Nov 04 2008
What Would an Obama Victory Mean for Progressives?
As today’s historic presidential election could very well result in a victory for Barack Obama, progressives are considering what such a Presidency would actually mean. While slogans of “hope,†and “change,†have certainly energized unprecedented numbers of new voters to turn out to the polls, the reality behind the rhetoric has had a sobering effect on left-leaning commentators who see a necessity for continuing social movements on issues such as troop withdrawal and health care. Obama’s stated policy positions on increasing troops in Afghanistan and his Senate vote on the most recent FISA bill have often been cited as key departures from any semblance of a progressive agenda. In an interview with MIT’s newspaper, renowned political critic Noam Chomsky once more reiterated his preference for an Obama victory but without illusions as he plainly described the potentially first African-American President as a “centrist Democrat.†Alternative third-party candidacies, such as the Greens’ McKinney/Clemente ticket as well as the independent run of Nader/Gonzalez have stated their critique of Obama throughout their respective campaigns and are urging voters to consider them at the ballot. A recent CNN poll shows the Nader/Gonzalez candidacy at three percent of the national vote. Whether or not progressives choose to cast their ballots for a third party candidate today, the prevailing sense for many on the left is that the work to achieve social justice doesn’t not end in an Obama victory, rather it continues starting tomorrow.
GUEST: Matt Gonzales, Vice Presidential Candidate for the Independent Nader Presidential Campaign
For more information, visit www.votenader.org.
One Response to “What Would an Obama Victory Mean for Progressives?”
** Chinaman for president **
I promise every citizen will have a couch and unlimited supply of potato chip. Here are my solutions to all our problems.
Federal deficit. No more foreign invasion like Iraq. Enough billions will be saved to fulfill my above promise for many generations to come!
Trade deficit. Sell every missile, atomic bomb and carrier to China as we do not need them any more. Make the Chinese promise not to use them against us, or we can change the GPS to reroute all the missiles back to Beijing.
Economy. Only bail out greedy companies as greed is good. How hard to speed up the money printing machine? Or, borrow more from China. No money, no import.
Human rights. No gun for our citizens. If that Chinese had an AK 45 in the Beijing Olympic incidence, imagine how many would be killed. Learn from the human right lovers.
Illegal immigrants. When caught, send them to Alaska for the hardest labor on earth. I bet even the dumbest Mexican will not come here illegally. Problem solved. The nice guy I pay pennies to clean up my yard is the only exception.
Education. Just import some smart, young, educated Chinese that they have plenty to spare. Why spend billions to produce mediocre college graduates who cannot count from 1 to 12 (unless they have 12 fingers)?
Social welfare. All welfare cheaters including all politicians will be sent to China for re-education. Cheap and effective.
Obesity. The more walking refrigerators we have, the wealthier we look. Feel sorry for the skinny Chinese suffering from malnutrition.
Medical Delivery. You do not pay, you die. Crude but very effective way to encourage you to work hard, save, small government, and do not blame all your problems on others.
Permissibility. Encourage teenage pregnancy – our politicians set up great examples. There will be more under-aged gymnasts to choose from.
Social security. Import more young foreigners for jobs, hence contributing to social security. Encourage old citizens to die early to reduce the draw from the pot by giving them unlimited supply of Viagra, alcohol…
Politicians. They tell you what you want to hear: no income tax, bailout, rebate checks, and free medical delivery. They think you’re stupid enough not to ask “where the money comes fromâ€.
This message is approved (as all dumb politicians with no creativity would say) by your friendly Chinese government, who wants you buy more couches and potato chips.