Besides the fact she isn't running I keep hearing "she's too liberal", "she'll be seen as a radical", "she'd take votes away from Clinton and Republicans would win" or "progressives (actual liberals) can do more good in the legislative branch". This may or may not be true but my point is, this is our American democracy? What a pathetic state of affairs we've found ourselves in since, well, Clinton's administration. I'd say lets all pack up and move to Europe but all is not well on the European front either. Some rather nefarious right wing political parties have been gaining ground in Britain, France, Spain etc. We have our own paper tiger Tea Party made up of mostly well to do senior citizens collecting pensions and social security. The racist border commando's making up the vanguard with Sara Palin, like Vladimir Lenin, preparing to storm the Winter Palace, or White House, in a rage of revolutionary terror. Just the thought of it makes me giggle.
The Tea Party people represent regressive policies, for sure, woman's rights, minorities, especially the gay community would likely suffer with a Tea Party takeover but are they really that much of a threat? I think not. Clinton's philosophy, after Regan's two terms and after Bush rode that wave, was to basically become Republican in order to beat Republicans. The Third Way. The glory days of the Democratic Leadership Council and their cronies within their new Democratic Party. The complete and total reversal of liberal ideology as Clinton announced the "end of big government".
So, Democrats have become Republicans and Republicans are being pressured from the white Christian vanguard and anyone left of Ronald Reagan is a card carrying commie and what we're left with is an absurd spectacle somewhat masking the fact that our choice is between Reagan Party A and Reagan party B with batshit Christians in wheelchairs wielding m-16's forcing the political spectrum even further rightward. And I'm suppose to get excited for a Clinton campaign for 2016?
No doubt Clinton will surround herself with the same "blue dog" pragmatists. The free market gurus. The warhawks. The white wrinkly pale faces who serve as a signal to the financial aristocracy, like a lighthouse beacon, illuminating the message "your money is safe with us". And the American working class, as happened with the Obama administration, is to be excited and jovial because the first woman president is on her way to the White House. Well, good for her, good for us. We're so very progressive! Lets all light candles and wear pink ribbons and deck the hall with boughs of holly.
In the meantime, back in the Hall of Justice, our superhero working class representatives (all 4 of them) will be steam rolled in the house/senate by Clinton's team of free market goons and Republicans will no doubt also work to keep the bank accounts of the filthy rich expanding as we've seen over the last 30 years. NOTHING will change. New corporate friendly trade deals will be passed. Wages will remain almost stagnant. Unions and labor will be further marginalized. A new war theater will open up or expand. Drones will drone. Wall St will Wall St. The 1% will 1% and the spectacle will continue. And if this current political climate continues there's not a dam thing we can do about it.
What choice do many Americans have other than to wallow in a sort of political anomie. Pessimism. Nihilism. Not something to be embraced for sure. As Albert Camus philosophy of absurdism dictates these things are to be fended off. Pushed back via revolt! Revolt against ourselves, against the rather negative forces pressuring us from all angles. Do we have this is us? Is the American left willing or able to make a stand and say enough is enough? We sure did show this sort of gumption during the last Bush administration. There was real passion. Real desire for change. A real daily commitment from the people to stand up for what's right. And our efforts resulted in the Obama administration. And came to a screeching halt as soon as he was sworn in. And the Reagan era economic policies continued. And the Bush era foreign policies continued. And Wall St recorded record amounts of profits. And the drones droned. And the 1% decked the hall with boughs of holly.
I'm beginning to think we might be better off with a Republican in the White House. Or would it simply build 4 to 8 more years of grass roots momentum only to be squandered away in another push to elect the other Republican party?