I am posting
this Guest Blog by a dear long-time friend, Judi Mirkinson. Her essay speaks to
our general concerns that I would like folks to consider. It’s lengthy but
poignant, and I hope it raises discussion towards the question of leadership
and forging a true “People’s National Agenda.”
Jalil A.
Muntaqim
ELECTION TIME
Yes, it’s
election time again: time to elect the president. Every four years Americans
are told this is the pinnacle of our democracy. NO! The pinnacle of world
democracy! The pundits will be pontificating, the billions will be flowing and
the candidates will be slogging it out, drowning us with style over substance.
The US
presidential elections are now endless affairs and handled almost like the
World Cup or a baseball championship. The economy’s down; that means Romney is
up. Romney refuses to release his tax returns: now Obama is up. Every little
quote is analyzed, every stupid mistake made bigger. Sound bites abound—it
doesn’t matter whether what a candidate says is actually true—people just have
to listen. And after a while people begin to believe what they hear, no matter
where the real truth lies.
People have a
stake in believing it all and believing that voting every four years for one of
the two major parties can make a difference. It’s essential that the electorate
think they have a choice and a real voice in what kind of government we will
have.
The New York
Times, always attempting to bring more gravitas to the charade, laments: “The
real issues will not be talked about, no solutions are being offered.” But the
show goes on.
It’s not what
one has to offer, it’s about how bad the other person is,
As the
Republican speaker of the house John Boehner put it recently:
The American people probably aren’t going to
fall in love with Mitt Romney. I’ll tell you this: 95 percent of the people
that show up to vote in November are going to show up in that voting booth, and
they are going to vote for or against Barack Obama.
The pols and
polls keep saying it’s going to be a close race. It seems rather unbelievable,
given the incredible excitement generated by Barack Obama only four years ago.
One would think that Obama would continue to be the most ideal choice for the
corporate ruling class. In reality, he’s a right to middle of the road Democrat
who’s presided over a war and militarized security state. At the same time, he’s
young, he’s charismatic and he speaks of the future and an America that cares
for all the people. As the first African American president, he presents an
America that has overcome its history—one that is perfect for the U.S. in this
new, more complex world we live in.
It’s another “demonstration
election”—a concept perfected in America and now exported all over the world.
Choosing among a limited range of options creates the illusion of democracy,
and the illusion of real choice. No longer can the U.S. support dictatorships—even
if our interests coincide with theirs. Instead it applauds people’s power, which did away with Ferdinand Marcos, replacing him
with someone with the exact same class interests and relationship to the United
States. Arab Spring? It’s OK as long as generals decide who will be the next
government
The truth is
that people, whether in the US or anywhere else, want to vote and have a voice.
But what kind of choice is it when both parties represent the elite?
These
elections come in the midst of economic crisis and recession. Only a year ago,
the occupy movement resonated among millions of people as it highlighted the
inequities of capitalism. The politician (and advertisers—always looking to
sell new products) cheerfully picked up on castigating the one percent. But in
reality not much has changed. The rich are getting richer: Wall Street is
making bigger and bigger profits. The Democrats can conveniently blame the
Republicans for not cutting taxes on the rich, but their own tax plan leaves
the rich with lower taxes than any time in the past 50 years.
WHAT ABOUT THE OPPOSITION?
Practically
every four years or so most of the left—what there is of it—goes into
hibernation and joins the campaign of the Democratic Party. Unions devote
millions of dollars to see that the Democratic candidate gets elected. During
the 2008 election, thousands of progressives—ranging from liberals to those who
would consider themselves anti-imperialists went to swing states to register
voters and get out the vote on Election Day. If you worked for a union you were
made a Democratic Party worker de facto. Leftist and even Marxist-Leninist
parties were split on the need to vote for Obama. Yes, he was still running to
be the head of an imperial empire, but he sounded progressive and he wasn’t
McCain. And the reality of the first Black president in a nation built on
slavery and racial oppression was too big a deal to overlook.
Four years
later, Obama has built up a record of outrageous attacks on civil liberties,
expansion of drone warfare, and the continued killings of civilians in the name
of fighting foreign terrorism—all things that could not and would not be tolerated
under George Bush. Yet they are all but explained away, tolerated, or just
ignored under Barack Obama.
What about
the third party alternative? In 2000 Ralph Nader ran on the Green Party ticket.
