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Socialists for Obama

This blog is for those interested = in=20 learning how can we change this country from the current = capitalist unfair=20 system, into a real socialist, democratic system for all. This = capitalist=20 system of Bush and his cronies only benefit the upper classes. USA = needs a=20 21st Century Socialist, Democratic and Participative system for = the=20 workers and people of this country, without fascism, without wars, = but=20 with peace, equality, socialism and love

Obama's=20 Electoral Dilemma: Latinos or Reagan Democrats?

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Jun 6th, 2008 at 7:29 pm = EDT

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

June 5, 2008

Latinos or Reagan Democrats? =

Obama's=20 Electoral Dilemma=20

By NIKOLAS KOZLOFF

Though it might have appeared in the early = primaries that=20 Barack Obama would be able to transcend race and put together a = winning=20 coalition of whites, blacks, and Latinos, that hope has been = dashed. =20 If the nominating process has revealed anything, it is that the = country is=20 seriously fractured along class and racial lines. Having won = the=20 affluent, educated white vote and African American vote and lost = the=20 Latino and poor white vote, Barack Obama must now figure out how = to=20 reassemble a viable electoral coalition.

It=92s a known fact that the Democratic Party has been = seriously=20 hemorrhaging conservative, downscale white male voters since the = days of=20 President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s. Disaffected by = social and=20 political change, many Blue Collar whites no longer saw the = Democrats as=20 champions of their working class aspirations and concluded that = the party=20 was instead working primarily for the benefit of others: the very = poor,=20 the unemployed, African Americans, and other political interest = groups.=20

By the early 1980s these traditional Democratic urban and rural = lower=20 middle class voters, located primarily in the Midwest, turned out = for=20 Reagan. Socially conservative, they were attracted by = Reagan=92s=20 message of moral values, so-called fiscal responsibility and = national=20 security. Many of these Reagan Democrats voted for Hillary = Clinton=20 during the primaries and probably ate up the news media=92s racist = handling=20 of the Jeremiah Wright story.

For some time, DNC Chairman Howard Dean has been determined to = expand=20 the Democratic Party beyond its usual base in the Northeast, = Illinois and=20 California so as to compete with the Republicans on their own home = turf as=20 well as in key battleground states. After Obama wins the = nomination,=20 there will surely be calls from within the party that the Illinois = Senator=20 should try to recapture the votes of the so-called Reagan = Democrats.

Scenario #1: Recapturing White Reagan = Democrats

In scenario #1, Obama could have Latino New Mexico Governor = Bill=20 Richardson campaign on his behalf in the American West but devote = the=20 lion=92s share of his time and resources into trying to win back = Reagan=20 Democrats. By putting a centrist Democrat or Republican on = the=20 ticket with military credentials such as Virginia Senator Jim Webb = or=20 Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, Obama may hope to win back this = voting=20 bloc. Obama could also turn to Senator Jon Tester of = Montana,=20 another conservative who appeals culturally to the white male=20 constituency. Yet another option for Obama would be to offer = the=20 vice presidential slot to Hillary Clinton in an effort to mend = fences=20 within the Democratic Party. Hagel or Tester might make = Obama more=20 competitive amongst Reagan Democrats around the country, but both = Montana=20 and Nebraska are solidly in the=20 Republican column and would be difficult to tilt. Hillary = Clinton=20 might argue that if she were the vice presidential nominee she = could put=20 Ohio and Indiana into play, two states that she won in the primary = season,=20 or Florida.

If Obama is going to follow the Reagan Democrat strategy, = picking Jim=20 Webb of Virginia might be a better choice. Webb is not just = a Reagan=20 Democrat wannabe, he is a Reagan Democrat. A = Vietnam=20 veteran and former Secretary of the Navy under the Great = Communicator,=20 Webb is an anti-war Democrat who would give Obama leverage in=20 Virginia. The state, which has 13 electoral votes, turned = out=20 heavily for Obama on primary day and the Illinois Senator did well = amongst=20 a range of different voting constituencies there. If you = average the=20 recent polls, McCain is winning in the state but not by = much.

With Webb on the ticket, Obama could take the state and maybe = even make=20 neighboring North Carolina competitive for the Democrats. = Right now=20 North Carolina is considered close and Obama won the primary there = by a=20 wide margin last month. The southern state, home to Fort = Bragg, has=20 a long military tradition and having an ex-Secretary of the Navy = could tip=20 the state in favor of the Democrats. If Obama furthermore = promised=20 to give John Edwards a position as Attorney General, the former = North=20 Carolina Senator might be able to help sew up the state.

In this scenario, Obama narrowly loses the American West and = Latinos=20 but does well amongst the Reagan Democrats elsewhere in the = country. =20 If we assume that Obama takes the entire Northeast (and New = Hampshire=20 stays in the fold) and his home base of Illinois plus the = neighboring=20 Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, and he holds = on to=20 California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii, plus Webb and Edwards = help=20 Obama win in North Carolina and Virginia, the Democrats could = triumph in=20 the election by a razor thin margin, 270 electoral votes for Obama = to 268=20 electoral votes for McCain. However, if Webb is able to make = an=20 impact upon Reagan Democrats in the Rust Belt, the margin of = victory could=20 be higher.

Scenario #2: American West Latino Strategy

On the other hand Obama could pursue another strategy. He = could=20 deploy John Edwards or Hillary Clinton to the Rust Belt in an = effort to=20 woo Reagan Democrats but put the lion=92s share of his campaign = resources=20 into winning the Latino vote in the American West. Because = of the=20 growing importance of the Latino vote in New Mexico, Colorado and = Nevada,=20 such a strategy now becomes possible (for more on this, see my = earlier=20 article: =93Obama=92s VP Quandary: Time for a Latino on the = Ticket? June 2,=20 2008). What=92s more McCain is now vulnerable on immigration = having=20 flip-flopped on the issue: in 2006 he was a key sponsor of = legislation=20 which sought to regularize the situation of illegal = immigrants. Now=20 however he says he=92s =93gotten the message=94 that the border = must be=20 =93secured=94 before any other reforms can be carried out.

Obama could choose Latino New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson = as his=20 running mate which would probably tilt New Mexico to the Democrats = and put=20 nearby Colorado and Nevada into play. An African American = and Latino=20 on the same ticket would represent a new historic first in U.S.=20 politics. Obama could fly to Albuquerque and deliver one of = his=20 eloquent speeches about race. The Illinois Senator could = talk about=20 how African Americans and Latinos have both suffered = discrimination. =20 He could then argue that it is time for the two groups to band=20 together.

What are the chances that a Western strategy might = succeed? =20 Unfortunately, Obama would face some daunting math. Let us = suppose=20 that he hangs on to the traditional Democratic stronghold of the = Northeast=20 plus New Hampshire, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, = California,=20 Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. If Obama can hold on to these = traditional Democratic states and then add Latino states like New = Mexico,=20 Colorado and Nevada he would do well but still lose the election = with 261=20 electoral votes against 277 for McCain.

