I subscribe to Rep. Dennis Kucinich's channel on YouTube, which is really nice because I receive updates in my email alerting me to new videos he has uploaded. Kucinich, who is a Democratic Congressman from Ohio, was my first choice for "mainstream candidate" for president. What that meant was: I was again inspired to participate in watching preliminary debates on television, reading and making comments on the issues discussed during these debates, and allowing myself to enjoy this rare opportunity to participate as myself in the broader U.S. political process. But the experience was cut short. The DNC and our corporate-owned mainstream media (again with the help of the U.S. Supreme Court) undemocratically forced Dennis Kucinich out of the presidential debates in a remarkable 11th hour stunt that bore shocking similarities to the stolen election of 2000. This corporate government apparatus has become so emboldened that it doesn't even try to hide its election corruption.
Kucinich is just too truthful for the powers that actually run this country. The Democratic National Committee can't allow that. He's been drawing attention to their misdeeds, and Americans might get a bit too uppity if they learn that the DNC is in bed with the RNC, or if we begin to put two-and-two together about how:
* DNC-sponsored Democrats refused to wage any real fight against the 2000 coup that denied thousands of African Americans their right to vote.
* DNC-sponsored Democrats voted for the illegal war with Iraq.
*DNC-sponsored Democrats continue to help fund this oil war with billions of tax dollars and borrowed money to keep it going (which also kills more innocent Iraqis and American soldiers - lest we forget).
* DNC-sponsored Democrats helped pass the USA Patriot Act, and, believe it or not,
*DNC-sponsored Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the most recent vote to give away $700 billion of our money to Wall Street fat cats even without the necessary safeguards for American taxpayers and homeowners or an idea of where that money will come from ultimately. Shocking? It shouldn't be.
(By the way, I also support the Socialist Worker's Party candidacies across the board, but that will bea topic for a later piece, because I do believe it's important for people to understand why the role of the SWP is so significant for our future).
So I was watching a few of the newer Kucinich videos offered on YouTube that related to the $700 + BILLION corporate bailout (aka: the Rape of the American People). The first video (link below) is a 1:39 minute-long clip where Kucinich is addressing the House of Representatives on September 28th regarding the criminality of corporate greed and the government practice of running the American economy like a drunkard at a craps table.
Kucinich:
"The $700 billion bailout for Wall Street is being driven by fear, not fact.
This is too much money in too short of time time going to too few people while too many questions remain unanswered.
Why aren't we having hearings on the plan we just received? Why aren't we questioning the underlying premise of the need of a bailout with taxpayers' money? Why have we not even considered any alternatives other than to give $700 billion to Wall Street? Why aren't we asking Wall Street to clean up its own mess? Why aren't we passing new laws that stop the speculation which triggered this? Why aren't we putting up new regulatory structures to protect the investors? How do we even value the $700 billion in toxic assets? Why aren't we directly helping homeowners with their debt burden? Why aren't we helping American families faced with bankruptcy? Why aren't we reducing debts for Main Street instead of Wall Street?
Isn't it time for fundamental change in our debt-based monetary system, so we can free ourselves from the manipulation by the Federal Reserve and the banks?
Is this the United States Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?"
Brilliant. Of course the transcript lacks Kucinich's powerful delivery, but you can see it yourself here:
Kucinich: Is this the US Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?
I'm convinced that had Kucinich been a politician during the corrupt downturn of Ancient Rome, he would need to give second thought to drinking from his wine goblet. I'm also convinced that Kucinich's integrity and his valor will make history.
The second Kucinich clip from September 27th, already has nearly 50,000 views and over 300 viewer comments after just three days. People are scared. People are furious.
Kucinich: And this is the system we're saving?
