Majority of Middle Class Supports Progressive Policy

AlterNet:

"A new poll from the Drum Major Institute shows that most middle class Americans agree with progressive platforms."

Technorati tags: Drum Major Institute, Polls, Liberals, Progressives, Democratic Party, Politics

The Candidate We Still Don’t Know

By Frank Rich,
The New York Times:

"With the exception of McCain’s imprisonment in Vietnam, every aspect of this profile in courage is inaccurate or defunct...."

Photo: Frank Rich. (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

Technorati tags: Frank Rich, New York Times, John McCain, VietNam, Hanoi, Polls, Politics, Corsi, Swiftboat, Media

How Public Opinion Has Been Made Irrelevant in America

Glen Greenwald (Salon.com) writes:

One of the most striking aspects of our political discourse, particularly during election time, is how efficiently certain views that deviate from the elite consensus are banished from sight -- simply prohibited -- even when those views are held by the vast majority of citizens.

This discrepancy is a potent commentary on how our democracy functions....

read more | digg story

U.S. Democracy, Elections: An Illusion?

The following is a cross post from my friend, Sean Madden's iNoodle.com, with this caveat: Although I agree with Sean's introductory assessment of our illusionistic "Democratic" elections, I am not convinced that Barack Obama is a willful participant in the Establishment's fascist charade.

Perhaps, to maintain my own sanity, I need to hold out hope that his candidacy is about changing the very things Mr. Engdahl illuminates. That is why I am supporting Barack Obama for President. There are many indications -- subtle, but there nonetheless -- that Obama is not part of the incestuous behind-the-scenes Washington power elite, although he will most assuredly be wooed by the powers-that-be in an attempt to control him. I'm betting he will not take the bait.

I'm interested in what others think and am sending an email to Mr. Engdahl for his thoughts on Obama. I'll let you know his response.

First, Sean's introduction:

Political Incest and Psychological Warfare

Introduction by Sean@iNoodle.com:

I post the below article not because I give a damn about Hillary's campaign being deliberately sunk. Nor would I give a rat's ass (a favored expression of my dead father) if Obama's or McCain's was similarly sunk. Huge hoorays, rather, would be in order were all three to go down along with the permanent political establishment which parades these shameless shills before us, offending our every sensibility with their endless mind rot.

Instead, I post this piece because the political incest of which Engdahl writes provides yet further evidence -- for those who require it -- of collusion between the anti-democratic political elite of the so-called left, right and center.

This -- not the election charade -- is what folk need to talk about as they go about their day-to-day. The rest is but drivel. But such drivel endlessly pumped out of the media machine's shitty depths and straight into our increasingly passive minds is more powerful than guns, bombs and rockets, unless we can individually, and thereby collectively, become explicitly aware of the psychological war that the candidates and their corporate-political (i.e., fascist) masters are waging, ceaselessly and at every turn, as a means to control our political- and, indeed, our very self-consciousness. In short, to control us, as individuals and in the collective. Fascism.

This war, for the simple fact that most haven't noticed, they have already won -- what with their 16 intelligence agencies (in the U.S. alone, and bolstered immeasurably by the global military-industrial complex of 'defense' contractors which people these conspiring enterprises and vice versa), their in-pocket 'journalists', their corporate mass-broadcasters, their corporations, period, not to mention their fraudulent banks, money-laundering stock markets, and money-printing central banks -- unless we are to wake up and, en masse, bring a quick and decisive end to their endgame by way of an utter refusal to participate in any aspect of their genocidal endeavors, to begin to recognize, fully, that black's not white, nor white black, and to speak and to live the real reality -- that which we see, smell, taste, touch and hear and otherwise sense -- which exists within and all around us rather than to accept the pseudo-reality which we, in waterboarding fashion, are presently forced to swallow and to breathe deep into our drowning minds.

And, so, it is with this in my own mind that I post the following piece. Please share widely.

Is the Hillary Clinton campaign being deliberately sunk?
By F. William Engdahl
Online Journal Guest Writer

Apr 16, 2008, 00:18

American presidential politics are at best a cynical business. The outcome is typically determined, at least since the ill-fated campaign of George McGovern in 1972, by major corporate lobbyists and behind-the-scenes money interests who have little interest in national issues other than their own. Now, with the sudden departure of Hillary Clinton's main campaign strategist, Mark Penn, it is clear that the powerful interests originally backing Clinton have decided to end the game with her.

On the surface the issue was a discovered conflict of interest between Penn and Hillary over Penn's outside consulting for the government of Colombia on a policy which Hillary stated she opposed. Penn had agreed to be hired as a high-price lobbyist by Colombia to help secure congressional passage of a bilateral US-Colombia free trade bill that US unions claim would cost American workers hundreds of thousands of jobs. Hillary desperately needed trade union support to win the primary in Pennsylvania, and unions are strongly opposed to the US-Colombia trade deal.

