Will Obama Split The Democratic Party?
Will Obama Split the Democratic Party in Two?
By Timothy V. Gatto
I never thought I would see the President of the United States respond to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. To tell you the truth, I had thought liberalism had already been embalmed and buried when JFK and RFK were shot. Sure the Democrats tried to ensure that liberals believed that they were still part of the Democrats agenda, but in all actuality, they haven’t been included for quite some time. The last years under Bush, it was almost impossible to find a liberal Democrat. Idiots like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Rielly and Michael Savage castigated liberals to the point where they behaved as if they belonged in the closet!
I always proclaimed myself as a liberal. Most of the people I network with are liberals. I was amazed at how some of these liberals managed to talk themselves into believing that Barack Obama was one of us. In almost every instance he has let us down. His support for the Military Commissions Act, the revised FISA Law giving immunity to the telecoms, the continuing presence in Iraq of our military and mercenary forces, the expansion of the war in Afghanistan, no indictments for torture for the Bush Administration and the continuance of Rendition flights and the use of foreign governments to extract information from “suspected” terrorists makes liberals wonder if we’ve been fooled again.
The answer is that of course we have been fooled again. The only question left is the position on healthcare that Obama touted when he was running for President. Is he about to backslide on this issue also? Is the “public option” that most liberals adamantly endorse about to be thrown by the wayside so that “free enterprise” (in other words healthcare for profit) can rape the American public with a profit margin of approximately 30% while government run healthcare runs about 4% over cost (Medicare)?
This I believe will be the pivotal point in Obama’s presidency. The truth is that you can’t please all of the people all of the time and this issue is no exception. Sometimes however, pleasing the people hasn’t been Barack Obama’s forte. The issues in the paragraph above illustrate that he really doesn’t mind ignoring his left/liberal supporters. He hasn’t balked at throwing us under the bus in almost every instance. Will this issue be the exception?
The outcome will be exactly what Obama wants it to be. If he has the wherewithal to keep pushing for a public option while he ignores those on the right that believe insurance companies profits and free enterprise are sacrosanct , huge gains will be his from the liberal wing of his party. This is the time to judge Obama’s mettle. He has a huge majority in Congress and enough clout to keep the conservative wing of the party in line. FDR didn’t pass social security without opposition, but he did it anyway and Americans are eternally grateful. Obama needs to take a good look at FDR’s stand on protecting the financial security and the well-being of the country as a whole. The truth is that this chance may never come again, especially with the monetary clout that Big Pharma and insurance companies have. The Democrats in the House and Senate should also revaluate the public option. Backtracking on this issue could well split the party in two.
Another thing, I don’t make this stuff up.
timgatto@hotmail.com Read Tim Gatto’s new book Complicity to Contempt
Labels: Democratic Guile, Obama, Third Political Party
Americans No Longer Question Authority
Have we passed the point of no return in this country? Has the right engineered such a change in our laws that nothing can be done to bring the country back from an Orwellian State that exists to serve the oligarchy and has stripped the common man of his basic unalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Has the Federal government become so powerful that it can imprison people for dissent? Can this government really designate anyone it wished a terrorist or a terrorist sympathizer and prosecute him or her without the benefit of due process? Have we really come to this point?
Some believe we have. There are some that honestly believe that America has no safeguards for civil liberties. These people believe that the right of free speech and the rights guaranteed us under the Constitution have been replaced by new laws that abridge our expectations of privacy, our right to dissent, and our right to challenge our government in a court of law to be decided by a jury of our peers.
These concerns are everywhere. I see them in articles, in e-mails, in telephone conversations and in the media. If this has indeed taken place, how was it done? Has the global war on terrorism taken such a priority in this nation that it now infringes on our personal freedom? If this is the case, can we ever get back what we have lost?
I believe that these questions are important and that we should all be asking them. I also believe that we should all be asking the question that if this is the case, how we as a people can change the situation. We should all be engaged in taking a reality check.
We should be asking ourselves if this government really needs the power that we seem to have ceded to them. We should be asking if the government really needs the authority to monitor our phone conversations, our e-mails and our mail. We should also be concerned about the laws that have been passed that require every citizen to have a national ID card. We should be asking the question why would it be necessary for the Federal Government to have the power to search our homes without our knowledge or without us being there because they say that they have information that indicates that we “might” be terrorists or terrorist sympathizers without having to show evidence of that belief because they claim it is “sensitive” in nature and could jeopardize “national security”.