Of course along with the energy generated by reading insights from fellow Americans comes the inevitable commentators who still don't get it. Those tend to fall into two basic categories: the mouth-foaming right-wing thug or the compliant, ever-frustrated Democrat. The former type uses any sign of liberal lean or Democratic philosophy to springboard the discussion toward some disjointed diatribe of crude name-calling and simplistic stereotyping, à la Bill O'Reilly. The latter still believes in this system (by golly) and is a good little Democrat. This person also uses the discussion to form simplistic solutions and offer apologetic justifications for wasting yet another election prostrate to "lesser-evil" politics. Most often this hopeful Democrat repeats whatever the Democratic party puts forward - just like the right-winger feeds off Rush Limbaugh's sputum.
Now Neo, will you choose the red pill or the blue pill? (reference from The Matrix).
I came across the following comment while reading the YouTube message board for one of the Kucinich videos offered above:
mrfyer: "It is biblical what is happening now to our economy. The result of making money a false idol. Greedy Republicans have almost destroyed our country. Our only hope is to vote all Democrat in November."
Our ONLY hope?
Two things come to mind immediately: 1. At least the commenter reveals that he/she is informed by superstition; and 2. Whenever I read or hear this sort of backward rhetoric by people still deluded into believing the DNC will actually change the status quo, parts of me begin to twitch and my mood turns.
This sort of inexcusable misinformation affects me even more adversely than hearing George The Lesser (George W. Bush) muse over how great it would be if America were a dictatorship - especially if HE got to be the dictator. While the right-wing schemers certainly are an obvious threat to freedom and liberty, at least they're open about it. It's the liars who pretend to be "leaders for change" and covertly use the desperation and confusion of beleaguered working people to lead us off cliffs like lemmings that I find especially abhorrent.
I have not made - nor kept - many Democrat friends since I admonished the "Anyone But Bush" travesty of 2004, pegging it early as a dangerous and cynical campaign. My view on this was not popular. I was a party-pooper while my Democratic friends wanted to partake in the fun - don their Kerrey-Edwards t-shirts and throw back a few beers at the tailgate soirée.
The "Anyone But Bush" campaign was a directive sent down by the DNC for weary American voters to give them a free ride. As long as they aren't Bush! That was the "progressive" battle cry issued after a stolen election, a preemptive war, the USA Patriot Act and torture. And it even fit neatly on a bumper sticker: Anyone But Bush.
Wow. How easy was that? No need for critical research... No need to ask questions of the Democrats who let all this bad stuff happen. No need to think for ourselves. Just vote for the Democrats and all will be well.
Well ... all is not well. My college-aged son still doesn't have health insurance, and I'm very worried for him. This war is still going on. Many people are on the verge of losing their homes and finding themselves in ever-increasing debt. And Bush/Cheney are still not impeached for their treasonous crimes. All we got for our loyalty to the DNC was stinkin' Nancy Pelosi. Gee thanks.
Speaking of anyone who isn't Bush, didn't Lieberman run on the same ticket as Al Gore? And what of John Kerrey? All-too recently he was touted as the savior-du-jour - signed, sealed and delivered by the Democratic Party (and paid for by the souls of desperate Americans). But hey, he wasn't Bush.
And then there was Clinton (William Jefferson). He had to change his position on abortion so Democrats could stomach him, and he could win the election. But before you knew it, he was the Democrats' poster president. Super slick. And he looked so cool playing his sax with his sleeves rolled up. Apparently starving Iraqi children didn't take his breath away. William Clinton is to Democrats what Ronald Reagan is to Republicans. Clinton is simply off limits when it comes to criticism, because it's really not about him. It's about winning and losing.
Yes, Clintons' atrocities (both Bill's and Hillary's) magically fade from the memories of die-hard Democrats who make all sorts of contorted justifications for them. They may be corporate war-mongering hacks, but they're OUR corporate war-mongering hacks. After all, we Democrats have to band together or we'll lose the game (again) and only have a stickin' bag of peanuts to show for it.
Numb your mind to the fact that while we were looking toward the next election with each of these people I have mentioned, tens of thousands of Iraqis were dying. Never mind that William Jefferson Clinton pushed along the right-wing agenda better than any Republican could have. Sure it was all cloaked in Democrat-approved rhetoric, but the results were anything but progressive. What a masterful diversion. Clinton paved the way for Bush The Lesser and even weeded the cracks for the right wing advance. And I fear Barack Obama will be doing the same damn thing. He's already started with his ridiculous right-wing rhetoric about Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea ... and even Venezuela for crying out loud!
