Right stuff but too little too late

re: "In my mind Ron Paul's drive to anchor public policy to the legal constructs of the Constitution still represents the radically healthy break from convention that our nation must have now. A morally conservative candidate like Mike Huckabee will move us in the right general direction, but it seems that we would be better served to use the objectively tangible parameters of the constitution as our way point."

The problem here is that the current 2-party system is functioning - almost as if designed - to encourage special interest group domination because a well-organised one can 'swing' the vote their way when there are only two contendors. And Paul is on the Republican ticket and far off the map in terms of the groups dominating the US (and Western) political power landscape. In other words, his candidacy, although arguably the only reasonable one along with possibly Gravel, is hopeless.

There has to be a way in the current US situation - as Gravel has been arguing - to restructure the electoral process to accord with the underlying letter and spirit of the US constitution. Any candidate operating withing the parameters of the current Rep-Dem setup will not address this except on the level of rhetoric, which is not enough.

The only way to change things fundamentally will be for a viable third party movement, with its own vigorously consistent media arm which reports on things like poll numbers, exit polls, electoral shenanigans, candidate positions & speeches, candidate articles and interviews, constitutional reform issues and suchlike, to essentially break the monopoly now held by the existing 'false democracy' status quo.

Without a vigorous, deep-rooted wide-spread movement along these lines, and in the very near future, America will soon be universally recognised, and increasingly even by its own citizenry who will be the last to 'twig' to this, as a 'failed state'. Its underlying economy, as so well exposed by Henry Liu on Asia Times Online, is already moribund, but it will take a while for perception to catch up to reality. And yet America remains a great country in many ways, of course. The challenge is whether or not it has the ability to dig itself out of the huge reality-deficit hole in which it now flounders.

And, sad to say, it is already too late in terms of the current election cycle. I am sad to say this, but having observed with increasing alarm the trajectory of the US body politic and civic the past 20 years or so, especially since the fiasco known as the 2000 election, that it is all over bar the shouting until there is some sort of 'blood in the streets' syndrome.

Ironically, it is our competitors and 'enemies' who will do the most to prevent a precipitous, horrific collapse, for the Chinese, who are actually the Big Dog in terms of actual global productivity and commerce at this point, have no desire to functionally deflate the most lucrative market in the world and will do much to ensure that we ease into 'ordinary nation' status.

However, the powers that be in the US and western elites will resist such humiliation, probably by ratcheting up geopolitical chaos in the form of sectarian (aka hysterical) conflict (aka war) at which point such an easy transition into normalcy will prove unattainable.

American had a chance in 2004 to 'throw the bums out' and failed. This election is already shot in that no viable alternative has emerged except in the speeches of Ron Paul and some others, but words, as is well said, do not cook rice.

Bottom line: there is no organised citizenry in the country. Elite special interest groups control the levers of power by siphoning off the nation's wealth, collected by taxation, into irrelevant but humongously expensive projects such as proxy wars in the Middle East and so forth.

Only when there is a general collapse - which again mainly the Chinese are going to try to prevent, not 'our own' elites - will the people wake up. But by then the situation will be essentially dysfunctional and only basic survival strategies on increasingly local/regional/community lines will be relevant.

Pity.

by Canadian (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 8 comments) on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 11:41:45 PM
 

The people have spoken, are you listening?!

Huckabee received nearly five times the votes of the other candidates in the recent values voter debate.

“Unlike other straw polls where candidates have bussed in supporters or paid for their tickets, forty national leaders chose hundreds of delegates who accurately represent America’s largest voting block,” said Mat Staver, Chairman of Liberty Counsel, and Values Voter Debate committee member.  “This is the most important straw poll yet.” 

Huckabee is clearly "Conservatives Best Option"

by Richard Gushta (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 4:45:32 AM
 

Huckabee is a fraud

Mr. Huckabee, a man who has never been in a war himself is willing to get all of our men and women in Iraq killed for his "honor".  How many have to die to satisfy you sir?  This is even worse than when Bush said "bring it on".  This is a man who knows there is no leaving Iraq with any kind of honor and insists that nonsensical woohoo look at me I am patriotic phrase actually means something.  His flat tax would kill the above ground economy and kill whatever jobs are left over here.  They have a funny way of counting.  100.00 plus tax equals 130.00 They call that a 23% tax because 30 is 23% of 100.00.  Any other sixth grader calls it a 30% tax because that is what it is.  Add in state and local taxes and the gifts that certain businesses will be able to buy their way out of this tax and the real figure looks more like 45-50%.

 How many Chevy's do you think will be sold at 45K each?  The middle class right now can get most of their taxes back with IRAs, interest deduction, health care cost deductions.  This little scheme of Huckabee's would add one third to everything you buy.  Can you afford that?  Maybe the rich can, and maybe the poor are too poor to buy anything anyway, but us middle classers, we will be broke.

 So Huckabee is a man who is willing to let others die so he can save face and is willing to throw the middle class to the wolves!

 No thanks.  Give me Ron Paul.  A man who always stands up for the people.  A man who issues bill after bill trying to make our lives better by ending the Selective Service, preventing a draft, protecting doctors from unfair burdens of health care costs of indigents, protecting our borders, eliminating big brother, ending useless government departments so that we can get rid of the Income tax completely.  

 Ron Paul is the greatest thing to come along to this country that I have ever seen.  I just hope the people are smart enough to recognize it, and still have a little spunk left to fight the powers that be!

by Janet Gifford (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments) on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 6:34:07 AM
 

"30 is 23% of 100"?

Please explain.

by Jim Arnold (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 80 comments) on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 12:52:46 PM
 

Ron Paul

Ron Paul is a maverick candidate who represents real change in this country - the kind of change that those in control have no use for. That's why he's given little or no exposure in the controlled corporate media, and why his candidacy is doomed to failure unless he starts embracing the entire truth about what's really happening in this country right now, thus causing a fire storm of controversy. I'm not going to hold my breath, though.

by Bill Cain (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 269 comments) on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 2:48:58 PM
 

Agreed on Paul Remains Conservative's Best Option

Ron Paul is still the ONLY Republican Candidate with the popular support able to beat Hillary/Obama. Period. End of story.

by Bryan Anderson (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 6:04:31 PM
 

Paul

Paul is the least bad of all the conservatives. Dennis Kucinich is the best candidate in either major party.

by Ty (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 675 comments) on Friday, September 21, 2007 at 3:36:52 PM