America’s Emerging Single Party System

By Krell, RoundTree7

July 7, 2011 | with select original comments 

Regular Democratic rally: meeting of the deluded

Republicans and Democrats… to even suggest that they may be the same thing seems absurd to some, invoking strong debate or personal attacks by others. It’s “Us versus Them” for the political landscape and future of the country, right?

But if you look at the actions of both parties, the actual policies and voting records, the wide dividing line between the parties becomes narrow and blurred.

There is a saying that goes…  “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…”

Let’s look at the facts and try to separate the Ducks from the Mallards. Review some of the talking points that Democrats use to distinguish themselves from their “lessor” counterparts.

Labor

Of course, everyone knows that the Democrats are for Labor and Republicans are pro-business. It’s been that way for many years, right? But wasn’t Clinton the one who was responsible for NAFTA? Why should the manufacturing base stay in the United States when they can get the labor for 2 dollars per hour and ignore any benefits or environmental laws.

Sure Reagan fired the Air Traffic controllers with their labor strike but when has any Democratic president stuck up for labor in a dispute? Just where were those walking shoes that we heard about in the Obama campaign when Wisconsin was having its teachers and firemen being trampled on?

Social Issues (Poverty, Health Care, etc)

Again we can return to Bill Clinton for the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act” which dropped the bomb on about half of those on the assistance rolls.

Do I need to even mention what Social Security and Medicare is going through today? These hard-fought improvements to society are being put on the bargaining table mainly because of the three card Monte game that was played by Wall Street and the Investment Bankers.

Here’s an idea… why not make the ones that gained the most from the economic shell game pay the most to restore the nation and the middle class? Instead of the obvious, both parties are thinking of new ways to inform the nation of austerity.

Environment

The BP environmental disaster and the complete lack of updates for offshore drilling regulations and economic responsibility for those “green CO2 free nuclear reactors”  that Obama was so beholden to from his home state.  Of course,  Obama did sign a bill protecting more than 2 million acres of wilderness and miles of scenic rivers. But it was a bill that was started by the Bush administration and all Obama had to do was sign it.

Speaking of signing, who signed the “Clean Air Act” in 1970? Richard Nixon.  And here is a list of 17 Democrats that recently voted against enforcement of the Clean Air Act’s climate rules:

Sens. Baucus (D-MT), Begich (D-AK), Hagan (D-NC), Levin (D-MI), Brown (D-OH), Casey (D-PA), Conrad (D-ND), Johnson (D-SD), Klobuchar (D-MN), Pryor (D-AR), Stabenow (D-MI), Landrieu (D-LA), Manchin (D-WV), McCaskill (D-MO), Nelson (D-NE), Rockefeller (D-WV), Webb (D-VA)

Confusing, huh?

How about stripping protection for wolves in five Western states and actually undoing an initiative to protect public land that was put in the budget bill from his own Secretary of the Interior?

War

The clear distinction of who is most likely to use war as foreign policy is blurred beyond any noticeable difference with the Obama administration. With a political window of ending the war in Iraq and Afghanistan after his election, he chose to proceed not only with both war fronts, but went on to create a few more.

When questioned about the constitutionality of his policies, this Democratic administration responded by trying to “redefine” what constitutes war, insisting that because remote-controlled drone missile strikes do not put US soldiers in harms way, technically it is not a war.

I wonder if China decided to do a drone strike on a Chinese dissenter in Chicago, killing several women and children in the process, if that definition would still be applied?

Foreign Policy

I could bring up countless documents from WikiLeaks that support the idea the that one of the State Department primary functions is to protect “National Interests”- like keeping wages low in Haiti for Levi Strauss Jeans, or suppressing reports of the use of child labor for making shoes.

A question I ask… If the government is not supposed to be in business, an idea that is screamed about by the Teabaggers, then what exactly does protecting ‘National Interests” mean? Interests is another word for resources and who gets those resources to market but corporations? Both parties use the nation’s diplomatic pressure and military might as the corporate policeman… or a more apt definition, the “corporate strong-arm.”