The curious career of Mark Penn

The figure of Mark Penn is revealing as to what the machine of Hillary Clinton represents in terms of power politics. Penn had been a political adviser of the Clintons since managing Bill Clinton's 1996 gubernatorial re-election fight. His firm ran the election polls that helped define Clinton's campaign strategy, itself a cynical modern US electoral innovation, updating with high tech means the motto, "tell the people what they want to hear." Pennís polling firm, Penn, Schoen and Berland (PSB) has been used by Britain's Tony Blair, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, by Menachim Begin in Israel and Senator Joe Lieberman to shape election strategy.

PSB has played a pioneering role in the use of polling operations, especially "exit polls," in facilitating various US-backed "Color Revolutions" in Serbia and elsewhere. Its primary mission is to shape the perception that the group installed in power in a targeted country has broad popular support. The PSB group began work in Serbia during the period when Mark Penn was President Clinton's top political advisor.

Manipulating exit polls

The PSB website boasts that they "have played critical roles behind the scenes of the elections in Serbia and Zimbabwe, helping the opposition parties craft strategies, messages and organize a credible and effective campaign that has enabled them to weaken the dictator, his political party, and eventually throw him out of power. The introduction of cutting edge political and communications techniques is as well as the advice of the best Western political consultants and image makers, is as potent a weapon as the planes, bombs, and intelligence technology used in such conflicts as the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, and, most recently Afghanistan." In short, PSB is at the cutting edge of the modern politics of images.

In 2004, it was PSB which ran the "exit polls" in Venezuela asserting, even as voting was still open, that their polls showed "major defeat for Chavez." The opposite was the case with Chavez winning an overwhelming 59 percent. Investigation revealed that Penn's PSB had emailed and faxed their poll results to international media four hours before polls were to close, proclaiming, on the basis of the fraudulent polls, that Chavez had lost. That was in violation of Venezuelan election law and was intended to rally international support behind a campaign to declare Chavez guilty of vote fraud and organize a recall. It backfired and PSB came under public fire as a result.

Referring to Mark Penn, the influential Washington Post once referred to him as "the most powerful man in Washington you've never heard of." According to PSB's website, Penn helped elect 15 overseas presidents in the Far East, Latin America, and Europe. Clients include heads of state or opposition politicians in Greece, Turkey, Israel, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda and Yugoslavia.

About the "permanent establishment"

Mark Penn is exemplary of what US political insiders refer to as a person of the "permanent establishment," the shadowy institutions and insiders behind the curtains who really determine critical policy issues and shape the choices gullible voters then are given to "democratically choose among."

It has been referred to by strategists since the time of Edward Bernays as the "illusion of choice." Penn is above political party, serving the interests of what some call the permanent establishment. As a case in point, he also is CEO of the influential global public relations firm, Burson-Marsteller, which includes among clients the largest US mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, and Blackwater Inc., the Republican-led mercenary security firm that has been accused of repeated killings of innocent Iraqi civilians. Penn's firm was to make sure the "image" of such clients remained positive to the US public.

. . . political incest?

More interesting is that "Democrat" Penn's Burson-Marsteller Worldwide owns BKSH & Associates, a major political lobbying firm run by Charles R. Black, Jr., counsellor to Republican presidents. Black now works full time for the campaign of Republican John McCain. In other words, Black heads a firm whose boss is "Democrat" Clinton's top strategist, at the same time Black is Republican opponent John McCain's top strategist.

In turn, Penn's firm, Burson-Marsteller is owned by British advertising and public relations giant WPP Group which employs as lobbyists former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie; former House of Representatives Republican leader Robert S. Walker, top Republican fundraiser Wayne L. Berman and the former media adviser to George W. Bush, Mark McKinnon.

In the wake of the resignation of Mark Penn, reports in Washington are that James Carville, former 1992 campaign adviser to Bill Clinton, to Tony Blair and Israel's Ehud Barak, will assume the role of campaign strategist. It is worth noting that Carville is also deep in Washington political incest. While Carville was running the 1992 Clinton strategy, Carville's fiancee, Mary Matalin was running the campaign strategy of President George Herbert Walker Bush. As the old expression goes, US politics, at least, has indeed strange bedfellows.

