Dave Glissmeyer's commentary on Friedman

Dave Glissmeyer www.congressmandave.org has this to say about Friedman's New York Times article:

"Politics in the U.S. can be pretty discouraging these days, so when a positive development occurs it merits our attention. Accordingly, I take a certain amount of pride in noting that many of the fundamental themes I’ve been hammering home for the past year are now being confirmed by some of the country’s top syndicated writers.

Of great interest, I encourage you to take a minute and read Thomas Friedman’s opinion piece in the New York Times about our decadent two party system and the potential emergence of independent candidates and an independent party."
full text

Political Reality String Theory

So I transcribed a number of notable quotes from Lou Dobbs book “Independent’s Day” and started adding some commentary. First I sorted Dobbs quotes into 5 or so categories and started looking at which I would comment on first. I had to add a category of sorts that I’ll call string theory. My first concern is the lamentable progress in the War on Drugs. I have 3 young kids and the prevalence of drugs is a serious concern to me as a parent. Following closely on the heels of the war on drugs is a concern for what I will call Disorderly Immigration (illegal only speaks to a small portion of the problem) followed by our disjointed Political Process aggravated by an overwhelming prospect of staggering national debt. The political string theory goes like this in my thinking tonight. The drug trade largely underwrites and necessitates illegal immigration of refugees from this war. Their trips are often subsidized and capitalized by acting as couriers of very harmful substances (far in excess of marijuana). And nothing productive will emerge in the foreseeable future because of the corporate shills on Capitol Hill namely the Democratic and Republican parties. And on that note I’ll quit for tonight—there isn’t much need to frill reality up with a bunch of fluff. We have serious problems to address. We need leaders to do it. And true leaders seldom emerge from the partisan cesspool of the GOP / DNC.
Out.
Randy

From Lou Dobbs “Independent’s Day”

As is often the case, the Bush administration and I don’t appear to be looking at the same statistics. Or perhaps we just have different concerns. Or perhaps I simply have an unrealistic expectation of what our government leaders’ responsibilities are to ensure all Americans “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” How can anyone of any ideology, political persuasion, or religion who claims to value each and every American and treasure his or her rights as citizens tolerate our government’s failure in the war on drugs? p. 188.

“The Democrats like eliminating the borders between the three countries because they see potential voters coming out of Mexico. The Republicans see benefits because big business, one of their big constituencies, sees cheap labor and resources from Mexico and even Canada to be exploited.
“So both parties, in other words, Lou, have a vested interest in keeping this all hushed up.” p. 167.

Five decades ago, there were only four congressional caucuses. Today there are approximately two hundred, most of which are dedicated solely to particular countries, regions, races, ethnicities, specific issues, and special interests. We should be better served if we rid Congress of these spurious and divisive caucuses that serve narrowly focused special interest groups and instead create the “We the People” Caucus. p. 163.

Independents Day (book by Lou Dobbs)

I finished The Kite Flyer yesterday and picked up Independents Day by Lou Dobbs. I had time to read just the inside flap and introduction but I think I am going to really really enjoy this book. Quoting from the inside cover of Lou Dobb's Independents Day Awakening the American Spirit:
In his bestselling War on the Middle Class, Lou Dobbs reported from the front lines of a conflict that threatens to tear our country apart: the war that the government and big business have waged against working Americans. But in every war there comes a counteroffensive, when resistance arises, stirred by the fundamental human desire for dignity and self-determination. Independents Day is a rallying cry for a new vision of what the country could--and by all rights should--be in the twenty-first century.

What has happened to America? Lou Dobbs opens Independents Day with a critical and sobering view of where we stand today, and how a century of misguided policy and misplaced values has brought us here. A government that was created to be of the people is now one dominated by elites; a government intended to be by the people has become one run by politicians who are unresponsive to the needs and will of the American citizens who voted for them; a government founded for the people has become instead a willing partner in serving the demands and interests of business. The casualty of this betrayal of our national legacy is nothing less than democracy, and Dobbs charts its tragic effects in every aspect of our society. From the expenditure of trillions of dollars to underwrite a war in Iraq that the great majority of voters does not support, to an administration that has brazenly done away with public accountability while amassing debt that will burden taxpayers for years to come, to a steady decline in jobs, education, and health care, we stand on the threshold of a future that only a generation ago would have seemed inconceivable.

But with the most important election in years facing us in 2008, there are signs that the public has begun to reclaim its voice in the national dialogue, asserting its right to be heard in a new, vitally engaged populism. Having been failed by Republicans and Democrats alike, the electorate is rejecting the pointless turf wars of partisan politics and confronting the genuine challenges that face us with a passionate commitment to the ideals of independence and equality and to the common good. Independents Day is a stirring celebration of the emergence of this populist spirit, and an inspiring vision for an America that will flourish by honoring the cherished principles on which it was founded.