Tag Archive for 'America'

Barack’s right to refuse public financing

Published
by
Gary
on June 20, 2008
in Criticism and News
. 8 Comments

Last year, Barack signed a promise to accept public financing of his general election campaign if his Republican opponent did the same. Now it’s general election time and McCain has accepted public financing. Barack has refused, and some people are understandably pissed—they don’t like Barack going back on his word. But I think Barack made the right choice.

The reason is found within intent. Public financing gives each candidate up to $84 million in taxpayer money in return for forgoing private funds. The point is to severely limit the financial influence of special interests. Does it work? No—like cockroaches and rats, when it’s not the will of the candidate then tainted money finds a way in. Barack has already stated he hasn’t and won’t take money from special interests. Moreover, his campaign is unprecedented both its innovative fund-raising prowess and its grassroots support from small donations (55% less than $500, versus McCain’s 31%). He’s already fulfilling the intent of public financing and then some, refusing money diverted from other government programs in favor of legitimate interest from the American people. Combine that with the most successful fund-raising apparatus in history and refusing public funding is both ethically clear and pragmatically correct—everybody wins except the McCain Campaign.

But doesn’t this mean Barack is untrustworthy? I’d argue that’s a useless absolute. Politics isn’t black and white, it’s a constantly changing tableau where the current reality takes a front-row seat. Barack went far beyond the signature and considered context, intent, and impact—he found the pros outweighed the cons and made the smart decision. He didn’t hide anything—everything happened in plain sight. He realizes, regardless, that he’s gone back on his word; he’s prepared a clear and concise case for doing so and is prepared to defend it against detractors. Barack’s demonstrating exactly the sort of astute logic, judgment, wisdom, and pragmatism the American Presidency is sorely lacking, and for rational people he should come out smelling like a rose.

Tonight, in the unlikely story that is America

Published
by
Gary
on June 4, 2008
in News
. 6 Comments

Barack Obama, Democratic Nominee for the President, of these amazing United States, this incredible country which has been kicked and tarnished and shat upon but which will always, always pick itself up. Even in the darkest Bush days I think we all understood: flush in the veins of every American is hope, redemption, the chance every four years to fix by our will what we grievously wrecked.

And now that chance is close, so close. We looked at eight long years of fear, hatred, anger, blood, division, and despair, we looked it in the eye and said no, fuck no, this is a country that not long ago was an inspiration and an ideal and a beacon and hell no we will not die by our most primal instincts, we will not go quietly into that dark night, we will fight this and we are not alone, we the majority are waking to what made this country great and we want it again.

Tonight, we took the hand of history and we walked straight towards the light.

Loathe America

Published
by
Gary
on March 7, 2008
in Thoughts
. 3 Comments

I feel like Hillary is destroying Obama with exactly the sort of dirty tactics he’s trying to move beyond—and winning because of it. America, why the fuck do you fall for Karl Rovian, Clintonian, Republican character assassination every damn time? Can we please have a President who’s not a scumbag?

Anyway, I’m off to Beijing tonight, and I’ll be back from Hong Kong on the 22nd. May be a trip to China will put things in perspective?

McCain merely Republican

Published
by
Gary
on February 8, 2008
in Criticism and News
. 5 Comments

Alright, scratch what I said earlier, McCain’s clearly an idiot—or, if he’s not, he’s willing to act like one to be elected, which is even worse:

I believe that [setting a date on troop withdrawal] would have catastrophic consequences…. I believe that al Qaeda would trumpet to the world that they had defeated the United States of America, and I believe that therefore they would try to follow us home. (Reuters, “McCain challenges Democratic rivals on Iraq war“)

al Qaeda? What is this, 2001? Iraq’s at tremendous risk because we knocked out their government, meaning that we knocked out the [dictatorial] status quo among Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, and Kurds. The number one thing we should all be worried about is the incredible destabilizing effect an Iraqi Civil War would have on the rest of the Middle East, with Iran ready to take the Shiite side and other powers ready to take side of the Sunni majority, as well as the Kurds agitating for self-government together with their brethren in Turkey. That is the threat, and also the only really valid reason for the U.S. to stay in Iraq: the tremendous and generations-long consequences to the region if Iraq falls apart. Not this “oh no, al Qaeda’s going to git us” crap.

It’s this “us versus them” “secure the borders” 20th Century mentality that’s so disappointing about McCain and infuriating about the Republican party—and exactly why the dumb party as a whole is unfit to lead America. It’s a new world out there, and I don’t mean a new world of fear. No, it’s a world of alternatives—alternatives to America—and any President that tries to push instead of gently and mutually promote is just going to further sink America’s ability to influence second states in comparison to the EU and China.

We have learned the hard way that what others want for themselves trumps what we want for them—always. Neither America nor the world needs more competing ideologies, and moralizing exhortations are only useful if they point toward goals that are actually attainable. This new attitude must be more than an act: to obey this modest, hands-off principle is what would actually make America the exceptional empire it purports to be. It would also be something every other empire in history has failed to do. (NYT Magazine, “Waving Goodbye to Hegemony“)

On the bright side, it lets Obama show that his “fundamental understanding” trumps McCain’s.

I think [the Iraq War] has been an enormous strategic blunder on the part of the United States. It has made us less safe. It has cost us dearly in blood and treasure. (Reuters, “McCain challenges Democratic rivals on Iraq war“)

Absofreakinglutely. Imagine a world where the U.S. never unilaterally invaded Iraq, where we didn’t completely blow the historically unprecedented good will we received after 9/11, where we didn’t give every anti-American on the planet completely justified reason to hate us. That’s the kind of world we’ll never live in with a Hawk in the White House.

What the Hillary

Published
by
Gary
on February 6, 2008
in News
. 1 Comment

Clinton wins NY

Wait, you guys are excited about Hillary Clinton? That’s like me getting excited about KFC’s coleslaw. How does this even happen?

From Matt Bai’s Politics Blog at the New York Times Magazine:

Mr. Obama’s aides, meanwhile, were happy to let Mrs. Clinton anoint herself the candidate of Washington experience if it meant their guy could run against the status quo. …in doing so, they ceded ground to Mrs. Clinton they need not have ceded, validating this notion that she had far more experience than Mr. Obama, even though she had been in the Senate only four years longer and had actually served less time in elective office. They enabled her to seamlessly transform her tenure as First Lady into presidential preparedness. (NYT, “The Change vs. Experience Pitfall“)

I think Obama should make that last point more clear. Hillary’s straight-up overstating her “experience,” whatever that’s supposed to mean now.

Meanwhile, I’m glad McCain is the Republican front-runner. I feel like he’d actually do a good job, as an Internationalist and an anti-torture advocate (for a Republican). He’s probably one of the most moderate Republicans around—it’s really ashame that he’s under the yoke of having to appeal to fundys and xenophobic nuts to win delegates.