Imitation "Change" Flavored Kool-Aid

It’s amazing how ideas that were rejected just a year ago are flying through cyberspace as well as real-space, at the speed of light. I’m talking about two things here. The first I’ll mention is the idea that both the Democrats and the Republicans’ are pawns of the corporate power structure in this country. It will probably seem hard to believe now, but just a short time ago I was called all sorts of things for bringing that up. Since 2004, I have been writing about campaign financing and the need for reform. This one issue is the basis of corporate control along with the “good folks” on K-Street that staff 70 lobbyist’s for every legislator we have on Capitol Hill. Gee, what a great system we have up there (for the legislators and the lobbyists). I can’t wait to run for office myself so I can get in on those goodies they’re passing out (only kidding), this can’t last forever…or can it?

It doesn’t seem possible that Americans will let this travesty go on, but then again, we all know how short of an attention span the American voter has. Because of people like Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel and Ron Paul, we are being told how the money game in Washington is being played, but the question to be asked, is whether this knowledge will influence voters. The idea that people are armed with knowledge doesn’t actually mean that they’ll use it. We know that Bush has committed International War Crimes and has lied to the American public repeatedly, but armed with that knowledge, what do we as a nation do? The answer is absolutely nothing. The same goes for the corporate politicians that serve the Military Industrial Complex, we may know what the game is all about, but will we act on it?

The reality of the situation is that the Democrats have gotten themselves wrapped around the axle, so to speak, with their two main candidates. This isn’t something that just happened. In my suspicious mind, this was planned all along to get people to look the wrong way. It’s a classic example of misdirection. It’s political sleight-of-hand. Get people involved in meaningless jargon, and they won’t look at the main issues like who’s funding these people and who is running their campaigns. If people really want to know the truth about these two corporate players that the Democrats are holding up as “change”, go to www.opensecrets.org and see who is giving, and who is getting, around the corporate trough. See who the investment bankers and hedge fund managers and defense contractors are giving to and then ask ,why? It’s pretty apparent. Hello? Are the lights on yet?

So why use this scare tactic about voting third party? That is readily apparent also. A vote for Mike Gravel is a vote that can’t be used against John McCain. Isn’t that the mantra? Well how’s this, a vote for Mike Gravel or another strong third party candidate is a vote that the corporacracy won’t get. The point of this exercise of your right to think for yourself will mean that the two parties that make up the political duopoly in this country will start to think twice about what they are doing. The worse thing a politician can face is rejection. If 30% of the people in this country turn their backs on the status-quo and corporate-complicit and corporate-compliant political parties, we just might make some headway in solving the real issues that are driving this nation to moral and fiscal bankruptcy.

So, on this note, just let me say that I believe wholeheartedly with the Democrats when they promote the word “change”. The only thing that separates the DNC’s views from my views is that the change I’m seeking is change away from the Democratic Party. The sad part of this entire fiasco that is called the 2008 Presidential Election is that the Democrats are desperately trying to remain at the center of American politics. The reality is that they have no idea where that center is. While Clinton and Obama and McCain debate how we should fight the wars in the Middle East, the rest of the country are looking for a way to end these misguided wars. While the Democrats argue about trade agreements, many Americans are working two part-time jobs with no benefits just to pay their mortgages and put food on the table and keep their lights on, thanks to prior “free-trade agreements”. While they talk trash about religion, people are talking about the Constitution and how we are going to get our rights back and get rid of religious interference in the government. While they bowl and knock back shots at the bar, Americans that are out of work are thinking about when they too could do the same without giving up their food and prescription dollars.

The time for change is really here. It’s time to change the direction of this country by changing the directors. The Democrats helped get us into this mess by supporting the wars, supporting NAFTA, supporting every dime the Chimp has asked for and supporting AIPAC. The Democrats seem to believe that supporting Israel and their quest to kill every Palestinian living in the Gaza Strip is somehow “patriotic”. Remaining quiet when Israel bans President Carter from going to Gaza speaks volumes about the Democrats. Israel’s insistence on refusing to negotiate with Hamas, and the Democrats refusal to back Carter when he takes on the job of doing it himself, also exposes the Democrats lack of conviction to real peace in the Middle-East. Embracing change doesn’t mean that half of the people that run the Clinton and Obama campaigns should be members of The Council for Foreign Relations. Check that little tidbit out for yourselves.

So with this article I guess I’ll be thrown off more so-called “progressive” websites. I’m getting used to it. I’ve been thrown off some of the biggest sites on the web. God-forbid I call the Democrats on their pro-corporate, pro-military, pro AIPAC stances. Just call me a rabble-rouser and a misfit because I won’t drink that Democrat flavored Kool-Aid of “change”.

That’s the way I see it. (Although I wish it weren’t so)