Maybe Chavez isn't Obama's friend. Has Obama taken up watching the 700 Club for his spiritual and political guidance now that he's turned away from the much better preacher, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright? Regardless, Chavez IS a friend to the people. So who's side is Obama on?
Well at least he's black. Does that automatically make him "hip" to significantly changing this criminal system?
Condoleezza Rice is black, and she isn't hip to anything at all. Does she even have a soul? Still, she IS a woman. Why not consider her for president and just get both Things out of the way now, so we can finally be free focus on substance, not surface, before it's too late.
Hillary Clinton is a woman, but she's not a candidate I want my daughters looking up to. One of the most important reasons is she voted YES to Cheney's and Bush's (and Halliburton's) oil war. Does she own stock?
(A random thought: Imelda Marcos... We could have had her as our very own woman dictator - considering she's not Bush and all. * Vetting potential future candidates for the DNC *
It's really a shame that the thing we most remember about Ferdinand Marcos' corrupt presidency in the Philippines was Imelda's great collection of shoes (after their overthrow, the Marcoses fled in exile to the U.S., and Imelda's closet was discovered to have over 2500 pair of shoes). ANY ONE BUT BUSH, AND A WOMAN TOO!)
Just think.
Over and over, round and round we go. Election after election the same old pick-up lines are used to woo the tired, the hungry, the gutted, and the trampled. They go something like this:
* "Yeah I know she voted for that war in Iraq ... and then she voted for the USA Patriot Act ... and sure, she spews threatening rhetoric against Iran ... and sometimes she tells outright lies during speeches and town hall meetings. But she's a Democrat! And it's about time we had a woman for president!"
Voting for an over-privileged, sarcastic, lying, warmongering politician (man OR woman) - no matter if she has done or said some decent things over the years - is NOT the way to seize the moment and advocate for the empowerment of women now or in our future. May we inform our daughters (and sons) better.
* "He's GOT to sound like them, or he won't win! He HAS to lie to get things done. The only way to change things is from the inside."
Yeah, I can hardly wait for the election of 2012. I've already got my campaign slogan picked out: "Anyone But Bush!"
*"We have to get a(ny) Democrat in there, because in the next 4 years, the next appointment to the Supreme Court could be at stake!"
This has been an especially effective pick-up line perpetrated by the DNC for as long as I can remember. You see, it's a perfect win-win for them. If anyone breaks rank and votes their conscience - for a candidate who tells the truth and has shown integrity over time (i.e.NOT the DNC's choice of candidate) - the DNC will absolve itself of any responsibility for the outcome of our country's rightward shift. It'll be all your fault that a Republican gotinto office, instead of the Republicrat the DNC chose for us. I can hear the rant: "Hey, we told you what would happen if you didn't vote the way we told you to, you ignorant bastard." ). The DNC would be happier if you didn't vote AT ALL than for you to vote for those Perot or Nader or Kucinich guys. On second thought, then the DNC wouldn't have anyone else to blame for its own misleadership.
* "I agree that (fill in name) is the best candidate, but he/she could never win the election, because: he's too short / she's too radical / he has a funny name (but his wife is really hot!) / (fill in the blank with any other irrelevant drivel)."
(In Season 1, Episode 17 of House M.D., -"Role Model"- House is diagnosing the condition of a black presidential candidate (Senator Gary H. Wright, played by Joe Morton), whom House is convinced must have AIDS, despite the candidate's denial.
House: "Everybody lies."
House pokes at the politician from all possible angles: insinuating that he's either not REALLY as truthful or righteous as he comes across in public (he IS a politician after all), or he's woefully naive and unrealistically optimistic about his chances of winning the U.S.presidency.
House to Senator Wright: "Some day there will be a black president. Some day there will be a gay president. Maybe there will even be a gay, black president. But one combination I do not see happening is gay, black, and dead. You need to stop lying to me."
