What has happened to the progressive blogosphere I loved and got me into politics?
I feel I know Barack pretty well from my time in Chicago, being a part of his campaign there locally, running a volunteer group at my Robert Taylor homes in which as a coalition we communicated to him our needs, because he said he liked hearing from the neighbors to his district.
I wrote an anecdotal story about my time with Barack and our projects of Cabrini, and Robert Taylor projects. But I deleted it because it took me off tangent. It is really too emotional for me and I want to tackle other issues. Maybe if some of you are interested I may post about it another time. I wonder if you can still Google Barack, Rezko, Cabrini or Robert Taylor Homes, to find out what happened for yourselves.
First I want to talk about his presidential campaign and his plans.
- Environmental Plan
His environmental plan is towing the company line. For the "changes" he stumps about his plans to rely on nuclear energy, bio fuels, and clean coal is a step straight ahead and lacks the foresight of a change candidate
A. Nuclear Energy has not changed much in the last 30 years, his reliance on the status quo of energy puts at risk our dependence on the earth's other cycles. Nuclear energy depends upon massive amounts of water for cooling, which our water table of drinkable water is already in decline. In 5 years most farmers in the Colorado River Valley, because of low snows, will have to drill their wells deeper, enlarging the cone of depression for the local water table and lowering the amount of water available for the local municipality, creating shortages. To mention that Exelon and Com Ed are some of his biggest contributors, which have a nice monopoly in IL and the Midwest can control the market on energy, thus raise prices.
B. Bio fuels is the subsidies hurrah! The only reason it is considered as alternative is because of America's huge subsidies market with Corn production. All those Bio fuel fields also will need tremendous amounts of water, again putting a lot of strain on the local water tables, while seepage of fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones will make its way into the ground water. What is another strong lobby in the midwest? Think corn.
C. Clean Coal technology. Coal is cheap and making it cleaner would reduce the particulate matter that gets into the air but not eliminate it. For a man that talks about preventive means to lower health costs the reduction of coal plant emissions if not their extinction should be his greatest market. First coal strip mining destroys forests making them look akin to a barren waste land of rubble and rock. Secondly clean coal does not fully stop smaller particulate from getting into the atmosphere and into our lungs, causing heart diseases, cancer and chronic lung diseases.
- His health care plan.
A. I cannot think of one enrollment volunteer government program in the modern age that has survived. I can find no such closer example than the EPA credit for emission regulations for "green" buildings and how they skirt the requirements and make the program obsolete. Without mandating enrollment you show you are not fully on board with the goal of getting full health care for everyone because the volunteer basis of your program allows the out. This is not very progressive and again more in line with what is going on currently in some states anyway.
- His education Grants
A. A nice idea but if falls short. He is trying to go the European model of we will invest in you, if when you graduate you invest in us. But he falls short only offering a free 4k off the bill and then some iffy details about 2/3 the cost of the average college. The average college being your state school of about 8,000 a semester. This does not address the coast of higher specialized college programs at MIT, Columbia, etc. So while still incurring a lot of debt nothing about redoing reform in government loan programs or those who might be eligible for such loans. Then you have to work it back at a low paying civil or government program which basically locks into a program that gets more from you that you get from it.
Clinton's plan is much more progressive in increasing Federal Grant amounts without contract, increasing Grants from civil service programs, while working to control rising education costs which overall will lessen the coast for government and student over the long run.
I just picked a couple very short sighted programs of Obama's that seem to stop short of real change.
For a candidate that is preaching so much on his stump about the change he will bring why does so many of his programs lack the foresight of the changing environmental needs, financial means, educational means, and health care means.
They are like half proposals.
Can the members of Kos criticize their Golden Child? This will be a neat little social experiment here.
Plus he is the uniter not the divider and above the regular politics and schemes of the establishment (Dick Durbin, Kennedy, Kerry).
He would never use hit pieces in mailers, radio ads, or his speeches to drive a wedge between people.
Why I just read this enlightening piece:
http://abcnews.go.com/...
Definitely the high road.
Barack, from Chicago Political scene, who dealed with Daly, and worked with energy, but he is the change candidate from the City that runs politics the same way since the 20's.
Hell he even broke the mold of voting present in IL as a political tool. Oh wait, voting present IS par for the course in IL.
He sure lacks a record of change. Unlike the Dr. King who he plagiarized, along with JFK, and RFK. I thought people would be insulted by him riffing off them when he has never marched for a cause, or stood up or even organized any anti war efforts in Washington. Oh wait, he did speak up about the Iraq resolution vote, months after the vote had taken place, understanding that every viable presidential candidate voted for the resolution but then he lock stepped voted for every bill that prolonged the war. How come he never introduced legislature to stop or withdraw troops?
I guess "change" means standing up to lobby, instead of sitting down.
I am dis-illusioned and angry these last days. I feel we are looking past the issues and losing our ability to critique and critically ask ourselves what is Obama really going to change.