Behold the Democratic majorities in the Senate and House agreeing to continue funding the war in Iraq. Nader said that both parties are owned by the corporations, and the corporations clearly still think that Iraq is a "good investment." The body count seems to be tolerable, and the "support the troops" meme has plenty of traction. This diary explores what it means to confront the hard realization that Nader was right about the illusory "choice" between the Republican and Democratic political parties.
- The Iraq occupation will be ended by Iraqis fighting and dying in the streets of their country, not by earnest, decent Americans voting for Democratic politicians.
- The outsourcing and offshoring of the American middle class will be ended by boycotts, job actions, and grassroots public relations campaigns, not by Democratic politicians.
- The ravaging of our environment will be ended by emergencies caused by pollutant overloads and ecological disasters, not by Democratic politicians.
- The insane, unsustainable defense spending of the US Government will be ended by a financial collapse, not by Democratic politicians.
- The American health care system will not be rationalized. It will be "reformed" by Democratic politicians giving corporations more "incentives" to expand coverage.
- No Democratic politician will call for the resignation of George Bush.
- No Democratic politician will resign from office to protest the policies of George Bush.
- No Democratic politician will refuse campaign donations from Fortune 500 corporations.
The election of 2006 demonstrated the failure of American democracy. The will of the people has been ignored. The iron grip of corporate and plutocratic power over American society remains unbroken.