Reply #6: Incomplete OP--you left out the part about Hillary... [View All]

[Peace Patriot]

Here's part of it:

"AIPAC’s hypocrisy is stomach-turning, to say the least.  The goliath lobbying organization wants Iran to be slapped across the knuckles while the crimes of Israel continue to be ignored.  And who is propping up AIPAC’s hypocritical position?  Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

 "As the top Democratic recipient of pro-Israel funds for the 2006 election cycle thus far, pocketing over $58,000 as of October 31 last year, Senator Clinton now has Iran in her cross-hairs...."

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It's quite a rant against Hillary, who is accused of ignoring Israel's violations of numerous UN resolutions and violence against Palestinians. Me? I tend to think the writer--Joshua Frank--is correct. A US Senator--and our gov't--should maintain an "honest broker" position, and a much more neutral stance, in trying to defuse the Mideast tinderbox. Wisdom and diplomacy are called for. The situation is very, very dangerous, with the potential to end all life on earth. (Read Carl Sagan's "The Cold and the Dark," about the impacts to our planet's atmosphere of even a limited nulcear exchange.)

But wisdom, diplomacy, neutrality and honesty are not in the cards. I think it's likely that we will have Hillary Clinton imposed upon us as our only choice for Democratic candidate for president in '08. And that means that we will have no say in an expanded Mideast war and extended US military occupation of several Mideast countries, after we have bombed Iran and Syria into submission. I would prefer a Gore/Kerry ticket--for reasons of "poetic justice"--both men were illegally deprived of the White House--and because I think they would NOT violate the sovereignty of those additional countries and slaughter more innocent people, whereas I think Hillary will.

But I truly believe that it will not be our choice. We now have Bushite corporatations--mainly Diebold and ES&S--tabulating all our votes with "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls. The corporate privatization of our election system is nearly complete, despite vigorous grass roots citizen efforts to stop it, and both the primary and general elections will be used to install more pro-war candidates, despite overwhelming opposition to the war by the American people. (58%! before the invasion, in Feb. '03; increased to something like 70% today).

The pro-war Party, which consists of the pro-war faction of powerful Democrats, and the near total pro-war bent of Republicans--has guaranteed success. Hillary may be somewhat kinder on social issues, but she has positioned herself for the main chance, by aligning herself, basically, withthe Bush Cartel and the Neo-Cons on the Mideast war.

They might let her win, for their own purposes. The fatcats can afford to yield a little on social issues. And I think only a Democrat can get them a military Draft. They may also want to start blaming the Democrats for Bush's financial and foreign policy disasters--as those chickens come home to roost--and make the Dems responsible for various kinds of protests that might erupt, all possibly preparatory to installation of the real Hitler, in '12. (They are most certainly setting up the precedents--torture, domestic spying, exceutive lawlessness, war by presidential fiat--for a dictator; the current fascists may be more thieves than Nazis, but the powers they are asserting--and seem to be getting away with--are scary as hell.)

I think that one of our few chances to recover our democracy is to get election reform under Hillary, who may have a hard time opposing election transparency. Either we restore our right to vote in the near future--state by state, county by county, or more quickly by a Congressional bill--or our democracy is over, although it will surely linger in the hearts of Americans and all free people, and never really die.

One other thing I would be wary of is political fractiouness--once the candidates are chosen for us, especially in '08, after we've tried to have our say in the primary campaigns. I fear the precedent of Germany in the early 1930s, when the center/left fell apart and could not govern. There are most certainly signs that we are being set up for center/left rupture, and for economic and other hardships, that paved the way for Hitler in that era. As much as the War Democrats anger me--and as betrayed as I feel by the Democratic Party leadership on our completely non-transparent election system, controlled by rightwing corporations--I am not inclined to split off, or to take my anger out on Hillary (if she becomes prez) which more properly belongs to the Bush junta. It is a hopeless endeavor (maybe a moral necessity, but hopeless as to practical effect) to protest this junta's actions; whereas it might not feel so hopeless against a Dem adminisitration. And there's the rub! We, the great progressive majority in this country, have only one party that is even worth speaking to. Will we rip it apart over the bombing of Iran, or a military Draft, or will we be better strategists this time, and bargain for restoration of our right to vote?

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Some resources:

www.votersunite.org
www.verfiedvoting.org
www.UScountvotes.org
www.TruthIsAll.net
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml

Also of interest:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340
and
Sign the petition. http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html