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illusionofjoyWe all knew it was going to happen. A lot of us wanted it to happen – and now it has: Hillary Clinton is running for president. From the Associated Press:
NEW YORK - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a trailblazing campaign for the White House on Saturday, a former first lady turned political powerhouse intent on becoming the first female president. "I'm in, and I'm in to win," she said.
In a videotaped message posted on her Web site, Clinton said she was eager to start a dialogue with voters about challenges she hoped to tackle as president — affordable health care, deficit reduction and bringing the "right" end to the Iraq war.
"I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation with you, with America," she said. "Let's talk. Let's chat. The conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don't you think?"
Clinton's announcement, while widely anticipated, was nonetheless an historic moment in a fast-developing campaign that has already seen the emergence of a formidable black contender, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
I fully expect the neo-con smear machine to be going into overdrive right about now. That is par for the course, however. The republican party is dirty, filled with people who are consumed with avarice and the need to repress and control all around them while basking in the double standard that they get to do whatever the hell they want to.
Clinton is not going to have an easy time of it, that's for sure. Aside from the fact that every right-wing jackal in the nation is going to be foaming at the mouth to tear her to shreds, she is going to have to contend with other bright stars within her own party and her own mistakes – the largest of which is her support of the Iraq war.
Still, if Clinton has proven nothing else during the course of her political career, it's that she's a damn tough broad (and I say that with the utmost respect).
2008 is going to be a fascinating and likely harrowing election. The modern republican party is not about to go down without a vicious fight, as it has been their mantra for the past several decades to win at all costs. They will settle for nothing less than complete control of the government – Bush's "troop surge" is, more likely than not, a way to keep the war going until the next election, so that when we finally do leave the sand trap that is Iraq, the republicans can say, "see – it's the liberal's fault that we lost Iraq!" Of course, they would be saying that anyway if we were to leave Iraq tomorrow, totally ignoring the fact that they lied us into the war in the first place.
So, aside from the unrealistic hope that the head of every republican in the nation suddenly bursts into flame, I have a political wishlist:
End the war in Iraq!
As far as I am concerned, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladan are all cut from the same filthy cloth. The common thread shared by all four of them is that they are death mongers and worse, they are deathmongers willing to send their own people to the grave under the guise of some nebulous "greater good." After September 11th, 2001 Bush and company were already planning to attack Iraq, thinking that a major terrorist attack by a group of Saudis would provide the perfect cover for aggressive actions against nations who had nothing to do with 9/11. As it stands, they were partially right: when the war in Afghanistan was launched, the Taliban really had little to do with the terrorist attacks in the United States. Of course, Afghanistan isn't Iraq, so Bush couldn't say, "well, we got 'em, boys! Terror war is over, let's go home!" Instead, Bush and company concocted a greater "war on terror" and then cast out the line that Iraq was the centre of this new global conflict and that, "well, gosh darn it, boys – Sodom might have them thar weapons O' mass destruction! We'd better get 'im before he attacks us! Yee-ha!" Thus, troops were sent to Iraq, Saddam Hussein was eventually executed and the Middle East was destabilised, leaving the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds to squabble over the land while conveniently having American servicemen hanging around to be used for target practise. As of today, over 3,000 Americans have died in Iraq while it is estimated that over 54,000 innocent Iraq civilians have died (but American arrogance dictates that we don't give a shit about those people, so don't expect to find that number broadcast on CNN; I got it from Iraq Body Count).
Repeal the Bush tax cuts!
The war in Iraq has not helped the budget for certain, but even before Bush's misadventure in the desert, one of the greatest surpluses in history was quickly turning into one of the greatest deficits. The reason? Tax cuts for the rich. If one is making well over $200,000 per year, then one can forgo that extra yacht and contribute to society a bit, don't you think? To warp a line from a Mel Brooks' film: screw the rich!
Put and end to student loans; grants only for education!
In their first 100 hours, as part of their promise to the American people, the Democratic majority in congress passed legislation reducing interest rates on student loans. It's a nice start (one of course, the republicans oppose), but it isn't nearly enough to fix the broken system of indentured servitude borne out of the "need" for a college education. I find it to be a very unfunny joke that one ends up going to college for four or more years in the hopes of finding a good job through education only to find themselves financially marginalized by the burden of debt acquired in order to get that education. Oh, and the job they got after school probably sucks anyhow (or ended up getting outsourced). One can go to a library constantly and read all sorts of literature and gain all sorts of knowledge, but if they try to take this independently gained know-how and apply for a job, without a college diploma, they will be laughed at. The federal government has no business putting its young people into debt and reaping the rewards of that yoke in the form of interest payments. A basic education – which college now qualifies as – should be free to all. All government loans should be replaced with grants and those who suffered under the oppression of student loans prior to the change to an all-grant policy should find relief in a program of loan amnesty where any remaining debt is simply expunged from the record books.
Reform the electoral process!
Step one: abolish the Electoral College. This archaic institution is one of the biggest affronts to representative democracy in America, taking the power out of the hands of the people and placing it into a select few un-elected "representatives." Step two: normalise the methods with which votes are tabulated. Pregnant chad, hanging chad – what the fuck is this shit? There is only one form of currency accepted in all fifty states, why are so many forms of tabulating votes accepted? Only one system of recording and tabulating votes should be used nationwide and regardless of whether this system is electronic or mechanical, there should be a paper trail in order to protect against fraud. Step three: enable Instant Runoff voting. Some would argue that primaries already count in the same way a runoff vote would, but this is not true; a primary simply weeds out contenders within the two-party system, it does not allow for points of view established outside of the mantras of "the big two." Instant run-off voting would level the playing field, destroying the winner take all precedent of the simple majority and allowing for a true representative democracy where people have more choices than who to vote "for" or "against" and there's no such thing as a "third party" or "spoiler." Don't expect either the Democrats or the republicans to support such an initiative anytime soon.
There's much more, but that's what I'd like to see in the immediate future. Granted, I don't expect a Democratic majority or presidency will make any of this happen, but one can dream. In any case, I feel that the United States is quickly coming upon a day of reckoning. The new millennium has started out very badly; it is time to change things for the better.
