Thursday, February 11, 2016

Campaign Contributions Do Frame Politicans


Campaign Contributions Do Frame Politicians 

Campaign Contributions

No fair-minded person could ever accuse Bernie Sanders of running a negative campaign against Hillary Clinton. Many Democrats and Independents will not vote for Hillary Clinton under any condition. 

Several things are going on here. The mainstream media are spinning Bernie Sanders win in the New Hampshire primary as just a win from a politician from a neighboring state. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Democratic Party establishment and her supporters have a hard time accepting that Hillary Clinton is a weak and flawed candidate. 

Campaign Contributions

What New Hampshire taught us is that when Hillary Clinton tries to sell us that no one owns her and that she never has changed her position because of influence peddling no one is buying. Hillary Clinton lost across all demographics in New Hampshire except those who make over 200 thousand a year and the elderly.

In the last debate with Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton posed a question when has money ever influenced her decision making? One of Hillary's biggest weakness or flaws is she seems to forget from one minute to the next what she has said or done in her political past. She tends to insult the political intelligence of the Progressive and Independent voter. Case in point came from an interview conducted by highly respected reporter Bill Moyers with now highly popular Democratic senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren.

Bill Moyers Interview With Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) 


This interview done several years ago was before Elizabeth Warren became a Congresswoman. As of the rendition of this essay, Elizabeth Warren is the only female senator who has not endorsed Hillary Clinton. In fact, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have been leaders in lockstep with many of the issues that matter to progressive voters. The Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] is a prime example. 

For The Record

There are several things incredible about Hillary Clinton claim that she hasn't been influenced by her donors and speech circuit customers. Also, it is not just a matter of changing positions based on contributions. When we talk about corporate conglomerates like Goldman Sachs they don't contribute to a political campaign without a reason. To think otherwise is political blindness. The campaign donations Hillary Clinton has received from Wall Street over the course of her political career is nothing more than a show of confidence that they trust her to look out for their best interest. 

Basic human nature and common sense should tell any even-minded person campaign contributions come with strings attached and for Hillary Clinton to suggest otherwise shows another one of her flaws disingenuousness. 

Hillary Clinton operatives and her supporters get annoyed when you tie her to the record of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. However, the facts show they have been a political partnership for over 40 years. It's a political duo. Both have acted in each others interest on more than one occasion. In fact, it's a political strategy that has worked well for both Bill and Hillary.

Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton administration was responsible for much of the deregulation of Wall Street and Finance that led to the "Big Bank Bailouts," in 2008. His repeal of Glass-Steagall provided a pathway for less oversight, and many expert economists have stated it played a significant role as well. Hillary Clinton was standing by her man and to this day does not support reinstating an updated version of Glass-Steagall. Hillary Clinton was an architect of what became known as the "New Democrats." The ideology was a centrist one that developed after the 1988 election of Republican George H.W. Bush. The philosophy of what many call the " Clinton Democrats" is nothing more than " Neoliberalism," at its finest. [See Article] The "Clinton Democratic" platform is Wall Street friendly, corporate friendly, robust on crime, and in bed with the Military Industrial Complex.

This political mantra is who Hillary Clinton has been for decades. Firms like Goldman Sachs trust her, the corporate elites worship the ground she walks on, and moderate centrist Republicans don't mind her one bit and would much rather she win the Democratic nomination than anti-establishment candidate Bernie Sanders.

In a recent campaign speech in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton talked about the role George Bush II played in the deregulation that led to the 2008 crash. In that speech, she made no reference whatsoever to the role her husband administration played. In the many pages of books Hillary Clinton has written over the years, she has never criticized, apologized, or admitted that the Clinton administration's repeal of " Glass-Steagall," was an important factor in causing the financial crisis in 2008.

At the same time, she praised the "ending welfare as we know it reforms" put in place by her husband administration that kicked thousand off the welfare rolls. This policy created a system of rampant racial biases.[See Source]

These factors as mentioned earlier are now coming back to haunt Hillary Clinton now that the Democratic Party is rapidly shifting from center right to center left. This change within the Democratic Party is the cause of the problems the Clinton campaign is having with progressives, independents, and young voters in the 2016 Democratic primary.

Bernie Sanders
There is no doubt that Wall Street and the markets will go into freak out mode if Bernie Sanders becomes president. The format that is in place now demands that a president succumbs to the demands of Wall Street, and this applies to current President Obama as well. There is no denying that the forces on Wall Street are very powerful. A Bernie Sanders presidency will undoubtedly have significant hurdles to overcome and will face Republican obstructionism much like President Obama but no one is claiming the change will be easy. 

There is and idea that more public owned banking would be a great place to start. Many have suggested this would circumvent the mantra of too big to fail, too big to jail, and is the essence of Democratic Socialism. Hence, Bernie Sanders campaign desires to break up the big banks. 

Once again we are seeing a very volatile stock market. [See Source] There are signs that we are heading for another melt down, according to some economic pundits, and you don't hear any mention of this on the campaign trail, why? 

The Federal Reverse has recently started withdrawing some of its stimulus in an attempt to return American back to a more normal monetary policy. Our economy has been dependent upon trillions of dollars of infusions for years and now they are taking it away. This is an enormous change in the financial environment and the volatility in the markets are reflecting this change. Often, in America serious issues are not discussed on the campaign trail, but Bernie Sanders has been out front on these matters since day one. 

