As the November elections approach, it is time to reflect on how George W. Bush became our President in 2000, with the aid of Florida governor -- and, coincidentally, his brother - Jeb Bush, who authorized a purge of voters from its rolls before that election, particularly Latinos, African Americans, Democrats, Independents and the elderly. At the same time in Ohio, robo-calls were directing voters to the wrong voting sites on the wrong day. Florida wound up delivering the win to W, by a paltry 537 votes. Of course, a recount should have been demanded, but wasn't by Al Gore. The Supreme Court's conservative majority awarded the Presidency to Bush, and America paid dearly for this bit of political malfeasance for the next 8 years.
How different would our lives and history be today if Al Gore had become President? Such "what if" questions will be debated by historians for decades to come, but there is little doubt that we would not have seen the gross mismanagement and regressive policies of Bush 43 and his rubber-stamp Republican Congress. We also likely would not have seen our country wade into multiple un-winnable wars abroad that cost us so much blood and treasure, nor the absurdly steep tax cuts for the rich, cuts with which we are still saddled 12 years later and which the GOP now seeks to make permanent. These twin policy disasters were significant factors in leading America into a deep recession that still impacts our very way of life.
Flash-forward to today, and Florida is at it again, under the direction of Governor Rick Scott. Over 2,600 voters have received letters informing them that they must prove citizenship and eligibility to vote in this coming election, with a projected 180,000 that are under threat of being purged from voter rolls. Add to that an astounding 5 million disenfranchised across the country because of state laws that prohibit people with felony convictions from voting. Among those squarely being targeted in the Scott purge are Latinos and African Americans, who make up an increasing voting bloc nationally and would likely overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.
Governor Scott is breaking a federal law stipulating that no one can be removed from the voting rolls in less than 90 days before a primary and general election, according to Joan McCarter of DailyKos in an e-mail she sent on May 31, 2012. That primary voting date in Florida this year is August 14th, so that door has been legally slammed shut. Scott has heard from Attorney General Eric Holder's Department of Justice and has been told in no uncertain terms to cease these acts. So far, the arrogant Governor has not responded. Strong measures are needed now by the Justice Department and the FEC to put a stop to these unconstitutional practices. Can and will they prosecute Rick Scott if he does not stop his illegal purge? It would be a welcomed and necessary warning to the rest of the right wing to stop traveling the low road and allow every eligible vote to be cast and counted (another prime example of this disgusting campaign is Republican Rep. Joe Walsh's attempt to amend the Help America Vote Act with his bill HR 5971, which would require voters show a federally issued ID to be allowed to vote). Expect further intimidation and purging of targeted voters, especially in battleground states across the country controlled by GOP governors. We must not allow a repeat of 2000 on a massive scale.
While the GOP is scheming to steal votes in Florida and across the country, at the same time the super PAC's are also busily raking in astounding amounts of money and unleashing lying, ugly attack ads on TV against legislators on the municipal, state and federal levels. Nationally, they are going after the likes of Senator Sherrod Brown, the progressive from Ohio, with malicious TV ads against him, which to date have cost $10 million alone, while he struggles to raise $500,000 from his supporters before the June 30th reporting date. These attacks are being orchestrated by none other than Karl Rove and, of all people, Pat Boone, of white buck shoes fame.
Another targeted progressive is Elizabeth Warren, who is currently running neck and neck with Scott Brown in Massachusetts. And they are not alone. As races across the country begin heating up, we are seeing meddling from GOP super PAC's at unprecedented levels. As the People's party, there is far less super PAC money flowing to the Dems than the Republicans. Indeed, even the president's super PAC has only pulled in a comparatively disappointing $20 million since its creation in February 2012. He very well could have raked in more by not traveling the super PAC road at all -- a wrong decision.
Of course, this is all nickels and dimes when compared to the $21 million that just one extremist Republican by the name of Sheldon Adelson threw down the toilet of the Gingrich campaign, and this was just a down payment on the $100 million Adelson was prepared to spend to elect "the Newt." Adelson's holdings include hotels, casinos and convention centers in Las Vegas and else where in our country, as well as in Macau. With a net worth of $21.5 billion, Adelson is the 8th richest man in America, according to Forbes, and he has said that he is willing to spend $100 million to defeat Barack Obama in 2012. His Las Vegas Sands Corporation pulls in $100 million in profits every 19 days, according to Public Citizen.
