It's Not Just McCain, It's Republicanism
In an op-ed at Murdoch's London Times, associate editor Anatole Kalestsky writes that America must give the Republicans "a good kicking" to reassert the most important facet of democracy - not just to elect good governance but to get rid of bad governance. It's an op-ed that is highly critical of the Democratic party's choice - Murdoch's UK papers preferred Clinton - and of Dem tactics to date. But it really gets the message across on McCain and the GOP.
Whether or not Mr McCain would continue the policies of President Bush (and much of the evidence suggests that his would be a Bush presidency on steroids), he would keep in power the coalition of interests that the Republican Party represents: the energy and military-industrial lobbies, the religious conservatives, the anti-environment interests and the neoconservative think-tanks. These groups - which have gained enormous influence, both financially and intellectually, under President Bush - are as responsible for the blunders of the Bush Administration as Mr Bush himself, arguably more so, given the President's notorious lack of interest in the details of any of his own policies.
If a Republican is again elected president, these same centres of power will continue to dominate Washington. However many wars they encouraged, however high the price of oil rose, however many tax dollars were redistributed in their favour, the neoconservatives and Pentagon contractors and religious fundamentalists and oil and Wall Street lobbies would conclude that there would be no political price to pay for failure. They would be justified in concluding that there is no longer any democratic check on their ambitions.
It is only by ejecting the Republicans from the White House that American voters can send the message that they are still in charge of their country and that gross government incompetence will not go unpunished. Accountability - not personality or rhetoric or colour or age or gender - should be the overriding issue in this election.
That's exactly right - and it's great to see Bill Clinton, Biden and Kerry all do so very effectively rather than trying to keep the brand pristine. (Even the Right is admitting they did good - albeit with weasel words.) I'm a bit of an outside observer on US elections, being a "furriner' and all, and it has disappointed me until now that the Dem campaign after the primaries had seemed rather flat. That's changed, and while the Dems are still sticking to the moral high ground by not descending to the kind of lies and smears of McCain's campaign, they're now obviously in no mood to let the Republicans have the field to themselves. As my pal Kyle Moore writes, if the Dems had pulled out these kinds of performances four years ago the Dems would be working on Kerry's re-election. More of this, please.
obama/biden'08
Leave it to a Brit to get it right on the first try.
The Republicans are not Republican anymore. They have been highjacked by religious right and the neo-con factions. Instead of fiscal government, they have looted the Treasury. Their brand is so bad, they will lose moderates and independants. Young people have already abandoned the Repug Party.
$100 says that the dumbass Democrats will never use any of those Bush/McCain embrace photos in their adds.
(Hey, can you guys put up the Colbert REPO MAN segment? As an answer to the inevitable updated version of Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, somebody should start up the REPO men for Republicans group.)
Im just tossing out an observation, for whatever it might be worth. Ive been watching the convention on cnn for the last few days and its strikes me that, of all the conservative commentators, David Brody (of Pat Robertson's CBN) has been the most straightforward non partisan voice on the air. Wolf blitzer doesnt count as he mostly just narrates the news like hes on ol'timey radio.
weird.
P.D. @ 3:
The Republicans have not been highjacked by the religious right and the neo-con factions. The neo-con factions and the religious right were highjacked by the Republicans, and now that they're inside the tent, pissing out (ON THE ENTIRE COUNTRY), they're just paying up for a Faustian bargain they signed 30 years ago.
Hey, let's not overgeneralize -- ther are distinct sub-species of GOP scum.
Max H @ 5:
i shouldnt have even mentioned "conservative", he's been politically unidentifiable in his analysis. Compare him to everyong thats been on and I think what i said still stands....
Pericles @ 4:
you're too late. fork over the $100. please remit in small bills
Breaking (Tblisi Georgia): In a stunning break from tradition, President John McCain has dispatched his top Bedroom Cabinet Member and Chief Foreign Policy Negotiator, Ambassador Cindy McCain, to diffuse tensions between the evil aggressor nation of the Soviet Union and the besieged democratic state of Georgia.
Reached for comment, Ambassador McCain said, "It's about time we give the Soviets a good ass kicking. The fate of the Vietna....uh, Georgian people hang in the balance. Did you know that my husband was a POW?"