Once House learns that the senator is NOT lying about the impossibility of AIDS,House still points out to Senator Wright that because he's black (and acts with integrity?), he has no chance of winning the U.S.presidential election. But Senator Wright puts the discussion into proper perspective for House by explaining that even though he knows he will not win, it's important that he run to pave the way for others(just like it is vital that Ralph Nader (Green Party), and Dennis Kucinich (DNC-unsupported Democrat), and Ron Paul (RNC-unsupported Republican), and Roger Calero (Socialist Workers Party) - and other independent-minded candidates run).
Senator Wright acknowledges that he won't win the election.
House: "Then why run?"
Senator Wright: "Oh I see; your point being the only way to make a difference is to win every fight?"
Excellent point, Senator Wright. Here's hoping our Democrat friends tune out the messages of disempowerment and fear eminating from the DNC and consider this thought more closely: What we do today will affect what choices our children will have tomorrow. Vote the lesser of evils, and you're still supporting evil. Continue this way election after election, and you will effectively contribute to degrading our country irreparably by lowering the bar even more each time around.
It's a slippery slope, and the lines you're willing to cross get fuzzier and fuzzier. Eventually the only candidates for our kids and grand kids will be slugs and snakes, and they won't have the same chance to save our Constitution or our remaining liberties as we do now.
... and then of course there is the ever-popular, most succinct (and brain-sucking) DNC pickup-line of all time - available in several colors and we'll even throw in the Ginsu Knives:
"ANYONE BUT BUSH!"
(Have I made my point yet? You see, I'm hoping the Pavlovian effect will cause nausea whenever you hear such a stupid slogan again. Not just by those exact words, but by the content of its message. I'm hoping you recognize it and help to reject it whenever you see anything similar used again).
_________
I recall that I also didn't earn many fans - and in fact lost a few - when I suggested that any effect Ralph Nader had on the 2000 election was a refreshing and rare sign of health in an otherwise diseased cesspool created by both the Democrats and Republicans. Conjoined twin parties,they are now coined as the Republicrats - a single corporate-owned, neo-capitalist entity that continues pulling us further and further away from our Consitutional experiment and significantly lowering the chances of resurrecting any sense of liberty or justice for all with each disingenuous election.
As much as I appreciate Michael Moore's film work (and absolutely loved his Stupid White Men), he was so much more admirable when he wasn't using his celebrity to jump on the regressive "Anyone But Bush" bandwagon. Moore's message lost some credibility with me when he joined the Dark Side as yet another minion of the Democratic Party - on his knees and begging the DNC to "just win this one, pleeease?"
So disappointed am I that I had to let me email subscription from Mike go. It was just too painful to watch. But then Kent introduced me to a wonderful cathartic outlet that more than fills the void left by the original Michael Moore, may he rest in peace. If you have stayed with me so far, you may also be interested in Ted Rall's comics and blogs. Now THERE is a smart guy with integrity and guts. Few (if any) bloggers, columnists, cartoonists, comedians, or historians come close to matching Rall's nerve and spot-on commentary. TedRall.com
While I know my ranting won't cure the condition from which the die-hard Democrat suffers, maybe in some small way my contribution will make a difference for somebody.
As for the YouTube commenter who plans to vote a straight Democratic ticket as "our only hope," I have to wonder what alert level that would be ... Red? Orange? Have the Runes been read, yet?
This person is not to blame, I know. It's just that I'm outraged that this regressive rhetoric continues because of the misleaders - those candidates who work within the constrains of the DNC (and RNC) always posing as progressive candidates for change in order to win elections by taking advantage of well-meaning people who genuinely do care and want good things for the world, such as mrfyer from YouTube and some within my own family who meekly swear alligence to the Democratic Party as "our only hope." These pretenders consciously take advantage of our fear, suffering and desperation - and therefore, I believe, are even more dangerous and culpable than the unapologetic right-wing rogues who are already identified as such by liberal-minded people.
