The Green Party Alternative to the Decrepit Democratic Party

Guest is executive director of the Green Party of the U.S.A., Brent McMillan, in an hour long discussion of the state of the Democratic Party and Green Party strategies for creating a genuine progressive space in American politics. With corporatists, militarists and their shills dominating the Democratic Party and actively undermining the few genuine progressive elements of the party, and the feeble President Obama stuck in Iraq and expanding wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, threatening Iran over its legal nuclear program, facilitating the continuing theft of Palestinian lands and the inhuman blockade of Gaza by Israel, the institutionalization of most of the fascistic civil liberties violations of Bush & Cheney, the protection of Big Business economic domination and the failure to curb the excessive power of Wall Street, it is now time to seek alternatives to the Democratic Party.

Why the Left Must Now Confront the Democratic Party

Forget the Republican Party, we all know how utterly depraved it has become. What troubles me far more is the extent to which the Democratic Party has become a tool of the giant corporations that use public policy as a profit enhancement business strategy (so revealed by this year’s health “reform” charade), and the Pentagon-industrial and right wing foundation foreign policy establishment on a militaristic rampage throughout much of the world.

Except for a shockingly small number of individuals who genuinely believe in social and economic justice (and deserve our support), the Democratic Party is a degenerate, power-corrupted entity controlled by these corporate-militarist elites and their careerist politicians and promoted by clueless activists too loyal to their party and influenced by the Establishment media to autonomously perceive this reality.

This week’s Mark Weaver Show is developing a new strategy to hold the Democratic Party accountable by implementing “modes of confrontation”. Guest is Brent McMillan, director of the Green Party of the United States. Democrats, independents, please call in.

Just take a quick look at where we are under President Obama (I will reprise in detail on the Oct. 31 Mark Weaver Show). If you are unaware of all this, and are blindly promoting the Democratic Party, there is something very wrong with you. You need to examine yourself, your values and your very awareness of the world beyond your slavish unthinking devotion to the Democratic Party.

We now have more troops in foreign combat than we did on January 20th, and further escalation is imminent. Obama has dramatically escalated the Predator drone assassination campaign against Taliban and other fundamentalist Islamic militants in Pakistan with high civilian casualties which just yesterday drew a UN official’s call for transparency that could reveal war crimes by Nobel Laureate Obama. He has coerced the Pakistani army into two major assaults on Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan, driving over two million Pakistanis from their homes. All of this is pushing the relatively stable Pakistan under Bush-Cheney into a needless civil war. Aside from the surreal pointlessness of all this, Obama is committing hundreds of billions of dollars and condemning thousands of lives to a long debacle. And it’s all deficit financed. With his goofy impotence in confronting rightwing extremists on every issue, such as the fanatical government of Israel, Obama is leading us down a path to a war on Iran. By further assaulting and enraging millions more people, Obama is endangering our national security. President Obama and his Democratic Party are destroying this nation every bit as much as the Republicans did for eight years. The only differences are the kinds and emphases of the destruction.

And it’s not just Obama. It’s the party that created him. Virtually the entire party leadership backs this militarism. Kerry, Levin. In Florida, Kendrick Meek and Bill Nelson have already backed troop increases, before Obama has even made any decision. Alcee Hastings says he’s “not averse” to them. Only Allan Grayson, Corrine Brown and Alcee Hastings have even cosponsored a bill calling for a no-deadline exit strategy from Afghanistan that could be fifty years from now.

And it’s not just the wars. It’s Obama’s cynical breaking of dozens of his campaign promises, from union card check, to don’t ask don’t tell, to transparency, to his continuation and institutionalization of most of the Bush-Cheney power grabs such as the state secrets privilege, rendition and the rejection of habeas corpus rights to the retention of dozens of Bush-Cheney appointees in the Pentagon, the CIA, the national security apparatus and the appointment of Republicans such as Tim Geithner.

It’s time to hold the Democratic Party accountable for this mayhem.

