They never once talked about rising food prices here and around the world -- wheat, corn and rice prices are soaring. (Of course, the ABC moderators, full of themselves over rehashing old and mostly trivial issues, didn't ask -- another reason why I think the 22 debates thus far largely have been a waste of time.)
Obama and Clinton didn't talk about whether our rush to subsidize and encourage ethanol and biofuels has led farmers to forsake other crops for pricier corn-for-gasoline, falsely assuming this would to lead to energy independence and help cool the earth.
(The Renewable Fuels Association says this is just the start. There are 147 U.S. ethanol biorefineries and 55 biorefineries under construction. How about a debate on whether we've been too smart for our own good on this issue?)
Obama and Clinton didn't discuss the escalating food riots around the globe and what the U.S. policy should be. They didn't talk about what hard-pressed Americans in their own cities of Washington, New York and Chicago are going to do if the food-price spiral continues.
If “it’s the economy stupid,” why hasn’t attention been paid to what ethanol and these escalating food prices mean for the American economy?
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader mentions the issue in his article titled, “Substance Not Sound Bytes” , which was published on April 11th. He visited Illinois State University on April 15th and spent a portion of his visit addressing the ethanol boom and its influencing of rising food prices.
How about the upcoming war funding that will be authorized by a Democratic-controlled Congress in the face of American opposition (81% say America is going in the wrong direction)? Is there any talk from Barack or Hillary on that?
Clinton and Obama, as Jeremy Scahill can be seen stating in this video, both have plans to leave 40,000 to 80,000 troops in Iraq, which comes from the Iraq Study Group Report. Moreover, a news release from Reuters on April 7th shows Obama may be reassessing his Iraq promises.
None of the third party or independent candidates for president have addressed upcoming war funding decisions either. But, they also have not been misleading the American people on what they would do with the Iraq war if elected president.
Prospective Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney and Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader have both come out strongly for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Even better, neither is taking the Carl Levin position and making the case that we need to charge the Iraqi people more money for the work we are doing “for them.”
Cynthia McKinney has said, as cited in Chris Hedges’ stirring report “A Conscientious Objection":
When will the American people actually vote to give to the world more than bombs and missiles, sweatshops, dubious science, frankenfood, poverty and misery?...Not only do we need an immediate, orderly withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, we need an end to the militarism that has placed U.S. troops on the soil of over 100 countries. A true peace agenda means a complete redefinition of security. I remain convinced that if people in Haiti, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua can vote a peace and justice agenda into power, then so too can we.
Again, I ask the questions: Who’s saying no? And what is being ignored now and why?
Why do you send your hard-earned money to candidates that pander to you for votes and then prove once again when elected or months before the Election Day in November (for example, John Kerry and Al Gore) that they are not going to support what the real progressives in the Democratic Party want? Why do you support candidates whose strategy for beating Republicans is too often to be more like them?
To people who want attention paid to the Bush regime’s supreme violation of the rule of law in America, the systematic use of torture, rising food prices, and the continuous funding of the Iraq war, why are you still supporting candidates like Obama and especially Clinton who pay no attention to your concerns for this ailing democracy of ours?
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