Scenario #3: Latinos in American West and = Florida

But consider another scenario: Obama could dispatch running = mate=20 Richardson to Florida during the campaign. Though Richardson = is from=20 the West, perhaps he might be able to sway Florida=92s Latino = voters, which=20 now number more than one million, and bring them into the = Democratic=20 column. The idea of hinging one=92s electoral strategy upon = Florida is=20 surely disquieting to the Democrats, but winning the state back is = not as=20 crazy as it sounds. At present, the state is leaning in = McCain=92s=20 direction but still could tilt back Democratic. By November = the=20 number of Latino Democrats in the state will probably exceed the = number of=20 Latino Republicans for the first time. According to exit = polls, the=20 Democrats won the Latino vote in the 2006 mid-term election. = It was=20 the first time in 30 years.

Traditionally, the Republicans have locked up the Latino vote = by=20 appealing to conservative Cubans. But in recent years = Florida=92s=20 Latino population has gone through dramatic changes. In = 1988,=20 Cuban-Americans made up 90 percent of the Latino vote. Now, = that=20 number has fallen to 45 percent. The influx of other Latino = groups=20 such as Venezuelans, Colombians and Puerto Ricans, and the deaths = of older=20 Cuban-American exiles, account for the changes. In the = crucial =93I-4=20 corridor=94 in Orlando and Central Florida, Latinos are growing in = population. Many Puerto Ricans have settled in the Orlando = area,=20 taking jobs in the state's stable tourism industry. = Colombians,=20 Nicaraguans and other Latinos have also moved to the area and = typically=20 lean Democrat.

The GOP may not even be able to hold on to = its=20 traditional base within the Cuban-American community. In = Florida,=20 the Republicans are running scared because a younger generation of = Cuban-Americans is shedding its traditional loyalty to the = GOP. =20 Younger Cuban-Americans are more concerned about the economy, = healthcare=20 and the Iraq War than U.S. policy towards Cuba. In addition, = Fidel=20 Castro is gone from the scene and as a result the Republicans = don=92t have=20 their traditional whipping boy anymore. With Richardson on = his team,=20 Obama just might be able to turn Florida blue. If Obama = carries the=20 American West, the West Coast, some Midwestern states and the = Northeast,=20 and adds Florida to the fold, he beats McCain with 288 electoral = votes to=20 250.

Reagan Democrats or Latinos?

So which strategy should Obama pursue, Reagan Democrats or=20 Latinos? From the point of view of simple electoral math, = putting=20 Webb on the ticket and going for Reagan Democrats probably makes = more=20 sense. The Virginia Senator could potentially help tilt his = own=20 state and North Carolina, and might make a difference in swing = states=20 Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Richardson could put the West in = play=20 but these states don=92t have as many electoral votes as the Rust = Belt and=20 Upper South. The New Mexico Governor could perhaps help in=20 Florida. But the Sunshine State, despite recent demographic = trends,=20 is much more challenging for the Democrats than Midwestern swing = states=20 which are closer in the polls. Moreover the last thing the = Democrats=20 want to do is rely on Florida to clinch electoral victory: the GOP = still=20 has a lock on the governorship, which brings back bad memories of = voter=20 manipulation in 2000 under Jeb Bush.

On the other hand, from a political perspective there are = serious=20 disadvantages to the Reagan Democrat strategy. History has = shown=20 that Reagan Democrats are enormously wary of liberal candidates = and are=20 susceptible to right wing media propaganda. Assuming that = Webb or=20 someone like him helps Obama win back Reagan Democrats, the = Illinois=20 Senator may wind up compromising his politics on the campaign = trail and=20 wind up like Bill Clinton, a politician who won the White House = but who=20 ultimately caused irreparable harm to progressive politics. = By=20 contrast, if Obama put together a new electoral coalition = comprised of=20 youth, affluent Whites, Blacks, and Latinos, and actually won, he = would=20 end his campaign on a more idealistic note of =93change=94 and = have more of a=20 political mandate to move the country away from the conservative = politics=20 which have so dominated the Clinton-Bush era.

Nikolas Kozloff is the author of Revolution!=20 South America and the Rise of the New Left=20 (Palgrave-Macmillan)

Link | Comments=20 (1) | Report=20 Objectionable Content

Dear=20 Bush: Attack Iran and trash the U.S. Constitution

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - May 21st, 2008 at 7:44 pm = EDT

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

Dear Bush: Attack Iran and trash the = U.S.=20 Constitution
By Ray=20 McGovern

http:/= /www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19959.htmDear=20 Admiral Fallon,

20/05/08 "ICH" = -- - I=20 have not been able to find out how to reach you directly, = so I=20 drafted this letter in the hope it will be brought to your=20 attention.

First, thank you for honoring the oath we = commissioned=20 officers take to protect and defend the Constitution of the United = States=20 from all enemies, foreign and domestic. At the same time, you have = let it=20 be known that you do not intend to speak, on or off the record, = about=20 Iran.

But our oath has no expiration date. While you are = acutely=20 aware of the dangers of attacking Iran, you seem to be allowing an = inbred=20 reluctance to challenge the commander in chief to trump that oath, = and to=20 prevent you from letting the American people know of the = catastrophe about=20 to befall us if, as seems likely, our country attacks = Iran.

Two=20 years ago I lectured at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I found it = highly=20 disturbing that, when asked about the oath they took upon entering = the=20 academy, several of the "Mids" thought it was to the commander in=20 chief.

This brought to my mind the photos of German = generals and=20 admirals (as well as top church leaders and jurists) swearing = personal=20 oaths to Hitler. Not our tradition, and yet=85

I was aghast = that only=20 the third Mid I called on got it right =96 that the oath is to = protect and=20 defend the Constitution, not the president.

Attack = Iran and=20 Trash the Constitution

No doubt you are very clear = that an=20 attack on Iran would be a flagrant violation of our Constitution, = which=20 stipulates that treaties ratified by the Senate become the supreme = law of=20 the land; that the United Nations Charter =96 which the Senate = ratified on=20 July 28, 1945, by a vote of 89 to 2 =96 expressly forbids attacks = on other=20 countries unless they pose an imminent danger; that there is no = provision=20 allowing some other kind of "preemptive" or "preventive" attack = against a=20 nation that poses no imminent danger; and that Iran poses no such = danger=20 to the United States or its allies.

You may be forgiven for = thinking: Isn't 41 years of service enough; isn't resigning in = order to=20 remove myself from a chain of command that threatened to make me a = war=20 criminal for attacking Iran; isn't making my active opposition = known by=20 talking to journalists =96 isn't all that enough?

With = respect, sir,=20 no, that's not enough.

The stakes here are extremely high, = and with=20 the integrity you have shown goes still further responsibility. = Sadly, the=20 vast majority of your general officer colleagues have, for = whatever=20 reason, ducked that responsibility. You are pretty much = it.

