If there's anyone really reading this blog, then sorry for not posting as regularly as I normally do during this summer. But for me, its been one of those times I just need to get away from it.
Part of it is frustration with the current political situation. There is nothing at all that seems to be coming from the left in the way of any sort of challenge to the status quo. The Democrats have fully embraced wars and wall street and in their typical fashion don't want to even tolerate a discussion of this in the form of a primary challenge to president Obama. One would think Dennis Kucinich would continue his quixotic journey, but as usual he seems to have fallen in line with what the powers in the party want and isn't mounting a primary challenge this time.
This is pretty typical for Kucinich, as this is the year where he could really have an impact. He was easy to marginalize as one of seven or nine or how every many candidates there have been in the past. But this year, it would be a one on one challenge with Obama. As such, the every dissatisfied Democrat would seem to flock to his campaign if he launched it. Kucinich would probably start with 20% or more support the day after he announced such a challenge. But, in typical Kucinich fashion, he refuses to do the things that could indeed really make an impact. DK is good at the meaningless gesture, but seems to always back away when he could really make a difference.
There doesn't seem to be much happening on the left outside the Democrats either. The Greens are doing their excellent imitation of a dead parrot nailed to its perch. They seem to have successfully driven away the more prominent politicians who were willing to hoist their banner with their continual bickering and in-fighting, and this year seem to be choosing between a bunch of nobodies to pick one to run an entirely symbolic and meaningless campaign.
The only real action appears to be on the right. Since the Republicans are out of power, this is where the groundswell of opposition to the wars and corporate rule appear to be coalescing. The party out of power always talks thus about the party in power. Of course, most of it is as fake as Obama's campaign pretensions to be against the wars and against giving all our money and power to wall street. But, this fake rhetoric seems to open up at least some space for voices for real change to join in. When the Republicans were in power, this happened in the Democrats. Now that the Democrats are in power and all the previous faux-rebels are clicking their heels and saluting their great leader, we are seeing the same sort of disturbance on the right. Candidates like Ron Paul seem to be the only real challenge to power on the ballot this year. Or at least that's what it looks like now.
And, its more too late for such a challenge than too early. Any strong challenge to the power of money in this country has to be based on grassroots power of organized citizens. This takes longer to organize than a money-based campaign. And, remember, by this time in 2007, the money-based campaigns of both Hillary and Obama were already in full swing.
Someday, the people in this country might wake up and realize that the idea that power lies with the people was not just rhetoric by our founding fathers, but the real fact that they as revolutionaries knew well and which they had just used to throw off the shackles of the world dominating empire of their day. We the people hold the power in this country. Its just that apparently we refuse to use it. Majorities oppose the war. Majorities oppose this Hoover/Reagan economic recovery plan. But, no one seems to want to do anything about it.
So, I think I'll go back to fishing and playing in the mountains where its cooler. I doubt I'll be gone too long. At some point, some events will start to happen again, or some movement will start to develop again that will get my blood boiling and my fingers typing away at new posts. And I'm sure I'll drop in the occasional post along the way between now and then. :)
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