Pundits and poobahs

"However, the pundits dismiss both of them as gadflies of the extreme left."

I hope most people will tell the pundits -- the same ones who were cheering for the invasion of Iraq -- to go to hell. And that goes for grand poobahs who brought us into war as well.

That which sets aside Kucinich, Gravel, and Paul is simply that they speak honestly, not necessarily correctly, but in terms of what they really think. I don't trust any of the others as saying what they really think or plan: they are flim-flammers -- BSers -- con men (and con woman). (Although maybe Edwards makes a few feeble efforts to be real.)

Washington, politics, and the media are removed from both the people and reality -- American Idol indeed, or perhaps TV commercials. But many people are simply afraid of real candidates because they are afraid of dealing with reality, and even have trouble recognizing it when it bites them on their bippies, preferring to live in a delusional world of myth, magical thinking, and feel-good escapism. Of course -- so much of real life is difficult: rising prices and falling wages, health problems, all the problems of a failing infrastructure and culture.

They actually could handle reality, and would find it not so terrible to solve the real problems, but they have trained to avoid it rather than face it. Take a pill. Escape into abstraction. Ignore the genocide. They haven't been taught the skills to handle reality, but rather convinced they are helpless (without that new deodorant or instant food or large-screen TV). Consumers!! Not citizens and full fledged human beings, but consumers, waiting to be told what to think and do.

The candidates, the fluff, the hype, the fanatasy -- all generated by the corpocracy but fueled by the American psyche. People are trying to wake up, and some have, while oligarchy is trying to lull them back to sleep. But the bottom line is that the people get the government and candidates they deserve -- demand even. They still watch the TV and think it has relevance.

by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 998 comments) on Sunday, May 6, 2007 at 2:34:09 PM
 

Enough is Enough

This next election cycle is a no-brainer for me. I am more than tired of Corporate America running things to their benefit at the expense of the American people. I for one am excited about the prospect of Dennis Kucinich...."No Strings".

We've tried the "conservative" approach and all it got us is a loss of personal freedoms, trade agreements that are killing non-business owners aka - the middle class, a war without end (again for corporate profits, they don't care how many of YOUR kids they have to use as a meat shield), rampant corruption and greed and sanctioned bigotry against whoever you chose to hate as long as it garners a republican vote.

I'll have none of this BS any more...I'm going L.I.B.E.R.A.L. to get as far away from these Republican cretins as I possibly can. America can do better, much better, than what they have given us and as I said, it's a no-brainer for me that Dennis Kucinich is the ticket. I could CARE LESS about his height, to me his actions and ideas for a better America put him heads above ANY of the other "potential" candidates.

by Eric (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 34 comments) on Sunday, May 6, 2007 at 5:39:00 PM
 

I hope you will be part of the majority

I too, like Kuchinich, except for one thing.  So long as he is part of the Democratic Party, they will find a way to pull his chain and dull his message.  And the lockstep American electorate make any contest into either a ballgame or a beauty pageant.  The internet is the only place that Dennis finds any real support because the mainstream media blocks and demeans him as some sort of nut.  I donated to his cause the last time he ran but, thanks to Bush's "robust economy", I no longer have any, and the same may be true of many more citizens.

We need real election reform which will get corporations and their lobbyists out of the process by which we choose our leaders.

by Mary Pitt (60 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 159 comments) on Sunday, May 6, 2007 at 6:00:05 PM
 

this reminds me of the old story

An old codger is sitting on his porch and sees the little boy down the street walking by. Ten minutes later he see him walking by again, in the going the same direction. Another ten minutes passes, and so again does the little boy. As the boy is passing the forth time the old man calls out and asks him where he is going.

"I'm running away from home" says the boy.

"But this is the fourth time your passing my house. You aren't going anywhere but around this same block over and over again", says the oldtimer.

"Well what can I do?", replies the lad, "I'm not allowed to cross the street".

by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 998 comments) on Sunday, May 6, 2007 at 7:27:56 PM
 

Why more people don't vote

Lack of voting is oversimplified as just apathy but it's much more than that.  I don't vote because I refuse to continue to vote for the lesser of the "evils" or undesirables.  Kucinich speaks for many more people in this country than the polls reflect but a huge majority of those people still want to believe that their voice matters so they continue to vote for someone who the media indicates has some chance to win.  This is still a society that emphasizes winning and that means feeling a part of the mainstream.  The only problem I have with Kucinich is that as progressive as he is, he still is part of the political game and the last thing this country and this world needs is more politics.  When this country demonstates a genuine desire for real change without politics and force as the dominating factors then we will see a new and better world.  This world can only be changed one person, one consciousness at a time.  Each of us can only be responsible for our own individual consciousness which will inturn change the outer world we see.  If we want peace we must be peaceful.  If we want love we must give love.

by carl (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 123 comments) on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 6:40:45 PM
 

Sham Parties - Will of the People = Sham Politics

This article gives a good indication of just how far removed contemporary Americans are, from any concept of what real politics, is supposed to be about! The author shares the view common today, of the Democrats and the GOP, as the alpha and the omega, of U.S. politics! While your average mainstream American, is far too smug in their political sensibilities, to ever acknowledge it, something is seriously wrong with this picture! A realistic appraisal of the two parties, reveals that there is really only one party, not two! By joining forces behind the back of the unsuspecting public, the GOP and the Democrats, maintain a flimsy facade of antagonism for public consumption. This is apparently enough to fool the typical TV controlled, voter, so common among the U.S. mainstream! Prior generations of Americans were closer to the revolution, and the constitution. They therefore, had a better grasp of what politics in this country should be about. They would never allow themselves to be dominated by any political party, and were known to create viable new parties to keep the major parties honest!

Contemporary Americans on the other hand, are mere political bystanders, having sold their souls, to the Democrats and the GOP. Permanently under the tuteledge of the "Two Parties", they meekly go through the motions of politics, each election cycle. During this time, haughty party leaders, trot out their sham candidates, and the lying mainstream media, attempts to steer the voting! The candidates in turn, run sham campaigns, as the annointed ones, always get elected. They in turn proceed to ignore the public once in office, in favor of the special interests! This tragedy repeats itself, time, and time, again! Throughout this farce, it's clear that the will of the "two parties", not the will of the people, dominates the process. In a little over two hundred years, the political dynamism so familiar to the public, during the time of Jefferson and Franklin, is today unknown, to contemporary Americans! Having lost all traces of political savvy, Americans today, don't seem to have a clue, as the "two parties" rig not only their choices in candidates, but entire elections as well! As amazing as it seems, this pathetic drama, is what passes for politics, in the U.S., today!

by Rasoul Acheh (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 122 comments) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 3:37:34 PM