Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Watch the Business Spin, Too
Something to keep your eye on.0 comments
Business Week started a two-part "Sectoral Review" of the Candidates series today. The reporter is their Sector Watch columnist Sam Stovall.
It's a good way to view what the Business Republican part of the GOP is doing and thinking, instead of just watching the drooling wing-nut Matt Drudge readers or the Hate Boat Vets (and now the Hate Boat Wives—more on that later).
Business Week: Bush or Kerry? A Sectoral Review, Part 1
Before I read it, I assumed that the scales would wobble back and forth on different specific points.
Silly me.
This installment listed 14 industries.
As per BW: 11 of these 14 investment areas are viewed as either being aided by Bush or harmed by Kerry; 1 industry comes out better under Kerry (Alternative Energy, natch), and there were 2 "It Doesn't Matters".
As you read through it, what starts jumping out from this landscape is two-fold:
One, it's clear that Kerry / Edwards has a great deal more to do in giving the Robert Rubins of the campaign a higher-level profile. It's clear that whatever degree of the economic "Clinton Redux / Rubin's Coming Home" message the Kerries have been promoting, it's not being heard by Republican Wall Street. Industries made truckfulls of cash under President Bill Clinton, and they will under Kerry's plan as well. This needs to be laid out much more clearly.
Wall Street's reaction actually dovetails with the message coming from many average Americans who basically have turned off to Bush, but who have yet to turn on to Kerry. I keep hearing interviews with people who say, in essence, "I don't know what his plan is. I don't see how he'd be any different from Bush" in so many words. That's not good. From the public or from Wall Street.
Yeah, yeah, I know, it's all on the web site and everyone can go read it.
And cows will all fly.
Kerry and Edwards need to start hammering home the positive points of their plans in clear, precise terms, and loudly repeating the horrors of the coming Bush / Cheney agenda—also in crisp, concise terms, just like they did with the draft issue which recently hurt B/C '04 very badly.
Second, in reading this series you inadvertently begin to see just how staggering the Bush impact has been—not only in financial terms, but in the scope of destruction of Americans' lives, health, finances and both national and personal property. The Bush administration has irresponsibly thrown open the gates of license for all of global industry.
This goes back to a Gotham Notes post on the Bush takeover of federal agencies from last week.
The Bush administration has placed its ideologue troops down into multiple layers of administration at every federal agency. As a result, we've seen a four year assault on any and all guidelines and regulations that would limit, in any way, Corporate America's Inhumanity to Man.
The Bush Doctrine: If there's a buck to be had, screw it, go for it!
This shines an immediate, bright light on the bias inherent in a series like Stovall's.
Whenever any teacher has given over complete control to students and allowed chaos to reign fully in their classroom, the next teacher, brought in to clean up the mess and restore order, will be reviled for being harsh and no fun at all.
Since corporate america has been allowed to run amuck for four years, of course they're going to scream all the louder at being reined in by adults in the White House.
It's up to the Kerries to explain things in a way to quiet these corporate infants down long enough to get some facts across to them:
Namely: There's plenty of cash to go around.
And if Kerry's main goal is to put America back to work, then just who do they think will be making all the cash used to PAY these millions of people?
D'uh-ah.
This seems a perfect time for Rubin and Clinton—as he heals—to hang a shingle on Wall Street, and begin weaving tales of the glorious days to come under a Kerry administration.
And of how fiscal discipline and corporate responsibility will set you free.
And make you rich.
Without getting sued.
posted by Gotham 1:22 PM
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