Max H @ 5:
In an age when comedic irony has become reality, that makes perfect sense. Just like the fact that the biggest Dove/Peacenic in the Bush administration was a General (Powell). You know you've entered the wingnut reality when the most left wing guy in an administration is a General.
former marine gets aquited of war crimes
who didnt see this coming
a murder trial held in a civilliant court, with a jury that spends way too much time watching csi
the accused was found standing over a dead prisoner with gun in hand, but because there was no body, no weapon and no one saw him fire a shot, or order others to kill...he walks away
either amend this law, or be rid of it....it will never work
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 9:
Excellent. In that case, I'll pay you off in 2009, when the American dollar is actually worth something again. :)
Great editorial. Foreign news coverage doesn't get much exposure in the US, but this deserves to be reprinted and reported on at home.
I wonder if any Murdoch media outlets in the US will reprint it, or even acknowledge it exists?
Don't congratulate the Democrats too much, they didn't do much of anything to earn any praise.
Here is the Amy Goodman interview with Ralph Nader.
Dennis Kucinich was the only one speak the truth. The Democrats give him nothing in their platform.
They say nothing about Corporate criminality. They save nothing about this administration's criminality.
They are in the Corporations' bag.
In my book, that rates them down somewhere between dog sh!t and gonorrhea.
Although I couldn't agree more with the notion that it is the REPUBLICAN PARTY itself that must be banished to the wilderness,they themselves have no intention of leaving.Furthermore,and I really hate to bring this up,they have a really bad habit of stealing elections.Nothing has been done to prevent this from happening again.
Had the opportunity this summer to speak with several non-Americans. All of them were concerned about the upcoming US election and pretty adamant that Obama needs to win to restore faith of other countries in ours. Kucinich's Wake up, America! slogan was never more appropriate. This country, where few people travel abroad or read foreign papers online, is deluded if it thinks it can do whatever it wants based on W's criminal administration of smoke and mirrors. Bring back some intelligence, legality and substance. Elect Obama.
"John McCain pays hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but WE will ALL pay for his FlipFlops."
Gov Bill Richardson
Murdoch's Fox News has a typically Foxian view of destructive weather:
To Fox News Hurricane Gustav Is A Political Problem
That’s right…The category 3 hurricane that is bearing down on the vulnerable population of New Orleans and the rest of the gulf coast, is identified by Fox News as merely a threat to the GOP. Never mind the millions of Americans in harm’s way who must be pretty anxious considering how awful this administration handled a similar threat a few years ago.
I don't think Murdoch’s London Times, associate editor Anatole Kalestsky is long for his job, given that Murdoch keeps his foot on everyone of his employees throats and tells them what to write about and how to frame it.
But this courageous soul evidently felt compelled to speak the "inconvenient truth" to power as they say.
One line that stood out in President Clinton's speech really stood out as an undeniable fact as well...
If the American people fall for the same old stuff again... then we deserve more of what we have now... broken dreams and rising dispair.
Fair enough, but it isn't just Republicanism, it's winner-take-all two party rule.
We can't live in a world where one party is GOOD and the other party is EVIL. If we're going to have two parties, then they must both be functional and legitimate.
But right now, the interplay between Democrats and Republicans is completely dysfunctional and supporters on each side simply assume that the right thing is to fight for your side against the other.
Look at the Republicans now. Look at them, because you're seeing one dark future for the Democrats.
For decades, even when they lost the White House and/or held little control of congress, the Republicans have been very, very effective at setting the agenda. They've gotten their way...a lot. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the net result is that Democrats have a hard time refuting low Republican arguments, because low Democratic arguments have been effectively neutralized.
A Republican can talk about the need to keep taxes low so employment opportunities increase and a Democrat can talk about the needs to ensure that Social Security and Medicare are solvent and serve the most in need and we can have a real conversation. That's the high argument.
But a Republican can ALSO say that tax-and-spend liberals want to force your children to learn Spanish and a Democrat cannot effectively come back by criticizing economic policies that transfer money from the poor to the rich. Republicans win the low argument, every time.
So, since you can win every time by going low, why ever go high? "Compassionate conservative" is about as high-minded as they get these days.
