The Illusion of Choice
The National Journal came out recently and declared that Barack Obama is the most liberal member of the Senate, according to a scientific nonpartisan formula that really isn’t as interesting as it sounds. Here is a breakdown of the issues that Hillary and Obama voted on:
http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/votes.htm
As you can see, their voting records are virtually identical. Barack chose not to vote on more occassions, presumably to avoid alienating swing voters. I have ranted on his not taking a stand on these issues before, so I won’t now. The real problem here is the problem of choice: that being there isn’t one. Democrats get to “pick” between a woman with experience and a black man with a silver tongue. These differences are skin or genital deep at best.
Should Barack Obama get the nomination, his cabinet is going to be chocked full of former Clinton aides; they represent the exact same “values” of the mainstream Democratic party. This means that once again progressives are left out in the cold with no candidate who actually has a chance of winning representing them. (Sorry, Ralph.)
The Journal can call Obama a liberal all they want, it doesn’t make it so. They are moderates, and by moderates I mean they aren’t going to really address the issues that matter to Americans. Bill Clinton opened up free trade and cut welfare: these Democrats are socially liberal and economically conservative, which is another way of saying that they have no values whatsoever. (See Obama’s disturbing vote on terminating fetuses that survive abortion.) (See Clinton’s attempts to get Michigan and Florida’s votes to count.)
My friends, we have been betrayed. Americans who really want change, who really believe in an ideology, be it progressive or conservative, have been betrayed by the parties. The Republicans have shamelessly supported their own who have been mired in gross sex or ethics scandals, but still claim to believe in family values. The Democrats have sold their revolution to the wealthy elite and abandoned those of us most in need.
The Republicans went big government and the Democrats have failed to stop the war.
My friends on both the right and the left, we have been hoodwinked, vamboozled, hornswaggled, and out right fucked in the ass by both the Elephants and the Donkeys. It’s time for a true revolution, where we stop voting for candidates because they’re electable or charismatic and start voting for candidates because they actually represent our values, no matter what they are.