A 15 Month Afghan Exit Plan

15 month exit plan for Afghanistan involves 'no-Al Qaeda' agreement with Taliban, and economic aid ... Guest is Erik Leaver, research fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in D.C...Peak oil is finally here, $4 gasoline, smaller cars imminent ... Gitmo bans Chomsky's "Interventions" and sentences Al Qaeda press secretary to life for 'propaganda' ... Gibbs watch out! ... Fidel sheds jogging suits for 'tropical casual' to signal larger role ... U.S. police state confiscates $1 billion a year of property without warrants or due process, goodbye 4th Amendment ... Talban commander breaks down in tears at an Obama drone attack that kills civilians, hates Obama more than Bush for escalating attacks ... Obamacare plan only a ten year patch to unsustainable health care system.

Florida at Leading Edge of U.S. Push for More Nuclear Power

With President Obama (D-Exelon) furthering the Cheney-driven resurrection of nuclear power (so much doesn’t change, does it?) and Progress Energy and FPL now pushing to build four new problematic nuclear power reactors in Florida with the help of Florida gov candidate Alex Sinking (D-FPL) after a much deserved 30 year hiatus, guest is Ft. Lauderdale attorney George Cavros discussing FPL’s Florida nuke applications...We’ll look at how government subsidies and loan guarantees and other devices prop up a fundamentally uneconomic industry that makes giant centralized electric utilities like Exelon, Obama’s single largest campaign contributor, and FPL, which big-bankrolls Sink, big profits.... Afpakistan situation continues to deteriorate: Financial Times of London is reporting Obama administration will send 45,000 more troops, but this is so outrageous it’s hard to believe... Meanwhile, Obama-Clinton’s continuing pressure on the Pakistani Army to launch a civil war against its tribal populations is generating pushback from insurgent groups now hitting back with attacks on Pakistani military targets. Nobel winner Obama is the direct cause of the increasing violence in Pakistan.... Democrats.com activist and author David Swanson’s intriguing book signing in Miami.

Statewide Anti-War March in Orlando

Statewide Anti-War March in Orlando Saturday

With the passive and unprincipled President Obama and his Democratic Party sheep supporters dragging our country into a worsening, long term, tragic debacle in Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite that 73% of Democrats and a majority of voters now want the war ended, over 40 Florida peace and justice groups are converging at the entrance of the University of Central Florida at noon Saturday for a mass rally and march to protest Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama’s wars and call for an end to the military economy. The march will culminate at the Central Florida Research
Park local divisions of Raytheon, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, and General Dynamics. This is a critical event here in Florida in the course of the growing Afpakistan debacle that deserves the attendance of 100,000 Floridians. You can contact your local peace group for people to travel with. If you cannot go you can support the march by spreading the word and making a contribution to its considerable organizing expenses.

While the location and message of this march address important issues contributing to America’s growing militarism and provide a “teachable moment”, I am deeply concerned that the event is not addressing, more clearly and effectively, issues more directly related to halting Obama’s wars against Afghanistan and Pakistan. Militarism and these contractors are a marginal issue for the general public that we need to be reaching. This march’s primary message should be demanding an exit from the two countries, explaining its cost, destruction and false premises, and holding Obama and the Democratic Party accountable for what they are doing. The march should send an unmistakable, militant message to the Democratic Party that we are fed up with their wars, we denounce the party and we are abandoning the party (except for support of its few anti-war politicians, the only one of which there is in Florida is Alan Grayson). There need to be speeches and signs at this event denouncing President Obama and politicians like Kendrick Meek and Bill Nelson who are advocating more troops, as are others in the Florida Democratic Party. Silence and deferral to the poor judgments of President Obama by politicians like Debbie Schultz and Robert Wexler, among others, is not acceptable.

The Democrats have to be sent the message that these policies are tearing their party apart, alienating us and will lead to their loss of elections, since this is the highest value of the Party that trumps all ethics. This is the only message Democrats will respect. Until then they will continue playing us for manipulable fools. A more effective location for this march would have been the offices of Bill Nelson or even better, Kendrick Meek, who aspires to a Senate seat and needs to be challenged for his pro-war views and whose ascent to the Senate must be stopped if we are to halt the perpetuation of these wars.