In=20 their lust for attacking Iran, administration officials will do = their best=20 to marginalize you. And, as prominent a person as you are, the = corporate=20 media will do the same.

Indeed, there are clear signs the = media=20 have been given their marching orders to support attacking = Iran.

At=20 CIA I used to analyze the Soviet press, so you will understand = when I=20 refer to the Washington Post and the New York Times as the White = House's=20 Pravda and Izvestiya.

Sadly, it is as easy as during the = days of=20 the controlled Soviet press to follow the U.S. government's = evolving line=20 with a daily reading. In a word, our newspapers are revving up for = war on=20 Iran, and have been for some time.

In some respects the=20 manipulation and suppression of information in the present lead-up = to an=20 attack on Iran is even more flagrant and all encompassing than in = early=20 2003 before the invasion of Iraq.

It seems entirely = possible that=20 you are unaware of this, precisely because the media has put the = wraps on=20 it, so let me adduce a striking example of what is afoot = here.

The=20 example has to do with the studied, if disingenuous, effort over = recent=20 months to blame all the troubles in southern Iraq on the = "malignant"=20 influence of Iran.

But Not for = Fiasco

Joint=20 Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told reporters on April = 25 that=20 Gen. David Petraeus would be giving a briefing "in the next couple = of=20 weeks" that would provide detailed evidence of "just how far Iran = is=20 reaching into Iraq to foment instability."

Petraeus' staff = alerted=20 U.S. media to a major news event in which captured Iranian arms in = Karbala=20 would be displayed and then destroyed.

Small problem. When = American=20 munitions experts went to Karbala to inspect the alleged cache of = Iranian=20 weapons they found nothing that could be credibly linked to=20 Iran.

News to you? That's because this highly embarrassing = episode=20 went virtually unreported in the media =96 like the proverbial = tree falling=20 in the forest with no corporate media to hear it crash.

So = Mullen=20 and Petraeus live, uninhibited and unembarrassed, to keep = searching for=20 Iranian weapons so the media can then tell a story more supportive = to=20 efforts to blacken Iran. A fiasco is only a fiasco if folks know = about=20 it.

The suppression of this episode is the most significant = aspect,=20 in my view, and a telling indicator of how difficult it is to get = honest=20 reporting on these subjects.

Meanwhile, it was announced = that Iraqi=20 Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had formed his own Cabinet = committee to=20 investigate U.S. claims and attempt to "find tangible information = and not=20 information based on speculation."

Dissing the = Intelligence=20 Estimate

Top officials from the president on down = have=20 been dismissing the dramatically new conclusion of the National=20 Intelligence Estimate released on Dec. 3, 2007, a judgment = concurred in by=20 the 16 intelligence units of our government, that Iran had stopped = the=20 weapons-related part of its nuclear program in = mid-2003.

Always=20 willing to do his part, the malleable CIA chief, Michael Hayden, = on April=20 30 publicly offered his "personal opinion" that Iran is building a = nuclear=20 weapon =96 the National Intelligence Estimate = notwithstanding.

For=20 good measure, Hayden added: "It is my opinion, it is the policy of = the=20 Iranian government, approved to the highest level of that = government, to=20 facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq. =85 Just make sure = there's=20 clarity on that."

I don't need to tell you about the = Haydens and=20 other smartly saluting generals in Washington.

Let me = suggest that=20 you have a serious conversation with Gen. Anthony Zinni, one of = your=20 predecessor Centcom commanders (1997 to 2000).

As you know = better=20 than I, this Marine general is also an officer with unusual = integrity. But=20 placed into circumstances virtually identical to those you now = face, he=20 could not find his voice.

He missed his chance to interrupt = the=20 juggernaut to war in Iraq; you might ask him how he feels about = that now,=20 and what he would advise in current circumstances.

Zinni = happened=20 to be one of the honorees at the Veterans of Foreign Wars = convention on=20 Aug. 26, 2002, at which Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the=20 exceedingly alarmist speech, unsupported by our best intelligence, = about=20 the nuclear threat and other perils awaiting us at the hands of = Saddam=20 Hussein.

That speech not only launched the seven-month = public=20 campaign against Iraq leading up to the war, but set the terms of=20 reference for the Oct. 1, 2002, National Intelligence Estimate = fabricated=20 =96 yes, fabricated =96 to convince Congress to approve war on=20 Iraq.

Gen. Zinni later shared publicly that, as he listened = to=20 Cheney, he was shocked to hear a depiction of intelligence that = did not=20 square with what he knew. Although Zinni had retired two years = earlier,=20 his role as consultant had required him to stay up to date on = intelligence=20 relating to the Middle East.

One Sunday morning three and a = half=20 years after Cheney's speech, Zinni told Meet the Press: "There was = no=20 solid proof that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. =85 I = heard a case=20 being made to go to war."

Gen. Zinni had as good a chance = as anyone=20 to stop an unnecessary war =96 not a "preemptive war," since there = was=20 nothing to preempt =96 and Zinni knew it. No, what he and any = likeminded=20 officials could have stopped was a war of aggression, defined at = the=20 post-WWII Nuremberg Tribunal as the "supreme international=20 crime."

Sure, Zinni would have had to stick his neck out. = He may=20 have had to speak out alone, since most senior officials, like = then-CIA=20 Director George Tenet, lacked courage and integrity.

In his = memoir=20 published a year ago, Tenet says Cheney did not follow the usual = practice=20 of clearing his Aug. 26, 2002, speech with the CIA; that much of = what=20 Cheney said took him completely by surprise; and that Tenet "had = the=20 impression that the president wasn't any more aware of what his = number-two=20 was going to say to the VFW until he said it."

It is a bit=20 difficult to believe that Cheney's shameless speech took Tenet = completely=20 by surprise.

We know from the Downing Street Minutes, = vouched for=20 by the UK as authentic, that Tenet told his British counterpart on = July=20 20, 2002, that the president had decided to make war on Iraq for = regime=20 change and that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed = around the=20 policy"

Encore: Iran

Admiral = Fallon, you=20 know that to be the case also with respect to the "intelligence" = being=20 conjured up to "justify" war with Iran. And no one knows better = than you=20 that your departure from the chain of command has turned it over=20 completely to the smartly saluting sycophants.

No doubt you = have=20 long since taken the measure, for example, of Defense Secretary = Robert=20 Gates. So have I.

I was one of his first branch chiefs when = he was=20 a young, disruptively ambitious CIA analyst. When Ronald Reagan's = CIA=20 Director William Casey sought someone to shape CIA analysis to = accord with=20 his own conviction that the Soviet Union would never change, Gates = leaped=20 at the chance.

After Casey died, Gates admitted to the = Washington=20 Post's Walter Pincus that he (Gates) watched Casey on "issue after = issue=20 sit in meetings and present intelligence framed in terms of the = policy he=20 wanted pursued." Gates' entire subsequent career showed that he = learned=20 well at Casey's knee.