The New Corporate Constituency

With the recent Supreme Court developments such as “Citizens United” and the class action lawsuit being thrown out against Wal-Mart and the tremendous amounts of wealth being concentrated into a smaller and smaller percentage of the US population, a new powerful political dynamic of society has formed.

It requires enormous amount of money to even begin a political race. The amounts of money required to get elected has produced a situation where it is no longer a choice of taking corporate money, it’s an essential fact. The only choice to be made is what corporation to be beholden to. To whom does the political candidate sell his soul ?

So why do corporations give money? Is there anyone left in this country so naive as to believe that corporations and super political action committees don’t buy political process for their money? That the end “product” purchased is political favors and bias? Of course it is, why else would they do it?

So the vicious political cycle is formed. More and more money is required each election to get elected, which requires more and more funding from corporate interests. The reality of politics is that you have to play by these rules or you are not even in the game. A spiral that grows greater and greater in depth with each new election cycle.

The Republicans sell the corporatism as “freedom from government” to which false patriotism can play a part. While the Democrats sell the corporatism as denial, dangling the chance of those “crazies” getting elected as their only defense. Of course there will be some “issues” that will tie up the political election process. Some meat for the grinders and main stream media to setup the “big game” of election time. Meanwhile the actual results caused by the political circus keeps getting closer and closer to the same thing, year after year.

But make no mistake, the quacking noises made by both sides are producing the same results, while the pond is being drained right under our noses.

Three party system in America? Hell, I would settle for a 2 party system.

By the way, the inductive reasoning implied by the phrase “But when I see a bird that quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, has feathers and webbed feet and associates with ducks—I’m certainly going to assume that he IS a duck.” was used by a Democrat during the McCarthyism era to label his opponent a communist.

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Filed Under: Commentary, corporate greed, Featured, History, Politics, progressives Tagged With: Claire McCaskill, Clean Air Act, Democratic, McCarthyism, Republican, Richard Nixon, United States, Wikileaks

Comments

  1. The Badger says:
    July 7, 2011 at 4:45 pm
    I get your point. The whole thing sucks. Career politicians whose only true interest is re-election. I happen to think that right now more than any other time we’re ripe for a third party. Actually depending on what Obama caves on with the “entitlements”. Look for Bloomberg to react to what Obama’s numbers are. Good luck America.

    REPLY 
    • Krell says:
      July 7, 2011 at 5:03 pm
      One of the points that I was trying to make is the inevitable convergence of both parties because of the amount of money that is required to even play the political game. With corporations gaining more power and the merging of companies into conglomerates, even the selling of ones political soul will become uniform because of the intertwining of corporate interests.
      Unfortunately, the least organized and financially able to contribute will be the disenfranchised majority that needs to have the “wool pulled over their eyes” to continue to get the vote majority. The extent that this can be done with each political cycle is going to become the “game plan” of the elections. More and more of the diversion with less and less of the solution.
      Personal lives of the politicians, sex habits, labeling, swift-boating, and sound bites of the stars is what we have to look forward to. Tactics that should never be under-estimated.

      REPLY 
  2. Keith Barger says:
    July 7, 2011 at 6:07 pm
    Public financing of all candidates and absolutely no private spending permitted is the only way to clear the air. Bulworth (movie) nailed this. The money makes it all go to shit. Because candidates need a massive amount of money to be “viable” (i.e. in the corporations back pocket) they have to spend all their time raising money. They then pay this corporate money back to other corporations who own the media to share their message. The airwaves should belong to “we the people.”
    To you reading this … if you are registered a Democrat so that you can choose the most liberal candidate in the primary, stop deluding yourself. The most liberal candidate will become just another corporate pawn. What we need is for everyone who knows this column to be true to register for a real party that is actually different. I’m a Green, a Pacific Green from Oregon. Our candidates are not for sale.

