In the Bush-Clinton battle, no matter who wins, the bankers and billionaires will emerge victorious

[marmar]

All In
The Bush Family Goes for Number Three (With the Help of Its Bankers)

By Nomi Prins


It’s happening. As expected, dynastic politics is prevailing in campaign 2016. After a tease about as long as Hillary’s, Jeb Bush (aka Jeb!) officially announced his presidential bid last week. Ultimately, the two of them will fight it out for the White House, while the nation’s wealthiest influencers will back their ludicrously expensive gambit.

And here’s a hint: don’t bet on Jeb not to make it through the Republican gauntlet of 12 candidates (so far). After all, the really big money’s behind him. Last December, even though out of public office since 2007, he had captured the support of 73% of the Wall Street Journal’s “richest CEOs.” Though some have as yet sidestepped declarations of fealty, count on one thing: the big guns will fall into line. They know that, given his family connections, Jeb is their best path to the White House and they’re not going to blow that by propping up some Republican lightweight whose father and brother weren’t president, not when Hillary, with all her connections and dynastic power, will be the opponent. That said, in the Bush-Clinton battle to come, no matter who wins, the bankers and billionaires will emerge victorious.

The issue of political blood and family lines in Washington is not new. There have been four instances in our history in which presidents have been bonded by blood. Our second president John Adams and eighth president John Quincy Adams were father and son. Our ninth president William Henry Harrison and our 23rd president Benjamin Harrison were grandfather and grandson. Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were cousins. And then, of course, there were our 41st and 43rd presidents, George H.W. and George W.

If Jeb becomes the 45th president, it will be the first time that three administrations share the same blood and “dynastic” will have a new meaning in America.

The Bush Legacy

The Bush political-financial legacy began when President Ronald Reagan chose Jeb’s father, George H.W., as his vice president. Reagan was also the first president to choose a Wall Street CEO, Donald Regan, as Treasury secretary. Then-CEO of Merrill Lynch, he happened to be a Bush family friend. And talk about family tradition: once upon a time (in 1900, to be exact), Jeb’s great-grandfather, George Herbert Walker, founded G.W. Walker & Company. It was eventually acquired by -- you guessed it! -- Merrill Lynch, which was consumed by Bank of America at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. ................(more)

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176014/tomgram%3A_nomi_prins%2C_jeb%21_the_money%21_dynasty%21/#more

[Autumn]

1. No more

Please god, no more. I wish they would go away. Their time has come and gone.

[MissDeeds]

4. +1000

I could not agree more.

[antigop]

5. +1000 nt

[Scuba]

12. + another thousand

[geek tragedy]

2. no matter what happens, the billionaires win. because they've already won on a scale

unimaginable to most people

[elleng]

3. which is why some of us are supporting 'other.'

Martin O'Malley: Rubio's view of government financial regulation "kind of patently bullshit.”

from The Hill:

The former governor (also) said the GOP’s 2016 presidential field had not escaped his notice. O’Malley said he took issue with Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) claims that government regulations stifle upward economic mobility.

“It is not true that regulation holds poor people down or regulation keeps the middle class from advancing,” he said of Rubio’s remarks. "That’s kind of patently bullshit.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026530308

[navarth]

7. Good on O'Malley

I look forward to hearing more from this candidate.

[elleng]

11. Please check his Group here;

the media isn't doing anything for him.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1281

[Thespian2]

6. Yep

billionaires and millionaires own the political structure and most of the politicians in the US...They will not give up control very easily, especially when they have so many "leaders" carrying water for them...

[lark]

8. While I am concerned about Clinton's Wall St. supporters,

don't think anyone thinks that a government run by Bush would be closely aligned with one run by Hillary. That's totally absurd to equate the two. They have one thing (partially, maybe) in common, but many many differences. Gay marriage, minimum wage increase, Iraq war, women's rights, Citizen's United, voting rights, social security, are just a few of the places where their views are diametrically opposed.

IMO, anyone who doesn't vote if the Dem candidate is Clinton, is supporting the Koch/RW agenda and this is true regardless of which clown is picked for the other side.

[navarth]

10. I personally don't advocate staying home on election day

...but I do have to really strain my eyes to see the differences.

[navarth]

9. re: Bush political-financial legacy

The author says it began with GHWB. What about grampa Prescott, Hitler's Banker? That's kinda strange.