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The left's one-percent problem By Frank Salvato In the aftermath of Vice President Joe Biden's "Howard Dean" moment in Ohio last week, I was struck by the sheer magnitude of the Progressive-Democrat Left's hypocrisy when it comes to their political attacks on the so-called "rich." As the unwashed masses of the Occupy Movement – the overwhelming majority of which are anarchists, pseudo-Socialists, Progressive activists and union operatives – take to the streets of Chicago to protest the NATO summit, I really do have to wonder if they – the useful idiots of the new millennium – know that those who they follow are the one-percenters? Among the leaders of the Progressive Movement and the Democrat Party, it is nearly impossible to identify anyone among them who isn't in the one-percent, and that includes President Obama and, yes, Vice President Biden. Maybe that's why his statement, "They just don't get us," made my head cock like a dog hearing a high-pitched noise. "Who's us," I thought to myself.
OpenSecrets.org estimates Mr. Biden's net worth at $718,994. But the Progressive and Democrat elite's one-percenters are many... President and Mrs. Obama hold family assets estimated in 2010 as up to $8.3 million, including assets of between $500,000 and $1million in a JPMorgan Chase checking account. According to the Washington Post,
OpenSecrets.org estimates the Obama's net worth at $11,830,000. Then we have the Demo-Progressive leadership in Congress. In 2010, The Hill reported that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had an estimated net worth of $35.2 million,
OpenSecrets.org estimates Ms. Pelosi's net worth at $196,299,990. Yes, you read that correctly, $196,299,990. According to Nevada News & Views, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is work up to $6,307,999,
OpenSecrets.org estimates Mr. Reid's net worth in 2012 at $10,309,999. Among the un-elected of the elitist Progressive and Democrat ranks... The AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka makes $293,750 annually, all off of union member dues, and according to FrontPage Magazine,
According to Answers.com, the former head of the SEIU, Andy Stern was raking in an estimated $249,000 plus all associated perks when he headed up this "blue collar" organization. Valerie Jarrett, President Obama's Senior advisor, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel,
The Sun-Sentinel continues,
And according to TheirNetWorth.com, Van Jones is worth $1.1 million. So, again, I have to ask of Mr, Biden who he is talking about when he says, "They just don't get us?" He certainly isn't talking about the Occupy Movement's street dwellers and he certainly isn't talking about the overwhelming majority of middle-class Americans when he says "us." But, perhaps the most usefully moronic of the bunch are the Progressive faithful who truly believe that these one-percenters actually give a damn about them; who believe that these disingenuous political creatures give a damn about anything else but power and maintaining control over an economic system that has seen them enrich themselves and their friends. Isn't it time they be forced to realize the truth? I mean, what is it going to take, really? Democrats have been saying for decades that Republicans are in the pockets of big business, yet US Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposals have always included overhauling the tax code to eliminate tax loopholes and special interest tax breaks. Meanwhile, Progressives and Democrats have been "guaranteeing loans" for pet-project special interest political benefactors, doing so with taxpayer monies, even as Mr. Obama, Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi hob-knob with the hedge fund managers and whale silicon valley types that they routinely demonize in their stump speeches. Democrats in Congress have violated the law three years running in not advancing a budget, refusing to do so even while they continue to spend at all-time deficit and debt increasing levels. And each year Republicans have offered budget proposals that would reduce the debt, while compiling list after list of wasteful spending in idiotic and redundant programs that should be cast from the books. So, how is it that Democrats and Progressives get away with saying it is Republicans who are dutiful to big business. Quite frankly, if the unwashed masses of the Occupy Movement can't execute the math needed to see that their political idols are using them; that the ones they put on the pedestals of "hope" and "change" are actually the people they say they detest, how can they expect anyone to hire them? If you can't make change... Frank Salvato is the Executive Director for BasicsProject.org a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and education initiative focusing on Constitutional Literacy and the threats of Islamic jihadism and Progressive neo-Marxism. His writing has been recognized by the US House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention. His organization, BasicsProject.org, partnered in producing the original national symposium series addressing the root causes of radical Islamist terrorism. He is a member of the International Analyst Network and has been a featured guest on al Jazeera's Listening Post and on Russia Today. He also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. Mr. Salvato has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on FOX News Channel, and was featured in the documentary, "Ezekiel and the MidEast 'Piece' Process: Israel's Neighbor States." He is the author of the series Understanding the Threat of Radical Islam, an educational pamphlet series. Mr. Salvato is a regular guest on talk radio including on The Captain's America Radio Show, nationally syndicated by the Phoenix Broadcasting and ABC Starguide Satellite Networks, catering to the US Armed Forces around the world. He is also heard weekly on The Roth Show with Dr. Laurie Roth syndicated nationally on the IRN-USA Radio Network. Mr. Salvato has been interviewed on Radio Belgrade One. His opinion-editorials have been published by The American Enterprise Institute, The Washington Times, Accuracy in Media, Human Events, and are syndicated nationally. He is a featured political writer for EducationNews.org, BigGovernment.comand Examiner.com and is occasionally quoted in The Federalist. Mr. Salvato is available for public speaking engagements. He can be contacted at contact@newmediajournal.us.
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