This article was originally published by the Center for Research on Globalization
URL: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8595

F. William Engdahl is a Research Associate of the Center for Research on Globalization and author of the recently-released book, Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation (www.globalresearch.ca). He also author of "Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics," Pluto Press Ltd. He may be contacted at his website, www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net

Copyright ©1998-2007 Online Journal

Also See:

• Why Bush Watergated Spitzer


• Behind Military Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand | NYT | David Barstow:

  "In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantanamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded 'the gulag of our times' by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure. The administration's communications experts responded swiftly. Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantanamo... Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse - an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks...."

• Talking to ourselves | Los Angeles Times | Susan Jocoby:

  "...It is past time for Americans to stop attributing the polarization of our public life to the media, the demon entity "Washington" or "the elites." As long as we continue to avoid the hard work of scrutinizing public affairs without the filter of polemical shouting heads, we have no one to blame for the governing class and its policies but ourselves. Like Hofstadter, I yearn to live in a society that values fair-mindedness. But it will take nothing less than a revolutionary public recommitment to the pursuit of fairness, knowledge and memory to halt, much less reverse, the trend toward an ignorant single-mindedness that threatens the future of democracy itself."

Technorati tags: United States, Fascism, Elections, Establishment, Elite, Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton, Politics

Bye Bye Hillary?

Poll: Hillary Drops Back. Obama Pulling Away | Newsweek | Michael Hirsh

"Despite her campaign's relentless attacks on Barack Obama's qualifications and electability, Hillary Clinton has lost a lot of ground with Democratic voters nationwide going into Tuesday's critical primary in Pennsylvania, a new NEWSWEEK poll shows.

The survey of 1,209 registered voters found that Obama now leads Clinton by nearly 20 points, or 54 percent to 35 percent, among registered Democrats and those who lean Democratic nationwide. The previous Newsweek poll, conducted in March after Clinton's big primary wins in Ohio and Texas, showed the two Democrats locked in a statistical tie (45 percent for Obama to 44 percent for Clinton). The new poll puts Obama ahead among women as well as men, and voters aged 60 and older as well as younger voters. (For the complete poll data, click here)...."

Continue reading.

Also See:

• Obama Keeps Rolling, Increases National Poll Lead

Technorati tags: politics, primaries, election, 2008, president, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, polls

Hillary's Swift-Boat Tactics Backfire

"Her message comes down to this: We can't really change the say-anything, do-anything, special interest-driven game in Washington, so we might as well choose a candidate who really knows how to play it."-- Barack Obama

Poll: Obama has better White House chances than Clinton, Democratic voters say | International Herald Tribune:

"WASHINGTON: Barack Obama has won endorsements from a former Clinton administration official and two ex-senators, boosting his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination ahead of Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary that could determine whether rival Hillary Rodham Clinton stays in the race.

The support comes as a new Associated Press-Yahoo News poll shows that Democratic voters now favor Obama over Clinton as their best chance for winning the White House...."

Also See:

• Obama greeted by largest crowd of his campaign | The Huffington Post:

  "PHILADELPHIA — Barack Obama was greeted by the largest crowd of his campaign Friday night in Philadelphia. Some 35,000 people jammed into Independence Park to see the Democratic presidential candidate, four days before this state's crucial April 22 primary...."

• Clinton's Odds: Time And Delegate Math Not In Her Favor | The Huffington Post:

  "The calls are growing again for Hillary Clinton to recognize that her mathematical chances for winning the democratic nomination are low to none...."

Technorati tags: Polls, Politics, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Election, President, Primaries, Politics, Democratic Party, Robert Reich, Sam Nunn, David Boren

US IMAGE ABROAD: How can we improve America's standing in the world?

Dr. Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, appears on International focus at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee to discuss the image of the United States in the World:

Technorati tags: World Public Opinion, Dr. Steven Kull, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, U.S. image abroad, public opinion, polls, Foreign affairs

Negative Attitudes toward the United States in the Muslim World: Do They Matter?

Testimony of Dr. Steven Kull

Director, Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA),
University of Maryland
Editor, WorldPublicOpinion.org

May 17, 2007 – 2:00 PM

Before House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

From World Public Opinion:

"...For decades, polls in the Muslim world and the statements of Muslim leaders have shown a variety of resentments about US policies. Muslims share the worldwide view that the US does not live up to its own ideals of international law and democracy. There have also been specific complaints that the US favors Israel over the Palestinians and the Arab world as a whole, that the US exploits the Middle East for its oil and that it hypocritically supports non-democratic governments that accommodate its interests. These attitudes persist.

But now there is also a new feeling about the US that has emerged in the wake of 9-11. This is not so much an intensification of negative feelings toward the US as much as a new perception of American intentions. There now seems to be a perception that the US has entered into a war against Islam itself...."