We must be holding Florida’s congressional Democrats accountable for not holding hearings on Afpakistan while allowing the secret deliberations of Nobel winner Obama’s war councils that are not even considering an exit option. We must demand acknowledgment from the Party and its Congressional Budget Office of the ten year projected cost of Obama’s new policies at a time when we have a $1.2 trillion deficit. The deficit financing of these wars and the bloated $700 billion military budget is eroding the future of our country, especially at a time that we need to be digging out of the financial collapse, creating jobs in America and rebuilding our aged deteriorating infrastructure.

Out of Afghanistan ... Obama's Preposterous Nobel

Obama Nobel preposterous and undermines anti-war movement ... McChrystal calling for 80,000 more troops in Afghanistan but right to go public ... Obama Afghan overhaul setting up an even greater disaster ... Guest is Patricia DeGennaro of the World Policy Institute on an Afghanistan exit strategy... Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Kendrick Meek back troop increase ... David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.com talks about his new book on creating real democracy: "Daybreak" ... Big Orlando anti-war march on Oct. 17th.

The False Demonization of Iran

Malou Innocent, Foreign Policy Analyst with the CATO Institute in Washington, D.C. discusses her libertarian take on Iran's and Israel's nuclear programs. Also, peace movement stuck in ineffective historical leftist rut needs to adopt new strategies and messaging to broaden appeal; unemployment hits magic 10%, real rate 17% with 263,000 more jobs lost and possible economic stall. But hark! Goldman Sachs paid $25,000 summer internships while banks fight executive pay limits; why you need to watch Al Jazeera News; solar electric roofing tiles now shipping!; light rail lines a hit in Phoenix.

Alan Grayson for U.S. Senate

Alan Grayson for U.S. Senate

Written by Mark Weaver on 15 May 2009 — 3 Comments

Finally, a strong credible leader and progressive has emerged out of Florida’s pathetic Democratic Party landscape (other than Matt Damon, who still needs to hit the speaking circuit). Yesterday, the entire Florida Congressional delegation, EXCEPT ALAN GRAYSON, voted for President McCain’s $70 billion supplemental war funding bill to continue the Bush-Cheney slaughter of civilians and promotion of civil war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Grayson was one of 51 decent Democrats and 9 Republicans to vote no on the spending.

I am calling on all genuine progressive Floridians to form a delegation to go to Orlando and meet with Congressman Grayson to persuade him to run for the Democratic Senate nomination. Or meet on your own. We cannot allow war-Democrats Gelber and Meek to get this nomination. We will brainstorm with Alan on how to frame a campaign and suggest the many resources in Florida and nationwide that can form the infrastructure of a winning end-perpetual war campaign. Email me at mwshow@bellsouth.net. We also need to be pressing Gelber and Meek for their positions on Afghanistan. Like the bloggers are saying, it’s time to hold candidates accountable on the critical issues of our time and stop letting them get away with manipulating us with their triple talk hedging and deceit as to their real positions on issues. Exhibit A = Barack Obama. Meek and Gelber, are you for or against an immediate end to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan?

The expansion of the war on Afghanistan by the feckless Obama is pointless and absurd. Last week, Obama’s forces committed the largest civilian slaughter of the entire war, killing over 100 civilians including 97 children by one new account. If you are confused by the Pentagon’s psychological operations denying the high numbers and blaming the rest on the Taliban (it’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it), given the credible non-military accounts of the U.S. nighttime aerial bombing raid on several villages, you are naive, or just young.

McCain was right about 50 years in Afghanistan, the now eight year old war will not end until the U.S. gets out and allows the balance of forces and interests within Afghanistan to find an equilibrium that the U.S. is denying the country with its artificial imperial presence. The war against the Taliban is nonsense when you know that Reagan helped form and finance their predecessor Mujahadeen and Clinton had every top Taliban government official on the U.S. payroll into 1999. Even if the Taliban were to retake power in our absence (not at all a probability), it is a simple matter to get them to prohibit Al Qaeda from maintaining bases in the country with U.S. financing to enforce it. Better yet, we should arrange a quiet, informal peace agreement with Al Qaeda under which they halt attacks on the U.S. mainland and we stop financing and supporting the authoritarian governments oppressing their political movements in their native countries which are none of our arrogant business anyway.

Florida's Emerging Progressive Supernova