There are no doubt many more handouts to corporate interests buried in the 451-page bill. It should be recalled that when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson first presented his three-page bailout proposal to congressional leaders two weeks ago, and some Democrats called for the addition of measures to help distressed homeowners, he and President Bush put their foot down, demanding a “clean” bill with no “irrelevant” or “controversial” add-ons. The Democratic leaders of the House and Senate banking committees quickly responded with promises not to “Christmas tree” the bill.
Now, at the bidding of big business, the Democrats have loaded the bill with ornaments, all of them directed to powerful financial interests.
The Democratic Party is a party of the American financial oligarchy. For four decades it has moved ever further to the right, aligning itself more closely with Wall Street while repudiating any program of social reform. Its trajectory has reflected the evolution of sections of the middle class that long constituted a core constituency. These layers enriched themselves, benefiting from booming stock prices based on financial speculation and parasitism.
The Democrats have sought to obscure their class position and right-wing orientation by adopting liberal positions on so-called “social issues”—abortion, gay rights, affirmative action—all of which are defined within the framework of identity politics. Barack Obama, whose posture of “change” and “new politics” is based entirely on his identity, and whose policies of militarism and defense of corporate interests are virtually indistinguishable from those of his Republican opponent, embodies the duplicitous and reactionary nature of the Democratic Party.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/bail-o03.shtml