Assessing the field (such as it is) Part III

Before we get to the Democratic Presidential candidates, the National Intelligence Director has weighed in on the issue of waterboarding. What he said of course was exactly as I, or any other thinking human, could have predicted, that if it were being done to him it would be torture. Excuse me? Mike McConnell, after describing the procedure, told The New Yorker magazine; "If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can't imagine how painful! Whether it's torture by anybody else's definition, for me it would be torture." That statement in and of itself is an indictment of this Administration and its policies. The sanctioning of this crime by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and indeed the entire military and intelligence apparatus of the United States government is grounds for impeachment where applicable imprisonment for all at the top of the chain of command. It’s exactly what Human Rights organizations have been charging from the very beginning and here we have a confession. Not only is it a crime to torture people it is, UN-American.

Now, our new game, find the Democrats. It’s a difficult task in these days of Defense Contractors making the decisions in regard to who will appear at a “debate” among the candidates (See MSNBC and the Nevada Democratic debate) and setting the “storyline”. Can Hillary Clinton out-frontrunner Barak Obama? Or, will the Illinois Senator steal the thunder of the Senator from New York and former First Lady? Recent “events” provide more of this professional wrestling-like soap opera. One has to start somewhere so, ladies first.

To say that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton exemplifies all that is wrong not only with the Democratic Party but also the larger Body Politic would be to state the obvious. Her pandering to whichever audience she is addressing, even to the point of changing her accent and vocal delivery, is second to none. But, it’s not that I just don’t like her. Her voting record and stated policies show virtually no difference than the positions and policies of the Republican Party. The continuation of the war on Iraq, more threats against Iran, expansion of “Free Trade” agreements, and the list goes on. Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards refers to Clinton and co-sorta-maybe-frontrunner Barack Obama as “corporate Democrats”. That tells only half the story, especially in Clinton’s case. It’s not just the corporate influence over the candidate, but rather exactly who the owner is. The most egregious example in Hillary’s case is one Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of the Board and CEO of News Corp., parent to, among others, The National Enquirer and Faux er um Fox News. This man has been the mouthpiece for right wing governments from the Howard government in his native Australia to the Thatcher and Blair governments in the UK and, of course, to our “own” Bush Administration. There are others but, this one corporate owner of this candidate should scare any thinking person.

Co-frontrunner, Illinois Senator Barack Obama is another of the “corporate Democrats” John Edwards speaks of. The Democrat’s new shinning star, Senator Obama is the darling of Hollywood and Wall Street powerhouses like Oprah Winfrey and Goldman Sachs’ David Heller and Bruce Heyman both of whom have raised at least $100,000 for Obama. Perhaps even more troubling is one William Kennard. But wait, he was General Counsel for the FCC under Bill Clinton, a dyed in the wool Democrat, right? Well, since leaving government, Mr. Kennard joined the Carlyle Group, a corporation that lists among its former executives George H.W. Bush and Henry Kissinger. If “he is the one” as Oprah Winfrey exudes, he’s only “the one” to the moneyed elite. The Senator’s ties to the Insurance industry are legendary thus, his private insurance friendly “health care plan”. The one? Perhaps, he is “white enough” to be “viable”. Barack’s experience is unlike virtually every other African-American in the country. Yet, he too adopts a vocal style more like that of Jesse Jackson and Dr. King than his own Midwestern style when speaking to predominately black audiences. Why? Is it an attempt to out-black the white lady, Hillary Clinton? In addition to his shortcomings, he simply can’t win in the south. Minds in the Deep South have not expanded that much. What’s the bottom line? The Barack phenomenon is a fabrication of corporate handlers no different from, those in the Clinton corner. Reading of Obama’s ties to lobbyists, especially those who work for the insurance industry proves that up until this run for the White House, he lined his (political?) pockets very well with their money. Additionally, he counts hedge fund manager Orin Kramer among his largest “bundlers”.

So, there they are, the Democratic frontrunners. Next time we’ll start with a candidate who is very much in the delegate race, in spite of the media.