    REPLY 
    • Once a liberal says:
      July 7, 2011 at 7:49 pm
      You are right about the masses (especially people who think there is actually a difference in the parties) deluding themselves. To become viable they (politicians) must sell their soul to the corporate devils, and stay beholden to them unless they wish to lose office. Campaign Finance Reform will never be enacted because no one (but the people most powerless to change it) want the status quo to change. With the income disparity worsening every year, real reform may only be achievable through open revolt.

      REPLY 
    • Krell says:
      July 8, 2011 at 8:57 pm
      Keith, I am currently spending the weekend doing my investigation of the Green Party in my state. Although I live in a southern RED state, I am done with the politics of the Democrats or Republicans. I can no longer vote with a clear conscience to the present situation and “2 party system” and corrupt business as usual. Will I be voting for the winner in the near future? Certainly not in the near future and perhaps never. But I will be able to sleep at night knowing I did the right thing.
      Thank you for stopping by and giving your thoughts.

      REPLY 
  3. Mudge says:
    July 8, 2011 at 7:10 pm
    No news to me. I’ve been a Green for 14 years. The Dems & Reps are just playing good cop/bad cop with us.

    REPLY 
    • Krell says:
      July 8, 2011 at 8:59 pm
      Good cop / Bad cop or perhaps all bad pirates dividing up the loot. I’m beginning to feel that 14 years of being a Green is a 14 year head start on me. Thanks for your thoughts, Mudge.

      REPLY 
  4. Jack Jodell says:
    July 9, 2011 at 8:56 am
    Gore Vidal once said wisely, long before any of our current mess had developed, “”There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party . . . and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt – until recently . . . and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties.”

    REPLY 
    • Krell says:
      July 9, 2011 at 10:50 am
      I cannot think of Gore Vidal without picturing those epic “discussions” that occurred when he was around William F Buckley. In particular, when Gore Vidal called Buckley a “crypto Nazi”. Back then the fireworks were spontaneous and not “rehearsed” for the benefit of ratings. Although not as eloquent as Chomsky, Vidal certainly could express his opinion with the best of them.
      His saying there is no difference back then and seeing how much they have drawn together since then shows a trend that seems inevitable.

      REPLY 
  5. Gwendolyn H. Barry says:
    July 9, 2011 at 9:06 am
    The advances of The Great Society are lost on today’s culture. The ideals of leaders like Ike, LBJ … had a safe zone of being partisan while safely inviting and embracing a few supporters from the ‘other side’…they still represented….We are absent of true ethics, values, substantial political leadership…. really, since Teddy crossed…. besides the Independent Bernie S. we seem alone. The true leaders in politics are very few, very far between. It’s a UNIPARTY vying for the largest payoff in many cases. Some play it strategically safe, like Pelosi…. putting up her true liberal values only to sell them out to remain in power, in the end. Obama sold us out even before he took office. He was “The Candidate” finally come to us for test run. And the general population are so confused and so needful to have leadership that they ‘choose the lesser of two evils’ instead of resourcing their backbone and voting for a new candidate… it’s tragic and it’s our ending. Unless we stand up to this and bite back. I don’t think it deluded to reach out to the people who are dumbfounded and confused by the UNIPARTY politics and demand their attention. I think we are tying to do that on RT7. I think most like minded folks are reaching via the internet to make a wave build.
    Yeah, all bad pirates, Krell. All bad pirates. Let’s make them walk the plank. Or better yet… as I’m for the bloody, lets keel haul ‘em. Arrgh?

    REPLY 
    • Krell says:
      July 9, 2011 at 11:04 am
      Some would debate on the Obama selling out or Obama just being himself and his CAMPAIGN for election was the true deception. Regardless, IMHO… Obama put the nail in the coffin for a lot of new people reaching out for true change by way of the American political system as it stands today.
      The youth of today is smart, savvy, and technologically light years ahead of the previous generation. But what they don’t have is patience. If they cannot see the changes that they demand, they will seek out alternative methods and end runs to achieve it.
      I have come to realize that the lesser of two evils is just a lesser evil. Change is not going to be achieved by bumper stickers and political conventions with red, white, and blue hats. But change is going to occur! Forces such as WikiLeaks and Anonymous are just the top of a large glacier. The part that visible right now. But underneath the water is a LARGE mass of change just waiting to make it’s mark.
      Like minds bringing knowledge for the social consciousness. It’s the reason that RT7 was formed.

