Challenge the Establishment: conservative

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

GDAE Podcast - Episode 36

October 31, 2010 - Released

Left / Right Populism - Part VII

Can genuine conservatives and progressives clean up our democratic institutions?

Motivation for Reaching out to the Political Right on Issues of Common Concern: Preventing the Drift toward "Barbarism".

Right-Wing TV/Radio Incitement: The case of Byron Williams who attempted to murder eleven people in San Francisco after listening to Glenn Beck and others.

Walden Bello: A historical perspective on the Drift toward "Barbarism" and its relation to the Movtiation to reach out to genuine conservatives.

2006 Conservative Essay: "Now Is the Time for a Left-Right Alliance: A rebel alliance already exists that could stop Bush administration attacks on the Constitution."

Prosecution of Bush Officials: Beating the drum with the help of revelations from WikiLeaks of US complicity with abuse and torture.

Iraqi Blogger Raed Jarrar: Personal experience with WikiLeaks revelations.

Start with Episode 29 for Full Series on Left/Right Populist Alliance
or
Start with Episode 30 for Quick 20-minute Kickoff

Play Episode 36 from this page:

Click to Download Episode 36.

Play Episode 35 from this page:

Click to Download Episode 35.

Listen to Part V in the series, Episode 34:

Listen to Part IV in the series, Episode 33:

Listen to Part III in the series, Episode 32:

Listen to Part II in the series, Episode 31:

Listen to Part I in the series, Episode 30, (20-minute abridged version):

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Right Wing Establshment Looking Down on Right Wing Populists

Since including some clips of Glenn Greenwald in the last GDAE Podcast I've been digging a little deeper into his work. I came across the following and, though out of context, thought it worthy of sharing:

For as long as I can remember -- decades -- I've been hearing that the new incarnation of the GOP is far more radical and dangerous than anything that preceded it, and it tragically threatens to banish the previously Reasonable, Serious, Adult version of that party. That was certainly said about Ronald Reagan, as he argued for the elimination of the Department of Education, brought in cabinet officials like Ed Meese and Jim Watt, catered to Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, and nominated people like Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. That was certainly said about the Gingrich-led GOP of the 90s, with their Contract with America, obsessions with law-enforced morality, and impeachment of Bill Clinton. And it was said over and over about the Bush/Cheney era that ushered in the Iraq War, the torture regime, broad executive lawlessness, and an endless roster of vapid, know-nothing ideologues and religious fanatics in the highest positions.

Given all that, I'd really like to hear what it is about Christine O'Donnell, or Sharron Angle, or any of these other candidates that sets them apart from decades of radical right-wing elected officials who came before them? They seem far more similar to me than different. When was this idealized era of GOP Adult Reasonableness?

The context was a blog post, entitled "The misguided reaction to Tea Party candidates," which explores how "ruling class" conservatives look down their collective noses at the likes of Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell. These elites claim that Palin and O'Donnell are particularly "radical;" however, Greenwald exposes the hypocrisy of "radicals" from the elite class labeling "radicals" from lesser class strata.

The excerpts above seemed to sum it up for me. It seems that the right wing radicals are slinging class warfare mud, but don't even realize it. Thanks to Glenn Greenwald for pointing it out.

Sources:

Salon dot Com, Glenn Greenwald Blog

First posted on GDAEman Blog.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Wikipedia and Unprincipled Right

We all know some people on the "right" who we might call "principled." They hold to a value and apply it consistently, regardless of Party politics pressure. Maybe it's you, or a relative, a friend, co-workers or even someone in the corporate media. Ron Paul, a US Congressman, is a classic, if not extreme, example... and there are other less notable examples.

There is Walter B. Jones, a US congress member made famous for coining the phrase "freedom fries" as an insult to the French for not getting on board quickly with the Iraq war. He now regrets saying that.

Joness represents an area of North Carolina that has a sizable military population. His about-face reflects an undercurrent of honest feelings in the military communities. Walter Jones is now a vocal critic of the Iraq war.

The other conservative faction is the "unprincipled" right... they represent a different color in the "conservative" spectrum. We know them too: The Republican water-carriers and self-promoters like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Bill Kristol, and Rush Limbaugh, who admits he carries water for the Republicans:

On the November 8 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh claimed to "feel liberated" by Democratic victories in the House and Senate on November 7 because he is "no longer going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried."

But this is all a long-winded way of being able to say that the vocal unprincipled right is misdirecting the conservative base when they tell the base not to use Wikipedia. We all know it can have significant flaws on a particular subject, but the majority of the time, it answers your question or directs you to the answer. Adding "wiki" to your search can be a powerful information tool that gives you an information-access advantage. Conservatives who dismiss Wikipedia might just be giving themselves a handicap.

Oxford Dictionary editors

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Combining Forces

How do we challenge the establishment? There are so many ways. Here's another.

First, we need to remind ourselves that there is such a thing as an honest conservative;

Actually, many principled conservatives came out of the woodwork in the later days of the Dubbya Bush administration. Some of them went as far as to write books, like "What Happened," by former Press Secretary Scott McClellan, and "Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause," by Reagan era direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie.

Principled right and left wing constituencies, individually, might be too small to change the establishment power structure. However, when they combine forces, they have proven to have the power to overcome the establishment.

Stopping Media Consolidation: An example was, in 2003, when both conservative and liberal organizations combined forces to stop further ownership consolidation of corporate media. The establishment power-grab galvanized the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Pro-choice group NARAL, among others, into a powerful coalition that led to victory.

Auditing the Federal Reserve: Today, right and left populist leaders Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve. The Fed, which is actually a chartered private entity, quasi governmental at best, is supposed to balance wall street and main street economic interests. It has, however, tilted strongly toward the big banking interests, of which it is a part.

Obama's proposed response to the on-going financial industry debacle is to give the Fed more power to oversee the financial industry. With so much at stake, and a Fed history of secrecy, Americans should know have access to the Fed's books before giving this institution more power. The left and right coalition could make an audit a reality, thereby overcoming deep establishment power.

AND, with our voices backing this call for transparency, we could prevail.

Psssst... Do Something

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