Meanwhile, the Obama For America Campaign takes in an average of $55 per donation -- hardly a level playing field. His large donor bundlers from 2008 have remained largely absent at this juncture in his campaign, with his largest individual donor, George Soros, M.I.A. since 2008. Without them, Obama has a daunting task trying to raise that $1 billion for his campaign that has been bandied about. Daily polling and fund raising are now his campaign's overriding preoccupations -- but where is the message?
Jim Hightower, a former Agriculture Secretary in Texas and a known "Plutocrat Plucker" who publishes and writes the excellent Hightower Lowdown newsletter, describes in the June issue how the "Super Duper 7" donated to 5 GOP Super PAC's a total of $40 million of the $94 million collected to support the candidacy of the GOP presidential contenders. Hightower goes on to name the seven, with Adelson in the lead. All of this largesse comes thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which will allow the infamous Koch Brothers to spend $400 million in this campaign, according to Senator Bernie Sanders in a letter sent to supporters. Bernie is, of course, on the hit list as well. Imagine, three men willing to spend half a billion dollars to influence an election with the sole aim of securing more power and yet more money.
These are unprecedented times, indeed, as this is the first election where we have a real opportunity to see the destructive results of how a few men, aided by a few major corporations, can throw unlimited money from unlimited sources into buying elections and even purchasing the White House. We are witnessing the dismantling of our democracy, with consequences so dire and frightening that it can easily be argued that we are on the verge of entering Orwell's 1984. Is indentured servitude to an elite, monied class really going to be our future? Super PAC's that are functioning under the deception of being "social welfare" non-profit organizations -- and are therefore tax deductible -- must be investigated by the Justice Department and IRS to ensure they aren't engaging illegal activities. Super PAC's registered as 501(c) 4's must be shut down as soon as possible to stop this wholesale buyout of our government. The only "welfare" these groups appear to be seeking to protect is that of their big-money donors. At least an investigation would throw a wrench into their criminal activities and slow them down.
While all of this is playing out, Obama and Romney are traveling the country fundraising and making rather weak cases for why they should be President. Romney, to no one's surprise, would dismantle our safety nets of Social Security and Medicare. He would also "downsize" the government, gut regulations and deliver more tax cuts for him and his rich buddies on Wall Street. As for Obama, does he still not understand that he must deliver an overarching message to rival the rallying cries of "Hope" and "Change" from 2008 -- unless he is saving it for the convention? Sound bites and pandering "remedies" for each state are not enough; he needs a soaring vision of where we go as a nation from here. What is his New Deal, or his version of the Great Society? He must equal the vision of those great presidents and place his own stamp on our nation.
He must talk about rebuilding America on a grand scale, and bring back something akin to the WPA, CCC and the Public Works Administration. Bill Bradley, in his new book We Can All Do Better , writes about these great programs that could once again create millions of jobs while rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, with an estimated investment of $1.2 trillion producing 5.52 million jobs in each of the five years of the program. This initiative is supported in the Bradley book by research of the New America Foundation. This is the same Bill Bradley who was an NBA star, a Rhodes Scholar, a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate. It would also be a good time to include in our president's vision of tomorrow an increase in the minimum wage from its $7.25 per hour to a more sensible $10 per hour. This was one of your first promises, Mr. President, in 2007. Even the suggested $8.50 is too low, and while $10 an hour would still leave a family struggling below the poverty line, it would be money that at least 30 million could spend pumping up the economy. And let's not forget those restaurant and fast food workers who are making only $2.25 per hour plus tips, earning an average of $5.25 per hour. Is this really America?
Amid all that is playing out politically this year, the work must continue to overturn that atrocity that has thrown a black shroud over our nation: Citizens United. The good news is that at least 250 municipalities and several states have passed resolutions to combat this menace. Work continues throughout the country by a 200-member coalition of organizations, in the trenches all under the Move To Amend organization, aided by the strong organizing skills of Public Citizen. Over 100 members of Congress are also on board in support of a constitutional amendment to strike down this ruling, as is Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Our president has also voiced his support, but this is the issue that should be at the heart of his campaigning and vision of a better tomorrow. He must expose the treachery of the right wing to do anything to take over our country for a select and privileged few and those "special" interests. This is a national issue that is bringing the People together to work and fight for a common cause. If we don't unite on this imperative, we are lost as a people and a nation and we will wind up, like so many others, on the ash heap of history. The Occupy movement must put this crusade at the top of their national agenda when they meet from June 30th through July 4th in Philadelphia.