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Anti-Semitism, Manifest Destiny and When the Indigenous Becomes the Interloper

By AL OSORIO
All manner of injustice and violence is hidden in the fog of time and adulterated history.

 

IDF soldier

A gift from God

Following centuries of Diaspora,  the Jewish people returned to their ancestral homeland . Eretz Israel, the land of Israel, the Promised Land. Promised to them by God, fulfilling prophecy from the Old Testament. Following centuries of religious persecution, the Christian people sought and found their own promised land, sailing across the sea to establish a colony in what is now Massachusetts.

They knocked, but no one answered the door

Palestine was sparsely settled, nomadic tribes foraged for food. “A land without people for a people without land”. Israel made the desert bloom. They delivered the blessings of Western civilization to the native tribes. The land discovered by the Christians was sparsely settled, nomadic tribes foraged for food from sea to shining sea. Manifest Destiny allowed these colonists to spread across the land, fulfilling their destiny as granted to them by God. 

The natives already knew they were there
–
Natives already inhabiting the Promised Land viewed their cities, businesses and crops, their churches, mosques and synagogues as evidence of civilization. Some felt their desert already bloomed. Upwards of 120 million Indians populated north America, with nomadic tribes, small villages of hundreds and large cities with hundreds of thousands sharing the continent. All 120 million were aware of their existence and had no need of being discovered.
–
Some claim the natives and the colonists are indistinguishable Supporters of Israel contend European Jews originated from the Holy Land. Bill Maher says both Arabs and European Jews are ‘Children of the desert‘. Bill might point to the above pictures of the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian young woman as proof – other than headgear the two could be brother and sister. Well, headgear and skin color. Maybe facial features too. Yeah, and hair and eye color. But other than those things, they could be brother and sister. Others might say the two are easy to tell apart, as one might compare the facial features and color of the young Indian-Mexican mixed blood on the left and the European-American below and discern the obvious ethnic difference.
–
Present day
Palestinians have been denied the right of return to their land, although those of the Jewish religion are allowed to immigrate to Israel at will. Both descendants of those Europeans who emigrated in the twentieth century as well as new European colonists insist the land is theirs. They see Palestinians as intruders. Indians migrated south tens of thousands of years ago, some staying in settlements along the way while others trekked onward. Now some Indians move north again, returning to the land where their fellow Uto-Aztecan linguistic group speakers settled fifty thousand years ago. They are branded foreigners, told to go back where they came from – even though that’s exactly what they’re doing. The Europeans now consider themselves indigenous – and they consider the indigenous to be foreign.  No one should be expected to do penance  for the sins of their forefathers. Descendants of slave owners do not bear personal guilt for the bondage of the enslaved. A child in Tokyo bears no responsibility for the crimes of Imperial Japan in Nanking. No Sunni living today victimized Hussein at Karbala. Neither do a people cease to have relevance or history should a more powerful people render them powerless. Hitler could not destroy European Jewry, Tamerlane could not destroy Persia. Tlacaelel could not rewrite the history of the Aztec, nor could Pol Pot change Cambodia’s past.
–
What I find most troubling about the occupation of Palestine is the attempt to create a mythology around what one could term a garden variety ethnic cleansing and conquest, as has happened since man first discovered the weapons he hunted with could also be used against his fellow man. Tribe conquers tribe, nation conquers nation. The loser is driven from their land, murdered, vilified. Made to look ridiculous. When enough time passes and no threat remains, the former enemy may be romanticized, granted a certain savage nobility. Were  Palestinians to cease their struggle some future Israeli film project would undoubtedly address the Nakba in ‘Belly Dances with Wolves‘. If the conquered nation is seen by its conqueror as having an intrinsic cultural value, the conqueror may assume the trappings of the subject nation. Witness the Golden Horde or the Yuan dynasty, both among the khanates following the death of Genghis Khan. Ah, but the invader claiming ancestral religious privilege in a land foreign to their race –
–
I don’t know if that gambit has been tried before. As Christians invaded the New World they claimed land for their religion, Muslim armies swept across Asia spreading  Islam. So if a convert to a religion returns to a land where that religion originated – does that convert’s presence override the rights of those native to that land? Or is it only when the converts have the numbers and weaponry to overcome those currently living in the territory that a foreign colonist may claim ancestral privilege by reason of religion? More succinctly, is ancestral religious privilege only for European Jews?  What if an Indian/Hispanic whose ancestors converted to Catholicism seizes an apartment in the Vatican – throwing its present occupant into the proverbial street – does ancestral religious privilege apply there? Should the Italian who lived there be forced to live in a tent and be denied the right of return?
–
I would caution anyone feeling concern for this hypothetical Italian tent dweller not to be too hasty – the real victim would be the Indian/Hispanic, who would now have to fear the Italian someday trying to return to his old apartment. The only way to allay his fear would be to fire rubber bullets into the tent, in hopes this would cause the Italian to either take his life or move to another country and stop terrorizing the new apartment dweller by his presence. Quo Vadis? Maybe a modern version of the Yuan Dynasty awaits Eretz Israel and Manifest Destiny. Kublai Khan conquered China, subjugating one fifth of the world’s land area. Confucian philosophy and Sinocentrism overcame Mongol conventions and customs. Perhaps demographics will absorb the European cultures. Waves of Indian and Mestizo economic refugees will continue north, Palestinian birth rates will continue to outstrip those of their  European overlords. Demographics are the friend of the submerged classes. We live in interesting times.
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Comments from the original thread

