I believe there are really three political parties in the United States, not two. The Republicans are the Party of War, Business, and Greed. The Centrists are the Everything is Fine (once we get elected again) Party, or the Party of Denial. The Progressive Democrats, known by the Republicans as the I Hate America Party, might also be called the Party of Transformation.
The Party of War, Business, & Greed
The Republican Party is now being run by what the Old Guard Republican Establishment used to call “The Crazies.” They were like a daft uncle, allowed at family picnics but not taken seriously. Now they are in power and are called Neo-Cons. They possess an unshakable belief in military-industrial power, even when the power of the sword is shown to be hollow, as it was in Vietnam and as it is in Iraq. The Neo-Cons work hand-in-glove with those who own and run the giant corporations, who are the ones who have the real power.
The Republicans also have libertarian and fundamentalist Christian wings, but their power is limited. Alan Greenspan, who has been hyping his book everywhere lately, was an early follower of Ayn Rand and claims to be a libertarian. His true statement, “everyone knows the Iraq war is largely about oil,” got a lot of press, but what is being ignored is that he urged Bush to invade Iraq because the United States needed to control the oil in the Middle East. This is an imperialistic, not a libertarian, idea.
The people currently running our government are making the older Republicans look very good, by comparison. Eisenhower often told the truth; Barry Goldwater had a conscience; Richard Nixon actually knew a great deal about foreign countries; Ronald Reagan was a pretty nice guy; and George H. W. Bush refused to go to Baghdad to avoid an endless, unwinnable quagmire in Iraq.
The current Republican presidential candidates, with the exception of Ron Paul, exceed “the Compassionate Conservative” in militaristic bluster, an awesome achievement. The ungrateful Iraqis need us, so let’s never leave. And why not take out Iran while we’re at it? The Republican candidates support more torture, more arrests without charges or trials, more spying on citizens, more tax cuts for corporations and the super-wealthy, more power to the Executive Branch, more corporate consolidation. More everything, except change.
I do not mean to suggest that there are not dangerous, vicious, murderous people in the world. I do mean to suggest that fighting these people with their tactics can lead us to behaving the same way they behave. “American exceptionalism” doesn’t exempt us from the darker aspects of human nature. The means we use will determine the ends we reach.
War is good for business, but not for life. The Dow Jones average is doing fine, but close to a million Iraqis are dead who would be alive if we hadn’t invaded their country. Close to three million Iraqis are in exile or have been displaced from their homes. Business is not automatically good. Indeed, business as usual, which includes war and the drive for ever greater corporate profits, is the engine driving the destruction of the delicate balance of nature, upon which all life depends.
The Party of Denial, the Centrist Party
The Centrist Party, the Everything Is Fine Party, or the Party of Denial, professes that America is the greatest country in the history of the Universe! Yes! Sure, we need to roll back some of the excesses of the Reign of Cheney, but let’s not upset the giant corporations. That might upset the stock market. And we wouldn’t want to upset our campaign donors or those who own or work in the war industries. Act like Nothing is Wrong!
The Centrist Party is led by the Clinton Dynasty. They also do the bidding of those who own and run the corporations, though their allegiance is better disguised, even to themselves. For example, take this astounding quote from Senator Clinton: “I don’t think, based on my 35 years of fighting for what I believe in, I don’t think anybody seriously believes I’m going to be influenced by a lobbyist.” (Huffington Post, August 5, 2007) I, for one, seriously believe this is hogwash. Our electoral system is built on campaign contributions and lobbying, both of which are fancy terms for bribery. How can Hillary raise hundreds of millions of dollars and pretend she is above influence?
Al Gore ran as a centrist in 2000. In his acceptance speech he said, “I will fight for you,” but he chose Joseph Lieberman, a hyper-militarist, as his running mate. Gore would not support higher gas mileage targets for automobiles out of fear of losing Michigan. He refused to demand that all ballots be counted in Florida, which enabled the election to be stolen. What does “I will fight for you” mean? Since his defeat, he’s written some lucid essays and has made an eloquent film about climate change. The ability to tell the truth seems to increase dramatically when someone is out of office.
John Kerry ran as a Centrist in 2004. In his first debate with W., he said, “I will win this war.” His handlers told him that the voters wanted a warrior; so he said he would win the war. It was unconvincing, because it was a lie. In Vietnam Kerry witnessed a guerilla war that could not be won by an invading army and spoke eloquently against the American invasion. The people in Iraq detest us and over 80% of them want us to leave, because we’ve ruined what little they had left after Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical rule.
Centrists will do nothing that might disturb corporate profits, which is what NAFTA, GATT, and the WTO are about. There is rhetoric about free trade, but small farmers in Mexico, in India, and in much of the rest of the third world are being pushed off their land by unfair trade barriers and American taxpayer support for agribusiness. Bill Clinton promised to add protections for the environment and the workers, but the treaties are written; they say what they say and the corporate beneficiaries, who were deeply involved in writing the treaties, have no reason to renegotiate.
In 1963, the British comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe said, “Over in America there’s the Republican Party, which is the equivalent of our Conservative Party, and there’s the Democratic Party, which is the equivalent of our Conservative Party.” That sums it up, though they were referring to the Centrist Democrats, not the progressives. .
The Party of Transformation
The Third Party, the Party of Transformation, is made up of Progressive Democrats and assorted radicals. Republicans often referred to them as the I Hate America Party, but I think this group should be called the I Love Life on Earth Party.
They support outlandish positions like honoring international treaties we’ve signed outlawing torture and stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons. They recognize that other nations have different interests and think that we should sit down and talk respectfully with them, not push them around, whether they are friendly or hostile toward us.
They think wars get out of control and are highly unpredictable. The endless spending for weapons that has propped up our economy since WWII has kept the economy moving, but just because aircraft carriers and exotic bombers are part of the gross national product doesn’t mean they are the best choice for what to do with our limited resources. Giving guns that can fire 750 bullets a minute to teenage boys isn’t conservative, it’s messy. Continual preparation for war tends to cause war. Soldiers don’t like spending all their time sitting around in the barracks playing video games. It gets boring. They want action.
Progressives think heating up the planet until we drown Holland, Bangladesh, island nations, and coastal cities like New York, Venice, and Boston is unwise. Business as usual will not stop climate change, which builds upon itself. Melting polar ice makes more sea, which absorbs light and accelerates the warming, which melts more ice. These people think that we live on this planet and that the delicate balance that has evolved on earth over billions of years may be a better model than narrow self-interest and corporate profits. Once the elephants are gone, they will not come back.
The US government could become a constructive partner with other nations, advancing a worldwide effort to stop global warming and stop war. The alternative is scary. Some people find courage and leadership to be attractive characteristics in presidents, but the way our electoral system is set up is not producing leaders. Our elections have been turned into advertising campaigns, massive campaign contributions, and having catchy slogans and a big smile often wins.
Many are not waiting any longer, but are dedicating their lives to changing our systems in positive, visionary directions. They are working to create a more equitable economic system; they have spent their lives working to end war; they are working to create a sustainable world.
These people might be a third of the country, and at some point, hopefully, leaders will emerge who will follow the progressive movement, whether it remains within the Democratic party or becomes something new.
What do you think? What are you willing to do? What you feel is just and true in your heart and mind, both for yourself and for all life on earth?
Back to Center Post Contents | Home