General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ron Paul: The Only Presidential Candidate Telling Important Truths [View all]mojowork_n
(2,354 posts)The "War on Terror." It's never been declared or ratified by Congress.
After promising to close down Guantanamo, after not living up to the
hopes that he'd prosecute Bush and Cheney for war crimes, President
Obama has continued THAT war pretty much on schedule. The withdrawal
from Iraq had been negotiated by The Chimp. The timetable wasn't moved
up one day.
This is a war that respects no borders. Drone attacks that kill civilians have enraged
and disgusted and angered people all over the world. We don't see those film clips
on our nightly news.
But people living overseas -- and Americans serving overseas -- are all only too
familiar with the horror and sheer, utter wastefulness of all of it.
It's a sad commentary on all of us that only a very few Republicans or
Democrats have spoken out against the war profiteering corporations that
are in charge.
Most everyone here who's commented on the Ron Paul candidacy abhors his
views on environment, on health care and government, in general.
But who are you to say he has no right to represent his three largest
constituencies? His three largest donor groups are the U.S. Army, the
U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. A whole bunch of small donations from very
many underpaid, over-worked (and nearly invisible) human beings. They're
on the front lines.
They deserve to be represented in our democratic process -- much more so
than the Daddy Warbucks "corporate persons" whose interests they serve --
and right now, based on their political donations -- looney unka Ron is their
candidate of choice.
Which isn't to say President Obama doesn't deserve more time, or a second
term, to do right by them. But that whole "War on Terror" project is supposed
to be a 30 Year Plan, and we're not even halfway there yet.
It's Hannibal's elephant in the room. Military spending and waste are as much
to blame for our economic woes as the 1%. They're inter-twined. These are
discussions we should be having, not dismissing out of hand, without giving
them any serious thought or honest analysis.
(edit for typo)