Vanguard

Today's post by Matt Yglesias was quite interesting. But it was an observation of CastorpI, a commenter on his post that really grabbed me:

The Republicans really have become a Leninist vanguard party for the wealthy. Will their strategy of heightening the contradictions work? Hard to say, but if not, those on the left that advocate the same strategy should take note. (In fairness, those of us utilitarian meliorists on the center-left should probably take note if it does.)

Most of us center-lefties are working our tails off trying to minimize the contradictions. We seek to defeat rightist radicals like Governor Kasich and Governor Walker, to preserve the middle-class in the Midwest. We oppose the final dismantling of the New Deal in Washington D.C., because we fear the collapse of U.S. capitalism's credibility with the bottom 80%.

But do the rightist vanguard really seek the sudden overthrow of the system? Maybe, but I'm guessing their endgame is a bit different. The ideal scenario for the Koch brothers, and their political puppets, would be the provocation of just enough revolutionary anger to truly scare a lot of center-righties and also some center-lefties. This fear will cloud enough people's judgement to allow the gradual replacement of a representative republican government with a completely Christo-fascist, corporatist and militarist regime. Schoolteachers fighting for their pensions will be conflated with violent advocates of extremist Islam in the minds of Faux news viewers and Limbaugh listeners. While this attempted slow-motion putsch may have already begun, I'm not convinced that it can't be stopped. Wisconsin shows us the way to avoid a conflagration. When those who occupy the state capitol bake cookies for the cops, and carefully use painter's tape to avoid leaving marks on the marble, what pretext is there for a violent reaction?

What we need is escalating resistance, with the strictest adherence to non-violence ever seen since the time of Gandhi. They did this in Cairo. We can do this in Madison, Lansing, Columbus, and even Jacksonville. Our corporate overloads can try to divide us, and fill our heads with disinformation. The bottom line is they'll never convince our underpaid military to start firing on their teachers, police, and firefighters in the streets. Just like in Egypt, the tanks in the streets will be driven by people who identify a lot more with the protesters, than they do with the Koch Brothers. I just have to believe that President Obama, no matter what Jeff Immelt may whisper in his ear, wouldn't take the next step-- and send predator drones against the crowds in Columbus.