So I felt compelled to respond to mrfyer:
esoterikgirl: "C'mon mrfyer. "Vote all Democrat"? That's "our only hope"?! We may as well kill ourselves now.
While it may be comforting for you to believe that the DNC isn't complicit in this criminal charade, it's irrefutable that the DNC and RNC are intimate corporate bedfellows. My god, this isn't the Dark Ages. Info IS available. READ! WATCH! LISTEN! While you fantasize about having power "in November," you're helping to suppress truth and effective action.
We Americans suffer from Stockholm syndrome.
_________
[Stockholm Syndrome is referred to here as a psychological condition that is expressed when hostages/slaves/the abused identify with and make excuses for their kidnappers/masters/abusers. I am using it here to suggest that too many Americans are keep servile and bonded to (wage) slavery to our own detriment and for the benefit of our "masters." They take our land and homes, deny us justice and liberty, and steal our children's futures - brainwashing us into feeling more loyal to them than to others just like ourselves, whom they cleverly scapegoat - i.e. Mexican immigrants, the Iraqi people, Muslims, Chinese, gays and lesbians, Afghanis, Cubans, Venezuelans, Iranians, the French, etc., etc.,.. and did I mention Mexican immigrants? That warrants repeating since Mexican immigrants are subject to some of the worst attacks in contemporary U.S. politics.
All this scapegoating has been going on forever, and it's directed from the top and keeps our attention diverted away from the real source of our troubles. I highly doubt Barack Obama will be helping us get to the bottom of that reality. If he did, he wouldn't win elections. But I have to ask:
How can it be a good thing to win a battle, when the tactics employed guarantee we will lose the bigger war? Sell your soul to the devil and it's pretty hard to get it back.
I am distressed by liberal apologists whose actions set back real change, I do take comfort in reading more and more comments on YouTube and on various message boards that express a rapidly growing population that understands there is no fundamental difference between the RNC and the DNC. This comes thanks most to the work of revolutionary-minded individuals and independent candidates who put themselves on the line and risk blame for"taking votes away" from "the lesser of evils." The irony is that many of those votes are from people who would not vote at all if there wasn't someone worth voting for.
Many thanks to Dennis Kucinich, Ralph Nader, Cindy Sheehan, The Green Party, the Socialist Worker's Party, and other genuinely brave and progressive souls.
True progressives are the ones who sustain abuse and take serious heat for telling the truth loudly and consistently (such as Nader and Kucinich) - truth which is never immediately popular, as it challenges the status quo - which is just as difficult for Democrats - as Republicans - to accept, even though the status quo is destroying our earth and the interconnected web of life.
To all my remaining Democratic friends, family and acquaintances: just burn those bras already, and recite the following little ditty before again believing you must choose "the lesser of evils." It's very liberating once you can.
Fool me once, SHAME ON YOU.
Fool me twice, SHAME ON ME.
So how many times will we
allow ourselves to be
FOOLED by the DNC?
United, the People can never be defeated. Don't let them continue to divide us with false fears and promises - lies that are used to keep them in power and keep us unempowered.
Defend Mexican immigrants, Muslims, blacks, women, GLBTs, and others against stereotyping.
Defend prisoners' rights, for so many have been falsely accused and convicted and others unfairly singled out.
Defend the slaves over the slave owners.
End this war.
Save our planet.
Convict Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Gonzolas for high crimes and treason (for a start).
Don't believe what you hear from the DNC or Nancy Pelosi.
WAKE UP AMERICA. DEMAND SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE NOW!
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Please feel free to comment.
ALSO, PLEASE Contact your Congressmen/Congresswomen immediately to demand:
NO MORE BAILOUT VOTES UNTIL CONGRESS HEARS FROM REAL ECONOMISTS and
ALLOW THOROUGH DEBATE and
PROVIDE PROTECTIONS TO WORKERS, TAXPAYERS AND HOMEOWNERS! and
All the points Dennis Kucinich made in his video! (The full transcript and link to the video of Kucinich's admonishment of the rush to hand Wall Street $700 Billion and his list of what the bill SHOULD do is provided in this blog, so it's easy!) 
.