Tea Party Folks Did Not Vote In ‘08

“I was actually black before the election.”

-- President Barack Obama

I well aware of how vastly arrogant my headline for this post is.

I’m not a TEA Party ("Taxed Enough Already") person, nor a right-winger, nor a libertarian, nor a fringe radical. But I actually pay attention to both sides of the political spectrum, in fact all sides of the political spectrum, and I do it on my own without relying on the work of others to decipher it all for me.

I am stepping outside of my ‘box’ here, but what I’m telling you is based off of real comments of real people who didn’t get paid more if they screamed louder or lied harder.

And these people enraged with everything Obama does or says did not vote. Period.

They all sat home and decided that it was all a wash. Or the vast majority of them did at least. Maybe a few voted for the anti-American psychopath Alan Keyes.

Now Obama came out to say, in a very clever way, that the animosity against him is political and not racial.

I think very likely this is, for the most part, completely accurate.

A lot of these people are so angry because they didn’t vote. And that’s really it. There isn’t a lot more to understand.

Sure they are ‘anti-government‘, but not really. They are only anti-government when the government is run by mainly Democrats and their hatred for the government dissolves as soon as the Republicans are in power. It’s laughable and complete partisanship, but also not racist in any form.

The issue of this modern strain of racism is far more subtle and far more disguised than something so simple as overt anti-black statements.

This is part of why the rightwing cannot process the words of Jimmy Carter.

His courageous words involved looking at the world in more than a black-and-white, on-and-off, bumper sticker mentality. One must dabble in nuance and undercurrents to come to this conclusion.

It’s rather simple:

Some white people in this country are not willing to share power with non-whites.

If you actually read Carter’s comments, that is exactly what he said.

And it would be deplorable and insane if President Barack Obama was going to back up the words of Jimmy Carter. That would be completely wrong-headed and bad for the country.

So this whole issue has been a-swing-and-a-miss in terms of the conservative response to these charges. They constantly imply that Carter said that all rejection of Obama is based on race and everyone political knows that such a statement is completely false.

This example here of the TEA Party people and how they in fact placed no trust in democracy whatsoever during the election and then want to place faith in democracy through protest at this stage is just one of many examples that shows that it‘s not all racial motives.

Basically they came late to table and that’s part of their extreme bitterness. They are quite angry with themselves for the nonsense they were spouting, that I was listening to, that voting was completely pointless. Now they really wish they had gotten out there.

The big point a lot of people on the left fail to make about all this is that it is the failure to reject racialists like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and the failure to reject McCarthyist claims, that started long before Glenn Beck started repeating them, is the best example of racism in The Republican Party.

The howling silence from major ticket Republicans in regards to race-baiting and McCarthyism running wild in their party is pretty much the best evidence that exists that not only was Carter right, he understated the problem.

But I’m no brazen fool, I know exactly what I’m asking the GOP to do. I want them to throw away the Southern White Racists and throw away the White Nationalists, both of which really do vote Republican. So my request is for them to throw away votes.

And they won’t do that. Especially not now that they are wounded, limping party relying on media hounds to do CPR to their wrinkled husk.

But it’s about doing what is right for the country even when that might not be what is best for the party.

And this complete unwillingness to even admit that a boil of festering racism exists upon the fringe of the rightwing, makes me think that perhaps this veiled racism against any non-white leadership is actually present in a vast majority of cases.

Something Carter never said. Something I’ve never heard anyone say whatsoever.

But when many people won’t even explain why they believe Carter was mistaken and all they do is engage in bigoted insults against him, misrepresent what he said and just plain arrogantly insult anyone who backs Carter up; it truly does the beg the question if they just view the matters from a different lens or if they actually are so enraged because they know these statements are true and cannot abide by it being discussed openly in public.

Iran Explodes with Unrest

Huffington Post has the latest updates on the Iranian situation.

I would draw your attention to the final video on the post: "12:17 AM ET -- Awe-inspiring courage."

Anarchy vs. Populism

Ever reviled, accursed, ne’er understood,
Thou art the grisly terror of our age.
“Wreck of all order,” cry the multitude,
“Art thou, and war and murder’s endless rage.”
O, let them cry. To them that ne’er have striven.
The truth that lies behind a word to find,
To them the word’s right meaning was not given.
They shall continue blind among the blind.
But thou, O word, so clear, so strong, so pure.
Thou sayest all which I for goal have taken.
I give thee to the future! Thine secure.
When each at least unto himself shall waken.
Comes it in sunshine? In the tempest’s thrill?
I cannot tell -- but it the earth shall see!
I am an Anarchist! Wherefore I will.
Not rule, and also ruled I will not be!
- John Henry Mackay

I draw your attention simply to the first nine lines of this quote, and have included it in it’s entirety for a full perspective.

I believe we have suffered this current Global / American Recession in a large part to the economic strategy of ‘greed is good’ and more specifically the enactment of Anarcho-Capitalism in our banking, mortgage and credits markets the United States of America.

A lack of sound order and a lack of logical policies will only ultimately lead to a lack of accountability from authority.

A populist does not reject authority, or rule, outright. Rather a populist is prone to ask:

“By right to do govern? Whom do you serve?”

