It really doesn't make any sense

[Az]

The system is broken. By now this should be obvious to everyone here. It is currently beyond our control. I don't know if we can bring it back under our control by any means short of a revolution. But as it stands right now we do not have a lot of input into the system. But we are not cut out entirely.

The candidates we are going to see placed in the upcoming election are going to be heavily influenced (if not outright puppets) by Corporate interests. Watching the MSM slice candidates like Kucinich simply out of the picture should tell us right off the bat that such positions will simply be cut off from the vital exposure the MSM provides.

And thats the problem right there. Any candidate that wants to win has to have exposure via the MSM. There is no other way as yet. So this is the stage we have set before us. We have to work within these contraints until such a time as we can change the nature of them.

As it stands right now it certainly appears that Hilary is going to be the Dem candidate given the nod for President. Not my first choice (nor my second, third, or forth) but that is the direction that seems to be coming down the pipe whether we like it or not. So what to do?

Do we set about venting our frustrations (which are really about the system) at the candidate we have? Or do we act to exert what little influence we do have to shift her more in our direction? Do we work with what few tools we have or use them to self destruct?

The system must be repaired. We must gain what ever influence we can on whoever is made the next president. So why turn on each other? Its a base emotional reaction. One that we see in rats and other lower critters (ie without the ability to reason) when placed under stress. We can reason. We can form complex ideas. It doesn't make any sense to turn on each other because things are not going the way we want to. We need to deal with the way things are and work to change them as best we can.

[ShortnFiery]

1. We are not part of the equation. Only corporations and their beloved CEOs have the ear

of the Clintonian DLC whom will soon run The Unitary Executive as well as The Nation. :(

[Az]

5. I don't know that is entirely true

On the right I can certainly see that. But on the left (however far left that may be) I don't think even the most cynical politician is entirely deaf to us. Lets put it this way. I think we have a better chance of reaching Hilary than we do of reaching Rudy. If those are the cards we are dealt then we have to put our effort into working with them as well as into changing the system.

[ShortnFiery]

7. Sorry, but IMO, we have NO chance of reaching either HRC or Rudy - best to focus on CONGRESS

and NOT allowing HRC to keep us home and letting her steal the Primary. :(

[jojo54]

8. Hate to disagree with you Az

It's not whether they are entirely deaf to us, it's whether they choose to listen! We may be able to reach Hillary, but where her loyalty lies is the question.

[Az]

10. Its ok to disagree

If her loyalties lie elsewhere then we must find a way to shift her loyalties. We must find a way to make her (or whoever gets the nom) to listen. I don't imagine it will be easy. But it is necessary.

[Phillycat]

2. K&R. Good post.

[porphyrian]

3. Cut out the MSM.

Are they really as vital as they keep telling us they are?

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I suspect many, chiefly the corpos, are in for a surprise.

but I don't think Hillary will be president.

The national polls, yes she is ahead

But in Iowa and New Hampshire things are much, much closer

So don't take is as gospel that she will be President

Now let me reach for the fire proof suite as the Hillarites come out of the wodwork when one points these little facts....

In fact, I would not be too shocked if her path is similar to Dr. Dean's

[stellanoir]

6. Without these three things

a fairness doctrine (in media), true campaign finance reform, and voter verified paper ballots we are likely to remain mostly bereft of even remotely representative leadership.

But you know gay marriages, abortions, and illegal immigrants are really the only issues we are allowed to think about. /sarcasm

[Az]

9. Then the thing we have to figure out how to do

Is to maintain pressure on whoever gets the nom to consider these issues without the use of the MSM.

The problem is in many ways an issue of dependence. The MSM once served our concerns by actings as a megaphone for our issues. For a brief period of time it fixated on groups of liberals advancing progressive ideas via protests and other means. But once the Corporations figured out how to turn that megaphone to its advantage we lost that tool. But in the meantime we did not find a new tool to replace it. We expect the MSM to relay our concerns to the public and make them aware of them. We have lost that and do not yet have a tool that can duplicate its effectiveness. The net has potential but tends to only be a conduit for preaching to the choir. The MSM continues to be the most vocal and direct way of reaching the general public.

Its a difficult problem. And the fact that the right controls the best tool for reaching the public and influencing the path this nation takes makes it all the more difficult. But we have only two options. Overcome it or be overcome.

[stellanoir]

11. Well

we do have the internet at least for now.

Though I know this might not be your cup of tea but it's likey to be the first massive online event involving collective consciousness.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2005134

Certainly an inspired effort.

[Az]

12. Skepticism allows for imagination

And visualizing things certainly can do a world of good. Focusing the mind on important ideas allows it to consider means and methods by which to bring it about. Imagining what you want is often necessary to begin carrying out action on it. Creating a large collective effort gives such inner pondering the added emphasis of group interaction which is a definite boost. The imagination will not make it so but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Thanks for the link.

[stellanoir]

13. You are very welcome and I'm glad you see it that way.

Just wondered if you were familiar with these quotations. . .

As honest Abe once quilled so succinctly. . .

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The
occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.
As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall
ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

I rather presumptuously further amend , . . . "and surely, our planet in
it's entirety."

"The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them." Albert Einstein

Time to get REAL creative I figure.

I've a colleague who says "Believe nothing, but entertain all possibilities."



That's why