President Obama's "decision" to reject the Keystone pipeline deal illustrates a number of important political realities.
First, this is the typical bipartisan football punt issue. Keep this issue alive along with cultural wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage and you can fire up your base and discourage people looking for real solutions to complex and difficult problems like energy independence, national security, jobs and real environmental concerns. Millions will be spent on political ads and political resolution will come only after the election.
Second, Obama made a decision to decide after the election to go ahead with the construction of this pipeline. This way he gets to throw labor red meat later and greens vegetables now. Environmentalists are swallowing this natural political laxative with the false hope that Obama II will not flush them the way that Obama I has.
Third, Mitt Romney now has a jobs creation corporate Keynesian card he can carry to the white house with labor ready at his side to be ignored as much then as they are now. Look for this pipeline to lower the price of fossil fuels temporarily and crush advancement of green jobs long term.
Fourth, we need a trust busting campaign to break up the two major parties. The people are no longer represented by either party. Rhetorically, Republicans appear to be economic libertarians and cultural interventionists while Democrats appear to be cultural libertarians and economic interventionists. In actually, both parties global corporatists in the way they govern. What we need is for the global corporatists to have their on party to represent the 30,000 American clients. The rest of us need 4 parties: Libertarian, Green Peace, Cultural Conservative, and Labor. Combine that with diminishing the power of the US Senate, imposing term limits on congress and applying proportional representation to the House, and we will begin to establish government of, for and by the people.
Finally, it shows us that libertarians and progressives need to form a temporary alliance to bring this rhetorical bait and switch show to a close so that we can move on toward a real debate which result in real solutions to real problems.
Somebody give me hope that this can actually happen.
First, this is the typical bipartisan football punt issue. Keep this issue alive along with cultural wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage and you can fire up your base and discourage people looking for real solutions to complex and difficult problems like energy independence, national security, jobs and real environmental concerns. Millions will be spent on political ads and political resolution will come only after the election.
Second, Obama made a decision to decide after the election to go ahead with the construction of this pipeline. This way he gets to throw labor red meat later and greens vegetables now. Environmentalists are swallowing this natural political laxative with the false hope that Obama II will not flush them the way that Obama I has.
Third, Mitt Romney now has a jobs creation corporate Keynesian card he can carry to the white house with labor ready at his side to be ignored as much then as they are now. Look for this pipeline to lower the price of fossil fuels temporarily and crush advancement of green jobs long term.
Fourth, we need a trust busting campaign to break up the two major parties. The people are no longer represented by either party. Rhetorically, Republicans appear to be economic libertarians and cultural interventionists while Democrats appear to be cultural libertarians and economic interventionists. In actually, both parties global corporatists in the way they govern. What we need is for the global corporatists to have their on party to represent the 30,000 American clients. The rest of us need 4 parties: Libertarian, Green Peace, Cultural Conservative, and Labor. Combine that with diminishing the power of the US Senate, imposing term limits on congress and applying proportional representation to the House, and we will begin to establish government of, for and by the people.
Finally, it shows us that libertarians and progressives need to form a temporary alliance to bring this rhetorical bait and switch show to a close so that we can move on toward a real debate which result in real solutions to real problems.
Somebody give me hope that this can actually happen.
Ron Paul has lead a long public life. There are NAACP leaders in Texas who have worked with Ron Paul, know his reputation in the black community, and testify strongly that he is a good person, not a racist. There are a good number of videos on Youtube with black people, young and old, supporting Ron Paul. There is a Youtube video of an older black man talking about how Ron Paul took care of the man's wife.
ReplyDeleteI have followed Ron Paul's career for 25 years, supported him. I would not have done so had there been any hint of racism.
Look at the evidence. You obsess over words in the past instead of behavior throughout his life. The behavior has not been hidden, you just haven't done any research. You provide no context, the precise thing people need to make judgments.
Lew,
ReplyDeleteI am not obsessing over words in the past. I am aware of Ron Paul's support among African Americans. I see the evidence of his strong conviction that he believes racism to be a huge evil in the world. What I am trying to say here and elsewhere is that the MSM is effectively calling into question his commitment to racial justice through adherence to libertarian principles and Christian values.
As much as the evidence is out there online, you are aware as I am, how the internet is a great herding machine with echo chambers moving us into exclusive corners all the time. You are right...you have to search for the info. Most people, however, are not going to search much less stumble across this information.
Couple this reality with what I believe to be the only means of electing Ron Paul (through real coalition with progressives), it is clear to me that he has to attack this problem of information and perception head on to get enough progressives to even look his way.
As someone recently suggested on the Daily Paul, why not get him an interview with Tavis Smiley and/or Cornell West? If he can pull off a convincing interview with them then the MSM is forced to deal with the reality that widely known and well respected African American intellectuals and journalists say he is not a racists and that these foul words that showed up in his newsletters under his byline are forgiven sins of omission and no longer relevant to the African American community and no longer valid evidence of racist motives or agenda. Or to put it a another way, can you imagine Rachel Maddow arguing against Cornell West that Ron Paul is a racist with a racist agenda?
I have suggested a speech similar to candidate Obama' "More Perfect Union" speech in Philadelphia. Major interview with a trusted African American or speech or both, he needs to do something big now. Something major and unfettered by the sectarian web is needed and needed now!
Oh btw Lew, you are not the Lew ru?
ReplyDelete