As a collective the Global economy is slowing this reflected by the lowering of prices for oil for example. The fossil fuel industry markets have become nothing more than a speculation arena for years now. There is a massive fossil fuel lobby in Washington and their buying off politicians through campaign contributions is legendary. Current Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has received massive campaign contributions from the fossil fuel lobby. [See Source

The Bernie Sanders campaign has become a political tidal wave

Campaign contribution do frame our politicians today. Our research here in the House Of Public Discourse is finding that many progressives, independents, and young voters will not support Hillary Clinton no matter if she wins the Democratic nomination largely because of who her campaign donors are. 

One thing the mainstream media and the Democratic establishment are failing to comprehend is the current political revolution is way more than just Bernie Sanders campaign. Bernie Sanders has pointed this out from the beginning. The Bernie Sanders campaign has been a catalyst in bringing to the light from the dark  the overall dissatisfaction the American people have with our status quo political process. Bernie Sanders campaign is resonating with not just young folks but people from all demographic spectrum's. The once-taboo word Socialist not only doesn't invoke fear as it once did people are now embracing the term and liking it. In fact, a recent poll indicated that 47% of Americans would vote for a  Socialist, which is great news for the Sanders campaign. [See Source]

The very unorthodox political campaign that Bernie Sanders is running has not only resonated with young people it has caught the attention of individuals who have disenfranchised themselves from the political process. Sanders, the longest running Independent senator in the history of American politics, has threaded the needle of being a politician that has run against both establishment parties, and voters well receive his message on wealth inequality. Moreover, his not taking campaign contributions from corporations and not having a SuperPac have gained him rock star popularity with the American electorate. 

The problem with the Hillary Clinton campaign is her sudden shift from center-right politics to center-left highlights the fears many progressive voters have about establishment politics and creates vast voids of trust and the fact that Hillary has accepted campaign contributions from major corporations and her SuperPac fund raising just solidifies this mindset. 

The fact is Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate. There are many people not just from the right who dislike her she has a huge personality problem that says I, not us. She has a record that speaks for itself regarding her destructive war-hawk agenda, and her many scandals including in the present concerning an FBI investigation into her use of a private email server. 

There is one glaring reality that has manifested itself in the 2016 Democratic presidential race the more people come to know Bernie Sanders and his consistent record the more they like him. The opposite goes for Hillary Clinton. The more people learn about her history, the less they like her. Hillary Clinton has an ethical problem. And, the fact that she is the darling of Wall Street and continues to accept their campaign contributions just adds fuel to the fire which says " Campaign Contributions Do Frame A Politician."



Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Neoliberalism Help Lead To The Decline In Democracy In America.


Neoliberalism Defined

neoliberalism

What Is Neoliberalism



The term " Neoliberalism" is a very challenging one. It does not mean liberal. Neoliberalism is not a new mandate. Neoliberal politics help create the third world.[See Source] If you look back to the 18th century, differences between the rich and the poor back then were nothing like the wealth inequality we see in today's global societies. 

The force implementation of market principles a hallmark of Neoliberalism has forced many nations to a third world status. Protectionism and state intervention developed rich and developed societies while Neoliberalism created slums. 

Our research here in the House of Public Discourse found it striking to see how every element of Neoliberalism is designed to undercut Democracy. This factoid is never or rarely discussed. One of the biggest successes of Democratic Socialist Franklin Roosevelt [FDR] was to institute financial regulations. There is a reason. This control provides space for governments to undertake programs that are supported by the populist. If you have no regulatory constraints on capital flow, you can attack currency freely which creates what economist call a virtual parliament.

These legislatures of corporations, investors, and lenders can carry out a moment by moment referendum on government policies, and we have seen this ugly reality rear its face in the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.[TPP]

What " We The People"  have endured from economic policies from both parties is if these virtual parliaments feel these government policies are irrational they can lobby politicians to vote against them. What is most troubling these proclaimed irrational policies are often policies that help the middle class and poor people.

We have a prime example of this in the current 2016 Democratic Party presidential race. Bernie Sanders has advocated free universal health care and college education paying for it by raising taxes and taxing Wall Street speculation policies that will not help these virtual parliaments, so they label them irrational and say they're not pragmatic hence the Hillary Clinton mantra " No We Can't."


With the Citizens Untied decision what the American population has had to withstand is the buying of our democracy through campaign contributions and lobbyist influence peddling that has resulted in our governance being one of the dual constituencies. One of " We The People," and one of the corporations and their virtual parliaments. What has been the case now for decades is these virtual houses always win. And when a consistent leader with a consistent message comes along with a record of fighting these corporate influences which have reeked havoc on " We The People." And proclaims enough is enough, and we need a political revolution to change it, and one person, not even the President of the United States can do it alone the push back is that this is irrational and to extreme. Hence Hillary Clinton mantra " No We Can't."

The neoliberalist desires to privatize traditional government programs such as public schools, social security, and others do nothing more than undercut our democracy. These realities form the often unspoken tenants of the political revolution of  Bernie Sanders that has become the Bernie Sanders campaign here in 2016. Progressives, Independents, and Americans across all spectrums of political ideologies are sick and tired of neoliberalism and its virtual corporate parliament and the politicians they have in their hip pockets. This is why Bernie Sanders mantra of " Don't Tell Me We Can't" is resonating with more and more Americans of all ages not just young people. So, Hillary Clinton don't tell us " No We Can't." 

Bernie Sanders on INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY