2004: Choose Your Favorite Pro-War Candidate

[kalian]

http://antiwar.com/orig/pilger.php?articleid=2089

A myth equal to the fable of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is gaining strength on both sides of the Atlantic. It is that John Kerry offers a world-view different from that of George W Bush. Watch this big lie grow as Kerry is crowned the Democratic candidate and the "anyone but Bush" movement becomes a liberal cause celebre.


While the rise to power of the Bush gang, the neoconservatives, belatedly preoccupied the American media, the message of their equivalents in the Democratic Party has been of little interest. Yet the similarities are compelling. Shortly before Bush's "election" in 2000, the Project for the New American Century, the neoconservative pressure group, published an ideological blueprint for "maintaining global US preeminence, precluding the rise of a great power rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests." Every one of its recommendations for aggression and conquest was adopted by the administration.


One year later, the Progressive Policy Institute, an arm of the Democratic Leadership Council, published a 19-page manifesto for the "New Democrats," who include all the principal Democratic Party candidates, and especially John Kerry. This called for "the bold exercise of American power" at the heart of "a new Democratic strategy, grounded in the party's tradition of muscular internationalism." Such a strategy would "keep Americans safer than the Republicans' go-it-alone policy, which has alienated our natural allies and overstretched our resources. We aim to rebuild the moral foundation of US global leadership . . ."

...more...
Author: John Pilger...

I guess he now is a blasphemer, right?

[library_max]

1. Enjoy your chance to help Bush get four more years while it lasts.

:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:

[whirlygigspin]

2. Kerry

next question

[kalian]

4. That's right he'll be "our" guy....

right? :eyes:
And when the troops continue to occupy Iraq and die for oil...?
And when kids start to get drafted in 2005...?
And when the "Homeland security" continues to spy on Americans...?

And...oh never mind..."ABB"... :eyes:

[kalian]

3. Yeah...I was expecting this type of reply....

:eyes:

[rainy]

5. I'm with you

I'm not happy about compromising honest integrity just to get bush out of the WH. I am not happy about this election at all. All of the heart and hope has been sucked out by big money and corporate interest candidates. Not happy at all.

[Burma Jones]

6. Yes, Mr. Pilger is Correct, both parties desire military dominance

I figure that it is a given that the United States will try to remain the world's only hyperpower primarily by ensuring that we have overwhelming military might. Nobody running for office that says that we should weaken ourselves would ever win, period, they might get 2 or 3 percent of the Democratic Primary vote.

It is also true that the Clinton years were no liberal's picnic and that Nixon was our last liberal president.

Does Kerry differ from Bush in any other way except tone? YES.

I believe that Kerry will do more to protect the environment.
I believe that Kerry will indeed get along better with the rest of the world, but will keep building our military - it's our trump card.
I believe that Kerry will nominate better Judges.

HOWEVER, if I could be guaranteed a Democratic Congress, but only with a Bush win, I would take it.

[whirlygigspin]

7. remember this post

cause it's the last time i'm going to try defending Kerry.

His supporters just turn me off every time.

Even in victory, no grace.

I didn't think it was possible, but Kerry supporters have turned me off to voting in November.

Amazing.

[Burma Jones]

8. I'm only a Kerry supporter now that he's the nominee

I feel no victory, I feel defeated. If you were offended by my statement about an anti-war candidate getting very few votes, I just wrote about what I saw the primaries reveal, it doesn't mean I am happy about it. I never liked Kerry, I don't like him now, but I will hold my nose and vote for him.

[kalian]

9. I'll remember this post....

cause I'll like to show everybody how hypocritical our political
system really is.
Kerry won't change squat even IF he's allowed to win.

America is no more...

[BeHereNow]

10. Here Kalian: You are not alone.

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_5164.shtml
Some of the best minds out there are with you.
I highly recommend the Axis of Logic site for serious and intelligent
analysis of our situation. It is for "grown ups" as this author refers to.

Snip: From "In the End" by Craig b Hulet?
"February 15, 2004 - To see the world as it is, not the
way you think it is, not the as you wish it to be, is not the
easiest thing to live with or get others to accept.
"Anybody but Bush," is a sad commentary on the
Democrats...one hoped they stood on better ground.
The problems our country faces are not the sole
effects of Bush. Replacing him with an-"other" will alter
the decaying constitutional course but slightly, slow
the descent into empire not at all, change nothing
about outcomes in Afghanistan nor Iraq. It will not alter
the course America has been on for five
decades....aided, abetted by both D’s and R’s, both
Houses, every White House resident. This election is
about grown-up stuff."

[kalian]

11. I sure as hell feel "alone"....

I'm extremely concerned that people are so blinded with shrub that
they can't see the defects that the dem candidate has...and which
are many.
The ABB mentality is extremely scary IMHO since its as rigid as the
reich-wing mentality for "homeland security" and other such
nonesenses.
So, what will happen when Kerry turns out to be another shrub...?
Will nobody criticize him? Will we just "go along" because he's
"our guy"...? :shrug:

[BeHereNow]

12. You are NOT alone.

However unfortunately, in answer to your questions
above, and in response to your observations, I have this to say,
"The ABB mentality is extremely scary IMHO since its as rigid as the
reich-wing mentality for "homeland security" and other such
nonesenses."
-I have commented on this behavior MANY times and the
alert button is always hit...I refer to the mentality as
"rabid leftism" and "jackbooted liberalism." I sometimes
have great difficulty discerning the extremists from the left and right.
Both are fanatically correct on whatever the crowd agrees to.
NO discussion, No debate, dismiss and ridicule anyone
who questions anything. I see it on O'Reilly and I see it
here on DU.

So, what will happen when Kerry turns out to be another shrub...?
Will nobody criticize him? Will we just "go along" because he's
"our guy"...? :shrug:
- I am afraid that the answer is "yes" it is never discussed
that Clinton set the stage for SO much of what the Bushites
are capable of today. NAFTA and WTO happened on Clinton's
watch and look where we are today.
BHN

[kalian]

13. Oh, I agree about Clinton's "legacy"....

There are many things about Clinton's presidency that are extremely
suspect. I heard once that the repukes referred to him as the best
darned republican that the democrats ever had... :eyes:

Either way, I still believe in what Pat Buchanan stated: both parties
are Xerox copies of each other.

Thanks again for your support! :toast:

[tabasco]

14. Tell the hundreds of thousands of people

who climbed out of poverty for the first time during the Clinton years how bad his legacy is. You are intentionally blind if you fail to see the damage that the republican party does to this nation and the world. I pity you if you are so immune to reality. Vote for the nudist utopia candidate of your choice.

[BeHereNow]

15. I'm going to enlarge your frame...

The people who climbed out of poverty and now back
in it, along with people who were not in poverty before.
How did that happen?
It's called WTO and NAFTA- brought to you by Clinton.
Are you aware that Hillary was extremely involved in
setting the stage for Walmart?
All of those people who prospered for a flickering moment
are now out of jobs, thanks to Walmart and job outsourcing.
Who set the stage for all of it? Bush? Don't think so, he just
climbed into the drivers seat once Bill and Hill set the raod
map. The REAL problen we are facing as citizens is the fact that
our government has been taken over by a coin with two faces.
One smiles while they screw you, and the other sneers-
but the effect is still the same. WE are screwed.
As time will show you.
BHN

[Disturbed]

16. Amerika

Amerika is an Oligarchy. Having the richest Pres. in US History-J. Kerry won't change that. The Dems in a majority are corporatists, no matter what Kerry says now. Perhaps a Kerry Admin. won't be as harsh on the environment, less oppressive in civil liberties, perhaps more "fair" trade policies and less corporate perks,a bit more generous on social policies, such as Medicare and perhaps more expansive on aid to education. Overall, I don't expect radical changes.

[Martin Eden]

17. The solution to John Kerry ...

... is the same as the solution to Bush. Stay riled. Keep the movement alive, and the real goals in your crosshairs. Educate. Agitate. And never, ever believe that you can disengage and expect any elected politician to do your work without constant scrutiny.

Be practical, and fight battles you can win while always waging the long term struggle. In 2004, either Kerry or Bush will become the next president. IMHO, it is extremely important to get rid of Bush. Though Kerry will not dismantle the empire, I believe he will make an effort on behalf of the environment and the interests of the working class. The outrages of the Bush administration speak for themselves.

Kerry is not the solution, but he is by far the better of two options. I will work to get him elected, and I will continue to push for peace and justice while he is president.

I urge evryone here to do the same.