From Liberal to Libertarian: Bush, Obama and the Final Bubble

Robert Bonomo, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Introduction: Ideas and Change

America’s once vibrant Republic has morphed into an imperial oligarchy. The regime has weaved a new dogma preached faithfully by pundits and politicians of both parties. As that dogma crumbles in the face an impending economic collapse, the vast majority of citizens will be left in an ideological vacuum.

Palin or Obama, Fox or CNN, The Drudge Report or The Huffington Post; they simply affirm to their followers and viewers different shades of the same worldview. From within this paradigm it’s impossible to grasp the enormous manipulation and dysfunction that besets the nation. In the past there was sufficient diversity of ideas within the mainstream to offer adequate solutions for the challenges of the time. This is no longer the case.

A Liberal Democrat

Born in the late 1960s, Cold War mythology was very real. The Soviets were bad, the West was good yet the echoes of Vietnam left a crack in the armor of the ‘noble’ United States. Nonetheless, FDR saved the nation and American GI’s saved the world. Government was good, if not perfect. It protected us from Nazis, Communists as well as from the greed and ruthlessness of bankers, oil men, and dirty tricks. The Left was for civil rights, workers rights and sympathized with the plight of the poor.

Liberals Willing to Trade Blood and Treasure for Oil Company Profits Under Obama

US Navy/Wikimedia Commons image

Eric Blair
Activist Post

It's perplexing to see a high level of support for the unprovoked bombing of Libya on so-called "progressive" websites.

There has been an endless stream of humanitarian propaganda flowing from these sites trying to convince average liberals that the "human thing to do" is to rain down tomahawk missiles with depleted uranium to bring freedom and democracy to an oppressed people.

Huffington Post ran a piece by Ed Schultz titled Why I Support President Obama's Decision to Invade Libyawhere he described his reasoning as follows:

...President Obama explained this won't be a long-term operation. 

Matter of days, not a matter of weeks. Not even months. 

...He's (Obama) trying to give the rebels, those who want democracy, a fighting chance at just that and trying to stop Gaddafi -- this is the human thing to do -- from slaughtering his own people.

Liberals March to War

“Humanitarian” interventionists salute their commander-in-chief

Justin Raimondo
Antiwar

Well, that didn’t take long.

Now that President Barack Obama has intervened in Libya, his army of apologists is mobilizing to defend his “humanitarianism,” declaring that his war isn’t at all like Bush’s wars. It’s something new, and different – and admirable.

I’m not at all surprised. Are you? The anti-interventionist veneer of most American liberals and assorted “progressives” peels off quite readily when a little “humanitarian” lotion is applied – especially if it’s poured on thick by a liberal Democratic President with a domestic agenda they can endorse.

Mother Jones magazine, to cite one exemplar of this chameleon-like transformation, is no stranger to cheerleading the dark side of Obama’s presidency. You’ll recall that the magazine launched a scurrilous attack on Julian Assange, in which the author compiled a lot of quotes from self-described “experts” to the effect that WikiLeaks suffers from a lack of “transparency” – to the US government, no less! – and, alternatively, is a CIA “front.” That didn’t sit too well with their readers, as a look at the comments appended to that article attests, but a shill for power’s gotta do what a shill is born to do, and that is “spin” every event to make the team –Team Obama, in this case – look good. And certainly David Corn is up to the task.

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A Liberal's Perspective of the Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

S. Paul Forest
Activist Post

In reaction to the modern age of cynicism, media slander and growing distrust in our government, new ideas, opinions and political messages have begun to appear and grow with zeal as Americans clamor to restore their country that once offered great promise to all.  New movements are growing like weeds in the driveway of the American Dream in an attempt to not only to navigate through the chaos of today’s social disarray but also to create a venue of reason in an unreasoned environment.  One populist movement in particular, which stands today as the brightest star in the political sky, is the Tea Party.  Widely misunderstood and radically misconstrued, it stands as the exemplification of the effects of financial perversion and ideological stratification that is currently inundating the political landscape.



Some say the Tea Party Movement (TEA is an acronym for Taxed Enough Already) began in 2009 when Rick Santali let out a rant during a segment on CNBC calling for Americans frustrated with Obama’s mortgage bailout “solution” to stand up, make their voices heard and do something about it.  Thousands of Americans answered his call for a new Tea Party, in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party, in a show of force that the country as a whole wasn’t in step with Obama’s plans.  Others claim it began as Ron Paul, during his campaign for President at an Austin, Texas rally in 2003, voiced his displeasure with the taxation of American business owners.  Voters and demonstrators expressed dissatisfaction at a proposal to raise taxes by chanting "no more taxes, no more taxes!”  Reacting as they thought was representative of the historic Boston Tea Party; protesters tossed tea bags at politicians who they thought represented the in-place establishment in hope of real change.

