i don't go as far as the author of the article (see below) in saying there is no difference between the two major parties ... but the degree to which big money and "special interests" dominate who gets served and who gets screwed cannot be denied ... and it cannot be denied that both Democrats and republicans are complicit, perhaps to varying degrees, in this conspiracy ...
the two party system institutionalizes an undemocratic nobility ... it stifles alternative voices ... it allows a ruling class of incumbents to rule without accountability ... it blocks out fresh ideas from nationally televised presidential debates ...
and all the while, the empire continues to die ... just how long did you suppose greed and avarice against the national interest could go on before the big bills came due for all of us? we are sitting just back from the dark, dangerous edge with the same cast of characters controlling the script ... until it is too late to react, a sleeping public will not call for changes we need ...
source:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__051024_corruption_lite_and_.htmI see all the time the questions of what is wrong with the Democratic Party. I sense the palpable frustration of well-minded people who fight day in and out against the corruption in the current administration only to be heartbroken at the apparent ineptitude of the opposition party. It hit me today why the Democratic Party seems too inept in dealing with the rampant corruption. They are a willing participant in it. <skip>
Uncomfortable? Well, don’t fall for the “we are not in power” mantra. Sure the dems wield no real power but they choose to remain in that position by refusing to create their own progressive identity. They are mostly content to be the stepchildren in the government, happy with the scraps that fall from the master’s table. Disagree? Ask yourself how many democrats voted for the Patriot Act, stripping you of your civil liberties. Granted the first go around was difficult because of the fervor after 9-11, but Russ Feingold still had the moral clarity to not give in and voted “no”. Ask yourself how many democrats voted for the recent bankruptcy law, financially enslaving this country while doing nothing to address the predatory lending practices of major credit card companies. Sure not a single GOP House member voted against it but did you know that nearly 40% of the House democrats voted for it as well? Why? Because they ponied up to the trough and feasted on the 40 million dollars in contributions made to congress over the past eight years by the credit card lobby. That is right America. They sold you out just as quickly as the republicans did, just not on the same scale. Still if the GOP never sees any of their order dissent and they can get 40% of the democrats, then that is why their control is as tight and ruthless as it is.
Still unconvinced? How about the recent law enacted to curb class action lawsuits? This law serves no interest other than corporate profits. The GOP did a masterful job of making us think that out of control lawsuits were behind the rise in healthcare but every study has proven that is bunk. Frivolous lawsuits accounts for less than 1% of healthcare costs. The GOP knew that but lied anyway to push their oppressive agenda. The frightening thing though is the bill passed in the Senate 72-26 and in the House 279-149. That means there were plenty of democrats who chose to protect companies at the cost of human beings.
Votes like this happen all the time. How many democrats supported the Iraq War? How many have done anything serious to see it end? How many supported the protestors? Their identity as stepchildren is a choice. It is a conscious decision to play the game the way it is set up, knowing that being number two in a game where they get to share in the profit of corruption is better than being number three, on the outside looking in. There first duty is the same as the GOP. It is not to protect their constituents. It is not to protect their party. It is to protect the status quo. Protecting the system guarantees a spot at the trough for them, even if they have to wait to feed when their step-parents are done feeding. Are they as bad as the GOP? No. They are corruption-lite. Make no mistake about it though. In that role they are very much part of the problem. <skip>
But we wake up every day thinking that it is democrats versus republicans. The sad truth is that one is no better than the other. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Our system is no longer set up to benefit or protect us. Our environment is destroyed in the name of corporate profits. Our elected officials are bought and paid for by people representing corporate interests keeping the rich powerful and the poor impotent. Our children go off to die in wars based on lies, and we have to actually debate if we should stay or go while we wave little American flags made in China. The debate is what continues to divide us. The illusion that there are only two coherent lines of political thought is crippling this democracy. There has to be more than the vanilla republicans and the chocolate democrats. Until we truly get progressive in our political thought in this country we will be choosing between corruption and corruption lite, and not liking either flavor.
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