So it should come as no surprise = that,=20 despite the unanimous judgment of the 16 U.S. intelligence = agencies that=20 Iran stopped the weapons related aspects of its nuclear program, = Gates is=20 now saying that Iran is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear=20 weapons.

Some of his earlier statements were more = ambiguous, but=20 Gates recently took advantage of the opportunity to bend with the=20 prevailing winds and leave no doubt as to his loyalty.

In = an=20 interview on events in the Middle East with a New York Times = reporter on=20 April 11, Gates was asked whether he was on the same page as the=20 president. Gates replied, "Same line, same word."

I imagine = you are=20 no more surprised than I. Bottom line: Gates will salute smartly = if Cheney=20 persuades the president to let the Air Force and Navy loose on=20 Iran.

You know the probable consequences; you need to let = the rest=20 of the American people know.

A Gutsy=20 Precedent

Can you, Admiral Fallon, be completely = alone?=20 Can it be that you are the only general officer to resign on=20 principle?

And, of equal importance, is there no other = general=20 officer, active or retired, who has taken the risk of speaking out = in an=20 attempt to inform Americans about President George W. Bush's = bellicose=20 fixation with Iran? Thankfully, there is.

Gen. Brent = Scowcroft, who=20 was national security adviser to President George H.W. Bush, took = the=20 prestigious job of chairman of the President's Foreign = Intelligence=20 Advisory Board when asked to by the younger Bush.

From that = catbird=20 seat, Scowcroft could watch the unfolding of U.S. policy in the = Middle=20 East. Over decades dealing with the press, Scowcroft had honed a=20 reputation of quintessential discretion. All the more striking = what he=20 decided he had to do.

In an interview with London's = Financial Times=20 in mid-October 2004 Scowcroft was harshly critical of the = president,=20 charging that Bush had been "mesmerized" by then Israeli Prime = Minister=20 Ariel Sharon.

"Sharon just has him wrapped around his = little=20 finger," Scowcroft said. "He has been nothing but=20 trouble."

Needless to say, Scowcroft was given his walking = papers=20 and told never to darken the White House doorstep = again.

There is=20 ample evidence that Sharon's successors believe they have a = commitment=20 from President Bush to "take care of Iran" before he leaves = office, and=20 that the president has done nothing to disabuse them of that = notion =96 no=20 matter the consequences.

On May 18, speaking at the World = Economic=20 Forum at Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush threw in a gratuitous reference to = "Iran's=20 nuclear weapons ambitions." He said:

"To allow the world's = leading=20 sponsor of terror to gain the world's deadliest weapon would be an = unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of = peace, the=20 world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear = weapon."

Pre-briefing=20 the press, Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley = identified Iran=20 as one of the dominant themes of the trip, adding repeatedly that = Iran "is=20 very much behind" all the woes afflicting the Middle East, from = Lebanon to=20 Gaza to Iraq to Afghanistan.

The Rhetoric Is=20 Ripening

In the coming weeks, at least until U.S. = forces=20 can find some real Iranian weapons in Iraq, the rhetoric is likely = to=20 focus on what I call the Big Lie =96 the claim that Iran's = president has=20 threatened to "wipe Israel off the map."

In that = controversial=20 speech in 2005, Ahmadinejad was actually quoting from something = the=20 Ayatollah Khomeini had said in the early 1980s. Khomeini was = expressing a=20 hope that a regime treating the Palestinians so unjustly would be = replaced=20 by another more equitable one.

A distinction without a = difference?=20 I think not. Words matter.

As you may already know (but the = American people don't), the literal translation from Farsi of what = Ahmadinejad said is, "The regime occupying Jerusalem much vanish = from the=20 pages of time."

Contrary to what the administration would = have us=20 all believe, the Iranian president was not threatening to nuke = Israel,=20 push it into the sea, or wipe it off the map.

President = Bush is way=20 out in front on this issue, and this comes through with particular = clarity=20 when he ad-libs answers to questions.

On Oct. 17, 2007, = long after=20 he had been briefed on the key intelligence finding that Iran had = stopped=20 the nuclear weapons-related part of its nuclear development = program, the=20 president spoke as though, well, "mesmerized." He = said:

"But this =96=20 we got a leader in Iran who has announced he wants to destroy = Israel. So=20 I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War = III, it=20 seems you ought to be interested in preventing them from have = [sic] the=20 knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. I take the threat of = Iran=20 with a nuclear weapon very seriously."

Some contend that = Bush does=20 not really believe his rhetoric. I rather think he does, for the = Israelis=20 seem to have his good ear, with the tin one aimed at U.S. = intelligence he=20 has repeatedly disparaged.

But, frankly, which would be = worse: that=20 Bush believes Iran to be an existential threat to Israel and thus = requires=20 U.S. military action? Or that it's just rhetoric to "justify" U.S. = action=20 to "take care of" Iran for Israel?

What you can do, Admiral = Fallon,=20 is speak authoritatively about what is likely to happen =96 to = U.S. forces=20 in Iraq, for example =96 if Bush orders your successors to begin = bombing and=20 missile attacks on Iran.

And you could readily update = Scowcroft's=20 remarks, by drawing on what you observed of the Keystone Cops = efforts of=20 White House ideologues, like Iran-Contra convict Elliot Abrams, to = overturn by force the ascendancy of Hamas in 2006-07 and Hezbollah = more=20 recently. (Abrams pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of = misleading=20 Congress, but was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush on Dec. = 24,=20 1992.)

It is easy to understand why no professional = military=20 officer would wish to be in the position of taking orders = originating from=20 the likes of Abrams.

If you weigh in as your (non-expiring) = oath to=20 protect and defend the Constitution dictates, you might = conceivably prompt=20 other sober heads to speak out.

And, in the end, if = profound=20 ignorance and ideology =96 supported by the corporate press and by = both=20 political parties intimidated by the Israel lobby =96 lead to an = attack on=20 Iran, and the Iranians enter southern Iraq and take thousands of = our=20 troops hostage, you will be able to look in the mirror and say at = least=20 you tried.

You will not have to live with the remorse of = not=20 knowing what might have been, had you been able to shake your = reluctance=20 to speak out.

There is a large Tar Baby out there =96 Iran. = You may=20 remember that as Brer Rabbit got more and more stuck, Brer Fox, he = lay=20 low.

A "Fox" Fallon, still pledged to defend the = Constitution of=20 the United States, cannot lie low =96 not=20 now.

Lead.

