Four More Years of Bush Please!

By Lloyd Hart
Friday Febuary 6th.

I cannot in all conscience support the platforms of any of the so-called front-runners in the Democratic Presidential primary including that of Senator John Kerry. The nebulous description of a universal health care system Senator Kerry is supporting that sounds like a repeat of Clinton's false promise in 92 does not contain the words "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System". Until I hear those words and read them in a Democratic Party platform and actually see and hear the nominated Democratic presidential candidate for president campaign aggressively on these words I will not write a check nor will I actively campaign within the Democratic Party and I suspect many other Americans feel the same way. Rather, I will go work for Ralph Nader's campaign for the presidency. Sure there are many other issues that I would like to see taken up like the war but until the Democratic Party actually accomplishes the "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System" the Democratic Party can not be trusted with the people's will. It would also serve the Democratic Party well to accomplish one great legislative feat in order to give them courage to move on to the many other progressive ideas our desperate world and nation needs in this critical moment in human history.

Senator Kerry, the other candidates and the party would be hard pressed to get me to go out and campaign for them without dealing with several platform issues before the convention regardless. Such as, legalizing medical marijuana at the federal level, rolling back the drug war, ending plan Columbia, going to court and removing the touchscreen voting machines from being used prior to the election as well shutting down the U.S. military's Internet voting system (Oops, this one just got accomplished but not by the Democratic Party but rather by the hard work of many members of the alternative media and the American public. In fact the Democratic Party will be using Internet voting in the Michigan caucuses this weekend), reparations for pension holders who lost everything in the corrupt stock market, actual reductions in the cost of pharmaceuticals to consumers, increase in Social Security benefits, cancellation of NAFTA, Kafka, oops I mean CAFTA and the WTO, the dismantling of the IMF and World Bank, the end of the war on terror, clearing the Air Guard of dropping the ball on the morning of September 11, 2001 placing the responsibility of attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon squarely on the shoulders of George Bush, the only man who could order the Air Guard to stand down, cancelling the Homeland Security Bill and the Patriot Act, cutting the defense budget in half, the regulation and rolling back of real estate prices to the 1960s and equal high quality education for all etc. etc.. But if the Democrats could accomplish a "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System" the above the shopping list would seem like peanuts, small time, snap of the finger stuff.

But the reality is that many in the public perceive the Democrats as simply being liars' playing good cop to George Bush's bad cop who will clean up George Bush's PR mess without interrupting the program the Bush regime has put in place. The privatization of the Iraqi oilfields into the multinational oil companies hands so that the U.S. can maintain military control over the world's resources and the people's labor. In other words it is time for the Democratic Party in elected offices to choose whose side they're on. Are they on the side of the people or are they on the side of the ruling elites who figure they must survive in much better condition over all others just because they happen to have all the money? People are not easily conned by the populist rhetoric the candidates are spewing however if the American public sees a united front from Democrats in the House, the Senate and the presidential field of candidates all saying out loud that they are for a "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System" there just might be hope for solving other problems in America. If not the Democratic Party is finished.

After all Bill Clinton dropped the ball on universal health care and sided with the Republicans in ruthlessly gutting the social safety net while allowing the media to create perception that black families were to blame for the greatest use and abuse of the welfare system when in fact that M.O. belongs with the whites in America. Bill Clinton stood by in full knowledge of black voters being ethnically cleansed from the voter list in Florida allowing the election in 2000 to be stolen. Bill Clinton kept up the lie that were U.S. imposed sanctions against Iraq that put 500,000 children to death. Bill Clinton signed Nafta allowing that "big sucking sound" of high-quality American and Canadian jobs to vanish out of the economy etc. etc..

Why should we trust Senator Kerry when he voted for Nafta and the war in Iraq. Why should we trust Governor Dean when he allowed IBM to pollute groundwater around Burlington Vermont causing widespread birth defects, cancer and death. Why should we trust General Wesley Clark who dumped tons of depleted uranium ordnance on Kosovo causing widespread sickness and death. Why should we trust Senator Edwards a man so unexperienced in public policy that he allowed himself to be conned into voting for a war for oil by man who stole an election.

So I ask all of you so-called front runners in the Democratic Party presidential primary, what have you done for me lately?

Here's a tip from someone who grew up living in the wonderful broad daylight of a "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System". The "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System" is the best thing that ever happened to Canadian business big and small. Small business does not have to worry about covering employees in order to keep talented people and big companies don't have to run bureaucracies to handle and negotiate health care packages for their workers. That responsibility is left to the doctor's, the nurses and the hospitals. Big and small business can get to the business of their business rather than the distraction of their business. How do you think the Canadian economy survived free trade and NAFTA losing 10 million high-quality Union paying jobs? A strong "Not for Profit Single Payer Universal Health Care System" that gave small and big business the breathing room to reorganize and survive the garbage trade deal the American government and corporations drove down the throats of the Canadian people like the economic fascists' the U.S. government and corporations are.

And as for the "anybody but Bush", all those that believe that to be a good strategy are forgetting that all Progressive Policy passed through Congress in the 20th-century and into law came as a result of Democrats controlling the House and Senate not so much the presidency. We saw what a useless tit Bill Clinton was without Democrats in the House and Senate being able to hold his feet to the fire. (Well I guess he was a useless tit regardless of who had control of the House and Senate.) Bill Clinton still didn't give a damn about the House and Senate even after the Democratic senators saved his skin in the impeachment conviction vote. Give me the House and Senate before the presidency any a day of the week for the simple fact is, you can always impeach the president when you have control the House and Senate. Maybe after another four years of Bush all elected Democrats will actually be Democrats by then.

I'm with Ralph Nader. Four more years of Bush please.

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