Millions voted for him because they were disgusted with the war mongering/austerity
measures enacted by the Clinton administration. The Democratic Candidate, Vice
President Al Gore, won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote when the
right wing Supreme Court effectively disenfranchised thousands of voters in
Florida and gave the state to George W. Bush. Progressives declared: “Gore lost
because of the Green Party and Ralph Nader. Never Again.” If you even think of
voting for a candidate other than the Democrat, you’re told you’re throwing
away your vote. And not voting—because there’s no one you want to vote for? You’re
told—well then, you have no right to criticize in the future.
The truth was
that Obama excited the populace in general and the left in particular. And
although that excitement has dissipated to a large degree and many speak of “disenchantment,”
most will still vote for Barack Obama. It’s a combination of two things. One,
people still believe in his “good intentions”—they feel he’s been given a bum
deal, inherited an impossible economy and was completely blocked from carrying
out his more liberal agenda by an impossible and partisan Congress. Two: the
specter of the Republican Party is just too much to bear.
There’s a
mythology, particularly suited to American ideology, that the personality and
philosophy of each candidate and subsequent office holder make the difference.
For instance, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is always credited with being the man
who put in the new deal and ushered in the entire concept of the safety net
because he was such a liberal and good guy responding to the depression. The
fact that the country was on the brink of complete upheaval and that it was a
period of great left wing success is completely ignored.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? IS THERE ANY?
Democracy is supposed to give you the feeling
of choice, like Painkiller X and Painkiller Y. But they’re both just aspirin.
Gore Vidal
It’s easy to
say that there is virtually no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats.
The Republicrats, as people like to
call them, serve the same interests and answer to basically the same forces.
Make no mistake. We’re living in a war-mongering militaristic society, which
will pursue its agenda at all costs. And both parties are firm believers in and
practitioners of this agenda,
Still there
are differences; they’re just not as big as they’re made out to be.
The
Republicans like to paint themselves as the party of good old-fashioned values
and the glory of America. They say Obama doesn’t believe in America and is
willing to sell out both the middle class and the rich because he’s a socialist:
“Look at his health care plan.” Their subtext: Obama isn’t even an American.
(Implied in all this: whisper, whisper—he’s Black). Their bottom line? We’re for
the middle class! (The real bottom line—we’re for the rich)
The message
of the Democrats is that they’re the party of the future: Forward looking, diverse
and for the middle class (in America, no politician talks about the working
class). They point to Obama’s support for abortion and gay marriage and his stands
on immigration and health care. The bottom line? We’re for the middle class!
(The real bottom line—we’re for the rich but we pretend we’re not)
THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS?
On foreign
policy:
No
difference. Obama has fulfilled his campaign promise of intensifying the war in
Afghanistan and killing Osama Bin Laden. He has also unleashed drone warfare.
This use of unmanned drone warfare has far-reaching implications. The U.S. no
longer speaks of collateral damage. Rather, if you happen to be unlucky and killed
by a drone, you must have been a terrorist, because otherwise you would have
gotten out of the way. According to the White House. President Obama personally
signs off on the target list. In May, this list included a 17-year-old girl. In
a speech to the nation Obama declared: “The people who are on this list are
active terrorists.” So now one country can kill at will, while another has no
recourse. Contrary to the mythology being put forth by the military and its
apologists, countless civilians are being killed, not only in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, but also in Yemen and Somalia. From 2004-2011, 312 drones were
deployed. 260 of those were under the Obama administration.
Despite all
the death and destruction, the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable. In fact, the
U.S. is once again actively courting the Taliban in peace talks. Although the
troops have left Iraq, tens of thousands of contractors (read mercenaries)
remain and Iraq continues to be unstable.
Obama
supported the military incursion into Libya and is now threatening military
action in Syria. He continues to threaten the government of Iran and completely
supports the regime in Israel and its continued occupation of Palestine.
The sad
reality is that, like in so many Empires before, few people in the U.S. care
what happens to people around the world—as long as large numbers of Americans
are not being killed. So, when it comes to foreign policy, whoever is the
president now has carte blanche.
On
the security state: No difference.
After 9/11
the Patriot Act authorized warrantless search and seizure as well as
warrantless wiretaps—if it were deemed that terrorism was involved. Lists were
compiled of thousands of potential “enemies of the state,” with emphasis placed
on those of Muslim descent. This resulted in the creation of huge secret
database—all in the name of national security.
Under Obama
the security state has expanded exponentially. Rulings and practices that might
have been denounced under Bush are now accepted and often lauded as evidence of
a strong executive.
