Let the class war finally begin, America!
I’ve taken my pot shots at President Obama over the last few months, but I say bring on this fucking long-awaited class war he is proposing. It’s about fucking time. I’ve been waiting on this class war for the last eight years and my dick is finally starting to get hard. The class war I am referring to, of course, is the debate over extending the Bush-era tax cuts. I’d like to start by saying that this concept of “class warfare” is a very interesting one to me because it can be used in so many different contexts and has, quite frankly, been overused in the last decade. The meaning of the phrase depends on the part of society in which one exists. When Democrats, for instance, threaten to raise taxes on the upper earners in society the rich categorize this as class warfare. The lower classes, however, see the act of cutting social service programs that benefit the poor as being a form of class warfare. And the middleclass, well, as I’ve tried to document on this blog, they usually remain their disenfranchised selves—somewhere in the middle and unwilling to take a definite stand either way. As such, the most important factor in this debate becomes: who will win over those that lie in the middle? Will it be the rich or will it be the poor? Or will we continue to allow the system to dictate what constitutes class warfare without seeking to define it ourselves?
The rich obviously want to remain rich as they work the system to get richer (ain’t that always the way?) and the poor would rather not be poor. All of this goes on while many people within the middleclass prove time and time again to vote and take sides that completely contradict their position in society. They are usually those individuals that self-describe themselves ‘Independents.’ But really they are just assholes whose dicks can be swayed by an easy morning breeze. So, for us left-leaning, radical fucks still left in this country, it has become our mission to pull on the pricks of the middleclass in order for them to think and see clearly. It is now our duty to let everyone know that extending tax breaks for the rich won’t fix the fucking economy. It never has and it never will. It’s been a long while since I’ve agreed with the president on any of his policy initiatives. But this is one I’m willing to stand with him on. In fact, I’ve always said that the original sin of the Obama administration occurred in the first weeks after his inauguration when he refused to pursue his campaign promise to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Now, I realize from a political standpoint that Obama wasn’t going to be able to muster the votes for this repeal so soon after the election and that it would have been a long and hard fought battle that would have side-tracked his other focuses (such as the stimulus and healthcare), but I’m just saying that it was the first of a long list of timid political plays that have become the theme for this administration’s first two years in office. And it is my job to point these things out.
The fight that will happen leading up to this November over extending the Bush-era tax codes will be no different than the theoretical repeal that Obama could have pursued two years ago. The Republicans will say that they want to make the tax cuts for the rich permanent. They will say this in the name of small business and job growth even though any asshole with anything of a brain knows that this is not the reason why Republicans want to extend the cuts. Their motivation is completely political. The Republicans remain the beacon of virtue for corporate America and they will continue to defend them even if it means the raping and pillaging of wallets and pocketbooks of the common people of America. Some of the Democrats will say that they want the tax cuts on the rich to expire, but believe we should extend the cuts for the middleclass. This is good policy. But, as we know, the Democrats remain as connected to big business as the Republicans. So, even though there are most likely enough House Democrats to stand firm on this policy, there are also enough pussy Blue Dog Democrats to spoil this proposed initiative when it comes to a vote in the Senate. Despite the fact that I support the president’s economic proposal, I would like to make it clear that I believe the outcome of this battle will come down to the willingness of the people to fight for what they believe in. If we don’t, we might as well sit back and let the system dictate how our future will be designed. Apathy breeds ignorance and inaction maintains the status quo.
It’s early to tell, but most likely what will end up happening is that both types of tax cuts (those for the rich and those for the middle class) will expire. Taxes will be rightfully raised on the rich and they will be foolishly raised on the middleclass (the group hit hardest by the economic disaster). It is right here, then—within this chaos—where we must forge our revolution, Friends of Freemont. I proclaim in the name of social equality that any man or woman favoring the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich is not a friend of ours. Lines need to be drawn in the sand on this one, my friends, and its time that we see who is on our side and who is not. The rich have grown richer over the last 8 years and the super rich have grown even richer while the rest of us were fed the pathetic scraps. Then, when everything came crashing down, we were made to pay for the mistakes of those that put us here while they floated to safety on their parachute of lies, schemes, and bullshit. And I’m sick and fucking tired of having our faces continually rubbed in shit.
That’s why this will become our fight. It will allow us the time to identify our enemies, to size them up, and to create the tactics that are necessary to forge ahead with our revolution. In the upcoming weeks, I plan to do a series of interviews with the people of Somerville from all walks of life and get their reactions on this topic.
The Freemont Revolution will be televised! And it will start at 9:30PM sharply every Wednesday on Channel 3 Somerville, Mass. If the rest of you have any hair on your balls, it will be marching into a neighborhood near you soon enough.
- Freemont Barrington