Respectfully,

Ray McGovern; = Steering=20 Group; Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

Click on "comments" below to read or post = comments=20

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SOCIALIST=20 LINKS TO COMBAT THE HILLARY RIGHT-WING MACHINE

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Mar 12th, 2008 at 12:19 pm = EDT

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

SOCIALIST LINKS TO COMBAT THE HILLARY = RIGHT-WING=20 MACHINE

http://www.axisoflogic.org/

http://www.marxist.com/

http://www.bobavakian.net/

http://www.rwor.org/

http://www.marxists.org/

http://www.dollarcollapse.com/

http://www.commondreams.org/

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

http://www.bestcyrano.org/thomaspaine

http://www.socialistworker.org/

http://www.democracynow.org.com/

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

http://www.opednews.com/

http://www.informationliberation.com/

http://www.prisonplanet.com/

http://www.911blogger.com/

http://www.oilempire.us/

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/

http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/

http://www.workers.org/

http://www.truthnews.us/

http://www.redicecreations.com/

http://www.tvnewslies.org/

http://www.rense.com/

http://www.savethemales.ca/

http://atlanticfreepress.com/

http://www.globalresearch.ca/

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/

http://www.blackcommentator.com/

http://www.opednews.com/

http://www.infowars.com/

http://www.latter-rain.com/

http://www.911truth.org/

http://www.freewebs.com/awordfitlyspoken/

http://www.uruknet.de/

http://baltimorechronicle.com/

http://www.countercurrents.org/

http://www.dailykos.com/

http://dailyscare.com/

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/

http://leninology.blogspot.com/

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/

http://www.rebelion.org/

http://www.signs-of-the-times.org/

http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm

http://valenzuelasveritas.blogspot.com/

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Hillary=20 Clinton and her anti-muslim fascism cannot be president of United=20 States

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Mar 8th, 2008 at 10:28 pm = EST

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

Hillary Clinton and anti-Muslim=20 Racism 3D""

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=3D135= 65

Obama is not a Muslims; even if he was, so what?

By Ali Alarabi

I must say that when I heard the national media repeatedly = playing out=20 the words of Ohio talk show host, Bill Cunningham - emphasizing = the name=20 of Hussein in Obama=92s name - not only was Cunningham coming = across as an=20 anti Muslim, bigoted racist, but the national media seemed to be=20 applauding him by playing over and over again like a broken = record. It is=20 not a good feeling, to say the least, to think the media had = become=20 complicit in spreading hatred and racial discrimination simply = because=20 someone has a =93Muslim=94 middle name. I also take it that = Muslims with an=20 obvious Muslim first or last names are viewed as suspects. This = latest=20 hatred campaign directed at Senator Barak Obama for having the = middle name=20 of =93Hussein=94 represents a low point in American politics and = some American=20 politicians who have made it a career to demean and assault Muslim = Americans and Muslims in general.

Senator Barack Obama is not a Muslims; he had said it loud and = clear,=20 even if he was, then what? Does it mean that he cannot run for = office=20 because of his faith or middle name?

This whole debate about senator Obama=92s roots started by = ultra=20 conservative racists and picked up by Senator Hillary Clinton = campaign, or=20 the other way around, or even a combined effort against Senator = Obama, is=20 a desperate attempt to stop senator Obama train in its tracks, and = is=20 racist, clan-easque and certainly un-American.

Muslim Americans are an integral part of the American society. = They=20 work hard, pay their taxes, serve in the military and die in the = line of=20 duty.

My question to those hate-mongers is: how much more American = you need=20 to be to prove you are a patriotic American, it looks like it will = never=20 be enough for those racists. That said however, Muslims should not = change=20 their ethnic names or their religion so as bigots accept them as=20 Americans! This whole idea of attacking Americans based on their = faith,=20 color and race, though not new or unusual, is nonetheless = preposterous.=20

Dirty trick by Senator Clinton campaign was reminiscent of=20 discrimination African Americans, Asian and Native Americans have=20 experienced here at home and even after coming home from battles = in past=20 wars risking their lives as soldiers for this country, only to = face racial=20 discrimination be rejected as equals by certain segments of the = American=20 society.

Many Muslims were offended by Mr. Cunningham and other racists = talk=20 show hosts who kept repeating the word =94 Hussein=94 so as to = appeal to his=20 fellow racist-Americans in a bid to create a psychological = connection=20 between senator Obama=92s roots, and terrorists. Senator Obama is = an=20 American first and foremost; his faith should be a private matter, = regardless of what it is, and none of the business of those = bigoted=20 individuals.

Senator Clinton=92s camp, on the other hand is equally guilty = for=20 spreading false rumors and innuendos about Senator Obama=92s = heritage and=20 distributing a picture of him in a traditional African clothes = that=20 includes a turban. And what=92s with that. Senator Clinton and her = husband=20 former president Bill Clinton donned Chinese, African, and Asian = clothing=20 on their foreign travels. It is very respectful to other nations = and their=20 national cultures to try to show respect and understanding. The = real=20 reason however for distributing a picture like this is actually = more=20 sinister and defamatory. More, it is a form of character = assassination=20 because it appeals to the psychology of fear and it creates a = mental=20 imagery between Senator Obama wearing a traditional African turban = and=20 America=92s enemies who wear turbans. Clinton=92s subliminal = message could be=20 something like a vote for Obama is a vote for America=92s enemies = or that=20 obama is one of them.

Senator Clinton, or I should say the Clintons because it = appears that=20 Senator Obama is running against both Hillary and Bill should = focus on the=20 real issues that face Americans instead of reaching to her old bag = of=20 dirty tricks and thus turning her election campaign into no more = than a=20 smear campaign against not only Senator Obama, but also against = patriotic=20 Americans who happened to be Muslims.

-Ali Alarabi is an Arab American writer and syndicated = columnist.=20 He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him = at:=20 alialarabi1@aol.com

<= IMG=20 height=3D16 alt=3D"" src=3D"" width=3D571>

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USA:=20 The War, the Economy & the Elections

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Mar 6th, 2008 at 10:30 pm = EST

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

USA: The War, the Economy & the=20 Elections

By US Socialist Appeal Editorial Board

http://www.= marxist.com/usa/war-economy-elections.htm =20

Thursday, 06 March 2008

It has now been 5 years since the U.S. invasion of = Iraq. The=20 cost in lives, human suffering, and economic resources boggles the = imagination. By the Pentagon=92s estimate, it has killed = 37,500=20 civilians in Iraq. An independent polling agency puts the figure = 32 times=20 higher at over one million. Nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers have been = killed=20 and another 30,000 wounded, many with permanent brain injury or=20 amputations. This is just the tip of the iceberg and does not take = into=20 account the long-term effects of depleted uranium, post-traumatic = stress,=20 depression, suicides, etc. 3D"Troops

