The Chris Moeller Archives

What change?

Paper or plastic? That's the question always posed by the clerk at the neighborhood supermarket, and if the customer then responds by presenting a canvas bag to said clerk, that customer is often met with stunned silence. You mean there are other options?

Pundits and politicos have overwhelmingly declared that this is the most important presidential election of our time, but sadly, regardless of whether Barack Obama or John McCain is elected tomorrow-- and of course, it will be Obama in a landslide-- we know, thanks to the candidates' public policy statements and positions, this much will NOT change in the aftermath of Election Day 2008...

-- The U.S. military will still stand as imperial occupier of Iraq, in defiance of the wishes of that country's sovereign government and its people, as well as a majority of Americans. We will actually see an escalation of the war on Afghanistan as our armed services try feebly there to conquer terrorism through force, and despite the fact that the perpetrator of the tragedy of 9-11 is actually in Pakistan. Meanwhile, America's anti-war movement, which surrendered itself to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid two years ago, will remain cowed and beaten.

-- Palestinians in Gaza will still reside inside the world's largest prison as the U.S. continues to back the radical and militarist right-wing agenda of the lobbying organization AIPAC. There will be no hope for the two-state solution in that part of the world despite that resolution being favored by a majority of both Palestinians and Israelis.

-- The Federal Treasury will still be open for business in providing 12-figure bailouts to greedy Wall Street speculators, with no oversight or strings attached.

-- At least three trillion dollars will be added to the country's already-record financial debt (according to nonpartisan analyses of both candidates' economic plans.)

-- China's oppressive and totalitarian government will still enjoy "most-favored-nation" trading status from the U.S., helping to worsen what is already the most lopsided trade deficit in global history. NAFTA and the World Trade Organization will remain undisturbed, with America as partner, and the U.S. will continue to produce ever fewer actual products. Impoverished Mexicans and Central Americans will continue to flood across the U.S. border, fleeing NAFTA's damage to their respective homelands and agricultural economies.

-- Americans will still get to hear plenty of promises of "bipartisan" action in Washington. And why not? Both the Democrats and Republicans can easily agree on corruption and deficit spending. The original Wall Street bailout bill last month wasn't bipartisan enough so the Senate added another $130 billion of bipartisanship to help pass it through the House.

-- Corporations will still be boldly and loyally represented in Washington. Obama accepted more money from banks, insurance providers, and pharmaceutical companies than even the Republican McCain. How does such a thing happen? By Big Business having the ability to see the writing on the wall more than a year ago. This was, and still is, the Democrats' year, with George Bush Jr. having wrecked the GOP brand. Both sides of the bread needed to get buttered during this cycle, and Obama was more than happy to oblige, becoming the first-ever presidential nominee to opt out of public financing for his campaign, setting back that cause by perhaps a generation. With whom will Obama stand as president, the corporations or the people? Hint: These major financial players aren't in the habit of giving away money for nothing.

-- An ever-growing number of Americans will go without health coverage. We're up to 47 million in uninsured already, and the number is certain to grow as our "Wild West"-inspired economy continues to topple. Neither Obama nor McCain has a plan to change the fundamentals of the health care system. We'll remain the only major country in the industrialized world without a form of universal, government-provided coverage, while it costs each of us progressively more to receive less and less.

-- Despite the phony establishment outrage over voter disenfranchisement and election fraud, neither man nor his party will take steps to do away with the movement towards paperless ballots, or to abolish, at last, the undemocratic Electoral College.

-- Six global corporations will continue to control over half of the nation's mass media: newspapers, magazines, books, radio and television.

-- Our nation's energy agenda will continue to rely on the burning of fossil fuels, and we'll likely see a growth again in the use of nuclear energy. The elected president, Obama or McCain, will oppose the carbon tax, and the Kyoto climate treaty will still go unsigned by the United States.

-- Americans will be in an almost identical spot four years from now, being told then that the 2012 election is the most important of their lifetimes.

posted by CM @ 8:48 PM