Gore Vidal: liberals do not understand their own interests

[ProfessorPlum]

http://www.laweekly.com/news/features/the-last-defender-of-the-american-republic/3784/?page=4

And the liberals, of course, are the slowest and the stupidest, because they do not understand their interests. The right wing are the bad guys, but they know what they want -- everybody else's money. And they know they don't like blacks and they don't like minorities. And they like to screw everyone along the way.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Because Vidal is a "small r" republican, I'm interpreting his uses of "liberals"

as "The Democratic Party." And yes! I concur that our big tent has become so amorphous that we don't truly have a cogent platform. The Democratic Party must MAKE A DECISION either "side with" the corporatist DLC or the progressive - liberal base? "The Party" can't do both. They can't side with the DLC and then rely on the liberal voters.

Yes, a decision must be made. :shrug:

[ProfessorPlum]

3. Those really are the two real poles of our political future

Democrats vs. Republicans, conservatives vs. liberals, right vs. left, red vs. blue - none of that really matters.

The real question is: do you want corporations running absolutely everything, or not? Corporations will treat us all like crap, but there are some people who really, really want them to have absolute, unfettered power.

So, who are the Dems going to side with?

[flashl]

4. Is this by design?

"big tent has become so amorphous".

Lib's always been labeled as schizophrenic (with lowered expectation).

[Toots]

6. "They can't side with the DLC and then rely on the liberal voters."

Yes they can and they will. What are you going to do vote Republican? They know your hatred for the GOP will out weigh anything they do or say. They know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will not lose a single vote by disregarding the people in favor of Corporations. They will wallow in Corporate funds while thumbing their noses at the Liberal base and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it. They have your vote in the bag so to speak..

[shadowknows69]

8. I don't know that

I'm not sure I'll bring myself to the polls to vote for a DLCer. I'll vote local but I can't see myself doing the lesser of two evils thing even if one of them is a republican because I just really don't know which is worse anymore, The devil you know or the friend that stabs you in the back?

[Toots]

10. Their argument become the same as the Nader hater's.

If you don't vote Democratic then you "allow" the Republicans to win..It is all those people's fault that found they could not support either Party because of their Corporate ties..No they know the Liberal base is a safe, very safge vote for them..However that said i feel like you and would give much for a viable third Party candidate that could rouse the masses..

[ShortnFiery]

9. True. However, I am receiving the strong impression that

I'm far from alone as I consider the following: Is the soft glove of fascism anything less than a prison albeit it's decorated in pink and tells you comforting bedtime stories? :shrug:

For the first time since 1980, voting a strict Democratic ticket is not an option. Corporate democrats will gut the middle class. To me, it's not worth having "choice" when THE MAJORITY of women won't have the finances to exercise such.

No, I'm hoping upon hope that our Democratic Leadership wakes up and begins to serve their constituents before the needs of The Military Industrial Complex and their enablers. :(

[shadowknows69]

14. The tinfoiler in me isn't even sure that Clinton the first

wasn't part of the whole plan. Bill certainly played his parts in the current trade disaster and for providing a permanent target for right wing rhetoric. Hillary is the republicans favorite candidate despite her supporters claims of the fear she puts into them. You need only to watch the corporate bought news to make that conclusion. They are dying to drag all the Clinton's dirty laundry into the light again and it is considerable in places. Probably more so now that the BFEE has no doubt been spying on them for the good part of a decade.

[Cha]

19. Yeah, like these guys are

going to leave anything to chance if they can help it..I only hope they get the Law Of Unintended Consequences blown back in their collective fascist face.

[david_vincent]

11. Hmm... not exactly true, methinks

You can vote for someone from another party. There ARE other parties in America... the proper functioning of democracy depends on people voting according to their political principles, not just to keep someone else out of office. There's the Green party, for instance. And for those of us who decide that democracy is just too moribund in this country, you (we) can move elsewhere. It's not as if the USA is the only place to live in the world.

[shadowknows69]

2. I'm not even sure we CAN concentrate on what we want

we're too busy wondering how the hell we're going to repair the damage the right wing has done.

[flashl]

5. Like restoring unions. n/t

[shadowknows69]

7. Thats going to be a hard one

They've done a pretty thorough job on those. Bottom line is there needs to be financial support to force collective barganing. Too many people are living paycheck to paycheck to get enough of them willing to rock the boat. If people knew their families would at least be fed and housed during a walk out I guarantee you would find a lot of americans willing to do so. We need a President that will punish companies for hiring scab and illegal labor and flat out make this country stop dead in its tracks (truckers, service people, waste management, taxi drivers, hair stylists etc etc etc.) until some kind of national fair wage is decided upon for each profession. Socialism? Probably, what else is working?

[The2ndWheel]

12. What would be the point of a union then?

What would be the point of stopping the country dead in its tracks? You wouldn't have to, since the state would both feed and shelter your family, as well as make sure the corporation was punished. You would have no say in the process.

If you take out the risk, then I think you're giving up whatever power you have, to either the state or the corporation. Since both entities already control most of the land, food, water, and life in general, how much more of us do we give them for absolute comfort?

[shadowknows69]

15. I didn't make myself clear

not "The State" I meant more along the lines of a private fund that would last until the walkout was done and collective bargaining took place. The President would just make sure the companies couldn't replace union members. Make them come to the table.

[flashl]

17. Some observations ...

Hidden within many bills that pass in Congress are provisions that undermines the American worker, e.g. increase visas for nurses, teachers, or IT workers.

This is not hiring scab or illegal labor but these hidden provisions drove down wages for the American worker.

Undermining the American worker is so popular that several months ago, there was a video circulating where an attorney was teaching others at seminars how to disenfranchise American workers.

[The Stranger]

13. The Democratic Leaders want only not to upset their GOP and media masters.

[KoKo]

16. Interesting what Vidal says about "9/11" from the article...

We had planned to occupy Afghanistan in October, and Osama, or whoever it was who hit us in September, launched a pre-emptory strike. They knew we were coming. And this was a warning to throw us off guard.

With that background, it now becomes explicable why the first thing Bush did after we were hit was to get Senator Daschle and beg him not to hold an investigation of the sort any normal country would have done. When Pearl Harbor was struck, within 20 minutes the Senate and the House had a joint committee ready. Roosevelt beat them to it, because he knew why we had been hit, so he set up his own committee. But none of this was to come out, and it hasn't come out.

[Cha]

18. I understand my interests all right..

I want Pete Stark, CodePink, MOveon, and ect.. to have free speech and I want the bushits gone and the corporatemediawhores circling the bathtub.

And I understand what Vidal is saying about the fascists..no question.

[mondo joe]

20. Vidal's comments here are taken somewhat out of context - he was referring to

his idea of a populist constitutional convention.