  1. jackjodell53 says:
    Outstanding insight into both history and the human condition, Oso! It was relevant and fitting that you compared the evil present-day Israelis are committing against their Palestinian brothers with Manifest Destiny and the actions of other conquerors and warriors beforehand. Humankind ALWAYS goes to excess and makes horrible mistakes when it thinks and believes God is on our side. It leads to actions which are anything BUT Godlike!
    • oso says:
      Thank you Jack. ‘God is on our side’ sums up so much of the carnage and suffering throughout history. Sad that something which is so comforting to its followers (like yourself and me) can do so much harm towards others. I can understand how some are repelled by its excesses.
  2. It has been my fascination to discover and learn about cultures… every since I was a child. I traveled all my life. I still love it. I built my business around my respect and curiosity for the Ancestors and the one resounding truth among them all is that we are all children of the Earth Mother. Science tells us we all traveled out of Africa across land bridges or by boat throughout the world and our seed of life is made of stardust. The San tribe of Africa carry the DNA of all races and you can see the brother/sisterhood in the faces of their tribe… some look Asian, some Indigenous American, some very WASP….
    We are all brothers and sisters…. and the time has come to face our common enemy… those who profit and destroy the future generations. Look in the mirror … there is GOD. We must take responsibility for ourselves and our choices… stop placing it on the Unknowable or Unseen. It’s barbaric. It’s time to define the Unknown / Unseen from within ourselves.
    From my observation of the one GOD….. he’s a barbarian. Worse. He’s merely the boogieman we give all glory or all blame to … like cowards. We don’t step up to the consequences and so we move along as the barbarian hordes giving service to the real earthly GODS who bank all of our hard work and fuck us back over again to use it to survive.
    I mean no harm to you my Brother, Oso or Jack or any other ‘believer’…. I feel and think much as the Indigenous cultures do, we must take responsibility for ourselves before it’s too late … and science is beginning to say it IS too late. Pray toward heaven…. row toward shore.
    Oso, we live in the days of individual choice for evolution or extinction. I choose evolution.
  3. Krell says:
    The colliding of cultures has a long history of tragedy. Rarely does fair play a part and never does the absorbed get to write the history books. This was a very fascinating post, Oso. I’m going to give some more thought and possibly come back for another comment if you don’t mind. Excellent!