Obama has not
closed Guantánamo. There are still 169 detainees being held there, with 46 of them
to be held indefinitely, without judicial review. And any person suspected of
being a member of a terrorist organization or associated with one can be
detained indefinitely as well.
The President
now has the power to order the killing of anyone—including American citizens—with
an executive order if he considers them a terrorist or terrorist affiliated. In
September 2011 this resulted in the killing of American citizen Anwar al Awlaki.
This unprecedented targeting and subsequent assassination by predator drone of
Mr. Awlaki took place without trial and on foreign soil in Yemen.
Sure, the
government will allow some opposition—it’s good for the image of democracy and
allows people to think there is more freedom than actually exists. There are
the “good demonstrators”—who stay within the lines, do lobbying work and
develop more and more non-profits. But the minute things get slightly out of
hand—with big rowdy street demonstrators—the state damps down with a combination
of arrests, grand juries and its ever-present corporate media machine.
On taxes:
no, fundamental difference. Obama talks a good game, but in reality the rich
now pay fewer taxes than at any time in the last 50 years. He says he wants to
end special tax cuts for those who make more than $250,000. Even if this were
implemented, the over-$250,000 crowd would still have far lower tax rates than
they did 10 years ago. Romney paints this as embracing socialism and vows to
extend all tax cuts,
Meanwhile,
the rest of us are actually paying higher taxes. This comes in the form of
higher fees for everything from registering your car to transportation to sales
taxes. And we get less for our buck as services are slashed, tuition goes up
and up and the entire infrastructure falls apart.
Immigration
There are
still more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. Without
them, the country’s economy would not function.
There has been
a growing movement by Latinos—both documented and undocumented—for immigration
reform. Latino members of Congress, such as Rep. Luis Gutierrez, have risked
Obama’s wrath by consistently fighting him on the issue. Responding to this
pressure and the need for Latino voters, Obama issued an executive order in
June that young undocumented immigrants would no longer be deported if they had
come here before age 18, had been here five years and were working or in
school. This ruling could affect more than a million Latinos. At the same time
Obama still supports a militarized southern border and has pursued a draconian
deportation policy. The Obama administration has deported more than 400,000
people, 30% more than were deported under Bush.
Mr. Romney
does not support the Dream Act (which would pave a way for undocumented young
people to become citizens). He also supports English-only laws. His campaign is
focusing on the issue of employment and jobs for “legal” immigrants, contending
that this is the way to solve the problem. Obviously, Romney will have trouble
with the Latino vote—the fastest-growing bloc of voters in the U.S.
Abortion,
Gay Marriage, Women’s Health and Health Care
The Democrats
support the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortions.
Obama has pushed through the Affordable Care Act, which is his version of
health care reform. It allows children to stay on their parents’ health
insurance until the age of 26, outlaws the use of preexisting conditions to
deny coverage (although it does nothing to curtail the raise in rates if you do
have a pre-existing condition) and allows some poor people without insurance to
get lower cost insurance from insurance companies. There are at least 30
million uninsured—many of them children—so this new law will cut into that
number.
Although the
new health care law does expand some coverage, it does so at the expense of a
single payer health care policy. Instead the Democrats opted for a plan that
maintains the power of insurance companies—who of course are making huge
profits off of people being sick. Most people—even those with insurance—are
paying more for fewer services every year.
The
Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) continues to fund some women’s
health clinics and the Affordable Care Act mandates that all employed women
with health insurance must be given free access to contraception through their
insurers. The AHCA does mandate that insurers cover women’s screenings
including those for diabetes, HIV, and counseling about violence. Yet the Obama
Administration has caved into Republican pressure on women’s health. Earlier
this year HSS issued a ruling mandating that girls under 16 must get a
prescription from a doctor before they can get the so-called morning after pill
(previously, this pill, sometimes known as Plan B, could be bought over the
counter). Obama and Katherine Sibelius, the Secretary for Health and Human
Services, routinely voice their continued support for the ban on federal funds
for abortions.
The Democrats
now solidly support gay marriage, making it part of their 2012 platform,
The
Republicans are completely against gay marriage and support the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as only between one man and one
woman. But polls show that even Republicans are changing their views.
Interestingly, a recent questionnaire sent by the Republican Platform committee
did not even mention the subject.
The
Republicans are voracious in their fight against abortion—the Pope has nothing
on them. They want to roll back Roe v. Wade and leave abortion laws to the
states where Republican controlled legislatures are trying (and often
succeeding) in making abortion illegal and women’s health inaccessible. This
despite the fact that poll after poll says that the majority of Americans support
abortion and overwhelmingly support contraception. But remember. Romney has to
answer to a very vocal core sector of his party made up of evangelical Christians
and exemplified by the Tea Party.
