Corruption-Lite and The Two Party System That Has Choked the Democracy out of th

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Corruption-Lite and The Two Party System That Has Choked the Democracy

out of this Country.

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by Anthony Wade

 

 

 

 

http://www.opednews.com

 

October 23, 2005

 

I see all the time the questions of what is wrong with the Democratic

Party. I sense the palpable frustration of well-minded people who

fight day in and out against the corruption in the current

administration only to be heartbroken at the apparent ineptitude of

the opposition party. It hit me today why the Democratic Party seems

too inept in dealing with the rampant corruption. They are a willing

participant in it.

 

Now I know they are the minor leagues compared to the GOP, but they

are both pigs at the trough of American corruption. It has never

ceased to amaze me that we can have 31 flavors of ice cream in this

country but only two coherent political philosophies (quite frankly

they are not that coherent either but that is another article).

Everyone who fights for progressive causes knows the 2004 and 2000

elections were stolen. Similarly, we know that we are heading for

another theft in 2006, and then 2008. How can we know that? Simply,

the democrats have done absolutely nothing to stop it. Sure we have

the true American heroes such as John Conyers, but he is often stuck

by himself, shouting into the wind.

 

Unsettling? Sure, but just look at the presidential race from last

year. The best candidate the democrats could muster was John Kerry who

promised us that he would not stop fighting until every vote was

counted. He then proceeded to quit and walk away from his supporters

in just six hours after the totals were announced. Looking beyond that

though, what did he stand for? He stood for the continuation of the

illegal war in Iraq, the further death of American soldiers based upon

lies. I remember reading his concession and feeling outraged knowing I

had been lied to. Why did Kerry give up so quickly? Because he is part

of the same failed system in this country. He still got to go back to

Congress and be a millionaire, so why buck the system?

 

Uncomfortable? Well, don't fall for the " we are not in power " mantra.

Sure the dems wield no real power but they choose to remain in that

position by refusing to create their own progressive identity. They

are mostly content to be the stepchildren in the government, happy

with the scraps that fall from the master's table. Disagree? Ask

yourself how many democrats voted for the Patriot Act, stripping you

of your civil liberties. Granted the first go around was difficult

because of the fervor after 9-11, but Russ Feingold still had the

moral clarity to not give in and voted " no " . Ask yourself how many

democrats voted for the recent bankruptcy law, financially enslaving

this country while doing nothing to address the predatory lending

practices of major credit card companies. Sure not a single GOP House

member voted against it but did you know that nearly 40% of the House

democrats voted for it as well? Why? Because they ponied up to the

trough and feasted on the 40 million dollars in contributions made to

congress over the past eight years by the credit card lobby. That is

right America. They sold you out just as quickly as the republicans

did, just not on the same scale. Still if the GOP never sees any of

their order dissent and they can get 40% of the democrats, then that

is why their control is as tight and ruthless as it is.

 

Still unconvinced? How about the recent law enacted to curb class

action lawsuits? This law serves no interest other than corporate

profits. The GOP did a masterful job of making us think that out of

control lawsuits were behind the rise in healthcare but every study

has proven that is bunk. Frivolous lawsuits accounts for less than 1%

of healthcare costs. The GOP knew that but lied anyway to push their

oppressive agenda. The frightening thing though is the bill passed in

the Senate 72-26 and in the House 279-149. That means there were

plenty of democrats who chose to protect companies at the cost of

human beings.

 

Votes like this happen all the time. How many democrats supported the

Iraq War? How many have done anything serious to see it end? How many

supported the protestors? Their identity as stepchildren is a choice.

It is a conscious decision to play the game the way it is set up,

knowing that being number two in a game where they get to share in the

profit of corruption is better than being number three, on the outside

looking in. There first duty is the same as the GOP. It is not to

protect their constituents. It is not to protect their party. It is to

protect the status quo. Protecting the system guarantees a spot at the

trough for them, even if they have to wait to feed when their

step-parents are done feeding. Are they as bad as the GOP? No. They

are corruption-lite. Make no mistake about it though. In that role

they are very much part of the problem.

 

There are plenty of good people in this country who recognize that the

two-party system and the proliferation of lobbyists deciding policy

are the two largest problems choking this democracy. There are plenty

of progressive voices who want to see honor and decency restored to

our government. People who actually want to see their concerns be

addressed by the people they vote to represent them. They want to see

our own education system fixed before setting up schools in other

countries. They want to know that they can get proper medical care.

They want their government to represent them. They want their country

back.

 

The problem is that because the media does such a good job at

convincing us that there is this vast split down the center of this

country that we fail to see that we are mostly in agreement about what

really matters. They want us arguing about abortion or gay marriage so

that we don't notice when the impoverishing of this country and the

elimination of the middle class walks right by us. It is an illusion

though to think that we are so fundamentally opposed. I think if you

asked most people if lying to go to war was a good thing they would

say no. I think if you asked most people if they thought it was a good

idea to make sure all children had health coverage, they would say

yes. Yet if you ask them on Election Day, they insist that they are

categorized into the narrow boxes the system has set up. Take a closer

look though America. The party of limited government, the GOP, has

expanded government more than any other administration is history. The

party of fiscal responsibility has driven this country into eight

trillion dollars of debt and the verge of financial ruin. The party of

integrity and family values has produced Tom Delay and money

laundering, Bill Frist and insider trading, and the entire

administration facing perjury and conspiracy charges for purposefully

outing a CIA agent in charge of protecting us from the very WMD that

Bush never found.

 

But we wake up every day thinking that it is democrats versus

republicans. The sad truth is that one is no better than the other.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Our system is no longer set up to

benefit or protect us. Our environment is destroyed in the name of

corporate profits. Our elected officials are bought and paid for by

people representing corporate interests keeping the rich powerful and

the poor impotent. Our children go off to die in wars based on lies,

and we have to actually debate if we should stay or go while we wave

little American flags made in China. The debate is what continues to

divide us. The illusion that there are only two coherent lines of

political thought is crippling this democracy. There has to be more

than the vanilla republicans and the chocolate democrats. Until we

truly get progressive in our political thought in this country we will

be choosing between corruption and corruption lite, and not liking

either flavor.

 

Anthony Wade, a contributing writer to opednews.com, is dedicated to

educating the populace to the lies and abuses of the government. He is

a 37-year-old independent writer from New York with political

commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive

and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and

disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected

officials accountable for lies and excess. Anthony Wade's Archive:

http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm Email Anthony:

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