If silence is golden and actions speak louder than words, the lack of posting on the Pickle for the last two months is a 24-karat megaphone. Believe it or not, I did not have much to say. I think that the most interesting political news over the past 2 months has been Occupy Wall Street, #OWS, #99%, etc. But there has been enough digital ink spilt on that topic to cover the distance between Breitbart.com and the HuffingtonPost and back. I understand the occupiers frustration and hope that their involvement in the social/political conversation in this country will benefit us all. It's a pretty sizable task to take on the powers-that-be (literally) and hope for any real change, but it would be an amazing feat if they could organize some tangible policy changes.
What's more surprising about the OWS movement is that no candidate, individual or group has attempted to funnel this attention into actual power? You'd think someone - President Obama, for example - could gain some real political currency by embracing the frustration and giving it a voice and a persona. Is it that he finds it too politically risky? Is it that he doesn't agree? The type of rhetoric used in his 2008 campaign is remarkably similar to what we've been hearing from the occupiers themselves. Perhaps Obama has missed his chance and is too intertwined with Wall Street banks and big business. I seem to think that he agrees with OWS but cannot come out and say it because he's scared of the political ramifications. Granted, I could be projecting onto Obama what I would want him to do or what I would tell him to do (if I could). To me, playing it safe here is even worse. It either shows a lack of courage which I don't think is the case or a misreading of the strength of the Far Right and GOP candidates.
Mr. President, Romney/Cain/Perry (or any combination of the three) will not beat you in 2012. Please be yourself and tell us what you really think.
Since this is my first post in 2 months, I'm going to take the liberty to throw in some other thoughts too.
It turns out silence is golden if you're Mitt Romney. This guy is going to walk into the nomination simply by NOT commenting on anything. It's remarkable. Play the middle of the road at debates. Ignore petty political in-fighting regarding Rick Perry's hunting habits or Herman Cain's past. And without ever taking any risk to speak of, become the GOP nominee. The John Kerry of the Republican Party. I only say that to reinforce my prediction about 2012. It will be 2004-esque only less competitive.
It only takes a quick glance around the Web today to see stories like Egan in theNYTimes or blogs like this one calling the GOP candidates clowns, amateurs and vain.
This whole campaign season has been a joke. Watch footage of the last debate for further proof. Again, perhaps it's just me, sitting up here in Connecticut, attending law school and growing ever cynical about this country's future (and the weather, as a matter of fact). I don't see the excitement or support for any Republican candidate and I think Perry now sees that it was a huge mistake to join this race. But here we are.
The Americans Elect 2012 movement recently sent me an e-mail asking for nominees for new, different and outside-the-box (it was time for another cliche) candidates for the Presidency. Their motto "Pick a President, not a Party" is gaining traction and I'm starting to get my hopes up, which is never a good thing. I voted for Obama in 2008 and I'm planning to vote for him again unless someone else shows they can say anything of significance and speak for me.
There are major economic and equality issues that run to the core of capitalism, democracy and life in this country. We're still not talking about them. Yes, we want to "create jobs" and "get America working again" but there is no question that Washington (Boehner, McConnell, Pelosi), Romney, Perry and even to some degree Obama are addressing these questions with the same old answers. We're still hearing about manufacturing, home ownership and exporting goods. Really? That's like the newspaper industry trying to embrace the Internet by printing more newspapers.
I was not intending to be a Debbie Downer here. There is hope. Obama has plenty of time to figure this thing out and make 2012 all about the country's future. Sure, his "hope" campaign got mocked a bit for being too idealistic in 2008 and it would be very difficult to run on hope again in 2012. But there is a silent majority out there who is frustrated, tired and confused about where these financial troubles are headed. We are moderates, independents, progressives, libertarians, Democrats and Republicans alike. Many of us aren't as into politics as The Pickle and aren't even paying attention yet. Obama can still be the voice of the people going forward. Can someone else come in and steal his thunder? Yes! It's unlikely but in this digital, milli-second culture. It's possible. It's not coming from the Republicans, I can tell you that much.
