NOTE: Welcome to this new column series. In "BTB Review" we will be discussing US national politics through the relatively unclouded lens of Beyond the Beltway, a weekly two-hour syndicated political radio talk show headquartered in Chicago. On this independent Sunday evening program which airs from 6 to 8 PM Central Time, veteran host Bruce DuMont teams up with conservative, liberal, Republican, Democratic, and independent guests to "take America's political pulse" and provide "a fresh and balanced perspective of national politics." I discovered this show in late 2003 and have been listening to it ever since on Fort Wayne, Indiana station AM 1190 WOWO. Given that after twenty-eight years of steady running Beyond the Beltway is still not well known, I hope that this column will encourage people to listen to the show, to learn and think more about the issues our country faces, and to become better informed and more responsible citizens of the United States of America.

In the year 2008, most Americans would acknowledge that their national politics has degenerated into quite a sorry state in recent years. Name-calling and mudslinging, detraction, slander and libel have never been so commonplace. Not a single solidly-pro-life candidate is likely to win Republican nomination, much less Democratic nomination, for the presidency. People are being asked which candidate they like or trust instead of which candidate measures up to their core convictions. A significant minority of allegedly pro-life Americans is even placing a candidate's support for the "War on Terrorism" ahead of his position on abortion. Finally, thanks to the endemic corruption of our modern political system, the presidential candidates likely to be nominated do not come close to truly representing the American people.

July 6, 2007

Each year, it seems, the Grand American Puppet Show is getting longer, and the assortment of characters more diverse and talented. This time the curtain was lifted in the middle of 2006, more than two years before the Grand American Puppet Choice Day--er, excuse me, Election Day. The first two characters to appear on stage were New York Senator Hillary Clinton, representing the Democratic Party, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, representing the Republican Party.  

Is there anyone out there who still harbors the delusion that George Bush or most of his administration possesses the slightest shred of human integrity or the tiniest morsel of respect for the truth, for law, for the people of this country or any other?

Sorry, the question was rhetorical and asked out of personal frustration with the evil festering stew of lies, theft, brutality and domestic and international piracy that this administration has created in the place of what was once the USA.

No, I'm not naive enough to believe that we were ever a perfect country, free of guilt from participation in many and various Machiavellian schemes and plots over the last two centuries, the influence of the power lusts of private wealth have always had far too much influence in our public affairs to allow us to avoid responsibility for the results of our contributions to the general level of human misery. We have committed serious crimes against people in places as varied as Vietnam and Chile, and as far apart in space and time as Nicaragua and Iran.

In the generally business driven efforts to support the interests of entities such as United Fruit, Chiquita Banana, Anaconda, various oil giants, mining companies, and financial institutions we have gone to bat for tin horn dictators in Iran, Cuba, Chile, Cambodia and in other places to numerous to name here.  Even the Mafia found support in the efforts to prop up the fascist pig Batista against communist pig Castro.

The issue of national security belongs to the American people; it is not the property of the Bush Administration, the Republican party, Michelle Malkin, or right wing bloggers.,p> In a recent article in The Moderate Voice, centrist blogger Joe Gandelman discusses a recent report concerning an alleged, or possible, or potential plot by Al Qaeda to attack US targets (in this case U.S. shopping malls over the Christmas season).  Yes, I know, you've heard it all before.  And that is Gandelman's point: the "political contamination" of the issue and its perceived (his word, not mine) exploitation by the Bush Administration has actually undermined public vigilance. Gandelman:  "A jaded public could mean a serious warning could be shrugged off when and if it comes."  Right: and according to me, that's exactly what will happen unless Democrats reclaim the issue from the Right.

In my previous diary, I discussed how we Americans can channel our dissatisfaction with the current government of the United States by choosing to vote for a lesser-known presidential candidate who represents us much more accurately. Specifically, I described the attractive qualities of Texas Representative Ron Paul, whom independent polling sources indicate is way ahead of the mega-corporate-funded, multimillionaire media puppets in popularity. But some people do disagree with Paul on different issues such as taxes, poverty, and foreign aid; in addition, his Republican affiliation might make some independents and Democrats uncomfortable. No one else with Ron Paul's visibility comes close to representing intelligent and principled Americans. So is Paul the only viable option for America?

