Subject: The U.S. election and the "bull in the china shop" (guru)
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 112433 -0600
From: Roy Beavers
To: guru
--------------------------------------------------
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------CC5F4352C882BDFD2034C45A
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Hi everybody:
Well ... the election is over. In a manner of speaking. But as all the
Americans know -- it isn't really..... At least, not the presidential
election.
A recount of the ballots has been ordered for the state of Florida. In
the end, the election came out so close -- both in the popular vote and
in the electoral college -- that the results of that recount in that one
state will determine the winner of the presidency.
I have pulled up a message from the past and forwarded it below. I want
to remind everybody just how BAD our political process has become. The
message below is the one that reported on the "contribution rules" which
the Republican Party has decided to impose upon the $$$$$$$ campaign
"gift giving" of the BIG $$$$$$ spenders. What it says (in plain language)
is that, "if you are going to give to both parties -- you must give at
least 75% of the total to the Republicans ... or you will not be entitled
to the political patronage 'benefits' from your bribes......" i.e., Your
"gift-giving" will not count. You will not be given that "insider access"
-- which the general public does not get -- to Congress, the White House,
and the bureaucracies.... (As the story below does not disguise -- that
"access" means much more than a cup of coffee or a night in the Lincoln
bedroom in the White House.)
The story below is a pretty straightforward description of the way the
system has been working for years (absent the 75% rule). And, it is the
kind of thing that both John McCain and Ralph Nader "zeroed-in on" as the
target of their campaigns.
I thought the "press" did a poor job of interpreting the Nader campaign.
The "press" kept insisting his issue was "environmentalism."
I think Nader made it perfectly clear that his major target (like John
McCain's) was the corruption of the political system itself!! The system
that "lives" on BIG $$$$$$ campaign contributions from the global
corporations and the wealthy. They "buy" everything from TAX FAVORS ...
to ESCAPE FROM LAWFUL REGULATION (environmental and otherwise)..... They
"bribe" the congress, the White House, penetrate the bureaucracies and
shape governmental legislation and policy (including "science" itself, as
we here on the EMF-L list know very well) to protect their own special
interests. Let the public be damned!!!
I'm talking about: The tobacco industry, the National Rifle Association,
the telecom industry (BIG contributors to Gore), the chemical industry,
the banking industry, "energy" industry, pharmaceutical industry, etc.....
They all have their snouts stuffed into the government trough, like a
bunch of farm "hogs" squealing, biting, shoving and pushing others aside
to satisfy their own seemingly insatiable appetites at feeding time.....
At the end, neither McCain nor Nader seem to have had much public impact
on that issue -- though it is clear as a bell that Ralph Nader will
be entitled to say that he "spoiled" the Gore presidency "win" ... if
Gore ends up losing Florida.
Present counts suggest that Gore is within a few thousand (perhaps a few
hundred) votes of a "win" in Florida, subject to what the recount shows.
But the Nader vote of nearly 100,000 is about 100 times more than that
slim margin.
Thus, if, as is probable, 60% or so of those Nader votes would have gone
to Gore, then clearly it is the Nader vote that will have cost Gore the
Presidency.
Many will blame Nader, in any case.... I believe he is a genuine political
hero......!!!
His candidacy **proves** that a few voters "in the middle" -- the independents,
moderates of both parties and previous nonvoters -- can wield incredible
power when they "stick to their guns" ... and vote on the basis of
**principle** rather than political expediency.... Well done Ralph!!!
I believe the Florida result will be just the first chapter in a whole new
political reality in America..... A new reality that will say to BOTH of the
two corrupt major political parties: To HELL with you!!!! We -- the people
-- are going to find a new way to make our democracy work (as it should!!)
We are going to organize and vote AGAINST the "status quo" of the present
two party system -- which has been usurped by a rich and powerful **oligarchy**
of corporations and wealth that have corrupted America's political heritage
in their own mad pursuit of self aggrandizement and the exploitation of the people.....
This new reality in politics might be called **"bull in a china shop"**
politics....
....When the political process permits a **dictatorship** of a small minority
of "special interests" to ignore the rights of the majority of the people --
or their legitimate grievances concerning their exploitation by those
"special interests" (wealthy "insiders" and/or global corporations) -- then
the people have only one recourse:
**to wreak havoc with "the system" ...
until their grievances have been fully addressed....**
Cheerio.......
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
roy@emfguru.com
WEBSITE: http://emfguru.com
People are more important than profit$$
It is better to light a single candle
than to curse the darkness..
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Full Story
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 06:18:46 -0500
From: Roy Beavers
Reply-To: guru@emfguru.com
Organization: EMF-L Bulletin Board
To: Roy Beavers
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568569927-ea5
--------------CC5F4352C882BDFD2034C45A
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii;
name="story.cgi"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline;
filename="story.cgi"
Full Story
|
04:42 PM ET 07/31/00
GOP Creates New 75 Percent Club
By JOHN SOLOMON=
Associated Press Writer=
PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ The Republican Party is making a list, and
checking it twice. It intends to find out who's been giving too
much money to those Democrats.
In a hard-sell tactic, the GOP fund-raising arm for House
candidates has created a new 75 Percent Club for special interests.
What is the 75 percent? A requirement that political action
committees give three-quarters of their contributions to Republican
candidates _ or they might not get their calls returned.
With control of Congress up for grabs this fall, Republicans are
sending an unmistakable message to those who are thinking about
hedging their bets by writing checks to both parties.
``They've got to make a decision of how they are going to help
their friends and who their friends are,'' said Rep. Thomas
Reynolds of New York, one of the National Republican Congressional
Committee's key fund-raisers.
Reynolds said he understood why some special interests might
want to hedge their bet, since House control could go either way.
``I think you also have to suffer the consequence of loyalty in
being able to discuss some of the issues,'' he said.
To make the point, PACs have been told the NRCC checks the
Federal Election Commission records each month to make sure they're
at 75 percent or above.
The GOP also held a reception for the 75 Percent Majority last
month in Washington so House committee chairmen and leaders could
recognize the PACs.
Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the chairman of the NRCC, came up
with the idea this spring.
``It's a recognition issue, and to put people on notice more
than anything else,'' explained William C. Miller, the political
director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose PAC is strongly
Republican and a part of the club.
``They're selling access because that is all they can sell,''
Miller added. ``Chairman Davis is very aggressive about letting the
business community know how important this election is and who is
on whose side.''
The new program has some directors of PACs, the donating arms of
special interests, shuddering about what might happen if they fall
off the list.
``My boss told me to make sure we stay at 75 percent'' for FEC
reports in June and September,'' said one director of a large PAC
who joined the club. ``Basically, he said if we don't, you won't
get your calls returned and you won't get your voice heard.''
The PAC director spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing
fears of retribution.
Campaign finance watchdogs criticized the new tactic.
``This is taking it to a new level, from the selling and buying
of access to the political extortion level where your access may be
cut off if you don't pay up,'' said Fred Werthheimer, head of
Democracy 21 and a longtime advocate of reducing the influence of
money in politics.
NRCC officials say the program was designed simply to identify
which PACs intend to stay friendly to Republicans and make sure
they get recognition from congressional leaders.
``The PAC community feels like they don't get the attention they
deserve and rightly so. And this is our effort to highlight their
contributions first, and figure out where they stand,'' NRCC
spokesman Jim Wilkinson said.
|
--------------CC5F4352C882BDFD2034C45A--
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com