Hopefully Obama is hearing the OWSers and getting a sense for the tension that is building across this country. Hopefully he captures that energy and becomes the voice of the millions of people "stuck in the middle." We hear about corporate loopholes that include million dollar bonuses and cannot make sense of our place in this economy. Hopefully someone can. Hopefully that someone is a candidate for President in 2012. It could be Obama. Could it be anyone else?
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Comments
thanks for this great post...
the constitution immobilized american political thought, and the nation has no way to evolve.
this normally leads to dissolution, you could be living in this generation's 'austro-hungarian empire.'
Theoretically, the idea is to gain public support to assist in the training of the politicians. In that, the Occupy Movement has been inversely successful.
Now all Obama has to do is hack out some more platitudes, offer some impotent legislation and point at the Republicans. And still, his chances are 50-50 at best.
@Heidi - I agree. I've been a bit surprised how apprehensive the established Dems have been to embrace OWS. I know it has potential for some mild embarrassment but overall these are progressives in some cases new votes to be won.
Thanks for keeping the conversation going.
The Corporate Occupation of the United States
Our corporate controlled government (through corporate lobbying and election funding ) is out of the peoples control. People want government control back. Makes sense to me... I feel US corporate capitalism (corporatism) is a type of economic fascism: To have a corporate being where the chain of command eventually muddles all responsibility to any human being. These corporate beings are running your life and controlling your government. (Enough to really make an individual mad and protest.) The corporate being does not exist, and when it comes to face it's corporate responsibility, it is a piece of paper. That is plain and simply wrong. Restore capitalism to individual responsible chains of command, or this struggle will be lost. (This also includes corporate lobbying and corporate election funding, being outlawed; and a new form closer to individual control is established.)
Please Sign the petition to amend the Constitution for revoking corporate personhood at:
movetoamend.org
January 20, 2012 – Move to Amend Occupies the Courts!
Move To Amend is planning bold action to mark this
notorious date — Occupy the Courts — a one day occupation
on Friday January 20, 2012, of the Federal Courts, including
the Supreme Court of the United States and as many of the
89 U.S. District Court Buildings as we can. Inspired by Dr. Cornell
West, who was arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court last
month, Move to Amend will lead the charge on the judiciary which
created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights.
http://open.salon.com/blog/kennspace/2011/10/28/corporate_occupation_of_the_united_states_1
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"
--upton sinclair
"One withstands the invasion of armies; one does not withstand the invasion of ideas."
--victor hugo
occupy party reaches critical mass/seismic effect--now what?
When Obama was running for office he had some magic going. He seemed like he was really going to be different than the typical politician. Unfortunately, the truth seems to be that he is just a very talented campaigner.
I'm not going to hope for any politicians to save our economy, unless one really figures out that to lead our country, they have to be truthful first and every time. So far, that simple standard has yet to be met.
It's pretty plain that we have to rebalance some things. Just do it and get on with making our economy and government cohabitate. Quit arguing, misleading, posturing, scaring and blaming instead of solving.
It's ironic that we're expecting our government or President to fix our country. We are the country, not our politicians and we will fix it and the economy eventually, in spite of the politicians.
once again i see that an Obama apologist makes the cover of open salon. obama propaganda one more time. Obama is a war criminal. Obama sold out to the corporatists and I am dismayed he is more teflon than Reagan to the damage wrought to the citizenry.
I wish there were a serious and popular true left candidate. but there is not.
So I wonder if Ron Paul will ultimately benefit. a very savvy political friend brought him up to me this week and i was shocked. I admire him when he calls out the war mongering. I want an FDR type to help us domestically and Ron Paul is quite unsettlingly opposite.
But he has a moral compass about the great American mass murdering machine and he is not a hypocrit as is Obama. history will call Obama the great American and African American Judas.
