As goes the electoral system, so goes American Democracy

So, you think the leaders of the Administration are short a few high cards do you? Think again. It takes brilliance to appear totally incompetent while advancing a hidden agenda. This Administration is incredibly adept at creating situations in which singular, highly emotional events dominate our thinking, and keep our focus on events in isolation.

The nation is divided on Iraq. “Stay the course” versus “cut and run” are the slogans used to elicit an emotional response and minimize rational thought. When emotions are set aside, the question of why this administration would ignore the obvious outcome of attacking Iraq and refuse to fully staff an occupying military must be asked. More than enough people with sufficient information to determine that Iraq could not sustain even a short period without central leadership came forward to object well before the first bomb was dropped.

Former President Bush made it clear that the U.S. was unprepared for such an undertaking when he did not oust Saddam Hussein in 1991. Even as the current administration was planning to invade Iraq, several high-ranking military leaders were vehement in their pleas for enough troops to contain the peace. The warnings were ignored and Iraq is now in a state of anarchy. It must be clear by now to anyone who considers the question seriously that this was the intended outcome. The question is who has gained, and who will continue to gain, from the current condition.

The U.S. has entered in to “Free Trade” agreements with various parts of the world which have resulted in astronomically high balance of payment deficits and the loss of thousands of good paying American jobs. Again, the title “Free Trade” elicited an emotional, rather than rational response, and provided for a discussion not on merit but on feeling as the agreements were debated in congress. Initially, partner countries were monitored for compliance to agreements on the status of labor in the exporting nations, but not anymore. Requirements for fair labor practices have been ignored and reports of child and slave labor are being talked about on the floor of the Senate. Talked about, but ignored by the Republican leadership. American workers cannot compete against this kind of workforce and maintain a hard won standard of living. Again the question is who has gained, and who will continue to gain.

In the past five years, new laws have been passed which erode freedoms and protections guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Pharmaceutical manufacturers cannot be sued if hastily distributed vaccines harm the user. Gun manufactures cannot be sued if their laxity in controlling weapons in their factories results in the distribution of firearms to criminals and innocent people are injured or killed. As of last Thursday, non citizens, even if in the U.S. legally and in possession of a green card, can be arrested and detained indefinitely without formal charges and without access to legal recourse. Wiretapping without a warrant seems innocuous by comparison, but it is an erosion of the rights of Americans none-the-less.

Other new laws simply sock it to the working class. In the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, the government is forbidden to negotiate for lower prices. When the same drugs are shipped from here to Canada and sold there at half the price, we are forbidden to buy from Canadian sources. The administration tells us it’s for our own good because the drugs haven’t had the benefit of FDA oversight. Who honestly believes that Canada doesn’t have a similar program just as able to provide oversight? Get real.

While we are at war, taxes for the richest Americans have been cut dramatically as the debt continues to rise. It’s ok though, because we won’t have to pay the debt, it is being passed on to the next several generations. At the same time, pension plans have become a source of income for corporations in need, while the needs of workers are being disregarded with disdain by the Congress. Labor can no longer rely on the National Labor Relations Board for relief from overbearing companies. Unionization is at its lowest ebb in six decades. The middle class is disappearing.

Just to be sure that no one pays too much attention, the Administration and the Congress talk about abortion and gay rights. They don’t talk about ways to minimize the impact of these issues, but rather they go out of their way to create major points of argument between differing segments of society. David Copperfield couldn’t perfect a better misdirection.

Once again the question remains, who is it that has gained, and who will continue to gain, from the current condition.

As I said at the start, when advancing a hidden agenda, the trick is to get everyone to look at events in isolation. However, once a person steps back from their own personal agenda and looks at events in totality, that which was hidden begins to become visible. In the past I talked about a class war between the worker and a moneyed aristocracy. True, but incomplete – because it doesn’t clearly identify the participants. The provoking participants are the nearly invisible, super rich, super greedy, super miserly, principal owners of multinational corporations. They alone stand to benefit now and in the future by each and every one of the conditions outlined.

The idea of national sovereignty, even as we argue about the viability of the United Nations, has been all but totally eroded by multinational corporations. Make no mistake, the military unrest in the Middle East and political instability in the Americas is promoted because it makes it easier for corporations rather than governments to take control of the vast natural resources of the affected regions. It’s not just a problem for the United States, but it is the Constitution of the United States with its attendant large, well educated, working middle class which is the greatest obstacle to corporations in their efforts to exert an even heavier hand in world governance. Why, because a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, is simply inconsistent with corporate tyranny.

As a result, it is the Constitution of the United States which is under attack. In the past five years every aspect of the constitution has been challenged. From individual rights to states rights to the balance of power between branches of government and the separation of church and state, not one area has been unscathed. All of this has been done with such brilliance that the nation has been complicit in its own demise.

In the past several years we have been goaded into attacking the constitution with an amendment to define marriage which would clearly negate contractual rights for some. The attempt to pass an amendment against flag burning was clearly an effort to negate freedom of speech for others. Religious arguments over abortion and near-death medical decisions would clearly trample the rights of other individuals to control their own bodies. No, these efforts didn’t succeed – this time. But, the process did provide a momentary diversion for the hapless public.

To top it all off, our right to elect the individual of our choice for the various positions of power in government has been severely eroded by electronic voting machines without a voter verified paper trail. As things stand today no one can be sure that those in power were ever the peoples’ true choice. Unfortunately, those on the “winning” side don’t care enough to complain and those who do complain are seen as poor losers and rebuffed as malcontents. So much for government of the people.

If the attack on our Constitution is to be thwarted, and the rebuilding of the great American middle class is to begin again, we must first fix the election process. Election day must be a national holiday – everyone must have a chance to vote. No person directly affected by the outcome of any election must be allowed to participate in the planning or control of that election.

Every vote must be accurately tallied and if called into question, all votes must be able to be recounted.

When, and only when this is done, can we be sure of installing in office representatives of our own choosing. If we are to survive as a nation we must have Senators, Congresspersons and a President who will honor, uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign, domestic, religious or corporate.

Our fate is still in our hands – at least for now, but maybe not for long.