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Thanks to a Congress of outright criminals and hypocrites


Big Pharma a Big Winner in Health Care Reform

— By James Ridgeway|   [print_link]

obama.sellingHealthcare

Obama selling healthcare "reform".

The Republicans look a sour lot this morning, but the pharmaceutical industry appears more than content with the health care legislation passed by the House, and with its Democratic friends in the White House and on the Hill.

Big Pharma helps foot the campaign bills of a sizeable chunk of members of Congress, and both parties generally lined up behind the insurance and drug industries from the get-go. So it should come as no surprise that the Democrats, who long ago gave up any pretence of opposing corporate power, found a way to accomodate the pharmaceutical companies on the way to passing their tepid reform. To a large extent, the “debate” over health care was a show debate, an extended round of Washington smoke and mirrors. The administration cut its deal with Big Pharma early on, and pretty much stuck to it throughout the process.

In fact, the Dems actually made the drugsters look good, celebrating the industry’s generous “concessions” and “discounts” while ensuring that no real threat to Big Pharma’s profits would make their way into the final bill. The industry’s main goal from the very beginning has been to fend off any government power to negotiate or seriously regulate drug prices—and this they did. Big Pharma’s second big win was to prevent any measure that would have opened the way for American consumers to buy less expensive drugs abroad, especially from Canada.

At the same time, the supposed give-backs by the drug industry are projected to more than pay for themselves. The much-lauded discounts on brand-name drugs for seniors in the Medicare prescription drug program, for example, are good for Big Pharma because they discourage oldsters from switching to generics, or giving up meds they can’t afford. (And just to be safe, the drug companies jacked up prices on their bestselling brand-name drugs this year.) Finally, more insured people simply means more money coming into the coffers, for Big Pharma as well as for the health insurance industry.

Confirmation of the industry analysis came early in the day from the stock market, where drug stocks initially remained level; there certainly was no rush to dump shares, which is what would happen if the bill actually represented any threat to profits. And by 1 p.m., CNN Money was reporting a rally in health care stocks.

“I was unable to find anything in there that would cause me to have anxiety if I were a shareholder in a pharmaceutical company,” Ira Loss, a senior health-care analyst at the research firm Washington Analysis, told Dow Jones. According to the ticker story:

Billy Tauzin, who led the industry’s negotiations on health care with lawmakers, said overall drug makers fare well. “While we’re not totally happy,” Tauzin began, “we generally feel like it tracks with our principles.”

Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) Chief Executive Christopher Viehbacher said in an interview that the impact of the legislation will be neutral to slightly negative “but better for the industry than if healthcare reform didn’t pass.”

Tauzin, head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America or PhRMA, and Viehbacher said getting protection for brand-name biologics is among the important provisions for the industry. Drug makers pushed hard to get 12 years of exclusive market protection while the White House and some lawmakers wanted to lower the protection to seven years.

Despite fees and rebates imposed by the legislation, “analysts say drug makers will end up recouping those costs through new customers: The bill would provide insurance coverage to an additional 32 million Americans.” The Dow Jones story continues:

Chalk up another good round for Pharma and Biotech in health care reform,” began a note to clients Friday from Concept Capital, a research firm. Ken Tsuboi, co-manager of the Allianz RCM Wellness Fund, sees the impact of bill, and its $90 billion in concessions over 10 years, as relatively minor in an industry that has annual global sales of about $750 billion, with about $300 billion in the U.S., and margins close to 30%.”I think that it is actually a pretty good deal for Pharma,” Tsuboi said.

The GOP, which purports to be the party of big business, ought to be applauding at least these portions of the health care reform legislation—and perhaps when the cameras go away, some of them will quit bitching and count their blessings. As for the obnoxious Tea Party gang, if they start threatening the real power in this country, which is vested in corporations, they may well find themselves whipped and isolated.

James Ridgeway is a senior correspondent at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here.