Troops=20 in Afghanistan

In economic terms, the wars in Iraq and = Afghanistan now cost $275 million each and every day. Nearly half = a=20 trillion dollars has been spent so far. That=92s $4,100 for every = household=20 in America. According to a recent Congressional Research Service = (CRS)=20 report, the average monthly cost reached $10.3 billion in 2007, up = from=20 $4.4 billion in 2004. By the end of 2009, the cost of the Iraq and = Afghanistan wars could reach $1 trillion. Even a country as = wealthy as the=20 United States cannot endure this drain forever. Every dollar spent = on the=20 war is a dollar not spent here at home on health care, education,=20 affordable housing, jobs, or repairing the country=92s decaying=20 infrastructure. The effects of the war are directly felt here at = home. And=20 this is during a so-called economic boom. The official declaration = that=20 the country has entered a recession usually doesn=92t come until = months=20 after it actually begins, as the analysts from the National Bureau = of=20 Economic Research (NBER) look back over the facts and figures. But = top=20 economists from major Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch and = Goldman=20 Sachs think a tipping point into recession has already been = reached.=20 Unemployment rose sharply in December to 5.0 percent, up from the = cyclical=20 low of 4.4 percent in March. Also, the economy slowed dramatically = in the=20 fourth quarter of 2007, growing by just 0.6 percent, with total = growth for=20 the year at just 2.2 percent, the worst figure since 2002. Never = in the=20 last 60 years has such a sharp rise in unemployment, combined with = such=20 low growth, not led to a recession. The housing and credit crisis = has=20 begun to spread to the broader economy. Defaults for adjustable = rate loans=20 issued in 2007 hit 11.2 percent in November. This is twice the = default=20 rate for 2006. Most worrying is that none of these loans had yet = =93re-set=94=20 to the higher rate. This represents some 300,000 households, yet = more=20 people who will almost certainly lose their homes as a result of = this=20 crisis. Spending on new housing projects fell in 2007 by 16.9 = percent, the=20 worst fall in 25 years. And as reported by Reuters, the services = sector,=20 which accounts for over two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, fell = sharply=20 in January, to levels not seen since the 2001 recession. The=20 Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to = 69.6 in=20 February from 78.4 in January, the lowest reading since February = 1992. The=20 index has only been this low during the recessions of the mid = 1970s, the=20 early 1980s and the early 1990s. The Institute for Supply = Management=92s=20 index for the non-manufacturing sector plummeted to 41.9 from 54.4 = in=20 December: a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The employment = index=20 fell to 43.9 from 51.8, corroborating the late January U.S. = payrolls=20 report, which showed the first net monthly contraction in the = labor market=20 in more than four years. While it is impossible to say exactly = when or how=20 deep or how long the slump will come, it already feels like it to = millions=20 of American workers. This has already led to decreasing government = revenues, and still Bush proposes a budget that tops $3 trillion = for the=20 first time in U.S. history. By Bush=92s own estimates, it will = lead to=20 deficits of $410 billion in 2008 and $407 billion in 2009, = bringing the=20 overall Federal deficit to $5.9 trillion, up from $3.3 trillion = when he=20 took office. $2.3 trillion of this debt is held by foreign banks = and=20 investors. The proposed budget would dramatically increase = spending on the=20 military and military aid to =93key allies=94 around the world, in = other=20 words, countries that are actively repressing their own people to = defend=20 U.S. corporate interests. To pay for all of this, the government = will have=20 to further cut already depleted domestic programs such as Medicare = and=20 abolishing dozens of other social services programs. Not = surprisingly, the=20 budget allocates $515 billion to the Defense Department, not = including a=20 separate request for billions more for the wars in Iraq and = Afghanistan.=20 Adjusted for inflation, this will be the largest military budget = since=20 World War II. This is a true =93guns before butter=94 budget, an = open=20 declaration of increased militarism abroad and a further = relentless attack=20 on workers here at home. The American ruling class will expect = more of the=20 same ruthless cuts from the next Republican or Democrat to sit in = the Oval=20 Office. 3D"G.

To=20 add insult to injury, Bush=92s economic stimulus plan to try and = prevent the=20 slide into recession includes $300 million for poor children in = the inner=20 cities: little more than what is spent in a single day on the wars = in Iraq=20 and Afghanistan. And if you do the math =96 $300 million divided = by 15=20 million American children living in poverty =96 that=92s a = whopping $20 per=20 child. All of this is having an effect on Americans=92 = consciousness. In an=20 election year, there are many people looking for an electoral = solution to=20 the serious and growing problems they face. While the Iraq War is = still=20 high on voters=92 lists of concerns, the economy is now number one = for=20 voters of both main parties. Many youth in particular are looking = to the=20 Democrats, and especially to Barack Obama. The Republicans=92 = almost-certain=20 candidate John McCain has staked his entire political future on = continuing=20 the war in Iraq. But do the Democrats=92 candidates offer anything = even=20 closely approximating the majority of Americans=92 demand to bring = the=20 troops home now? Despite all the nice-sounding election year = promises, the=20 experience of the last five years clearly shows that we cannot = depend on=20 either the Republicans or Democrats to end the war. This is why = the WIL is=20 working with a wide coalition of organizations and individuals to = help=20 build a broad, united, and democratic anti-war movement, with the = aim of=20 organizing massive demonstrations in the coming months and years. = We must=20 also work energetically to build a political alternative to the = duopoly of=20 the Democrats and Republicans: a mass party of labor. Mass = mobilizations=20 and building a party of, by, and for working people is the only = way to=20 stop the war and improve our quality of life. In an epoch of = growing=20 polarization and inequality, the next president will inevitably = appeal for=20 national and bi-partisan =93unity=94. In other words, he or she = will call on=20 American workers to subordinate their interests to the interests = of the=20 rich, to tighten their belts further in the interest of preserving = the=20 system that profits off of their labor. But as the =93American = Dream=94 is=20 transformed into an =93American Nightmare=94, more and more people = will begin=20 to question the very system that leads to such instability.

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Lou=20 Dobbs: U.S. Heading For Stagflation Crisis

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Mar 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm = EST

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

Lou Dobbs: U.S. Heading For Stagflation=20 Crisis
CNN host slams Fed's depreciation of = dollar=20

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Thursday, = March 6,=20 2008

=20

CNN host Lou Dobbs says the U.S. economy is = heading for a=20 stagflation crisis as a result of the U.S. government's policy of = dollar=20 depreciation and that the only solution is for the American people = to=20 restore a proper Constitutional system of government.

Dobbs told The Alex Jones Show today that the = decline of=20 the dollar was, "a clear signal as to how much trouble this = economy is=20 in," added to a 9 trillion dollar national debt and a 6 trillion = dollar=20 trade debt.

America's dependence on cheap imported Chinese = consumer=20 electronics, clothes and toys was negating any elasticity that = could be=20 gained from the demand relationship with China on imports, meaning = that=20 the only conceivable benefit of a weak dollar - cheaper exports - = was not=20 even applicable, Dobbs explained. Copyright =A9 = Prisonplanet.com.=20 All rights reserved.

