It is Romney, the buttoned-down professional who was born to the corporate class and remains its truest exemplar in the current contest, who framed the 2012 debate as starkly it ever will be with his sincere declaration that "corporations are people."
Romney gets it.
There's a class war going on in America.
And the dark prince of oligarchy has taken a stand.
Provoked by a grassroots activist who refused to take spin for an answer, the GOP's CEO candidate revealed why he is running.
Corporations need unapologetic and aggressive representation not just in the judicial branch but in the executive branch of our federal government.
After all, It's not just conservatives on the US Supreme Court who think that corporations should enjoy the same protections and privileges as human beings.
Romney is standing up for the principle that conservatives who would be president must be just as bold when it comes to bending the intent and language of a Constitution that opens with the words "We the People" in order to make it a corporate charter.
If we needed any more confirmation of the necessity for a movement to renew the democratic promise of the American experiment, it came when Romney was confronted by members of Iowa Citizens for Community Involvemen t. When Romney appeared at the Iowa State Fair to pitch his candidacy for the nomination, the Iowa CCI activists demanded to know whether he was going to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Romney tried at first to stick to the spin he was supposed to be peddling to fair-goers who needed some pablum to go with their corn dogs and cotton candy. But the grass-roots activists of Iowa CCI -- a multiracial, urban-and-rural group aligned with the National People's Action movement -- made a "where's-the-beef" demand. And Romney delivered.