But the tables may turn here. The Republicans have so shot themselves in the foot that they've created a poster child for the Democratic low argument in George Bush.
How did the Republicans kill the Democratic low arguments? Two words: Jimmy Carter. What we are seeing now is the logical consequence of Reagan's framing of Carter.
And if Obama succeeds? The danger is there that Democrats will cry Bush! through the 2010s the way Republicans cried Carter! through the '80s, and in so doing will usher a new generation of crooks and carpetbaggers into the Democratic party. They'll be the same crooks and carpetbaggers that took over the Republicans in the 80s and 90s.
And this will go on and on, until we realize that multi-party politics isn't supposed to be about one side being always right and the other always wrong, or either side focusing on seizing power for the sake of seizing power. It's supposed to be an honest debate between sincere interest groups looking for the best overall solution in a world of limited resources.
Which means we need a system that rewards sincere participation and doesn't particularly reward defeating the other party.
I'm not sure what that system is, but this ain't it and we're gonna be this broken, corrupted, compromised and fucked over until we find it.
Dick Cheney visiting Tbilisi next week that's got to be like coke cola going into vietnam?
jimmiraybob @ 10:
No, actually her comment about "Did you know my husband was a POW?" was in response to criticisms that McCain flubbed it again by sending Cindy to Moscow Idaho and telling them to get their f-ing tanks out of South Atlanta, Georgia. "Hey, he was in a POW camp for 5 1/2 years! He never got to see a MAP!"
Cindy: "Now where is Peachtree Plaza?"
O.T. THE STADIUM IS FULL.
Amazing piece of analysis, and making points that should resonate (to go with the victory blueprint Bill Clinton laid out last night). I'm sending to all my email "pals" and a couple of Republicans too...Let's spread this......
Kalestsky is right and I've been saying that here for months -- the attack needs to be focused on the Republican Party, and not on McCain. It's almost like 1976 again. Americans loved "the man" Gerald Ford at the time, but instead they decided to vote against the Republican brand and elected Carter.
"It is only by ejecting the Republicans from the White House that American voters can send the message that they are still in charge of their country and that gross government incompetence will not go unpunished. Accountability - not personality or rhetoric or colour or age or gender - should be the overriding issue in this election."
Right frickin' on!!! I'm glad someone said it so concisely out loud. Time for WE THE PEOPLE to kick these reupublican ba$stards outta the white house... they don't deserve to be there, those shameless crooks and liars and all their lackeys!
JasonS @ 20:
There's some truth to what you say but the argument that there is no difference between the parties and it doesn't matter which one gets into power is a fallacious and dangerous argument.
As Al Gore just pointed out in his speech this evening, "In 2000 we were at peace and we had budget surpluses with relative prosperity. People said there isn't much difference between the two parties and it won't matter which one gets in because things will basically continue as they are. Well eight years later you can see just how wrong they were."
That's not to say that our two party system is a perfect system because it has some obvious flaws and is sad need of repair on both side of the aisle... in fact we could use a couple more aisles in my opinion but at the present we only have two that matter and there is a very definite difference between them, rest assured of that.
There has been a significant change that has occurred thanks to Howard Dean who showed that grass roots funding across the internet could equal or trump lobbyist cash and that grassroots organizations can fund "populist" candidates in local, state, and federal primaries... and those candidates can win.
Are there "DINO's" and "Blue Dogs" to weeded out... absolutely! I'd like to put Pelosi's gavel... well never mind you get the idea. But to simply say that there is no difference and not to seize the day... this opportunity to effect change... is to condemn things to stay the same... and then nothing will change to the detriment of us all.
So in this current election get involved, but more importantly after the election stay involved. Our leaders will only be as good... as accountable as we hold them to be. And should they betray our trust then it is our duty to organize and sack them and raise up candidates who will.
Yes, this is a Murdoch journal. Yes, the editorial disses the neo-cons without endorsing the progressives. But everything Kalestky says is obviously spot-on.
Where is the major U.S. journal--print or broadcast--that has so flatly acknowledged obvious reality? That's a legitimate question, not merely rhetorical. I'll be checking back for honest answers (as opposed to attacks from trolls).
Voting Republican is immoral.
