As the latest corporate-media-approved election spectacle draws near, I have a few thoughts, and a proposal.
As you contemplate the Obama-Romney contest, ask yourself: What do I believe?
If you believe, for example, that the United States was, in fact, founded on Christian principles; that the idea of “entitlements” for the poor and disadvantaged is fundamentally misguided; that gay marriage is an existential threat to the institution of marriage itself; that the military is the only federal program that deserves generous funding; that evolution is unproven; that deregulation and the free market are the answers to most of our economic, environmental and social ills…. then you have a clear choice in the Republican Party.
If, on the other hand, you believe in guaranteeing civil rights for gays, ethnic minorities unpopular religious groups; that some regulation is necessary to protect the environment and public safety; that science, not religion, should be taught in science classrooms…. then it’s only natural the vote Democratic.
If, however, in addition to any or all of the above opinions, you also think that the U.S. has no business engaging in unprovoked and immoral wars of choice; that torture is unequivocally unacceptable; that due process and rule of law should be applied equally to all; that economic justice trumps the demands of the free market; that high-quality, affordable higher education should be available to any qualified applicant; that decent health care is a basic right of all citizens; that swindlers, liars and murderers, regardless of position or affiliation, should be held accountable for their crimes….. If you believe all these things, then, I’m sorry to say, you have no party in America today.
It’s time for people who believe these things to say "no more" to the Democratic Party. They don’t represent us and they have no business expecting our votes. When Obama announces that his immediate agenda includes the end of “indefinite detention” and presidentially authorized assassination, the criminal prosecution of Wall Street malefactors, ending corporate control of Congress, the return of due process, seriously progressive taxation, universal health care, debt-free higher education, and the investigation of the Bush administration for war crimes… then I’ll consider giving him my vote.
Till that day comes, and pigs take wing, I have a proposal: the 99% Party. The time has come.
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Kate O'hehir
Heather Michon
Lauren McLaughlin
Bob Simpson
Chauncey DeVega
Mauricio Betancourt
Salon.com
Comments
R
What makes you think that another of the same-old, same-old is going to make things any better? We, both our countries, need to face a few facts. One of those facts is that our present set-up doesn't work for 99% of the population. Is it so hard to believe that a different set-up is needed? Why continue to try to patch up something that doesn't work well even when it is working at its best; something it has no chance of ever doing again.
We're beating a dead horse right now and neither wishful thinking nor 'patches' will change that. We cannot 'wish' or 'repair' our way out of this situation. We simply MUST design and build a different economic system. One whose purpose is to serve ALL of us , not just a few. And we need a social system that removes the tyranny of a pyramidal power structure and replaces it with a horizontal, citizen involved, representative format.
Neither the social system nor the economic system that work well during the developmental years of a nation work effectively once that nation has become well developed. The rules for building a good car are very different from the rules for driving one. It's time to learn to drive.......
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This is not the time for a third party...but it might be time for the 99% to start agitating for a change to a parliamentary form of government...which might open the door for viable other political parties.
Hope I am wrong; that you are closer to right; and that something of consequence happens, but I am not holding my breath. I think humans with money and status will ALWAYS corrupt leadership no matter what. And I honestly can think of no instance where that has not been the case so far.
This probably should include a major electoral reform process.
Sorry to be harsh, but Utopia exists only in the minds of those who imagine they live somewhere other than the real world. In the real world, one of the two major parties wins EVERY time. You may see it as a vote for the lesser of two evils, fair enough, but a vote for the lesser of two evils is still far better than not voting or throwing away your vote on some third-party candidate with zero chance of being anything more than a historical footnote.
Do you really think this country would be the same shape today if millions of blue-collar voters hadn't abandoned the Democratic Party for the American Independent Party and George Wallace in 1968? The result of that third-party voting was a criminal Richard Nixon got elected instead of Hubert Humphrey, who very likely would have ended the Vietnam War much sooner.
And what about 2000 and third-party votes that went to Ralph Nader rather than Al Gore? Do you really think we'd have gone to war with Iraq under President Gore? Do you really think Gore would have appointed the equivalent of John Roberts and Sam Alito to the Supreme Court, cursing us with the Citizens United decision?
In short, where I come from such foolishness is called what is: Cutting off your nose to spite your face.