The point I am making here is that the government has indeed overstepped its authority. The people that worry about whether or not we have reached the point of no return are asking a reasonable question. Have we turned into a police state? You tell me. Many Americans claim that the question is not important because they have nothing to hide. From my perspective that comes from 57 years on this planet, we all have something to hide. There is no one that lives that doesn’t have secrets that they would rather not be exposed. There is not a person alive that has not broken some law at sometime in their lives. No human being on Earth is untouchable. This is not opinion, it is a fact.
Now is the time to reflect on what one of the greatest patriot and statesmen in American history once said. Benjamin Franklin said “Those that would give up their freedom for a little security shall have neither freedom nor security”. This statement carries more weight and meaning now than it ever has, at least in my lifetime. When the government can do what it will, whether it be to tap your phone or to search your house without a signed warrant from a judge that has been given probable cause to issue a warrant, we have no rights. Thus we have indeed become a police state by the very definition of the words.
Will we have the chance to rectify the situation and put this nation back on track as a nation that obeys its own Constitution and thus the rule of law, or is it too late? It becomes too late when our leaders no longer talk about the civil rights that we have lost. When the citizenry is unconcerned and the leaders that are elected by the citizenry don’t examine the constitutionality of laws passed hastily by people that were afraid of things that they didn’t understand and voluntarily gave up their rights, it is doubtful that without a discussion of these freedoms lost, that we will ever get them back.
The two political parties that govern this nation do not seem as if they are in the least bit concerned that Americans have given up their rights against illegal search and seizure, the expectation of privacy in their communications, or the right to due process which is the right to be told what they are being charged for, the right of representation by a lawyer, the right to a speedy trail, and the right to be judged by a jury f their peers. If you are suspected of terrorism or of aiding a terrorist, you no longer have these rights. It doesn’t matter if you were born here or if you are an immigrant. The only thing that matters is that you are suspected by people that don’t have to tell you why they suspect you.
The major Democratic candidates and the major Republican candidates are not questioning these things. The laws have already been passed and the mechanisms in place. Meanwhile the people are silent and compliant. Have you ever wondered how the Nazi’s were allowed to subjugate the German People? You need not wonder any longer. It has happened to the American People now too. The terrorists have won. If like President Bush claims, they hate us for our freedom, they need hate us any longer. We have no freedom to hate us for.
Labels: Authority, Bush, Fascism
Use Economic Sanctions Against Our Own Government
When good people are called by their conscience to stand against an evil that they perceive to be done in their own names and do nothing, than they are complicit in that evil. To do nothing in the face of genocide and the destruction of an innocent country’s infrastructure, and to turn the other cheek while your government fosters anarchy in a land where they do not belong, makes you complicit. To allow children to beg in the streets for food because the men in the city or village have been taken away by those that support endless war for finite resources makes you part of the problem. We are all Americans, and by letting this happen to the people of Iraq, we are all complicit in some degree or another.
You can say that you have tried to stop this carnage. That is not enough. You can say you are against our government’s policies and that too is not enough. You can say that you have supported every initiative to leave Iraq but we are still there, so evidently that too is not enough. Our government, as criminally complicit in terror as anyone that has attacked us, is now trying to make the case in attacking another nation, this time Iran. It matters not whether the people want it, it is a matter of a government that desires conquest over diplomacy, war over peace, death over life.
The answer lies in the hands of all Americans. The way to end this war is not an easy one to take and is fraught with danger to our loved ones and to us. Still, the only way to get this government to listen is to speak with a voice that drowns out their objections. The only thing that this government seems to care about is money. Money is what allows them to continue their nefarious business around the globe for world domination and resources.
There are ways that we can take the money out of their hands. One way is to get the politicians that vote for funding this war out of the government. That includes Democrats as well as Republicans. We need to send an unmistakable message to Congress that we will no longer condone funding the war of aggression against another nation. We can also refuse to buy products that are advertised on the mainstream media that supports the government “spin” on this war. We can stop the economy by buying second hand products including refurbished appliances, automobiles and other products that will cause the government to re-think their world policies by sinking the profits of those that support them. We can refuse to use our credit cards and only buy what is absolutely necessary.
This is an economic sanction brought against our own government by our own citizens. To blithely spend money that supports the war effort makes each and every one of us complicit in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Putting our hard-earned money back into the economy so that the government can build the machines of war with a seemingly unlimited budget fosters the use of aggression. We can still support our merchants by buying reconditioned products. To live in a society of planned obsolescence for the products we buy new, causes not only money to feed the military, but encourages our industries to do more of the same.
