Editorial
Best Way to Make a Difference in Today's Vote
The Washington Post published an interesting editorial yesterday, entitled "What kind of president would Obama be in second term?" I have my own thoughts, but let's take a quick look at this article, which provides us with a serious, even scholarly, set of questions and prognostications.
At the end of this editorial, I'll provide an action point that people can take advantage of regarding the election. But first, we'll review how Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney, might act if in power over the next four years. The Post article is a great jumping-off place.
The article begins by pointing out that even if people think they know who Barack Obama is and what he stands for, the big question remains, "How would the experience of his first term inform and shape a second?"
We also learn that Obama seems on his way to answer this question as he has a slight lead, according to most polls. Mitt Romney has continued to fight hard but I agree that Obama is likely to win. He is obviously the establishment candidate and the power elite that apparently placed him in office doesn't want him to leave with his job half done.
Now that the article has set the stage, there are still more questions to ask. Here, from the article:
Would he become what he promised in 2008 but was not in his first term, a leader with the talents to guide a divided political system to a consensus on the country's most intractable problems?
Would the scars from a series of bitter fights with Republicans make him more or less inclined to make compromises he might have made in his first term?
What would animate him in a second term?
What would he pursue for his legacy?
We learn that Obama has "expressed confidence that, as a newly reelected president, he could produce the grand bargain with congressional Republicans on a plan to deal with the federal deficit that he could not reach in the summer of 2011." Another priority will be immigration reform, which not even President George W. Bush was able to accomplish.
Neither the "grand bargain" nor immigration reform were much discussed by Obama during the campaign. In fact, the Post confides, Obama, like Romney, "has a five-point plan." It includes: more jobs, expanding domestic energy, adding money for education and training, reducing the US war budget and redirecting the US infrastructure.
It is explained that these sorts of goals – especially the rarely stated goals of immigration reform and deficit reduction – are part of what his advisers call "Obama's political DNA." In other words, Obama is a compromiser and a reasonable man and will govern even more in this style in his next term.
The article follows up this observation with a portrayal of Republicans as disputing this perspective. For Republicans, Obama is an "ideologically driven, big-government liberal whose ambitions all point left, and they think that a second term would bring more."
It will be up to Obama to define how he will work with the Republicans if he wins again. Will it be a repeat of the first four years, a term that was surely steeped in acrimony?
Here, there is some good news amidst the bad, from the Post's perspective. While running a surprisingly "hard-edged" campaign, Hurricane Sandy gave the incumbent a chance to make a plea for more cooperation between the two parties.
In fact, we learn, "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who has been one of the president's harshest critics, has become Obama's protector, offering praise for the way he has responded to the storm."
The Post ends on a doubtful note. It is impossible to ascertain how Obama will act during a second term but one thing is certain: If he wins, "he will have a second chance to show what he is all about."
You can see from this recitation that the Post editorial writer is fairly undecided about how Obama will perform during a second term. I am not nearly so uncertain. In fact, I will go so far as to say I can predict how BOTH candidates will react were they to win (or regain) the White House. Let us consider the similarities between them, as follows:
- Both are pro-foreign interventionist policy
- Both cater to the military-industrial complex
- Both are in the employ of the international banking cartel
- Both will expand government
- Both will expand anti-liberty/freedom laws
- Both will support a war on Internet freedom
- Both will continue the war on drugs
- Both will continue to support regulatory growth
- Both will support FATCA and alienate US Marts
- Both will continue current tax structure
- Both will support bailouts for corporate elite
- Both will suppress militarily any anti-government voices
In practice, citizens of the US will become angrier, poorer and less secure in their privacy and property. Even when it comes to precious metals, the end result will be similar.
If Romney wins by some chance, gold and silver will go down for a little bit based on the misapprehension that Romney is more fiscally conservative than Obama. Once Romney's performance has shown he is just as irresponsible – mad – as Obama, gold and silver will continue their rise. If Obama wins, gold and silver will discard a momentary dip and probably simply continue the upward trajectory of the past decade.
It is really too bad that these ended up being the US's two main choices. But really, one has to admit that even were someone like constitutionalist Congressman Ron Paul to have been elected, the structure of Leviathan would be resistant to any change.
The US is basically run by a larger power elite based not just in the US but also in the City of London, the Vatican and Tel Aviv. In fact, the country and its wars are part of a larger, quickening elite effort to create world government.
And so, again, nothing will change. The US will continue to be a morally, spiritually and financially bankrupt entity – one spiraling down toward the bottom of a slide greased with fiat money and militarism promoted by powerful entities intent on further degrading what is left of US exceptionalism.
Action point: Those who want to make a difference via the election process would do well to avoid voting and encourage others to do the same. The first step to taking back whatever is still good in the "US" is to withdraw one's approval of what's now taking place.
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Posted by annmarie on 11/07/12 10:12 PM
Everyone ignores the person.
Mitt Romney is a decent, honorable man.
He was accused of murder, while Obama lied his way to re-election.
The 2 parties are NOT the same.
Many Americans are ignorant of what is in store for them come 2013.
I like the Daily Bell, but being a cynic solves nothing.
Reply from The Daily Bell
GOP top officials became more thuggish as the primaries wore on and Ron Paul came closer to becoming a significant force. Reading between the lines, they did it at the behest of the Romney campaign. Here's one result.