Dennis Kucinich got it exactly right with his clarion call, "Wake up, America!" Will you pick up the gauntlet, Mr. President, and make the case for why we must pass an amendment to strike down Citizens United? It will give you a strong foundation for your strategy to win in November.
- with Jonathan Stone
Bill Moyers: On Independence Day, Also Remember Thomas Jefferson's Betrayal
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 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
Where are the Editors?
All good wishes.
Pearl
As for throwing in single payer. You go Doc.
the lessor of the evils, Republican Right Wing, or Republican Lite (Democratic Party)
That's the way the 2-Party dictatorship wants it.
Fighting the system one issue at a time is a sucker's game.
FDR was able to get the WPA & CCC bc the voters were behind him
and elected him four times.
Neither major party has a majority of voters behind them,
-- it's always hold your nose and vote for the least compromised candidate.
It's time for a Constitutional Convention so we can either
form a more perfect union or a more un-perfect union.
Either way, it's our only chance to make a future for our grandchildren.
You are also right about us holding our nose when voting and we are getting mighty tired of that state of affairs. We must start to develop real leaders for the sake of future generations. WE are woeful on that level.
An excellent post containing much food for thought--distasteful to varying degrees. I fear Pres. Obama is boxed into voicing less soaring visions for America in this campaign. His overall vision of hope and change remains, but has suffered greatly with a 4-year clash with reality and the obstinate Republican opposition. He is faring better with smaller initiative that represent real movement (even if in baby steps) toward goals of justice and opportunity. Could he have done more? Yes, but it would be truly disastrous to let disappointment in our President fuel a Romney victory aided by the super-wealthy.
Progressives must be resolute in their commitment to re-elect Barack Obama, retain the Democratic majority in the Senate, gain as many seats as possible in the U.S. House, and to support progressive candidates on the state and local levels as well. No one who cares about the future of our democracy ought to be sitting on his or her hands from now to November. Get on the streets, register voters,and demand transparency.
And where are those Progressives? Where is their movement and visibility with a message that could prod the lackluster Dems in congress. Yes, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is more activist but I would like to see much more visibility and action from them. They should be leading the charge for the rest of the progressives out there and building the movement for real change. They should mentor and support candidates for congress who are Progressives with a capitol P.
I would prefer an ammendment that harshly limits our ability to accumulate vastly disproportionate wealth. If we were to tax Adelson, Buffett, and the Kochs into the upper middle class, we wouldn't have to worry about Citizens United. They simply would not have the resources to threaten our democracy.
If Money is Free Speech; then Free Speech shares the fungibility of money. Therefore, when Sheldon Adelson spends 100 million dollars in the political arena, that directly devalues the Free Speech available to me in the same contest. I would argue that this is a very real assault on my civil rights, and should be actionable in the courts. The remedy is: profound wealth redistribution to limit wealth differentials between citizens.
There is no way you can limit accumulation of wealth. Yes, to overhauling our tax system and mhaving the rich pay their fair share and bringing wages up to a living standard. Wages have not increased in 30 years and maintains the buying power of 1968, while the rich of course have become richer. So, there are steps than can be taken in congress. Now we just need more progressives on the hill. And a less conservative President. That will take more time. In 2016, I see Gov. of N.Y. Andrew Cuomo running and that will be a different kind of Presidential candidate.
We did it between WWII and 1980. We should do it again - with gusto.
An analogy can be constructed from the Rubicon crossing in 49 BC. One could say Senator Barack Obama "crossed the Rubicon" in 2008. He was elected President and the Republican party conspired immediately to defeat him and the change he represents at all costs. They assert a right to govern by authority of corporate, financial and special interests PAC money. The fundamental issue for 2012 is not, "the economy". The issue is by what authority shall "we the people" be governed?
The GOP doesn't hide the fact that these voter ID laws are intentded to purge votes from citizens who want to support Obama. HuffPost reported, "Mike Turzai, the Pennsylvania GOP House majority leader, said that a strict new voter ID law will help Republicans win the state for the first time since 1988."
The Koch Bros, Norquist, and the rest of the GOP are destroying democracy in America. They re trying to spread propaganda by take over colleges like the Univ. of Virginia and the think tank, the Cato Institute.
Great that you are up on the issues .How do we inform the country about what is REALLY going on?