Long before the disastrous George W. Bush administration, I had been waiting for profound, systemic changes in our political system. Perversely, I saw the upside of Bush as motivating more Americans to demand political change. And that happened. But the national yearning for change was co-opted by Ron Paul on the right and Barack Obama on the left while John Edwards with the most authentic populist change message fizzled out early.
It is not enough to want, demand and support change, not when change is more of a campaign slogan than a carefully detailed set of reforms. Critically needed is a firm understanding of what specific changes can restore American democracy and remove the privileged rich plutocrats and corporatists running and ruining our nation.
A huge fraction of Americans have bought into the Obama candidacy because of his polished and effective rhetoric. But Obama does not offer the changes I have been waiting for, or the ones the public needs. A great speaker does not necessarily have the courage or intent to fight for deep political reforms.
Our nation’s Founders did not create the United States of America just with smiles and slick rhetoric; they were bold, risk-taking revolutionaries fighting tyranny. Obama has not defined our domestic tyranny and told us how he will try to abolish it. Obama is no dissident or revolutionary. The change he mostly seeks is moving from senator to president. Not what I have been waiting for.
There is no evidence in Obama’s brief political career that he is a champion for deep political reforms to transfer power from the plutocrats to the people. To the contrary, the more you learn about Obama’s history the more he appears as just another super-ambitious politician making friends, using people and cutting deals to get ahead.
Article comments
1 - Heloise
Hey, something worse than McCane is McNadar becoming president.
I too want a third party system or one at least open to all-comers, but it has become much ado about nothing.
Go Obama!
Besides, I would rather spend trillions getting people more healthy than killing folks over there so they won't kill us over here. BUt we are doing a pretty good job of both thanks to Bush.
Heloise
2 - Keith
We need to break the Two Party monopoly. I give one solution plus other Government changes download My Book(FREE or a dollar)
3 - Biggly Bodybuilding
America had its chance with Ron Paul but appears to have blown it.
4 - bliffle
Joel may be a loser, but IMO he presents well an argument that has to be made, both about the Obama candidacy and about the sorry state that our politics have sunk to.
5 - Lumpy
Did I read this right? The biggest socialiast tool in America who was basically created by the soviet sleeper agent network isn't enough of a socialist/communist for Hirschhorn? Maybe the democrats should nominate Hugo Chavez?
6 - Dr Dreadful
For someone who has been known in the past to be very down on Joel's conspiracy theories, Lumpy, you've just come up with a doozy of your own.
7 - Lumpy
The weird thing about conspiracies is that every once in a while one of them turns out to be real.
But I woildn't characterize the 19$0s era marxist tkeover of academia and the elite left as any kind of secret. It's too well documented and too open and proud of its accomplishments.
8 - Navy SAR
Ron Paul may not have a chance this time thanks to MSM and Elitist control of the media, but his ideas WILL live on and thrive in the face of reality.
Nobamas' best slate is to just change from Senator to President and prey on the fact that 86% of us citizens are too stupid to research or care about the truth.
PS: To those that do not see the light of truth, enjoy those radial tires and mobile phones while you can.
9 - Dr Dreadful
The Marxist infestation of academia in your picturesque scenario, Lumpy, seems to have been a singularly inept conspiracy.
It kept the revolutionaries tucked safely out of harm's way in universities and dismally failed to produce a generation of brown-clad worker-idealists, goose-stepping around with the hammer and sickle reflected in the gleam of their egalitarian eyes, singing 'The Red Flag' and addressing one another as 'comrade'.
The ever more pathetic insistence of folks like yourself, Archie and Dave that Obama, the Clintons and indeed anyone left of Victor Davis Hanson are 'socialists' and 'communists' just goes to show how little you understand that philosophy.
10 - Bennett
Well said, Dread.
11 - Dr Dreadful
NavySAR: I wouldn't say I find radial tires particularly enjoyable. Mostly I'm indifferent to them. All they tend to do is sit wrapped around the wheels of my car being, well, radial. Take it from me, that sort of behavior really isn't much fun.
Now if a set of them were to offer to buy me lunch, that would be another matter.
12 - Lee Richards
#9:
The career witch-hunters, Red-baiters, Big Lie propagandists, and neo-McCarthys will never accept the truth, Dr, D, but it does need to be said, and you said it so well.
Lumpy: Opinions that claim to be facts without any supporting evidence are hot air.
13 - Clavos
I agree with the Doc, radial tires are too circular to be interesting...
14 - Jet in Columbus
Not even if a Playboy bunny was swaying on a radial tire swing?
15 - Chris Bieber
Dread.
Your lack of knowledge of socialism and its agenda and modus operandi is unfortunately typical.
