OBAMA and HUCKABEE
Posted in Michael O'McCarthy's Blog, Main Blog (All Posts) on January 5th, 2008 11:11 am by Michael O'Mccarthy
OBAMA AND HUCKABEE
Populist Leaders of Change or Patented American Hucksters?
Or
Which looks more like Elmer Gantry?
Listening to the semi-folksy – ministerial delivery of Huckabee’s acceptance of his Iowa win wasn’t rousing as the network clucks declared. It was scary.
Listening to Obama wasn’t rousing, it was far too similar to the rhythm and rhyme of the old Civil Rights moderates, somewhat mimicking of Martin Luther King, Jr., but the King of 1970, not 2008, nor the King who declared war on poverty and imperialism.
What we are hearing is that this duopoly party dominated country needs is a good ole candidate up from the common Joe and Joan – on the Right they pray for one embedded by Christian fundamentalism, war imperialism and reactionary faux capitalist politics. On the Left, with some racial integration tossed in, a fellow of color who speaks in the coded language of the African American pulpit.
The question is whether Huckabee is that Elmer Gantry of the political Right? Not if you read through his tax and pardon history. What Huckabee may be is a Republican insurgent that can pull enough of the practical evangelical vote and mix it with independents and moderately racist Democrats to become the next white, male President and all that means.
Do not be fooled by his pardons and his outreach to the poor. Down here the southern country Christian hallmark charity and forgiveness as part of their mission. At the other end is an expected level of servile gratitude: “Yes, boss – thank you preacher – bless your Governor,” is the grateful’s patent mantra.
With a Huckabee President what we can expect is a reversal of all the moderate gains made by women in their choice of contraception, a regressive social policy regarding constitutional rights, continued fear mongering that will drive the agenda of “Homeland Security” that will piggy back on a foreign policy that will continue the White Christian crusade against the world of color within and without our borders.
“Governor Huckabee has pledged to support every item on the Radical Right’s wish list: a constitutional ban on abortion, a veto of legislation to protect gay and lesbian Americans from discrimination, support for a bill to keep federal courts from intervening when local officials violate the separation of church and state, and most importantly, a far-right Supreme Court.
When asked about what kind of justices Huckabee would appoint to the Supreme Court — something CNN predicts the next president could get to do three or more times — his answer was:
“I would want people who are in the spirit of Scalia. He’s probably my hero in the Court.”
Which is simply more of the same Nixon – Reagan – Bush – Bush and then worse.
Obama on the other hand, looking like a nice guy, is wedded to the American political system that has delivered the Hubert Humphreys, Bill Clintons and Joe Liebermans to us. The former two were not good enough in solving the crucial class, race and gender issues of this nation during their time, and Lieberman … (are you kidding, Lieberman a “liberal?”) … nor is Obama now expected to face-off against the corporate monster their parties are heir to.
But worse: his main campaign advisor, and who may well become part of his cabinet, is a man named Zbigniew Brzezinski, who worked in Carter’s administration, (whose administration’s claim to fame is the Yankee corporatization of The South.)
In Brzezinski’s book, “The Grand Chessboard,” we see a corporate ideologue like Kissinger and like Dick Cheney–highly intelligent, but without an ounce of compassion in his body. In his book he describes U.S. strategy: American Imperialism and furthering and maintaining our Empire against the emerging hordes.
Obama’s bankroll has the stamp of corporate America, (the same stamp on Hillary’s millions.) You have to be idiotic not to understand the meaning of what millionaire attorney John Edwards means when he diagnoses that “corporate greed has an iron clad hold on our government.” Just in case you’re having a dumber or dumber moment: That means who gets paid does what the payer pays for. Obama will deliver whatever his corporate owners pay him to do. Period!
So we come to that expected, very loudly shouted question: “What, another George Bush because the “left” is to pure to compromise?”
Aside from the fact that Ralph Nader DID NOT COST GORE THE ELECTION, there is no point in being a political progressive if in the end you enable the Corporate State Democrats to take “their turn at bat,” as Jerry Brown once called the game played every two – to – four years by the operatives of the American two-party, ruling class system.
Ah, yes, the electoral two-party ruling class hegemony. It’s as if we’ve all been struck dumb and dumber thinking that electoral politics is real “the agent of change” in this country. As if in any country dominated by the Corporate State. But apparently the Bill Clinton version of “Camelot” came not only to mean the explosive burst of “globalization” it also brought about the death of radical politics in the US,
That then left us with the one Progressive agent of change in 2008, Dennis Kucinich. After the Des Moines Iowa Register blackballed him from the debate I emailed one of the chief campaign personnel,
“Pretend I am a complete idiot and have someone tell me why Dennis Kucinich and every one of his supporters are not taking to the streets after what occurred in Iowa (or did not occur)…If this is the campaign plan for Kucinich…then we are all missing the point…or the campaign manager needs to be fired. Or K needs to quit.”
His reply: “You want Dennis running around Des Moines ranting and raving like the dis-inherited bastard child? Or picket lines in front of the Des Moines Register? Or what?”
I don’t know about the “what?” part — but he was fucking correct: I wanted to see this valiant “American Hero” (*) in the streets in front of the Register – in front of the Democratic National Party Headquarters, in front of AARP which barred him from their debate, challenging the other candidates on this basic abrogation of the First Amendment. And now I want them in front of ABC headquarters in LA and NY.
But that sadly is not going to happen. It is not the practice of the “Kucinich” progressives, perhaps not of the progressive body politic in toto. And in all kindness to Kucinich, who I have listened to throughout this campaign, his explanation on Moyers the other night was a stammering refusal to face the truth: It was at he could not explain that what at best a blunder – at worst, an indication that on some basic level Kucinich does not believe his own message. Perhaps he has spent far too many years in the Compromise … uh, Congress.
As for the two Democratic Party “voices of change” now being showcased by the same media, the Wunderkind Obama and the anti-corporate rebel Edwards, if you believe they will change the government of the United States, I have some sub-prime mortgage offers for you.
If you disagree at least strip yourself of your childish illusions about Obama and your gamble on Edwards and go out and work for Dame Hillary. You may at least get to meet the first “Black President” who duped “hopeful” African Americans and their white allies who prayed for “anybody but another Reagan or Bush,” and along with Fleetwood Mac, sang the anthem of the time: “Dot.com greed and tooting cocaine is good. Let use Depleted Uranium Bombs and make movies in Hollywood.”
(*as Jennifer Lynne Ziemann and I dubbed him as a result of our feature length interview that appeared on this blog, The LA Free Press and Greenville, and South Carolina’s The BEAT.)