While I will express a degree of fondness for Pure Anarchism in which all property is outright theft; I find the whole ideology unworkable and only expressly attainable in small, sustainable and highly isolated communities. Much like Marxism is all looks good for an intellectual discussion and quid-pro-quo debating but in a real world setting the whole underlying concepts quickly become revealed as nothing but an ideologist’s dream work.

America of 2009 needs real solutions and not simply an outpouring of sentiment to ’make AIG pay-you-back,’ but rather a hopeful outpouring of people willing to listen.
People willing to engage.

The Presidency of Barack Obama is but a stepping stone in a much larger and much longer road. We must begin to demand the highest standards of our leaders. On both Wall Street and Capitol Hill.

It is not wrong to want justice. It is not wrong to want fairness. It is not wrong to question authority.

I am a Populist-Liberal! Wherefore I will.

Not to rule, but to question the value of our rulers to us.

Too Much For One President?

Under my understanding of American civics current President Obama is by no means taking on more than is possibly sustainable, in terms of policy changes and economic recovery efforts.

In fact in my estimation he has, in regards to national security and financial stability, done exactly what was and is needed to ensure success in our efforts to revive this bankrupt economy.

The issue of undertaking 'too much' comes primarily from the right wing. Though others may question the wisdom of taking on so many issues at once as wise it is exclusively the right wing that declares this unsound policy.

The concept of 'political capital' is primary in understanding the recent actions of President Obama in his first two months in office. Political capital does not remain in any politician’s favor for long.

The willingness to address major issues like Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Enhanced Interrogation and vigorous fiscal stimulus only prove to those who grasp civics that the President intends in make good on the many campaign promises made to voters like myself.

While many more issues abound, and ultimately I am one who says that Obama is not doing enough, the raw fact remains that the current administration is showing a genuine interest in fulfilling the will of the people beyond simply nationalist fever or populist outrage but to rather try and reach attainable goals in our time.

Eric Lightborn

http://americapress.wordpress.com/

March 29th 2009

The R-Word

Recession; In the span of no more a few months the word is now ‘fair game’ in America.

An American Recession, no less. After only a handful months these two words can be freely connected in advertisements and in public media formats.

This after a time in which any Democrat or liberal spoke of a coming recession they were dismissed as ‘kooks’ and ‘doomsayers.’

I was one of those ’doomsayers.’ And I was right. 

While the prevailing wisdom is to downplay a sick economy and a weak dollar I do not believe this to be the correct course of action.

If the economy is sick, we should know about it.

If the dollar is about to drop, we should know about it.

If a stock is about to devalue, we should know about it.

And on, and on.

I believe that one of the reasons we have suffered this recession is due to this very mentality combining with the ‘greed is good’ mentality.

A broadcaster, a stock quote broker, a banker or an economic journalist has no benefit to being truthful to their audience and every benefit to simply remaining mute. Or worse yet, talking up a business, stock or concept that they know to be unsound.

The idea that saying into a camera or many media outlet the raw truth of the economy as being a detriment to that economy is false.

The investors and consumers need to be able to make informed decisions. If those trusted to give honest and credible advise are proven to simply communicate in a ’one answer only’ situation then the reality of market hazards remain the sole property of those already succeeding in market endeavors.

Leaving us, the common people, out in the rain.

Caps-Lock Engaged America

“populist outcry”

“socialist agenda”

“economic outrage”

We are hear these words connected in the Big Buzz of the Media, lately.

We live in a state of economic chaos. Right now, today.

As an internet-blogger I call this state we exist in “Caps-Lock Engaged America.”

My need to translate everything into internet terminology is no doubt why I prefer this way of describing the current state of affairs in America.

These pundits and talk show hosts of the right wing seek to drum up fear in the public, nothing more.

In the absence of logical arguments they simply wish their audiences to suspend all logic and proceed to believe in conspiracies.

The left wing is busying itself with AIG-Hate while shunning these new Populists as madmen and radicals. We are neither.

These are the very same kind of ‘madmen’ and ‘radicals’ who helped to form the Democratic Party of our day, but I digress.

There is no shame in being upset. But direct your anger.

President George W. Bush spent this country broke as if it was his personal play-thing to abuse and mistreat as he would.

One of the primary functions of a President of the United States of America is to be a Steward of the American Economy.

The previous President not only failed in this, he failed so miserably that his actions in this area specifically are in fact criminal.

President Bush had an obligation to use his position to inform America of the coming recession. Yet he joined in the chorus of conservatives who claimed all was well in the economic seas.

The ’proper’ blame doesn’t stop there.

The major leaders of financial institutions, those chairing relevant boards and countless figures in the media all failed in this exact same respect.

These individuals had a duty to the American public to inform them of an impending crisis that would directly effect their home life and personal budget.

These individuals knowingly withheld information from investors and consumers in a clear effort to destroy any chances we had at mitigating the coming storm.

Some moved funds into bonds instead of stocks. Some transferred funds into foreign currencies. Some bought precious metal portfolios.

But many more simply did not know or would not listen to those like myself who warned of this coming American Recession.