There is an old saying; “Evil happens when good men do nothing”. This is something we can all do. The money you save from refusing to buy new products that feed our military industrial complex could be used to help people with nothing, or you could donate that money to organizations that want to stop our current course.
This is the way I see it.
Labels: Economic Sanctions, Economy, Military Industrial Complex
We Want to Get on The Ballot!
To all concerned residents of South Carolina,
We, hereby known as the LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, Affiliated with THE LIBERAL PARTY OF AMERICA need people to walk the petition to get on the ballot in South Carolina. We need to get 15,000 signatures to get on the ballot and run a National Ticket in this State. We are also looking for people to Chair the State Party and to help select candidates for public office within the State. Any help that you could give to the Party would go a long way in helping to end the war in Iraq, and stop further wars. Too many years have gone by with the Republican Party controlling the State. We need your help in changing this. The Democrats aren't helping, they are hurting. 50% of the Democrats vote with Lindsay Graham and the Republicans.
Labels: Iraq, Liberal Party America, South Carolina
Sorry I'm Late, Let's Get a Drink
LPASC: Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while, I've been writing like hell, just not here. I've put some articles out on OPEDNEWS and I've started a new blog about campaign reform called money and politics, I'll put a link to it on the side. If you don't know, there is a group called Drinking Liberally. It's a group of liberals getting together in a relaxed atomosphere and sharing ideas. It's on Thursday at The Handlebar, 304 E. Stone Ave, Greenville. If you show up, I'd like to meet you.
Tim Gatto
If You Lose, Work For A PAC
LPASC: Have you seen the Metro Section of The Greenville News? It seems that Mike Campbell, the son of a politician (He ran fot Lt. Governor and lost), has gotten a job with a conservative based PAC(The Greenville News calls it a "watchdog group") .That's a good trick. Lose an election, work with a PAC, but god forbid you should go out and find a real job. I guess that if you were brought up sucking off the government tit, than it would be a real let down to actually have a real boss. This guy knows how to follow the money, so he joins an organization that asks for donations so that they can "oversee" how your government spends it's money. The group, called Americans for Prosperity, is a PAC devoted to the privatization of Social Security. They pretend that they want to save taxpayer money to disguise they're real purpose.They actually ask for donations on their website, I guess so that with Mike out of a job and all, they can open a chapter right here in SC and give old Mike a job. His Daddy would sure like that. He doesn't like the idea that Mike might have to go out and
work and all. Mike has friends in high places. Remember George W. Bush's daddy doing that campaign spot for him? His Daddy and the Old Mr. Bush were right friendly now, so Mike was sure to find a job that befitted a man with such
stature, until he can run for something else, so that the taxpayer can continue to pay his family's mortgage and grocery bill. Meanwhile, this Republican PAC will just have to tide him over, until he works his way into the hearts of the voter, in some other capacity befitting one with such a pedigree.
In other words, business as usual in this well connected GOP state.
Have a great Labor Day, I'll drink a beer for you all.
Tim
Just A Fast Fact
LPASC: Did you know that the Greenville/Spartanburg area donates more money to political candidates than any other area in South Carolina? Did you know that 79.7% of the money donated to political campaigns in South Carolina goes to the Republicans? Did you know that Nelsom-Mullins et al was the #1 Contributor? Did you know that Advance America was the #2 Contributor?
Why Don't We Have National Healthcare?
LPASC: In The Greenville News, one of the stories on the front page today was that 1.3 million people, most of them in the South, lost their health insurance, either from losing their job, or their employer has dropped coverage because of increasing health costs.
So what are the alternatives when your employer tells you that they can no longer afford the premiums on your healthcare? How expensive is it to cover yourself and your family if you lose your health insurance at work? Plenty expensive. It is so expensive, that most people can’t afford it. They can’t afford to get sick either.
Why hasn’t the government done something about the spiraling cost of healthcare in the United States? There are a few answers to this question, all of them you won’t really like. The first answer is that both the Republicans and Democrats are bankrolled by the American Medical Association, The Pharmaceutical companies, and other medical special interest groups. National healthcare would be really bad for business. Besides the medical establishment, lawyers that make a living from medical malpractice suits would be hard pressed to support a National Healthcare System where lawsuits wouldn’t run rampant. There are so many groups that donate to your so-called “representatives” in Washington, that until this country has true campaign reform, you will NEVER see a program of National Healthcare.
