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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 8/10/13

Can Paleoconservatives, Libertarians, and Leftists Unite Against the Neocons?

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Message Roger Copple
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All U.S. presidents (including Obama and Clinton) have supported a neoconservative foreign policy, which advocates a strong, expensive military to "rightfully" police the world to make it obedient to American corporate and central banking interests.

 

President Bush became a laughingstock when he said, "They [the so-called terrorists] hate us because of our freedom."  The truth of the matter is that it is our 700-1000 military bases around the world, and our black budget CIA operations that sabotage democratically elected governments that create most of the tension and turmoil in the world today. But the average American thinks our country is the most benevolent country on the planet, not realizing that when our government gives "aid," there are strings attached.

Paleoconservatives are socially conservative, but they are against an interventionist U.S. foreign policy.  Paleoconservatives and Libertarians (as opposed to Greens and Leftists) may not be bothered by a capitalistic system that allows "enterprising" individuals to become billionaires.  But all three groups opposed the TARP and later bank bailouts; they currently oppose the abuse of the Patriot Acts, passed after 9/11; the drone strikes; the Guantanamo torture prison; NSA spying, and Monsanto's genetically modified foods.  The three groups are opposed to the U.S. Congress pandering to Wall Street, Israel, and the military-industrial complex. 

Many members of these three groups would support marijuana/hemp legalization and the right to visit Cuba.  Several others would support a new, independent investigation of 9/11, especially in regards to Building 7, which was not even hit by a plane, but fell at the speed of gravity into its own footprints at 5 pm on that tragic day.  And Building 7 was not even mentioned in the initial Official 9/11 Commission Report, an investigation that was not done until 2 years later and then by government insiders, with an extremely limited budget.    

 

Though I consider myself a radical egalitarian, who (as a retired teacher) takes a decentralist, non-hierarchical, grassroots approach to the public schools, I was surprised that a recent article of mine entitled "Bring Back the U.S. Peace Movement" was posted at more paleoconservative or libertarian websites than liberal or progressive ones, which gave me the idea that the three groups could form an effective coalition against a government that represents corporations instead of the American people.      

 

In that article, I argued that masses of Americans need to have a March on Washington and city government buildings (like the recent mass protests in Egypt) four times a year until members of Congress pass the necessary amendments and laws that expand democracy and promote world peace--or be voted out of office.  Think of the powerful impact it would have if these three groups could unite around ten specific demands that make long-term, structural changes in our government and constitution. Here are the ten demands that I would recommend to save the planet before it is too late:

1. Dismantle all nuclear weapons and nuclear energy power plants the world over as soon as possible.

 

2. Bring home all U.S. troops and close down the government's 700-1000 military bases around the world.  Even with such a drawdown, it would retain more than enough capacity to defend its own borders.  The money previously spent on the military would be used to create jobs and rebuild our nation's infrastructure: "[A]nd they shall turn their swords into ploughshares." (Isaiah 2:4).  Military ships, submarines, and planes can be used for low-budget travel and tourism. 

3. Institute Single Payer Health Insurance with the federal government as the single payer. 

4. Remove the influence of money from politics.

5. Elect the U.S. House of Representatives through a system of Proportional Representation, and abolish the U.S. Senate: Why should California and Wyoming have the same number of senators when California's population is about 70 times greater? The seven largest, national political parties will be empowered in a single-chambered, national legislature.  Under proportional representation, if a particular national, political party gets 15 percent of the vote, for example, then it will have a 15 percent representation in the federal legislature. 

6. Abolish the Electoral College System for electing a president.  A president must win by a majority of individual votes (not just a plurality of votes) using the method of Instant Runoff Voting, in which each voter will rank slated candidates from most favorite to least favorite. 

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February 11, 2023 I grew up in a church that said you had to speak in tongues to get saved and go to heaven. I often prayed fervently starting at the age of 5 for the experience in the prayer room at church, where people would cry and wail, (more...)
 

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