Click to view link
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Posted by TimurTheLame on 11/07/12 09:21 AM
@DB
" presumably you missed out on all the whole Ron Paul youth thingy... "
No I did not. I actually found it encouraging. The military also.
But what I did not miss out on is the Obama has been elected, Ron Paul belongs to a party that denies him a platform, Rand Paul supports Mitt Moroni, the two party game is fixed, Sarah Palin is more exalted than Ron Paul in the Republican party and actually and stood a chance of being a heartbeat away from the presidency and the true statement by H.L. Mencken that 'Democracy is the belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance" thingy.
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Posted by TimurTheLame on 11/07/12 07:42 AM
Ok, time to take stock with respect to elections in the USA ( Cliffs Notes version).
Clinton re-elected, having had to face a grand jury and under impeachment proceedings , no internet to speak of- check.
Bush re-elected while overseeing poor economy, false wars and 911, internet widely available- check.
Obama re-elected while overseeing a depression, increased wars, Wall Street corruption, internet almost totally accessible- check.
Internet Reformation, wherefore art thou?
Oh and the response that it is a gradual process would necessarily imply that the younger generation would at some point have to pick up the torch, this same generation that is infinitely more familiar with who Honey Boo Boo is than George Washington, well good luck with that.
Cheers-
PS: I do not wish to be obstinate on this issue and would sincerely like to be proven wrong but the reality, as I see it, trumps lofty theories.
Reply from The Daily Bell
Presumably you missed out on the whole Ron Paul youth thingy ...
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Posted by Rasoir on 11/06/12 07:14 PM
"Action point: Those who want to make a difference via the election process would do well to avoid voting and encourage others to do the same. The first step to taking back whatever is still good in the "US" is to withdraw one's approval of what's now taking place."
Bravo! That applies in any place where people are "allowed" to vote, but particularly democracies.
Here in Australia, voting is compulsory ... or more correctly, turning up to have your name checked off, is compulsory.
Until electronic voting arrives here, we are still free to write what we wish on ballot papers. Look what happened at the last Australian election - a 'hung' parliament held to ransom by socialist Independents, who foisted a carbon tax upon us, which was clearly off the agenda before the election!
Yes, I have much to write on ballot papers, but nothing to vote for.
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Posted by William3 on 11/06/12 05:10 PM
Right on, Mr. Wile! Your action point is precisely my strategy.
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Posted by James Jaeger on 11/06/12 03:07 PM
I don't know about you, but I took my big red magic marker to the voting booth just in case there was no official "write-in" space. Luckily there was a space for write-ins, and I wrote in RON PAUL for president.
This is what any loyal Ron Paul fan will do because they know that there is no such thing as a "spoiler vote." As we explicated in the movie SPOILER, there is little difference between the Democrats and Republicans, so a vote for either one will in essence have the same results. Both expand the state endlessly: the Democrats with social programs and the GOP with military/war programs. Further, both Obama and Romney are members of the Counsel on Foreign Relations so they take their marching orders from the UN Globalists, not WE THE PEOPLE.
At this time 40% of the electorate is INDEPENDENT. This means 40% have no loyalty to either entrenched party, but more importantly this means independents are open to a third party candidate. If Independents doggedly vote their conscience for a Constitutional candidate who will truly bring change, each election term the percentage of Independents will grow and we will eventually be able to force the DemoPublican Conspiracy out -- as George Washington and the Founders would have done a long time ago.
In this election, if 40% write in RON PAUL, it will be a serious wake up call to the debt-generating, war-profiteering Establishment. Watch "SPOILER - How a Third Political Party Could Win" for details and substantiation of my claims above. Trailer at http://youtu.be/4TkHCJpgg8Y and the full movie at http://youtu.be/GbF5loRF61U
James Jaeger
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Posted by Adrian W on 11/06/12 02:59 PM
Main themes run current while the specifics remain murky.
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Posted by whatevertrevor on 11/06/12 09:36 AM
"I agree that Obama is likely to win. He is obviously the establishment candidate and the power elite that apparently placed him in office doesn't want him to leave with his job half done."
No need to use the future tense here Anthony. The cake has been baked some time ago. The votes aren't counted. (Even if that mattered)
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Posted by provolone on 11/06/12 09:35 AM
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"The Pentagon office with responsibilities for assisting U.S. military and civilian overseas voters is issuing a new ballot-request form that requires civilian voters to make an all-or-none declaration either that they plan to return to the United States or have no intent of ever doing so. Expatriate groups say the choice is confusing and unfair, carries potential tax ramifications... ."
After reading this I decided voting was not worth being tabulated on an additional list.
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 11/06/12 08:55 AM
AW: "one has to admit that even were someone like constitutionalist Congressman Ron Paul to have been elected, the structure of Leviathan would be resistant to any change (... ) Those who want to make a difference via the election process would do well to avoid voting and encourage others to do the same."
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Exactly! Here's another worthwhile take - Larken Rose: "Here I address some of the important concerns expressed by Democrat and Republican voters, and then give my heart-felt sympathies for your anxiety (sort of)."
Click to view link
Gee, he even made a song about voting:
Click to view link
PS: "7 Technologies That Will Make It Easier for the Next President to Hunt and Kill You"
Click to view link
Reply from The Daily Bell
Thanks.