The worse thing that can and will probably happen is that Obama will be given the opportunity to sheer and slaughter more American sheep in 2012. The sheep will enable him to do this because the craven media and the craven political lobbyists and handlers and media and craven politicians themselves will con with their lying, and they have money to get their lying promises out into the echo chamber. And lazy sheep voters will deny reality and be seduced once again.
the whack jobs on the right? yeah, they are scary. but they serve a purpose. framing obama as palatable as he brings down democracy as they would, too. they might do it faster, with less razzle dazzle pretense, and maybe be stopped by a backlash, whereas obama has the advantage of not as great a backlash given the colossal denial of those "pragmatic" pretend-progressives who can't give up the ghost of Obama hopium. they may never exit the 5 stages of grief.
Similarly, @libbyliberalnyc - first off, I would not delete your comment. It was thought out and clearly an honest representation of your opinion. I have no problem confronting criticisms and trying to get to the bottom of the things that divide us in this country. The truth is that I'm much more moderate and politically centrists than you are and though I consider myself a progressive in certain areas, I'm not a liberal. But the same question applies - you say don't vote for Obama- then who do I vote for? Look at 2008. Is it realistic to write-in a candidate? No. We had to choose between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. Regardless of what we think of Obama, you want him to be a true liberal and I want him to be more assertive with his pragmatism, who else can we vote for? Should I pretend that there will be another option when it's clear the only options will be Obama or Romney? What do you do?
I kinda like the idea of Ron Paul. Combining the libertarian support he already has with anti-corporatism and equality message of OWS. It's not an impossible relationship since both agree on social issues. How do you balance practical/realistic choices with ideal ones? Kinda feels like we're in a pickle.
Take the OWS in NYC. They are complaining about the homeless eating their food. They are bogged down in forms and votes to do some of the basic things that need to be done. Then let's not forget the unaccounted for money. It may or may not have been stolen but who knows.
Look at all of them with the theft, sexual assaults, arson, physical assault. You are know by the company you keep. Do you want to be associated with this bunch?
Perry and Romney. Great pair. They are going nowhere. Even with the push from the media and groups like this they are RINOs and the GOP got burned on that last time and look what happened. We got change and now we hope we want it changed back. We will remember things like the Beer Summit which just demonstrated how far one President can get his foot in his mouth.
Remember this post. If the bad weather or some other act doesn't end the protests soon, there will be nothing left of the Democratic party after the next general elections. It will take decades to undo the damage.
For example, was it government that really overcame the great depression or was it WWII or was it just enough time? Right now all of the developed economies are drowning in too much debt, too many government obligations, too many needs and not enough resources. Too much to pay for, and not enough value being created to pay with. Our economies are in the pitiful position of being dependent on the latest government program to save things. And yet there are plenty of individual companies that are continuing to make good profits, which is a good thing and evidence that the world is really not coming to an end, nor will it.
It seems like we just need to let some devastation happen, and then we can get on with rebuilding. For example, what if we had let the mega banks fail? Would the world have really come to an end? Couldn't we have used the same bailout dollars we used with the mega banks and used it to enable new, smaller banks? Or, couldn't we have used the same dollars that we handed over to the banks to flow thru the public's accounts first, reducing citizen's debt at the same time as reinflating the bank's balance sheets?
Maybe that is just a simpleton's wishful thinking. And I don't pretend to know the answers, but I believe that the cornerstone of our economic strength is our ability to fail and get back up. When one party goes bankrupt, another party comes in and picks up what is valuable from the bankrupt and puts it to work. Activity increases and the real assets continue to produce economic benefits for society.
It seems that the political debate is fairly characterized as two parties, both of whom are scared to death of losing their assets, who are willing to say anything to avoid loss or blame. Fear of loss and blame are the driving forces, and the truth may be that taking a loss is the thing that we have to do in order to get to the place where we can make progress. Unfortunately, falling on one's sword is not part of the political process.
I'm voting for time.