Jim Hightower: Peeking Under the Big Top at This Year's Three-Ring Election Circus

[marmar]

JIM HIGHTOWER ON BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT


In last week's elections, the national media focused tightly on the center ring, where two gubernatorial contests and one mayoral race were spotlighted. The most interesting of these to me was the dazzling, out-of-nowhere, high-wire performance of Bill de Blasio, the free-wheeling, six-foot-seven, progressive populist who shocked New York City's establishment with his landslide victory, becoming mayor of America's biggest metropolis.

........(snip)........

Next came a clown act that was completely odd, troubling, and disgusting. It took place in (where else?) Texas, where a right wing, white Republican won a seat on Houston's community college board of trustees from a district that's predominantly African-American. Dave Wilson literally snuck onto the board by pretending to be black. In his fliers (which had no photos of him, but plenty of smiling African-American faces he took from the internet), Dave claimed to be endorsed by Ron Wilson — a popular black political leader. Actually, though, it was not the black Ron Wilson from Houston who'd endorsed the white Republican. Rather, it was Dave's own cousin, also named Ron — a white guy who lives in Iowa, nearly 1,000 miles away. How clever is that?

........(snip)........

For the most electrifying display of political deception, however, turn to the third ring of this year's election circus.

There you can see some of America's biggest food conglomerates doing astonishing acrobatic maneuvers to defeat Initiative 522 in Washington state. Put on the ballot by a broad coalition of consumer, organic, environmental and other groups, 522 would have required grocery manufactures that slip genetically manipulated organisms into their products to be honest with shoppers by stating that fact on the food labels.

But the industry ran a dishonest, multimillion-dollar PR campaign to dodge having to be honest about their ingredients. They ran ads to scare voters, falsely claiming that the truth-in-labeling provision would jack up each family's food costs by an average of more than $450. ......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18308-jim-hightower-peeking-under-the-big-top-at-this-year-s-three-ring-election-circus

[dembotoz]

1. hightower is a treasure

[Laelth]

2. k&r for Jim Hightower. n/t

-Laelth

[bvar22]

3. Always a DURec for Jim Hightower!

[font color=firebrick size=4][center]"The only thing in the Middle of the Road
are Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos."--Jim Hightower

[center][/center][/font]