these groups hate each other? They're essentially the same people.

Dick Army, with Koch brothers money, started this a few summers ago. The teabaggers created the rift, shouted the hate, fanned the flames, fomented the anger, used racial sterotypes. And here we find ourselves, today. Brother against brother in a conflict created by the people who stand to benefit from the manufactured class war.

Yesterday, the .01% had a self congratulatory extra glass of bubbly with their caviar stuffed lobster dinners as they watched natural allies fight each other. They needed to do that. Their very survival as the .01% depends on it. If yesterday's warring masses ever joined together, the .01% would see their lives changed.

We can't have that. Oh no.

Wisconsin was just the first round . . . .







(sourced of wage numbers: Dave Ross's commentary on CBS radio)

[HooptieWagon]

1. I think this gets to the heart of the matter.

Divide and conquer worked. Walkers corporate backers successfully convinced the non-union middle class voters that middle class union members were the undeserving "haves".

[JoePhilly]

4. It also has a private worker against the public worker element.

The private worker who has low wages and no benefits, has been told, by the business interests who keep his wages and benefits low, to blame the public worker for that situation.

[phantom power]

2. We could change the conversation, from...

"How come those guys make 20% more than me?" to "Why shouldn't we all make 20% more?"

That seems very do-able, we just have to stop being afraid of being accused of "class war" and embrace it.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I think you're absolutely right. Embrace it.

We always seem afraid of offending the right wing, we have NO problem offending us.