Want to get the pulse of the music business? That's what Bob Lefsetz's newsletter does. Tonight's guest post is one he did for his blog over the weekend: Buttigieg, which is the alternative name many people call Mayo Pete. He began with a link to a New York Times piece: Buttigieg Struggles to Square Transparency With Lack of Disclosure on Consulting.
Raise your hand if you know what McKinsey is… It might as well be Blackwater!This is what it’s come down to folks, whether you want business as usual, rule by the monied elite, or a revolution.The Republicans had a revolution. The RNC lost control of the party. Trump won the nomination, and except for a few Never Trumpers, who don’t hold elected office, the whole party has gathered together under King Donald.You see the rich wanted more and the poor wanted change, they were sick and tired of paying for everybody else when they couldn’t make ends meet.Meanwhile, the Democrats argue amongst themselves, paying attention to identity politics more than big issues. That’s how Elizabeth Warren got traction, by issuing policies, by being for the little guy. Sure, she used to be a Republican, she grew up in Oklahoma for godssakes, isn’t it a badge of honor to change your mind? She saw how medical bills and bankruptcy ruptured families and she wanted change.And the Republicans and many Democrats hate her for it. You see the ruling party, the elite, the rich, forget whether they’re on the left or the right, don’t want to lose control.But they should.As for Elizabeth Warren, she lost all credibility during the second debate, when she wouldn’t answer the question about how her medical plan would be paid for, suddenly she looked like every other political weasel.So now we’ve got Mayor Pete and Bloomberg.Last I checked, Bloomberg was a Republican, changed the law so he could serve another term as mayor and supported stop and frisk. Is this the guy you really want in charge? If he weren’t rich, would you support him? And where in his platform does it say he supports the little guy.And make no mistake, this election is about the little guy, because he or she has no future.Come on, did you read the story in the The Guardian about the two Ivy League graduates who don’t have health insurance?“We’re broke, not poor: how I became downwardly mobile-- We have educations, credit cards, were raised with privilege and access-- but our lives are filled with financial uncertainty”But the papers in the U.S. don’t print these stories, because they too are part of the establishment. Believe me, the writers would rather hang with the billionaires, the powerbrokers, than the hoi polloi. The owners and publishers too!So Buttigieg ran to the center. Did Trump run to the center? No, he ran to the edge, he was all about excitement, change, whereas the Bush anointed by the RNC barely left the starting line.So what is happening in America today?Most people have no idea. Because so much news has an agenda and they don’t know where to go for information anyway. And it’s worse, they’re too uneducated to understand the concepts.But the elite, those who come from “good families,” like that rapist at Stanford who got off with barely more than a slap on the wrist, go to prep schools, go to elite universities, their parents get them jobs and we have a self-perpetuating elite that the Trumpers hate, but so many of the Democrats do too!Who is paying for your education? Who is paying for your college applications? Does your guidance counselor even know about anything other than the state school?So this is what the Democrats want to preserve, and this is why they’re in trouble.We don’t want to go back to normal, we don’t want to go back to the Obama years, they weren’t that good to begin with! Yup, under Obama the Democrats lost a ton of statehouses, and allowed the Republicans to make inroads against abortion. Did you read the New York Times cover story about this? Absolutely horrifying.
How a Divided Left Is Losing the Battle on AbortionUnless a Democrat proposes serious change, focusing foremost on income inequality and work opportunity, they’re just gonna kick the ball down the field. They’re just gonna be further behind in the next election cycle. We need change NOW!So stop being afraid of someone moving your cheese. You went to streaming after physical, right? You gave up your landline? And if you didn’t, you’re probably supporting old Joe and his malarkey, someone most people make fun of.So Mayor Pete can’t run his own city, the Republicans are gonna have a field day with this if he’s the nominee, never mind the issue of exciting African-Americans. But the truth is, despite being gay, despite being young, he’s truly one of them, yup, the privileged elite, who went to Harvard and became a consultant for McKinsey, which has been caught self-dealing.It can’t be a personality choice folks. Now, more than ever, this election is one of ideas. 2016 was about pushback, now we want to move forward.As for these vaunted centrists... Does anybody want new material by the classic rockers? Doesn’t Post Malone have his finger on the pulse more than Gene Simmons, never mind Mick Jagger?Stop living in a fantasy. Look at your life, look at your privilege. Don’t deny it, just ask whether others should be able to become members of the club, or whether you might be able to stomach being slightly less rich.But no, that’s anathema, you can’t sacrifice. You studied hard, you worked hard to make it, screw the opioid-addicted. But now the opioid-addicted have contempt for the elite, and the Sackler family…no one will even accept their charitable donations, that’s how fast the screw turns, and most people are pissed the bankers did not pay for breaking the economy back in 2008.So ask what the country needs, what you truly want. If it’s business as usual, you’re part of the problem. If you believe there can be mutual agreement, you haven’t paid attention to the Republicans’ squealing about impeachment.The times have changed. Either you’re part of the solution or get out of the way.Sure, everybody has the chance to be on reality TV, to be a rapper, but that’s not where the money or the power is anymore.This is war. We’re on the precipice of a changed society. Either we tackle the big issues now, or forget it, hope that your money will carry you through.Meanwhile, better have a wall around your property.It takes only one match to start a conflagration. Look at the Arab Spring, started by a fruit vendor!It can happen here. You want to get ahead of the people, or else you’ll have a disaster, like the record labels disrupted by Napster.So the media said there can be no Medicare For All, that Warren is too out there, never mind Bernie. And just like fake ads on Facebook, this message has impact. I was out with family and they supported Biden, because Warren was too extreme. Did they want cheaper and better health care, did they think the rich should pay more taxes? OF COURSE! Welcome to 2019, where not only Republicans vote against their own interests.Just like Trump, the Democrats have to turn over the table, think about the rank and file.Otherwise?They’re history.