The founders of Socialism in England, which duh! DID take over and destroy THAT country, did NOT support violent Marxist revolution in THIER country-they supported legal and MSM supported INSTALLATION of socialism on the relatively free England. The Webbs, GBShaw, EdPease and RMcDonald did utilize the strategy and SYMBOL of thier organization the FABIAN SOCIETY, so named after Roman General Quinus Fabias, who was renowned for gradually fighing battles on his terms and wearing down his opponents...Mr. Shaw chose the Turtle to represent their group.....slow but steady march to socialist control..and it took @40 years to do that..1924 they took over England...in 1948 before he died Mr. Shaw had them change to logo of the Society from the Turtle to a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - a more accurate and telling symbol....and have since wrought the end of that country and its centuries old culture,legal and political institutions and since 73 the end of its independence as ushered into the Common Market now the European Union, planned and enacted and MANAGED by their socialist bretheren on the Continent.
Gradual Socialism...look at America since 1876..how many of SOCIALIST Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto(have you even bothered to read it or too many big words???) and its call for gradualism towards its goal of TOTAL SOCIALIST CONTROL. Its 10 Planks to socialize a nation have for the past 100 years been ALL legally institutionalized here in America.
Not by accident by patient planning....and overt and covert means of disseminating the socialist goal through GOVERNMENT education(10th Plank) GOVERNMENT SANCTIONED(FCC)MSM(6th Plank) legalized by the subverted legal system(by socialist indoctrinated legal minds with an agenda of promoting "equality" and "help" and
"punishment" through an everempowered, condoned and sanctioned(by the obliging and oblivious voters)increasingly centralized National Government.
The socialism that we are all getting is decorated with flags and banners and empty platitudes like "compassionate" and "hope" and "change" but the strived for goal of power and controls and servitude is unfortunatly marching forward...with a bleak and depressing future of financial collapse and further(100 years??? in Iraq/Iran/Darfur??????)international and unConstitutional entanglements that help bleed our country more and an increasingly conditioned Mob ready to storm the palace and demand "change" of masters and their allotments to the mob.
This is not now a conspiracy it is front page..go to any newstand or newslink like Yahoo and merely look at headlines.
"Pathetic" and parochial attempts at lashing out and hurling emotive epithets at those who stand in you and your kinds march to power minus facts, logic, reason and history is well displayed in your opinion "... It kept the revolutionaries tucked safely out of harm's way in universities and dismally failed to produce a generation of brown-clad worker-idealists, goose-stepping around with the hammer and sickle reflected in the gleam of their egalitarian eyes, singing 'The Red Flag' and addressing one another as 'comrade'"
IT(the Socialist FABIANS) safely tucked IN harms way with conditioned and TENURED professors in universities, the multicultural OTHER COUNTRY FLAGS waving mobs on May 1, 5, the Armani suite wearing Donkey and Elephant mobs in Denver and St Paul addressing each other as "conservative" or "liberal" and singing patriotic songs and "God Bless America" on the 4th.
While Nero fiddles on the Potomac and the Halliburton temporary detention facilities keep going up all over America.
Wont see you there......
16 - zingzing
wow. dunno what to say.
17 - Clavos
I used to wear an Armani suite, but found it too bulky and uncomfortable to drag around.
So now I just wear shorts and a tee shirt, except when I want a more casual look; then I leave the tee shirt off.
Sigh.
America's greatest problem is not socialism, not religious fundamentalism, or even GWB.
It's illiteracy.
18 - Andy Marsh
Clavos - no pictures of that...okay? The shorts are okay, but no shirt? No service dammit!
19 - Jet in Columbus
Great now that picture will be stuck in my head all day... thanks a lot
20 - Andy Marsh
but...but...I said NO pictures!!!
21 - Dr Dreadful
Chris Bieber #15:
Your lack of knowledge of socialism and its agenda and modus operandi is unfortunately typical.
Oh really?
The founders of Socialism in England, which duh! DID take over and destroy THAT country...
I'm from England. I lived through the Wilson and Callaghan governments with their quasi-socialist agenda, as well as the Conservative Heath administration which acquiesced with it.
I also watched the Labour Party almost self-destruct in an orgy of extreme socialism during its time in opposition in the Thatcher era.
My point is that I've seen socialism in action. You may think you have, but the platforms of Obama, Clinton and the Democratic Party in general are so laughably far from being socialist that I really wish I'd seen your comment earlier so that I could have stopped you making a fool of yourself.
Unfortunately, you RAMBLED ON for 11 paragraphs doing JUST THAT (the breathless capitalization of Important Words doesn't add to your credibility either).
I don't know about Ten Planks, but you must be as thick as at least two of them if it really has escaped your notice that education and the media are not the responsibility of the federal government in this country.
Lastly, and I know it's a long shot, but something about your general thrust, tone and arguing style...
...Ron Paul supporter?