The political parties (both of them) cover this topic with smoke and mirrors so that their true bosses can keep benefiting from our medical care system as it is. The politicians tell us that it will raise our taxes and put another cog in the wheel of “big government”. Don’t believe it for a minute. Actually, the taxes that we pay in our property taxes would really go down. Built into all property tax, is health care that the local governments must pay for hospitals that accept indigent people. The county or parish that you live in, pays this money to healthcare providers from your property taxes, and that is coming from your pocket. Drug costs would also lower as the government started negotiating for a good price that they would pay for buying in bulk as the main healthcare provider. This is how it is done in most other industrial nations. The premise behind it, is that the premiums that people pay, offset the actual cost of providing the medical care, much like insurance companies operate today. The government could do much better than the insurance companies, because healthcare costs would actually come down as the government becomes the main provider. The medical lobbies don’t like this idea, and they make sure that your congressman is well paid for not providing medical insurance to Americans. Do you want to know how much they pay you government representatives? Go to
opensecrets.org and find out for yourselves.
I tell everyone what’s going on, so that people that read these articles can join with The Liberal Party of America and tell the Congress that we are sick and tired of the status quo. Write you representatives and tell them that you want a system of National Healthcare like other industrial nations have. Tell them that you want your family members to be able to see a doctor when they are sick or they need a check-up. Health care should not be just for the wealthy. Just because some people aren’t rich, doesn’t mean that they don’t work hard for their money! Unless you demand that they do something to provide health care to everyone, they will not do it! Did you know that Cuba of all places has one of the best healthcare systems in the world? How come the Cuban people have what our government can’t provide for us?
It's because your government is run by corporate and special interest groups. If the medical profession could make more money by the government providing health care, you can bet we would have it! Don’t be fooled by these politicians. Tell them you know what’s going on, and join The Liberal Party of America. Another thing I want to tell you is that I don't make this stuff up.
Who Runs The Democrats and Republicans?
LPASC: I was talking to a couple of guys that I work with this morning, and as usual, we got on the subject of politics. (It seems like I always get on that subject!) They asked me why I just don’t become a Democrat. I told them that the Democrats, even though they look and sound like liberals, are really more like the Republicans. This is a recent thing, it wasn’t always like this.
The reason that the two political parties, The Republicans and The Democrats are so much the same, is that they both work for the same boss. You might think I’m talking about the people, but I’m not. I wish I were, and then we wouldn’t have a need for another party. I’m talking about corporations and special-interest groups. The reason for this, is because it takes a lot of money to run a political campaign these days. It takes a lot of money just to get people to listen to you! As you can see, The Liberal Party doesn’t have a lot of money. This money has to come from somewhere, where does it come from?
It comes from the pharmaceutical companies. It comes from the energy and oil companies. It comes from the unions and teachers and police and firefighter associations. Some of it comes from individual people like you, but not much. Most of the money comes from corporations and special interest groups. You can see it for yourself on a site called
Open Secrets. You can click here, or on the link to the right of this article, or go to www.opensecrets.org. By law, it is public knowledge who gives what to whom. The politicians in Washington don’t really want you to know, so don’t let on that it was me who told you where to find out! (only kidding) Check it for yourself. Go see who is REALLY running this country! I know you believe that it says WE THE PEOPLE, but now it should say WE THE CORPORATIONS AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS. That’s the reason that The Liberal Party of America doesn’t play well with Democrats. We certainly don’t play well with Republicans, we can’t even agree with them!
Well enough for now. I’ll write more later.
Tim
How Can I Join or Get More Information?
LPASC: If you are curious about The Liberal Party of America,and wondering how to join, or get more information about it, it's easy. You can e-mail me at
timgatto@hotmail.com, or you can go to The
Liberal Party of America website. Right about now, your best bet is using my personal e-mail address, and I'll get back to you. Our webmaster\Secretary is taking a well-deserved vacation somewhere in Europe, and won't be back until late September. Meanwhile, I can take the mail until he's back. We hope to hear from you soon, in the meantime, you can read all about our party at our website above. We have our history, mission statements, press releases and all that we stand for, and what we are all about. Check us out! I know that the word "liberal" has been defamed by people on the right, but trust me, we are just hard-working Americans that are looking for a way to get out nation back on track. Won't you see what we are all about?
Thanks,
Tim
