Prospect Editor Kuttner: Bannon Exploiting Massive Failure of Dems with Working
Steve Bannon
American Prospect editor Robert Kuttner is livid that because of the Democratsâ decades-long betrayal of working-class voters on issues like trade and illegal immigration   former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon  sees a huge opening to permanently win over these voters who were a monumental part of President Donald Trumpâs historic movement in 2016.
Kuttner visited  Bannon  at the Breitbart Embassy for an on-background conversation last Thursday.  He  writes in the Prospect that âDemocrats  the party of Roosevelt and Truman  of grand public works and strong labor protections  should be making it preposterous for  Bannon â to be the champion of economic populism and is astounded that the two parties are âeven in contention over who is the better friend of working people.â
But  Bannon  realizes that for  him  to successfully âcrushâ Democrats   he  must defeat the corporatist and milquetoast GOP establishment that has often been the Democratsâ best friend by easily allowing the left to portray right-of-center politicians as out-of-touch elitists who have no understanding about the concerns of working-class Americans.
Kuttner points out that  Bannon  is currently âorganizing an electoral machine to Trumpâs right  and certainly to the right of the Republican Senate leadershipâand  he  hopes to bring that leadership down.â
âFor  Bannon   the victory in the Alabama Senate primary of former Judge Roy Moore over Mitch McConnellâs favorite  incumbent Luther Strange  was just the beginning â he writes of the race that  Bannon  described as a battle between Mooreâs âgrassroots muscleâ versus âStrangeâs corporate money.â
Kuttner notes that after Mooreâs victory   Bannon  declared: âThis is a populist nationalist conservative revolt. Itâs a revolt against the elites in this country. Itâs a revolt against the globalists among those elites.â
Unlike the bipartisanship for the 3.8 percent that elites like Chuck Todd insufferably are activists for  Kuttner writes that  Bannon  âcontinues to look for left-right common groundâ on issues that will benefit American workers of all backgrounds.
 Bannon  told Charlie Rose during  his  60 Minutes interview that economic nationalism will be the great unifying force because âas long as youâre an American citizen  youâre part of this populous economic nationalist movement.â
âEconomic nationalism is what this country was built on. The American systemâwe look after our own. We look after our citizen  we look after our manufacturing base â  Bannon  said on 60 Minutes. âAnd guess what? This countryâs going to be greater  more united  more powerful than itâs ever been. This is not astrophysics. And by the way  thatâs every nationality  every race  every religion  every sexual preference.â
 Bannon  also told Rose that the Republican establishment has never believed in the economic nationalist agenda that got Trump and elected and is âtrying to nullify the 2016 election.â
After his conversation with  Bannon   Kuttner writes that  âBannon  believes that if Republicans will just embrace populist economic nationalism  they can become a workersâ party and the majority party for decades to come. Heâs been on the road  recruiting primary challengers to knock off Republican incumbentsâand carry that populist message.â
Kuttner points out that âBannonâs current obsession is to blow up Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senate incumbents whom he regards as hostile to his brand of nationalism.â And he acknowledges that  Bannon  can find common ground with left-of-center voters on issues like Wall Street accountability and trade agreements âthat allow cheap labor to compete with domestic labor.â
And Kuttner even concedes that if  Bannon  can find good economic nationalist candidates  âcentrist Democrats could be vulnerable.â
 He  also thinks that Republicans have no business âelecting senators in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania â but âas long as Democrats offer messages that blend Wall Street  globalism  and identity politics and fail to deliver a politics of class uplift  even extremist Republicans could keep winning.â
âIf  Bannon âs criticism of establishment Republicans is withering   his  contempt for the failure of Democrats to take on their own Wall Street wing is boundless â Kuttner concludes.
In a previous interview heard around the world with Kuttner   Bannon  told  him  that so long as Democrats obsess about identity politics  right-of-center economic nationalists will âcrushâ them.
American Prospect editor Robert Kuttner is livid that because of the Democratsâ decades-long betrayal of working-class voters on issues like trade and illegal immigration   former White House Chief Strategist  [TGT]   sees a huge opening to permanently win over these voters who were a monumental part of President Donald Trumpâs historic movement in 2016.
Kuttner visited  Bannon  at the Breitbart Embassy for an on-background conversation last Thursday.  He  writes in the Prospect that âDemocrats  the party of Roosevelt and Truman  of grand public works and strong labor protections  should be making it preposterous for  Bannon â to be the champion of economic populism and is astounded that the two parties are âeven in contention over who is the better friend of working people.â
But  Bannon  realizes that for  him  to successfully âcrushâ Democrats   he  must defeat the corporatist and milquetoast GOP establishment that has often been the Democratsâ best friend by easily allowing the left to portray right-of-center politicians as out-of-touch elitists who have no understanding about the concerns of working-class Americans.
Kuttner points out that  Bannon  is currently âorganizing an electoral machine to Trumpâs right  and certainly to the right of the Republican Senate leadershipâand  he  hopes to bring that leadership down.â
âFor  Bannon   the victory in the Alabama Senate primary of former Judge Roy Moore over Mitch McConnellâs favorite  incumbent Luther Strange  was just the beginning â he writes of the race that  Bannon  described as a battle between Mooreâs âgrassroots muscleâ versus âStrangeâs corporate money.â
Kuttner notes that after Mooreâs victory   Bannon  declared: âThis is a populist nationalist conservative revolt. Itâs a revolt against the elites in this country. Itâs a revolt against the globalists among those elites.â
Unlike the bipartisanship for the 3.8 percent that elites like Chuck Todd insufferably are activists for  Kuttner writes that  Bannon  âcontinues to look for left-right common groundâ on issues that will benefit American workers of all backgrounds.
 Bannon  told Charlie Rose during  his  60 Minutes interview that economic nationalism will be the great unifying force because âas long as youâre an American citizen  youâre part of this populous economic nationalist movement.â
âEconomic nationalism is what this country was built on. The American systemâwe look after our own. We look after our citizen  we look after our manufacturing base â  Bannon  said on 60 Minutes. âAnd guess what? This countryâs going to be greater  more united  more powerful than itâs ever been. This is not astrophysics. And by the way  thatâs every nationality  every race  every religion  every sexual preference.â
 Bannon  also told Rose that the Republican establishment has never believed in the economic nationalist agenda that got Trump and elected and is âtrying to nullify the 2016 election.â
After his conversation with  Bannon   Kuttner writes that  âBannon  believes that if Republicans will just embrace populist economic nationalism  they can become a workersâ party and the majority party for decades to come. Heâs been on the road  recruiting primary challengers to knock off Republican incumbentsâand carry that populist message.â
Kuttner points out that âBannonâs current obsession is to blow up Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senate incumbents whom he regards as hostile to his brand of nationalism.â And he acknowledges that  Bannon  can find common ground with left-of-center voters on issues like Wall Street accountability and trade agreements âthat allow cheap labor to compete with domestic labor.â
And Kuttner even concedes that if  Bannon  can find good economic nationalist candidates  âcentrist Democrats could be vulnerable.â
 He  also thinks that Republicans have no business âelecting senators in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania â but âas long as Democrats offer messages that blend Wall Street  globalism  and identity politics and fail to deliver a politics of class uplift  even extremist Republicans could keep winning.â
âIf  Bannon âs criticism of establishment Republicans is withering   his  contempt for the failure of Democrats to take on their own Wall Street wing is boundless â Kuttner concludes.
In a previous interview heard around the world with Kuttner   Bannon  told  him  that so long as Democrats obsess about identity politics  right-of-center economic nationalists will âcrushâ them.