The
Republicans have painted the Affordable Care Act as one step on the road to
totalitarian socialism. Such is the level of debate during this election.
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
The famous
phrase, uttered by Clinton strategist James Carville in the 1992 election predicting
a Clinton win, still dominates political thinking, and the economy is not going
well. The latest news in July show that unemployment remains the same at an
official 8.2 percent This probably means it is at least 12% and in some
communities (youth, people of color) as high as 25%.
For the first
time since the depression, real income for the middle class has declined for
the past decade. 1/10,000 of families
(people who make more than 7 million per year) now control over 5% of the economy,
up from 1% 40 years ago.
Traditionally,
a bad economy has meant disaster for the incumbent. Whether this will hold true
this year is questionable. But, it’s still too soon to tell.
MONEY MONEY MONEY.
It’s now
predicted that the total 201Z election will cost more than 12 Billion dollars (and this is a conservative estimate). More than
half of that will go to the presidential race, the bulk going to negative TV
and online ads. This is compared with the 5 billion spent in 2008 (over a
billion for the presidential race) and is much more than Bush and Kerry spent
combined for the 2004 election.
It’s not as
if this hasn’t happened before. Money has always run elections. The U.S. likes
to point its finger at other countries’ corruption—but it’s as corrupt here as
anywhere else. In fact, the amount of money now “required” to run a campaign is
at an all-time high.
Two years ago
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case called Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. In this
decision “a bitterly divided court” declared that corporations had the same
rights as individuals and could not be curtailed from giving money in
elections. Two months later, the Court ruled in Speechnow.org v. FEC that PACS (Political Action Committees) that
did not contribute to specific candidates, parties or campaigns, could accept
unlimited contributions from individuals, unions and corporations.
These
decisions led to the creation of what’s known as Super PACS, unleashing
unprecedented waves of money. Just this year, 26 billionaires have donated more
than 61 million dollars to Super PACS. In July 2012, super billionaire Sheldon
Adelsan (who bankrolled Newt Gingrich’s failed bid), said he was willing to
give at least $100 million to defeat Obama. The right wing Koch brothers (who
have contributed millions to anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage campaigns)
have said they are willing to spend aver 400 million (yup, you’ve read that correctly)
on the 2012 election.
As of August
1, super PACS have spent: $109,041.529—and
that’s just the PACS.
Vermont
Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking before a Congressional committee in July, put
it this way:
“What the Supreme Court did in Citizens United
is to say to these same billionaires and the corporations they control: ‘you
own and control the economy; you own Wall Street; you own the coal companies;
you own the oil companies. Now, for a very mall percentage of your wealth, we’re
going to give you the opportunity to own the United States government.’ ”
Although many
cities and states are now passing law and resolutions condemning the decision,
just this June the court refused to hear a challenge to their ruling
Just to give
some perspective:
In April the U.S.
Congress cut $38.5 billion in government spending on so-called poverty
programs: housing, healthcare and the like. Yet there are no limits to what
they will spend to get elected. Half of those in Congress are certified
mil1ionaires: 42% of the House and 67% of the Senate. The average House
freshman of 2010 had a median income of $570,000. Compare this to the $45,000
median income of all those in the U.S.
You can’t run
for President if you don’t have money. And once you are the president you make
even more. Obama is now a millionaire, albeit a small one. Romney is worth over
$200 million dollars. If elected he will be one of the richest men ever to hold
office. In fact, he’s worth more than the past eight presidents combined!
WHO FUNDSWHOM?
In 2008 the
majority of Wall Street money went to Obama. They were dissatisfied with Bush,
and Obama’s opponent, John McCain, was clearly not going to win. Now, it’s four
years later. Obama has basically done everything they would possibly want—from
the appointments of economic advisors Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geitner to
the bailing out of big banks. But Romney is a rich Wall Streeter himself and
favors completely unbridled capitalism and the free market. Obama? He wants a “slight”
tax on corporate spending—which in the eyes of Wall Street is a slight too
much. It’s also not clear at this point who’s going to win. So, the donors hedge
their bets: Bank of America, one of Romney biggest supporters, gives 75% of its
contributions to Romney, but at the same time is giving some of the rest of the
money to Obama.
So far the
money raising breaks dawn this way: A majority of Wall Street and the finance
sector (outside of Goldman Sachs) to Romney. Big Oil and Energy (Exxon and GE
for instance): Romney. Agribusiness and the Health Insurance Industry: Romney.