> There’s some truth to what you say but the argument that there is no difference between the
> parties and it doesn’t matter which one gets into power is a fallacious and dangerous argument.
I agree. It's not that there's no difference between the two parties. Quite to the contrary, the makeup of the two parties is very different at the moment.
But the two parties are locked in a dysfunctional dance. Clearly, the Democrats are making a better offer at this point.
But if we enter an era where Democrats can win elections easily by invoking George Bush, it may have the good effect of prompting the Republicans to clean house so they can mount an effective counter-attack, but at the same time it will lower the bar for anyone running as a Democrat, the same as the bar has been lowered for Republicans.
If you think the DINO's and the Blue Dogs are a problem NOW, just wait until they're able to breeze into office because the Republican brand is so wrecked that any cretin with a -D after their name can slide into office.
That's the cycle I want to see us break, but I've got no idea how. There are shoe flies, DINO's, Blue Dogs, neocons, wingnuts in such overwhelming numbers now, and they will be drawn to whoever has power.
And since the game is about getting and keeping power, either party will gladly welcome them in.
Like Woody Allen said in 'Sleeper': "In six months, we'll be stealing Erno's nose."
I think the time is now for a coalition of real leaders to take hold of the agenda. It has happened in the past, there have been bipartisan working groups that recognize that a rising tide can lift all boats and that there's as much that unites us as divides us.
But now everything that benefits the other side has to be seen as a loss, no matter the effect on America. There's a spirit of not wanting to give the other side so much as a single vote on any issue, and that has to stop.
And yes, the Republicans are more to blame right now, but that's mainly because the shoe flies are over on their side of the fence. If the shoe flies come over here, it'll be DINO's and Blue Dogs from the porch to the horizon.
We gotta find a way to punish BOTH parties when things fail and reward BOTH parties when things go well, no matter who's in charge. We have to be able to tolerate shifts in the balance of power.
Right now, nothing short of a permanent Democratic majority can function. One party rule never works out too well.
JasonS @ 32:
Well said! But there is a growing awareness and organizing going on right now that is a step in the right direction... the fight for the soul of the Democratic party... the division between the DLC and the DNC has taken place and it needs men and women of conscience like you and many of us who want to end the politics of the past.
If you recall, Dean broke it all open and the Democratic machine turned on him and joined with Republicans to shut down his campaign. Dean scared them though and they made him an offer... head of the DNC for the promise not to run again. They wanted to end his political career.
He accepted but he had an agenda to build a 50 state organization and during the run up to 2006 election they criticized him first for "not spending enough time in Washington" = "we want you in here feeding at the lobbyist trough."
Dean ignored them and set a blistering pace all over the country setting up a grassroots party headquarters and hiring staff. Then they criticized him saying "you're not giving money to deserving Democratic candidates" = "You're spending money on your god damn organizers now stop it!" Of course it wasn't true and there was plenty of support and party groups in all of the states.
Then when the 2006 land slide happened and Dean was credited with this, the DLC crowd ran out its main attack dogs Carville and Begala and they started whacking away at Dean and saying it was Rahm Emmanuel who was really responsible and the netroots said bullshit and their efforts collapsed.
Many people didn't follow what was happening but it was a major shift in power and organization that occurred. In most respects, unless you are a political junkie and policy wonk like I am, most people really didn't follow or appreciate what was transpiring or the opportunity that has opened up.
The funding mechanism is Act Blue and the progressive movement and the netroots movement coordinating with them and various blogs that have a progressive agenda and finds candidates at all levels of government to run in primaries. Obama and Clinton raised massive amounts of money with the net and Obama has run a very savvy net campaign.
Having said that though... you're point about super majorities is well taken, but the situation is really dire when you look at how deep the hole that this country is in and it may take that kind of switch to bring about changes that are needed. But as I also said it is going to take everyone of us to keep our eyes on Congress and Obama for that matter to see that they deliver and howl like banshees when they don't.
John Adams once said,
Ironically, he was later to sign the Sedition Act and prove the truth of his own words and I agree with him. I don't believe in "white knights", but rather like Jefferson:
He believed in education and a free press as the only means for keeping a society free and the politicians in line. Obama has spoken out against media consolidation and he also is a constitutional law scholar and taught it for ten years as well.