For a number of years now, respected pundits have lauded the American two-party political system as an excellent balance between the dictatorship of a one-party system and the instability of a multiparty system. Yet the two-party system has caused our country great harm. The Republican and Democratic parties have divided the American people over fundamental moral values, they have failed to rectify longstanding national problems, and their existence chiefly benefits special interest groups, politicians, and mega-corporate executives. Most unfortunately of all, however, the two-party setup does not represent the people of the United States.

Following the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, mainstream media repeatedly characterized the nearly even split of votes between Republican and Democratic candidates as evidence that the nation had become "polarized." This assumed that the parties were greatly different and that voters passionately supported one or the other, assumptions that conlicted with ground truth. Nevertheless, the "polarization" theory persisted, confusing voters who otherwise might have found common ground in breaking the two-party stranglehold on the political process.

Year after year, large numbers of callers to CSPAN radio, including registered Republicans and Democrats as well as independent voters,  have complained that the parties are frustratingly similar and neither represents voter interests.  Polls, too, show that, year after year, voters have a low opinion of Congress.

Op-ed Banned in Minnesota

In the classic movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, mainstream newspapers refuse to publish reports of idealistic Senator Jefferson Smith's battle against Congressional corruption. Thus, it falls to an informal network of concerned citizens and newspaper boys to get out the truth.  Today, fiction became reality as word came that a Minnesota newspaper, the Pioneer Press, has refused to publish an op-ed supportive of Coleen Rowley, Democratic candidate for the 2nd District.

Clearly, the Press, which announced support for incumbent John Kline, fears that the gap between idealist Rowley and Stepford Republican Kline has narrowed to the extent that any favorable publicity for Rowley could result in a upset.

Let's send the message to the Pioneer Press and likeminded papers that their strategy of suppressing differing opinions is a loser. With permission from the authors, please distribute this article and the banned op-ed, below, as widely as possible via blogs, email and commentary, and help the integrity candidate win on November 7!

Originally posted on The Daily Kos

Please show your support for a Democrat who is running as a first-time candidate in Maryland, and who has just been targeted by a bigot protestor because of his private religious beliefs. The bigot is betting that by making this candidate's Muslim faith an issue in this campaign, voters will be turned off and interfaith animosity will be incited. I'm betting that when you read this story, you'll show your support for a good Democratic candidate and take a stand for freedom of religion and religious pluralism.

The Washington Post this morning ran an article, "Bellwethers, Eight Issues That Will Shape The 2006 Elections" or one of a series of articles which is indicative of a coming surf tide of newsprint, virtual and otherwise, which will wash up on the shores of our collective consciousness over the next dozen or so weeks.

Predictions about the midterm election will curl whitely and proudly in the air and regularly and rhythmically slap our calm beaches until we are struck silly with predictions, expert opinions, and statistical analyses of the 06 election.

Nevada 3rd., District Congressional candidate Barry Michaels asks; Do we want political parties to choose who represents us or should we the voters decide?

The purpose of primary elections are to select from multiple candidates, one candidate to represent the party in the upcoming general election.  Does a political party that supports one candidate over another, prior to that state's primary circumvent the law and does this practice cause some voters to be disenfranchised?  Congressional candidate Barry Michaels who's running for Nevada's 3rd., district believes it does.

It is as much as a done deal. Justice Samuel Alito will now sit on the bench of the highest court in our land for possibly the next 30 years. This ultra-conservative will rule against victims, grant unprecedented Executive power, re-interpret our laws, and promote the ultra-right agenda upon our country. Check Alito's America website for what we can expect to see from this KING GEORGE YES MAN!

Watch the careers of those who put him on the Supreme Court. Get the voting record at CSPAN and remember these so-called legislators at election time. With the exception of Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, every single Republican voted for the confirmation of Alito. A straight party vote, despite his checkered past on the bench. Republicans as a whole, voted their party-line rather than their conscience. It sickens me that these are the representatives of the people, and they are merely representing their party over the welfare of their constituents. I believe that Senator Chafee's statement is very clear, and well examined. Please read Senator Chafee's statement here.