Click Here for Webcast of Testimony

Photo Credit: World Public Opinion

Technorati tags: Polls, Muslims, Middle East, Islam, United States, news, World Public Opinion

Good News Poll: Young Americans Are Leaning Left

(Click Graphic for Larger View)
The New York Times reports:

Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage, according to a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll. The poll also found that they are more likely to say the war in Iraq is heading to a successful conclusion.

The poll offers a snapshot of a group whose energy and idealism have always been as alluring to politicians as its scattered focus and shifting interests have been frustrating. It found that substantially more Americans ages 17 to 29 than four years ago are paying attention to the presidential race. But they appeared to be really familiar with only two of the candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats.

They have continued a long-term drift away from the Republican Party. And although they are just as worried as the general population about the outlook for the country and think their generation is likely to be worse off than that of their parents, they retain a belief that their votes can make a difference, the poll found.

More than half of Americans ages 17 to 29 — 54 percent — say they intend to vote for a Democrat for president in 2008....

Read more.

Maybe there is hope for the next generation. Ours certainly has botched things up royally.

Technorati tags: New York Times, Polls, Public Opinion, Health Insurance and Managed Care, Homosexuality, Immigration and Refugees, Progressives, Liberals, Democratic Party, news, commentary, op ed

Pessimistic US

The Huffington Post:

"Only 25 percent of those surveyed say things in the U.S. are going in the right direction, according to an AP-Ipsos poll this month. That is about the lowest level of satisfaction detected since the survey started in December 2003."

Could anyone in their right mind actually be surprised by these numbers? I'm surprised there are still 25% of Americans that think things in the USA are going well ....

Technorati tags: Huffington Post, Polls, United States, Bush

Mission IMPEACHABLE (The Cheney episode)

NATIONAL CHENEY IMPEACHMENT POLL:
http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment.php

Good morning fellow citizens. Vice president Richard B. Cheney is known to have committed high crimes against the Constitution of the United States, including fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and ties with Al Qaeda to justify an illegal war of aggression against Iraq. Cheney's corporate friends in the mainstream media have tried to persuade the American people that there is nothing we can do about it.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to speak out yourself in the National Cheney Impeachment Poll, which already has over 27,000 submissions, to send your vote to all your members of Congress at the same time, together with a letter to the editor of your nearest daily newspaper all with one click, and to rally everyone else you can to do the same thing, to overcome the media naysayers and make impeachment proceedings a reality.

And what would a secret mission be without an extraordinary new secret weapon which we DEBUT here, the Blog Voices Congressional Messaging Gateway. It looks like an ordinary internet web link, but just click on it below and see what happens.

LINK: http://www.usalone.com/blogvoices_new.php?Should%20Vice%20President%20Cheney%20be%20impeached%3F

It pops up a communications window direct to our dedicated submission server to send your messages to Congress in real time, without taking you off the page where you found the link. You can copy the link above to put in all your emails, in all your blog posts, it will do the same thing there, and all those submissions will pipe right into the same impeachment tally.

If there were a class in Constitutional law on impeachable offenses, they could save a lot of lecture time by just putting Dick Cheney's picture in the syllabus. If the fake case for the Iraq War were not enough, there is the abuse of illegal wiretaps, the outing of one of our best real intelligence assets, the promotion of torture as an instrument of our foreign policy and on and on, with Cheney the prime mover behind them all.

Why do you think they keep telling us that impeachment is "off the table"? It's because they know if the American people ever understood the power we have to ACTUALLY exercise our participatory democracy it would be a "slam dunk" of the good kind. And in fact Dennis Kucinich has put the issue back on the table by having the courage to file H.Res. 333, and he already has two co-sponsors in the House as of today.

All we have to do now is believe our voices count, to believe that we can have impact, and believe that when we speak out in sufficient numbers our representatives will have no choice but to do what they were elected to do, TO REPRESENT US! We are asking all progressive web sites to propagate the links above so we can get at least a million participant in this one poll, to demonstrate that we the people are ready to demand accountability.

http://www.peaceteam.net

Technorati tags: Impeachment, Dick Cheney, Polls, Activism

Americans Wising Up

Poll: Few Americans trust military or media for information on Iraq

"Most Americans have little or no confidence in the information they receive from the military or the media about the situation in Iraq, according to a poll released Thursday...."

Technorati tags: Pew Research Center, Poll, Military, Media, Iraq, news

Poll shows Iraqis back attacks on UK, US forces

Take a look.

"Eighty-two percent of Iraqis polled said they were "strongly opposed" to the presence of the troops...."

Poll: Americans Favor Bush's Impeachment If ...

...He Lied About Iraq.

Take a look at the proof: HERE.

Poll: Bush's Job Approval Remains Low

President Bush's job approval "is mired at the lowest level of his presidency, and public feelings about the nation's direction have sunk to new depths in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll...."