As I said... I don't believe in white knights and Obama is but a single man, but I'm more hopeful than I have been in a very long time. Obama also stresses that it is about us and throws the responsibility back on our shoulders as he did this evening. It is far too early to tell how this will all play out but the man is definitely worth supporting. So for now I'll fight the good fight with him.
The Republican Party is dead. No longer alive. Absent of any soul.
What is left are the remnants of the "phrase-ology" and the mutated neocon/fascist strain.
Hopefully they will rebuild after they get their asses handed to them in November.
I object to the title.
What exactly is wrong with "republicanism"? Republicanism, where the power is derived from the people, and not some supreme monarch, is the very basis for our governmental system...
A GANG of people in suits have hi-jacked the word "republican", and then used that word to trick a lot of people into thinking that this one word encompasses a whole lot more things than what it actually DOES stand for... It is a poor reflection on the PEOPLE who did this thing, but not a poor reflection on the idea of republicanism...
Perhaps it's more accurate to say that there's something wrong with the Republican Party, which interestingly enough, no longer PRACTICES republicanism.
Lincoln was allegedly a republican. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson considered himself a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN!
It's not JUST McCain... Perhaps it's you...
YOU'VE allowed THEM to fool you into thinking that "republicanism" means something that it's not...
I suppose this is kinda OT but it's a peeve of mine:
The name of the newspaper is "The Times." Not "The London Times" and not even "The Times of London." It's just "The Times."
Don't forget what is probably a big reason behind the piece: Britain is approaching an election in which the Tories will make the argument that enough is enough (and, at 11 years, I can't fault them in that).
Thus when voters here read this it only serves to make them feel the same about Gordon Brown - a very clever play on the Times' behalf.
As we can tell from this article just like a prescription drug, John McCain has some side effects.
So I put it in a video earlier today:
THE SIDE EFFECTS OF JOHN MCCAIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqs26mpg8o
Kaletsky does a great job of stating the blindingly obvious and late in the day. His Op-ed is at least a year behind typical C&L commenters.
If you delve into his archived articles you'll find that up until very recently he's been a staunch supporter of GOP policies for years, particularly in economics. Read his columns and you'll find the facts used to support his opinions are transparently selective and that he often presents dogma as fact. He has about as much understanding of US politics as Sean Hannity's faithful viewers.
Kaletsky has dimply finally seen the writing on the wall and has changed his tune to stay relevant. His opinion I'm afraid doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
Cernig,
Keep in mind that Rupert Murdoch provided financial support and fundraising assistance to HRC, not because he expected Clinton to stand against those things mentioned in the article, but because he was confident that of all the candidates, she would be the one most likely to keep that gravey train rolling along. Obama was the fall back position, because he was the second most likely. All of Murdoch's broadcast and paper enterprises are manipulative propaganda organs, and Murdoch has amply demostrated that he is an anti-free-democracy fascist. Were, for example, he really interested in supporting the causes espoused in that article, he would have provided that financial assistance to Kucinich and Gravel (assuming that either one would, in fact, actually take it) and would not have used his propaganda outlets to wage a coordinated effort to minimize and discredit them. With any Murdoch operation he only thing you can ever be sure of is that whatever they are saying, it is always constructed around a deceitful and manipulative intent.
One of the big complaints against modern Republicanism is corruption; and yet I do not hear Obama talking about this.
The Republicans paid dearly for this in 2006. Corruption and incompetence are the two big strikes against Republicans, and we have to talk about it.
But, but,
black people scare mewe don't know enough about Obama to trust him with such an important job!You don't have to dislike Obama because he's half black. His voting record in FISA and the Patriot Act, and his stance on TWAT ought to be enough to loathe the guy, unless you're a pro-war police state enthusiast, that is...
Because,I am 54 years old and I get tired,most times and I seem to forget things more than I used too. This Macain should not run for president , because , his policies are not good the the country ,NOT WHAT THE PEOPLE NEED !seems incoherent at times
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon! ...just in time to catch this president and nail his ass into a prison cell the minute he steps down.
Write your Congressperson:
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon!
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon!
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon!
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon!
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon!
Abolish the Presdiential Pardon!
PUNISH the Bush regime!
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