"Both Democrats and Republicans dance to the tune of their corporate masters," Flynt said in the essay. "In America, corporations do not control the government. In America, corporations are the government."
Flynt mentions changes in securities laws that led to the recent banking crisis and says that President Obama "cannot stand up to the powerful Wall Street interests that supplied the bulk of his campaign money for the 2008 election. Nor, for that matter, can Congress, for much the same reason."
He then makes a historical note of Shay's Rebellion, a 1786 insurrection in which a Massachusetts farmer, outraged by predatory banking practices, led an attack on the courts and a local armory.
"The rebellion itself failed, but a message had been sent: The bankers (and the politicians who supported them) ultimately backed off," Flynt said.
In the essay, Flynt calls for a national strike, "designed to close the country down for a day," to advocate campaign finance reform and restrictions on lobbying.
"Let's set a date," Flynt said. "No one goes to work. No one buys anything. And if that isn't effective — if the politicians ignore us — we do it again. And again. And again."
The entire essay can be read at the Huffington Post website.
