It's the Constitution, Stupid!

I hate to borrow a line from old Bill Clinton, but in this case I'll make an exception. After all, let's give big Bill his due: the first 6 years of his 8 year presidency were years of relative peace and prosperity and a hopefulness that seems almost fantastic next to the subsequent dark years of W and unmitigated disaster. That said, Mrs. Clinton is NOT A CHOICE. Bill's saving grace was that he was something of a Romantic, an idealist deep inside. Hillary is, as I have said for many years now, Nixon in a skirt. She cannot tell the difference between a political VISION for the country and her personal, political AMBITION. She wants the presidency so bad she can hardly stand it. Not only that, but she actually believes that she is entitled to it. Don't just listen to her words, listen to the "music" behind her words. Hillary Clinton would bomb the bejesus out of Iran or any country that she felt gave her the flimsiest excuse, the slightest opportunity to prove to the joint chiefs that a woman can send troops into battle just as well as a man. The key word here is OPPORTUNITY. Hillary Clinton is an opportunist extraordinaire. Why the hell do you think she married Bill? She knew he couldn't keep his hands to himself; but she also saw Bill as her big OPPORTUNITY. And the sacrifices that she has made these many years as Bill's spouse entitle her--in her own mind--to succeed him to the Oval Office. It's twisted, my friends.

But what is even more twisted is that the Democratic Party Machine also believes her to be entitled to the Presidency. And this is yet another reason why the Democratic Party is part of the problem and not part of the solution. I don't propose that the party be dissolved, but that it be forced to make its way honestly in the political system by being one party among many in a TRUE MULTI-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY.

Many Americans suffer from the delusion that we have such a system in the United States. After all, isn't that what they teach us in high school civics? Friends, friends, friends: high school civics sold you a dream, not the political reality of the Plutocratic American pseudemocracy. What we have in the U.S. is a "two-party" system. No provision is made in the Constitution for this system: it is an ad hoc development that the Founding Fathers (white, propertied, 18th century males) tried to AVOID. Read George Washington's "farewell address"--the Founders sought to avoid party politics for the simple reason that they did not wish our fledgling DEMOCRACY to get "out of hand." Why do you think that they made provision in the Constitution for an "electoral college"? These guys (whom we we all treat as saints and were anything but...) did not trust the PEOPLE.

Tom Jefferson threw a wrench into the plutocracy's plans when he wasn't getting his way with the old-boy network and decided that the best way to royally piss them off was to form a political party--the Democratic Party. When Jefferson did that, it was the ONLY political party in the United States. There was the ruling class, and then there was this party of opposition--also part of the ruling class but now endorsing positions that the common run of (white, male) Americans could also support. It was a bitter pill for the plutocrats to swallow, but swallow it they did and eventually formed their own counter-party. And that was it. In time, the two parties established for themselves a monopoly over the American political system and, over the years, have grown chummier and chummier. And why not? They all represent the same constituency: the American plutocracy.

Those who are paying attention can see what a huge mess the plutocrats are making not only of the United States but of the world today. Hillary M. Nixon will not alter our course significantly. And, I am afraid, though I love him, neither will Dennis Kucinich--the one tried and true proponent of a truly decent America running for President today (Obama may be a true proponent, but he is far from tried). The solution to our problems is not plugging this or that individual into the Oval Office. The origin of our problems lies in the undemocratic system that we would be plugging that individual into. It's the Constitution, stupid! We must change it and soon.

If you wish to see what a modern Constitution looks like (as opposed to our jury-rigged, 18th century one), google "Constitution of Finland." It is just one of many in use around the world today that creates a multi-party, parliamentary democracy. In the history of human governance to date, it's the best we (as a species) have done.

And don't Americans deserve the best? That's what we always tell ourselves. Then why in god's good name are we settling for something that only serves up the same old plutocratic bull-shit election cycle after election cycle?

I'll say it again: IT'S THE CONSTITUTION! We must change it or resign ourselves to living out the rest of our days in McUSA,Inc.--not the home of liberty but the militarized agent of global capitalism run amok.