So "Bill archenemy Richard Mellon Scaife now has 'admiration' for him." according to Newsweek. Last July arch-Clinton hater Richard Mellon Scaife sat down and had a long, pleasant meal with the man he tried to destroy during Clinton's eight years as President.
That is a surprise. So here is what I think happened.
There is an over-class of wealth and power in the world today. Members of that over-class operate above the law, where there are no rules except victory to the strongest. The purpose of lawyers at that level is to allow the members of the over-class to ignore restrictions established by the law. At that level alliances are the major consideration in trade.
Bill Clinton has moved into that over-class. George Bush (both of them) and Richard Mellon Scaife were born into that over-class and inherited their wealth. Members of the over-class sometimes fight each other, but battle between members of that over-class last only as long as there is a likelihood of profit or total destruction of the enemy, and their battles are simply shut down when those two possibilities disappear.
Scaife is not a lunatic. He was and is simply doing what he sees as necessary to protect his wealth. His billions of inherited wealth put him into the over-class, and Scaife's goals are to maintain his status and the wealth that got him there. Almost everything the financial conservatives do is aimed at preserving and augmenting family wealth, because it is what lets them remain in the over-class during the dry periods between positions of power.
Bill Clinton is famous for what has come to be called "post-ideological politics," and his peacemaking with Scaife is what it is all about. "Post-ideological politics," is a recognition that the members of the over-class will take the most extreme actions to protect their status, generally preventing all significant government mandated change in society. Because of this visceral reaction by those holding extreme levels of inherited wealth nothing can be done to improve society. At the same time the over-class cannot be destroyed. It even existed in the USSR when there wealth was not permitted to protect positions over periods when out of power. The primary purpose of the Bush administration domestic agenda has been to protect the over-class wealth and to placate the Evangelical Republicans who provide the foot troops and votes to elect them into office.
This meeting between Clinton and Scaife resembles the peace meetings between two mafia dons after an extended and bloody mob war in which neither side could eliminate the other. There are no rules to control the members of the over-class. They are above the law and the rules (as they see it.) The only thing that exists at that level is power and alliances. In teh absence of sufficient power to destroy the enemy, these people have to make alliances. That is what has happened between Clinton and Scaife.
The reaction of many Democrats upon learning of this peace deal between Clinton and Scaife has been to blame Clinton, saying "How Could he break bread with that slimeball!" I'd say that Bill was operating under the old line "Don't get angry, get even." and he has added, "When you can't get even, stop fighting when there is no profit in it."
An important part of the deal includes reassuring Scaife that his wealth and position are not threatened. Scaife started the battle because he was afraid that Clinton, when he became a Democratic President, would pass legislation that would damage Scaife's fortune. Clinton was not part of the over-class when he was elected in 1992, so Scaife went after him before he could become powerful.
Clinton learned with the universal health care proposal that he could not destroy the over-class, so he had to work with them to get things done. Thus we got "Post-ideological politics," also known as triangulation. Since they have proven that neither can destroy the other, there is no action they can take other than continue suicidal combat or enter an alliance.
Bill has basically assured Scaife that his wealth and the resulting membership in the over-class is not threatened. Once Scaife was assured of that, he has no further reason to fight.
The meal between Bill and Scaife was probably a signal of the peace treaty between the two of them. Scaife feels protected, and the Clintons can negotiate the needed social changes. It is an entente, mostly DE facto, equivalent to that between the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War.
That's my bet, anyway. I'll be looking for facts which prove or disprove the thesis. And, yes, I am this cynical.
No comments:
Post a Comment