The Gangs of Washington, D.C.

Posted at 12:34 PM on July 21, 2011 by Eric Ringham (2 Comments)
Filed under: History, Politics

In the beginning was the Gang of Four, a group of radicals close to Mao Zedong in the last years of his life. One of those radicals was Mao's wife, Jiang Qing. The Gang of Four - not to be confused with the post-punk rock band of the same name - was blamed for many of the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, a major spasm of repression that helped China remain a basket case longer than it needed to be.

After Mao died in 1976 the gang was arrested and put on trial. That pretty well ended its influence -- except in the United States, where any group of people trying to accomplish any policy initiative now is known as "the Gang of X," where X equals the number of people involved.

The current plan to resolve the federal debt stalemate is the work of the Gang of Six. In 2005, an attempt by a different group of senators to resolve a crisis over filibusters and avoid the "nuclear option" was ascribed to the Gang of 14. One member of that Gang of 14 was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who also happened to be a member three years later of the Gang of 10, which tried to reform energy policy.

The Gang of Three comprised a trio of New York state senators who wanted to exert political influence out of proportion to their number. The Gang of 18 represents scientists opposed to global warming skeptics. And a third Gang of Four - after the original Chinese gang and the rock band - isn't even made up of people, but of giant Internet firms (Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google).

Seems like a strange legacy for a quartet of deceased Chinese Communist hard-liners. I'm sure they'd find it comforting, though. Otherwise, the Cultural Revolution would be, like, a total loss.

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Comments (2)

The Enigmatic, Mao Zedong, warned his wife, "Do not try to begin a, 'Gang of Four,' to accumulate power." * Is it not interesting to hear the American President and his cabinet constantly refer to or use the lingo and philosophy of Red Chinese Communists?
Good luck to all those who don't think a tyrant won't rid the country of it's disabled, elderly, poor, and Military Veterans. A tyrant who eagerly follows the verse of Chairman Mao (an admitted mass murderer of 800 THOUSAND Chinese People)* will cut the meager life support of our most needy and most vulnerable citizens with alacrity and chilling zeal.
[ * F&W ]
Don White, Nashville area of TN.

Posted by Don R. White | July 21, 2011 2:16 PM

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Ooooooooooooop, you almost got me, Don, what with you sneaky straw man argument:

Is it not interesting to hear the American President and his cabinet constantly refer to or use the lingo and philosophy of Red Chinese Communists?

I'm guessing it wasn't Our Dear Leader/President who used that term first, but the liberal media! In face, this isn't the first time they've used it!

For what it's worth, if anyone's interested in "[cutting] the meager life support of our most needy and most vulnerable citizens with alacrity and chilling zeal" it's the Tea Party Republicans, who bring dishonor and a foul stench to the term "conservative."

I would be interested in what Google search terms you used to get here, Don.

Posted by Tyler | July 22, 2011 9:38 AM

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