Tulsi needs a Hail Mary pass to stay in the presidential race. She must poll at 2% or more in 3 DNC approved polls by August 28th. SHE NEEDS 2 MORE. And it doesn't look like she will make it.
But she could still make the October stage if she can generate some serious media attention.
Julian Castro's recent animal welfare proposal was a brilliant move, and likely will propel him to the September stage.
Tulsi needs an even bigger media bombshell.
My suggestion: Tulsi should call for a Constitutional Convention.
The last Constitutional Convention was held in 1787.
We are long overdue to correct the course of government!
As the oligarchy controls the government through campaign contributions and legalized bribery, every organization in the country which advocates for the environment, civil rights, consumer protection, patients, prisoners, women, children, animals, animal protection, etc, would enthusiastically embrace a campaign to require public financing of campaigns, ban private money in politics, and ban gifts to public officials.
The Constitution can be amended by the ratification of a single amendment or by a Constitutional Convention, at which multiple changes can be made to the Constitution.
Constituencies that would also be interested in constitutional protections could join with animal activists in calling for a Constitutional Convention to advance protected status for LGBTs, the elderly, the disabled, to enshrine voting rights in the Constitution, to protect the environment, to guarantee women’s equality, and to make healthcare a basic human right.
The Constitution could be also be amended to jettison the Electoral College, to adopt proportional representation, and to limit terms of House Members and Senators.
A Constitutional Convention would spell the end of the oligarchy, a restoration of our democratic Republic, and an effective political revolution.
I use the term “fascism” frequently in my articles and calls to political arms. The word is not chosen injudiciously, I use it purposefully and accurately.
Fascism isn’t goose-stepping troops, military parades, or stiff-arm salutes. It is corporate control of government. And that relationship is as apparent in present day America as it was in Germany, Italy, and Spain in the 1930s.
How does a democratic society become a fascist one? How do corporations come to dominate government, direct public policy, veto legislation, choose our very leaders?
In the case of the US, through the bestowing of largesse upon political candidates and elected officials.
Political bribery. Euphemistically called campaign contributions.
Campaign contributions are nothing but legal bribes paid to politicians. Ostensibly, they assure the donors “access” to officials once elected, but everyone knows they are made to influence how those officials vote.
Big Business, Wall Street, Big Oil, Big Agriculture, etc, employ bagmen to deliver their bribes. These bagmen are called lobbyists. Lobbyists not only pay off Congressmen and Senators, they often actually write legislation for the officials to introduce. There is even a Right wing clearinghouse for bribery and legislation that coordinates payoffs and the introduction of industry proposed laws, called the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The tide of money that floods Congress and the halls of state governments assures corporate interests control of almost every aspect of American society. Though we are a democracy, almost all candidates for office are compromised by bribes. Democrats and Republicans alike have their hands out for donations to fund their campaigns. Once elected, they are expected to deliver their votes for the people who bribed them. If they do not deliver, they don’t get re-elected, as the money flows into opposition coffers.
Which is why both Democrats and Republicans hold similar positions on most economic and foreign policy issues. They’ve been paid off by the same interests. On issues that Wall Street and Big Business have no stakes in, we see Democrats and Republicans free to chart their own courses, resulting in liberal versus conservative battles on abortion, immigration, marriage equality, etc. But on funding the military, corporate welfare, taxes, business regulation, animal slaughter, Mustang roundups, Wildlife Services (a part of the Department of Agriculture which functions as a subsidiary of the cattle industry) the parties are almost indistinguishable.
And that is because corporate America owns America.
As long as it is legal for corporations and billionaires to bribe our politicians, we will have politicians on the take.
The US Supreme Court recently handed down two decisions which greatly expand the ability to bribe elected officials and candidates for office: Citizens United and McCutcheon. The Citizens United decision recognized corporations as persons having First Amendment rights, and concluded that campaign donations were free speech. McCutcheon struck down limitations on the amounts that could be given to candidates.
If bribery weren’t a problem already, these decisions basically allow for For Sale signs to be hung on legislative seats and government offices.
The reaction was swift . The American people were outraged by the court decisions. There was widespread talk of passing a constitutional amendment to block corporate and special interest money in elections.
The very key to fascist control of government was being threatened. In response, some bought-and-paid-for politicians came up with a plan to derail any such amendment: They came up with their amendment. One that would only negate the effect of Citizens United. Their plan was that it would allow bribery to continue at 2010 levels (the year Citizens United was filed) and would throw a bone to all those outraged folks who wanted to stop the bribery. Then, in the US Senate, those on the take voted the measure down.
To end fascist control of America we must stop the bribery. It is the weak link in the chains that bind us. The only way to do that is to adopt a constitutional amendment that will ban corporate and private money in politics, ban gifts to public officials, and require public financing of campaigns.
It will never be done by Congress. They have too much at stake.
The way to accomplish it is through a call for a Constitutional Convention. That can be done by state legislatures.
The American Left should be at the forefront of a campaign to convene a Constitutional Convention. We would spearhead a broad swath of the body politic: leftists, liberals, populists, libertarians, even disaffected moderates.
The American public overwhelmingly opposes corporate bribery of officials. They don’t trust politicians, Congress, or Big Business. The political atmosphere is ideal for organizing and mobilizing disaffected voters. Not only liberals support ending corporate control of government, it is a popular notion among moderates and many conservatives as well!
Never in American history have the interests of so many intersected on a single issue.
It would require state-by-state battles at the local level to accomplish. But it is possible! Liberals control most local Democratic political organizations, county central committees, and make up most Democratic volunteers. The odds of success actually favor the Left, as corporate money is not a factor at the precinct level. Corporate bribes do not trickle so far down the political tree.
The rewards envisaged are ample: the recognition of the political Left in America, the recruitment of activists, the education of the public, the growing of our ranks and our influence, the end of our being a political footnote.
A Constitutional Convention would be the biggest thing to hit America since the Revolutionary War. It would spark debate in every conceivable forum, from school campuses to talk shows to op ed pieces to social media, not to mention traditional news outlets, radio, television, newspapers and the blogoshere.
It would be the subject of political debates, scholarly symposia, law school classes and lectures, town hall meetings and talk radio.
There has never been a public issue or constitutional crisis that garnered as much attention as would a Constitutional Convention. Aside from attention domestically, it would be the subject of international interest, debate, comment, and concern.
It would provide the left in the US, and the left around the world, with avenues of discussion and the opportunity to proselytize.
This is the most important strategy the American left could undertake.
It is THE issue of the Age.
It could mean the end of fascism in America.