Obama is
getting his money from the Tech industry and Silicon Valley, which includes Microsoft
and Google, women’s groups and some media (Comcast) (although not as much as
last time), Hollywood—a huge source of funds; producer Jeffrey Katzenberg just
gave 2 million himself; lawyers and lobbyists, and the big labor unions. A ton
of money is also being raised by gay “bundlers” (people who are the largest
money gatherers). One million was raised within 90 minutes of his announcement
supporting gay marriage and the money keeps coming in.
WHO VOTED? WHO VOTES AND ATTACKS ON VOTING
RIGHTS
It’s hard to
get a proper read on exactly what percentage of eligible voters actually voted
in the 2008 election. The reigning view is that about 62% voted. So if these
numbers hold and this election is split almost 50/50, that means that the
president would be elected by less than 1/3 of eligible voters.
In 2008 more
than one quarter of the eligible electorate was people of color. For the first
time the percentage of African Americans (64.7%) and whites (66.1%) who
actually voted was nearly equal. African American women had the highest voter
turnout rate (68.8%).
The number of
African-Americans who voted in 2008 was 15% higher than those who voted in 2004.
The number of Latino voters was 28% higher.
In 2012 the
Census bureau also released data that said that for the first time in U.S.
history “minority’“ births outnumber white or “majority births” (Time to change
the nomenclature?)
Traditionally
African Americans, Latinos, and women vote Democratic. This was certainly true
in 2008. Young voters also went for Obama. In fact, the only demographic group
that consistently votes Republican is older white men. With these numbers,
Obama’s re-election should be a foregone conclusion. So the Republican-controlled
legislatures came up with a solution. Curtail voting rights once again.
A little
history: The right to vote is considered one of the basic rights of citizenship
and it has been one of the cornerstones of the struggle for civil rights. After
the Civil War, the 15th amendment to the Constitution extended the right to
vote to Black males. The backlash against this was vicious: There were decades
of violence and discriminatory voting laws which included poll taxes, literacy
tests, the gerrymandering of districts and the disqualification of those who
had been in prison—all to prevent Black people and other people of color from
voting. The fight for enfranchisement involved hundreds of thousands of people
and cost hundreds of lives. It was one of the cornerstones of the Civil Rights
Movement of the 1950s and 60s. The culmination of this effort came in 1965 with
the Voting Rights Act, which both guaranteed the right to vote and also put in
place certain legal procedures to oversee individual state voting laws.
However, now
there are moves to undo the VRA and once more institute fetters on voting.
In a report
issued this year, the Brennan Center on Justice speculated that recent voting
restrictions could affect more than 5 million voters. This in turn is more than
the margin of difference in winning or losing the election. The restrictions
are particularly stark in so-called swing states. In fact, 5 of 12 states
considered swing states have already enacted legislation curtailing voting
rights. The 19 states that have enacted laws controlling voting hold 171 (63%) of
the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
Perhaps the
most egregious restrictions are those that require increased documentary proof
of citizenship and residency, In many places in the U.S., this is not as easy
to come by as you might think, For instance, many African Americana who were
born during the days of segregation did not have access to hospitals and were
never issued birth certificates. Replacing lost documents can also be a
bureaucratic nightmare, especially if you are poor. And the “fear factor” of
being investigated as you go to vote will have an inordinate impact on Black
and Latino voters.
Add to this
the denial of voting privileges to anyone who has been convicted of a felony.
This will affect hundreds of thousands of people, particularly Black and Latino
men who are disproportionately convicted. In some states as many as 1/3 of all
eligible Black men will not be allowed to vote.
How
interesting that many of the states in question have experienced the highest
percentages of “minority growth” in the last period of time.
FINAL THOUGHT
When people
look at this period, we’re reminded of what is known in the U.S. as the Gilded
Age, the age of the Robber Barons like Carnegie and Rockefeller: the era from
the late 19th century to the beginning of WW I. High unemployment, the slashing
of all government services and increasing poverty exist in the midst of
unbelievable wealth. The love of consumption and money is being promulgated at
every turn. But the Gilded Age had socialism brewing underneath. We don’t have
that yet and we don’t know exactly what a new wave will look like. The Occupy
Movement has given us hope that there are stirrings once again. When the next
wave of powerful mass movement hits—and it will—then elections in the U.S. will
look very different indeed.
Judi Mirkinson
San Francisco, California