Ron Paul, who I personally believe to be the founder father of the Tea Party Movement, is America's leading voice for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies.  Paul has said, “The big challenge is taking on the establishment and the process that is so well entrenched.  But we can’t beat the entrenched elite without the alliance of all those who have been disenfranchised.”  As a Liberal, I applaud this philosophy.  I stand in great admiration of the way this man thinks and consistently behaves.  Unfortunately, the Tea Party movement seems to have been hijacked by radicals who have perverted these simple ideals and have used the platform to pursue their own personal agendas.

In a statement about governmental control over industry, Paul has stated, “In less than 200 years, the free market, property rights, and respect for the rule of law took this nation from a rough frontier to a global economic superpower. Today, however, our nation and our economy clearly are headed in the wrong direction” and “The best approach to our economic woes that will help the most people is simple: get back to the Constitution and demonstrate respect for free markets, private property, and the rule of law.”  The rule of law is set in place to protect America from greedy corporations, but it is supposed to be done without interfering with free-markets. While the Constitution is their to protect Americans from government abuses of power.  Unfortunately, not all Tea Party candidates hold the same consistency as Ron Paul.  Some, seemingly charting their own course on the Libertarian Sea, are muddying the waters of an otherwise clear course set by Paul.

The Tea Party, as it stands today, is so far from Paul’s straightforward vision that it physically pains me to listen to their comments.  In the hands of people like Palin and O’Donnell, and even the younger Paul, it seems to have become a platform for corporate entitlement in America.  Coupled with FOX News’ xenophobia generating commentaries and the radical imaginings of Beckism, the party floats from one confused soap box the next, never actually making a plan of action to combat what they have called the destruction of America.  Talking points are good for attention generation, but after the attention has been gotten, the Tea Party solutions remain unclear and somewhat unrealistic to me.

So many statements by the Tea Partiers have been about restoring the government of old by empowering corporations and have denounced natural preservation and industry operation standards with slanderous statements about environmentalists or, as Palin called them, “the extreme Greenies”.  These statements stand in direct conflict with one another.  The purpose of government, or rather, American government, is to protect the public's individual rights from all oppression -- including rampant crony capitalism.  I am deeply confused when the talking heads of the T.P. movement insist on returning to old government but advocate the release of restrictions on mega-corporations.  To me, this seems to be a direct affront to the American system that has led the world for so long.

The most evident proof of this contradiction was seen when Palin stated that BP had been drilling deep because they were forced to by the Greenies.  This is so far from the truth that it frustrates most true environmentalists greatly.  The truth of BP’s drilling is something they don’t want us to know because it implicates not only the Bush Administration but reveals that their policies of resource allocation have become detrimental to the health and safety of Americans.  It also stands as proof that she and others like her were wrong to keep touting “drill baby drill” and not offer any other solutions.

The truth of deepwater drilling is as follows:  In 2003, the Bush Administration offered incentives to oil companies to explore deep water reserves in an effort to increase our stockpiles to prepare for the impending oil peak outcome.  The M.M.S. released a report on the subject calling for deep water drilling to be enhanced.  In a 2004 report -- titled Deep Water: Where the Energy Is -- the MMS stated that "our best source of new domestic energy resources lies in the deep water Gulf of Mexico and other frontier areas." MMS reported that due to "declining production" in "near-shore, shallow waters" in the Gulf of Mexico, "energy companies have focused their attention on oil and gas resources in water depths of 1,000 feet and beyond." The MMS estimated that "the deep water regions of the Gulf of Mexico may contain 56 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or enough to meet U.S. demand for 7-1/2 years at current rates.

This deception from Palin uncovers the bigger issue of corporate hijacking of populist movements.  Shamus Cooke has stated in his article, Why Are Corporate Groups Funding The Tea Party?, “…does a “constitutionally limited government” allow the economy to be dominated by giant corporations? Does “fiscal responsibility” mean that the U.S. should spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually on foreign wars? Does “free markets” mean that Wall Street should be allowed to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants? The answers to these questions, according to the National Tea Party Federation, will all be YES!”  This is not restoring America to anything other than the days of Robber Barons and support of out of the control business.  Sounds very much like the standards of the G.O.P. to this liberal.

