An open letter to Gary Hubbell

2010-04-03

Richard Moore

Bcc: contributors
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Dear Gary,


I read with interest your essay:
Barack Obama has awakened a sleeping nation
Even though I have a different view on many issues, I get the feeling that at a deep level we have very much the same concerns. The Constitution is being trampled, the wealth of the nation is being wasted, the government is more and more intruding into our lives, education is a joke, the healthcare bill is unbelievably horrible, we’re over-extended in idiotic wars, and the list goes on. At this level I think we are mostly in agreement.
But is the cause really ‘creeping liberalism’? The way I see it, there has been a very smooth continuity between the Bush and Obama administrations. Bush started the wars, and Obama has expanded them. Bush pushed through the unconstitutional Patriot Act, and Obama extended it. Bush presided over the collapse and initial bailouts, and Obama expanded the bailouts, both of them leaving us with debt obligations that could never possibly be repaid.  Bush brought in torture and indefinite detention, and Obama has made these official ongoing policy. Where’s there any real difference, except in the speeches? I think Bush was more honest, and Obama more the liar, but the bottom line is they both have been pushing the same basic agenda. 
You mention immigration, the treatment of criminals, the welfare system, taxation, extorting lawyers, etc. Weren’t all these things happening more or less the same way under Bush? I think they were, but I don’t blame it on ‘creeping conservatism’. I don’t really see liberalism or conservatism as being relevant to what happens in Washington.
Washington is one big rich-boys club, and the most successful, enduring politicians of both parties are more concerned with staying in the club — with all its perks — than they are with ideology. When they make speeches, they use language that appeals to their constituency. When they vote, they pay attention to who funds their campaigns, and who promises them a cushy job on retirement. The real power in Washington is the money power.
It wasn’t liberals or conservatives that crafted the healthcare bill, it was the insurance companies. And look at Obama’s White House, it isn’t liberals or conservatives, it’s folks from Wall Street, the ones who caused the collapse and then demanded to be bailed out. Money rules, and the biggest money is Wall Street, and the privately owned Federal Reserve. They’re the ones who print the stuff. The Wall Street folks, and their cronies, are the ones who own the mass media — both the liberal and conservative variety of media. 
We’re being played for suckers, with this liberal vs. conservative game. The liberals go to sleep when someone like Obama is in office, and the conservatives go to sleep when someone like Bush is in office. Taking turns, both sides keep hoping things will get better with the next election, like a donkey following a carrot. 
Liberals won’t vote for Ralph Nader, because that would help the right, and conservatives won’t vote for Ron Paul because that would help the left. Only a rebellious few vote for who really represents them, and the rest are forced to the two mainstream parties, both of which are bought and paid for.
I really like your nickname, ‘The Redneck tree hugger’, because it bridges across the divides: you can be a conservative and care about the environment at the same time. I wish we could sit down and chat about things. We need to restore the Constitution, where it says all powers not delegated specifically to the Federal Government are reserved to the States, or to the people respectively. But we aren’t going to get there with the help of the Republicans or the Democrats. We’ve got to find another way.
respectfully,
richard moore
american living in ireland
where things aren’t quite so crazy yet
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