Notice: Undefined = variable:=20 myURL in /home/prisonpl/public_html/print.php on = line=20 123

Printed=20 from: http://prisonplanet.com/articles/march2008/030608_stagflation_cr= isis.htm

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US=20 Imperialism wants to invade Cuba and Venezuela

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Mar 4th, 2008 at 1:30 pm = EST

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

Hello all: We have to be on the lookout, on = alert, because=20 US Imperialism wants to invade Cuba. Read this article which talks = about=20 how US terrorizes Cuba, and even though that Cuba is not a = socialist=20 communist system, but a state social welfare capitalist system, US = Imperialism won't accept Cuba as it is, and just wants to take it = over and=20 invade it:

Behind the Giddy Castro Death Watch

U.S. = Maneuvering=20 and Anticommunist Lying

by Raymond Lotta

http://rwor.org/a/056/cuba-en.html

http://www.bobavakian.net/

Cuban leader Fidel Castro has undergone emergency intestinal = surgery.=20 The U.S. media have been almost giddy in reporting =93death = watches=94 about=20 Castro=92s possible passing from the scene. The Bush = administration is=20 licking its chops about a potential leadership crisis in Cuba. = There is=20 cold-hearted calculating going on about openings and pretexts for = U.S.=20 interference and intervention to bring about =93regime change=94 = in Cuba.=20 Reactionary elements in the Cuban-American community have been = given=20 platforms to call for the return of the =93Cuba of old.=94

President Bush stated that the U.S. would support those working = =93to=20 build a transitional government in Cuba committed to democracy.=94 = One has=20 to ask, do the Cuban people really want the democracy that the = U.S. brings=20 to Iraq and the world?

CASTRO: THORN IN THE SIDE OF U.S. = IMPERIALISM

The removal of Fidel Castro from power has been a goal of U.S. = foreign=20 policy since the Cuban revolution of 1959. Why? Fidel Castro led a = mass=20 anti-imperialist struggle that declared to the U.S.: Cuba does not = belong=20 to you! The Castro regime nationalized U.S. enterprises and = holdings. It=20 gave hope to the oppressed throughout Latin America that they too = could=20 oust the yanqui exploiters. For U.S. imperialism, this was = unforgivable.=20 And for decades, the U.S. has worked to destroy this regime: = invading and=20 blockading, infiltrating spies and saboteurs, and making direct = attempts=20 on Castro=92s life.

That Cuba is not genuinely socialist and that Castro is not a = genuine=20 communist (see "U.S.=20 Imperialism, the Cuban Revolution, and Fidel Castro") has = hardly=20 diminished U.S. imperialism=92s hatred for this regime. Castro has = refused=20 to give in to U.S. terms and demands to turn Cuba back over to=20 U.S.-sponsored forces and interests. He has remained a vocal = critic of=20 U.S. foreign policy. He has given support to various anti-U.S. = forces in=20 Latin America. With the U.S. waging its =93war on the world=94 and = demanding=20 of all, =93you are either with us or against us,=94 Castro=92s = obstinacy is even=20 more unacceptable to the U.S. rulers.

THE BUSH TEAM=92S = RECOLONIZATION=20 PLANS=20

In 2003, the Bush administration put together a multi-agency = Commission=20 for Assistance for a Free Cuba, chaired by Secretary of State = Condoleezza=20 Rice. In 2004, the Commission issued its first report outlining = steps the=20 U.S. would take to bring about regime change. These included = subversion of=20 Castro=92s plans to relinquish duties to his younger brother Raul. = A=20 follow-up report last month recommended an $80 million fund to = support=20 Cuba=92s opposition and the deployment of U.S. aid once a = =93transitional=20 government=94 was in place. Last year, Rice announced the creation = of a new=20 post to help =93accelerate the demise=94 of the Castro government. =

Now that Castro is hospitalized, the Bush team is making louder = noises=20 and bolder threats against the Cuban regime. The assumption is = that Cuba=20 is a ripe fruit for imperial plucking. A State Department = spokesman=20 stated, =93the United States would take an active role in shaping = events on=20 the island if the Cuban leader dies.=94 Just before Bush left for = vacation=20 in early August, he warned that the U.S. would =93take note of = those, in the=20 current Cuban regime, who obstruct [Cubans=92] desire for a free = Cuba.=94 In=20 other words, the U.S. is declaring the right to insert itself in a = =93post-Castro Cuba=94 and even drawing a line in the sand: there = will be no=20 place for remnants of the Castro regime. This is a big part of the = reason=20 that reactionary Cubans are being revved up in Miami. They are = being=20 counted on as loyal servants and enforcers of U.S. plans for = =93Cuba after=20 Castro.=94

There are important geostrategic considerations bound up with = U.S.=20 maneuvering for a =93post-Castro=94 Cuba. In waging their =93war = on the world,=94=20 the U.S. imperialists have not paid as much attention to Latin = America as=20 they have to the Middle East and Central Asia. The government of = Hugo=20 Chavez in Venezuela has been flexing its oil-revenue muscles and = allying=20 with Castro. If the U.S. can take down a weakened Cuba and = reintegrate it=20 into its imperial network, this will send a message to Chavez and = other=20 governments staking out more independent positions from the=20 U.S.

ANTI-COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA

The U.S. is also using the current situation to blast out lies = about=20 communism=97that communism is =93totalitarian control=94 over = people. This=20 caricature has nothing to do with real communism, which is about = the=20 proletariat taking hold of and consciously transforming society to = abolish=20 all classes and class distinctions and to emancipate all of = humanity.

The U.S. media trots out reactionary Cuban exiles to talk about = the=20 =93horrors=94 of communism and how they personally suffered. But = who are these=20 people and what is their program? Many were part of families who = were=20 beneficiaries of the pre-1959 Cuba of U.S. corporate control and=20 privilege. And they want to turn Cuba once again into a U.S.=20 neo-colony=97which will mean =93horrors=94 for the masses of = Cubans.

Cuba is not socialist (see background = article) but has certain formal characteristics that make it = appear to=20 be socialist: state-owned enterprises and extensive state-financed = social=20 programs. The Bush administration, working from the anticommunist = script,=20 rhapsodizes about =93privatizing=94 Cuba=92s economy. For whom: = the Miami elite=20 seeking their estates and power=85for U.S. corporations seeking = cheap labor?=20 The New York Times editorializes for an =93economically = dynamic=20 society=94 in Cuba. Well, let=92s look at the wonders of = unfettered capitalism=20 in Latin America. In the 1990s, deregulation and privatization = were widely=20 imposed on countries by the U.S. and the International Monetary = Fund. The=20 result was a =93lost decade=94 of development and a vast increase = in poverty=20 and inequality. And Cuba, while not in fact socialist, has a lower = infant=20 mortality rate=97and this is a Third World country=97than does = Washington,=20 D.C.

A DANGEROUS MOMENT

The U.S. has no right to meddle in Cuba=92s affairs. It has no = right to=20 dictate Cuba=92s future. U.S. plans for Cuba must be called out = and opposed=20 for what they are: the brutal maneuverings of empire.

Send = us your=20 comments.