Greg Sargent says, “It’s striking: Tea Party supporters and Republicans are almost in lockstep agreement on what constitute the biggest threats to America's well-being: The size of the Federal debt; the power of the Federal government; terrorism; and illegal immigration. The percentages are almost the same on all those issues.”  Newt Gingrich has been quoted as saying that he hopes the Tea Party will become the militant arm of the Republican Party.  It appears that is exactly what is going on.  In an effort to derail the policies and tactics of the Democratic majority, the Tea Party has been promoted as the extremist side of the GOP without detracting from its conservative base.  At the end of the day, it is really just political tactics without the radical backlash of the rational voters toward the Republicans.  On thing is for sure, the Tea Party isn't a unified front of angry Americans, but rather a confused collection of fringe groups that are increasing being forced to share much of the same establishment GOP ideology that brought us George W. Bush.

Most recently, the movement has created a surge of anti-immigration sentiment which stands in direct conflict with the basic principles of this country’s Founding Fathers.  I agree that the immigration issues in the Southwest have become a problem, but their harsh "solutions" and rhetoric is a divisive attack on Mexican Americans in Arizona and elsewhere.  Also, the Christian Conservative fringe in the Tea Party personified by Palin and O'Donnell have stoked hatred toward Muslims and desire to continue the immoral wars.  This is more than just national restoration methodology; it is a purposeful assault on entire cultures taking America back 50 years in foreign policy.  The actions they undertake and the words they use are purposeful manipulations to feed off the frustrations of the American public and only serve to boost their poll numbers.  The long term effects still do not seem to matter to them.

When I listen to Tea Party candidates like Palin and O’Donnell, I am reminded of my college days when a bunch of rich kids would sit in a dorm room filled with resinous smoke, dressed as hippie Dead Heads, expounding upon the injustices of the world without even (a) knowing what they were speaking about and (b) never actually having any clue as to how to do anything to change it or wanting to change it.  These Tea Party candidates are no different than the establishment GOP.  They expound upon the philosophy of American Governmental Restoration and make populist statements like “I am you” as talking points only.  When the smoke finally clears and graduation comes, or in this context, election to office, they'll settle into the same old corporate enabling and upper class principles that they truly embody.  Americans should be aware of the dichotomy they are promulgating.

We as a Nation need to recognize the interests that the Tea Party candidates represent as well as their personal actions.  Some candidates seem to know nothing of a real America where unemployment has destroyed families and homeless numbers are beyond imagining.  They only seem to know what they are getting paid to know.  I applaud their ambition and efforts to profit in a free-market society but doing so by lying and deceiving the American public is not acceptable -- it's too late for that.

Ron Paul had a vision; a dream of a renewed America. Less government control and less taxes seem great to me, but not for the elite corporations who ship jobs overseas and catastrophically pollute our environment.  I, for one, support Ron Paul’s vision, but in the hands of the Tea Party this vision has become perverted to the point of posing a danger to our common goals of peace, social justice, fair and free markets, and personal liberty.

Some "Tea Party" candidates promoted this election season seem to be trampling upon the platform he built.  Their dream can quickly become America’s nightmare if allowed to proliferate.  My perspective is as simple as the original precepts of Ron Paul’s 2003 campaign; America deserves better than to be the playground for Tea Party ambitions and some of their exceptionalist ideals.  Real, plausible solutions are needed to bring back the greatness of America, but the reality is, even though I wish it did, the Tea Party as represented by their crop of candidates is not the movement that has them.

Recent Articles by S. Paul Forest:
A Liberal's Awakening to the Reality of Obamacare
Where Has Journalism Gone?


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Another Nonsensical Attack on Libertarians

Jacob G. Hornberger
Lew Rockwell

I can’t help but comment on the latest liberal attack on libertarians because the entire episode is so humorous. This newest attack comes from Joshua Holland, senior editor at Alternet.org, one of the most liberal organizations in the country.

The controversy involves a decision by a fire department in Obion County, Tennessee, to stand by and watch a house burn down because the owner hadn’t paid the $75 fee to be protected by the fire department.

Holland went on the attack, describing the episode as an example of libertarianism and “Ayn Rand conservativism” at work. Holland wrote: “It’s a picture of a society in which ‘rugged individualism’ run amok means every man for himself. Call it Ayn Rand’s stark, anti-governmental dream come true.”

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