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Obama=20 Must Build a Movement to Take Him Beyond the White House

By Juan = Carlos=20 from Knoxville, TN - Mar 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm = EST

Also listed in: Tennessee=20 Action Team | Tennessee=20 for Obama '08

Obama Must Build a Movement to Take Him Beyond = the White=20 House
An effective presidency will need his supporters to keep=20 mobilising to take on the corporations and lobbyists in his = way
by Gary=20 Younge

On the night when Barack Obama took Virginia, Maryland and = Washington=20 DC with 20 point leads, an equally potent primary result came in = from=20 Maryland=92s fourth congressional district. Away from the glare of = the=20 international media, Donna Edwards, anti-war campaigner and = community=20 activist, trounced eight-time incumbent Albert Wynn in the battle = for the=20 Democratic nomination. This was no minor achievement. A sitting=20 congressman had not been ousted in a primary in Maryland for 16 = years. In=20 2006, a high tide for anti-incumbent sentiment, Edwards lost to = Wynn by=20 3%. But she persevered. Wynn had taken huge sums from lobbyists. = He had=20 voted for the Iraq war, Dick Cheney=92s energy bill and to repeal=20 inheritance tax. Edwards argued that this was against the wishes = and=20 interests of his mostly black, middle-class constituents. Last = month she=20 beat him by 35%.

There is a symbiotic relationship between Edwards=92s victory = and Obama=92s=20 potential. To some extent, she rode his coat-tails. The surge in = turnout -=20 particularly among the young - and focus on =93change=94 could = only have=20 swelled her numbers. But if the energy around Obama=92s candidacy = is going=20 to be translated into an enduring political reality, then he has = more to=20 learn from her victory that night than she does from his.

For her win was the product not just of electoral momentum but = a=20 political movement. For several years now online activists have = been=20 building a progressive counterweight to rightward drift within the = Democratic party. In general elections, they attack Republicans. = In=20 primaries, they support progressives. And in between time they = light a=20 fire under Democrats lest they forget why they were elected.

Edwards was, among other things, a product of that movement. It = made=20 her candidacy viable and sustained it after her narrow defeat in = 2006. If=20 she goes to Congress and sells out, they will turn on her. If she = delivers=20 progressive policies and comes under fire, they will support her. = The=20 interests of her candidacy and their priorities coincided. But = they are=20 not identical.

As the primary race reaches its denouement, Obama needs to = reflect on=20 how he can nurture a similar relationship with his base - not just = to=20 sustain his candidacy but to bolster his prospects of actually = delivering=20 on his promises. Obama has been described as running a grassroots=20 movement. This is only half true. It is certainly grassroots. In = the=20 various states that I have seen it operate there are plenty of = local=20 volunteers and local staff. At web-driven meet-ups people get = together,=20 independent of the campaign. On Facebook his candidacy has a life = of its=20 own. One of the reasons he has won every caucus state is because = his=20 supporters are far more dedicated and far better organised at a = local=20 level than Clinton=92s.

But it is not a movement. It has no purpose or meaning beyond = getting=20 him elected. Once he wins or loses it will cease to exist. It = operates not=20 from the bottom up but the top down. The change he refers to is=20 principally a change in leadership. The chant =93Yes we can=94, in = essence,=20 means yes he can.

When I asked a group of volunteers in Charleston who had just = literally=20 danced through the streets on Martin Luther King day, why they = were so=20 excited about his candidacy, they told me they could not answer = without=20 prior approval from head office 115 miles away in Columbia. It is = always a=20 troubling sign when politicised people lose their voice or hand it = over to=20 a higher authority.

This comes more by way of description than criticism. None of = this is a=20 problem for Clinton because she has never pretended she is running = a=20 movement (or if she did nobody believed her). Obama alludes to his = need=20 for broader support on the stump, regularly telling audiences = =93this=20 election is not just about me=94 and =93I cannot do this alone=94. = But beyond=20 electing him it is not at all clear where he imagines others will = come=20 from or how they would engage. There is little in the way his = campaign=20 works to suggest a vibrant, independent insurgency being reined in = by=20 headquarters.

What Obama does have is a highly professional electoral = campaign that=20 has proved itself adept at getting people involved at every level = and=20 harnessing new technologies to that end. So far so good. It is = perfectly=20 possible (although by no means inevitable) that by the end of = tomorrow=20 night Obama will effectively be the nominee. His team could be = forgiven=20 for dwelling on making that immediate prospect a reality.

But then what? If Obama is serious about his desire to = fundamentally=20 change the way America operates at home and abroad then he will = have take=20 on entrenched, vested interests to beat John McCain and deliver on = his=20 promises.

This would be a tall order in the best of times. And these are = not the=20 best of times. Whoever wins will inherit a nation in serious state = of=20 disrepair. Just in the last two months, since those first caucus = goers=20 ventured into the Iowa cold to deliver him his surprise initial = victory,=20 the Dow has fallen by 6% and the price of petrol has risen by = 4.5%.=20 Meanwhile Iraq is stalling, Afghanistan is unravelling and the = former=20 chief prosecutor for Guant=E1namo=92s military commissions, = Colonel Morris=20 Davis, has conceded that the trials of detainees there are rigged. = Taking=20 over from George Bush is a bit like becoming the new manager of = Leeds=20 United or chief executive of Northern Rock. You enter with high = hopes=20 pinned to your front and =93kick me=94 on your behind.

An electoral coalition of independents, wealthy progressives, = African=20 Americans, white men and the young have come together to vote for = him, but=20 has yet to mobilise itself into a political movement that can = support him.=20 A movement sparked by the issues his candidacy has raised that = moves=20 beyond his personality as a candidate.

Were he to win, he would need to tap their outrage at the=20 pharmaceutical companies, Halliburton, lobbyists, Pentagon = torturers and=20 corporate tax-dodgers. He would need them sufficiently empowered = to=20 confront the banks over their lending practices, multinationals = over=20 outsourcing, and universities over rising fees. And in his = negotiations=20 with Congress and other powerbrokers he would need to know the = limits to=20 what he can concede without antagonising his base.

Obama cannot turn this around on his own any more than Bush got = America=20 into this mess on his own. Enough of the public had to be actively = complicit in the Bush agenda for it to be possible to make things = this=20 bad. Indeed, the right has been extraordinarily adept in this = regard. When=20 Bush nominated Harriet Miers or sought to pass immigration reform, = they=20 blocked him. When he cut taxes and started war, they backed him. = Without=20 them his presidency would have crumbled sooner, and even more=20 dramatically. Enough of the public would have to be equally = complicit in=20 Obama=92s agenda for him to right Bush=92s wrongs.

But the White House is where that process ends - complete with = signing=20 ceremony and fanfare - not where it starts. Tomorrow Obama will = once again=20 be running. If he is to be successful, not just electorally but=20 politically, his supporters will have to make sure they do not = stand=20 still.

Gary Younge is a Guardian columnist and feature writer = based in the=20 US. He was formerly the paper=92s New York correspondent. His most = recent=20 book is Stranger in a Strange Land: Encounters in the = Disunited=20 States; he is also the author of No Place Like Home, published in 1999

=A9 Guardian News and Media Limited = 2008

Link | Comments=20 (0) | Report=20 Objectionable Content

= Posts

Content on blogs = in=20 My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in = no way=20 should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the=20 campaign.

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