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being over has to be "no politics" at all. OF COURSE Obama is a product of the Illinois "machine"--and thank God there is one. Nothing ever gets done for the working class and the poor WITHOUT a well-oiled, well-organized, insurgent political MACHINE, to counter the vast financial resources and entrenched power of what FDR called "organized money." ("Organized money hates me--and I welcome their hatred!" --FDR.) And this is what the DLC-dominated Democratic Party DIDN'T DO. They have been wallowing in Beltway games, wining and dining rich people, and doing favors for their global corporate predator donors, instead of building a well-organized, grass roots political party--a MACHINE, meaning an organization that runs smoothly from the bottom up to serve the interests of the people in identifying issues and getting good leaders elected. This is what Howard Dean has done. This is what Obama and his supporters have done. And this is what the Democratic "machine" in Illinois never lost sight of. We lost it in California. We lost it almost everywhere in the country. GRASS ROOTS POLITICAL ORGANIZING! A "machine" that can not only turn out votes, but UNDERSTANDS THE NEEDS AND VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE BEING SERVED. A "machine" paid for BY THE PEOPLE, in small donations--and not bought and paid for by big donors.
Nothing wrong with political "machines," if they work in the interests of the people. I am not at all naive about politics--and I happen to believe that Obama's supporters are likely going to have to deal with considerable disappointment on important issues, when Obama becomes president. There is little question in my mind that he will wipe the sidewalk with McBush. The American people are STARVING for a positive image and hope. That is not enough to solve our awesome problems, but it is likely enough to overcome the rigged voting system and give Obama a huge mandate for change. What he will do with it--or be permitted to do, by our global corporate predator rulers, or is inclined to do--may be where problems arise between Obama and his supporters. But there is no question that his is a DIFFERENT and MORE RESPONSIVE political "machine," much more like the Democratic Party of old--the party I can still remember, which recruited me into the California Democratic Council, when I was 16, and had me out knocking on doors in precincts for JFK and Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Sr. THAT kind of political "machine." It's also called "community" and "citizenship."
The corrupt Democratic Party leadership, that I think threw the 2004 election (mainly by its mindboggling SILENCE as rightwing Bushite corporations took over our vote counting system, and rendered it totally non-transparent with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY CODE and virtually no audit/recount controls) is OUT. And it's a new day. The PEOPLE "machine" is rising to power, as it should. And that, to me, is the chief significance of Obama's campaign. It is people driven, and represents THE essential ingredient for reforming this country--an activated, motivated citizenry that sees itself, once again, as a COMMUNITY.
Of course, any political "machine" needs to be watched, can become corrupt, and needs to strive for constant renewal and rebirth. But merely saying that something is a "political machine" does not make it bad. And I very much disagree with you that "Hillary is just like Obama." The difference IS the "machine"--the people-driven--and not lobbyist-driven, and not corporate-driven, and not war-profiteer-driven-- political machine that ENABLED the PEOPLE to nominate a candidate who was early and public in his opposition to the heinous war on Iraq, and who has qualities (patience, charm, and skills of articulation) that give him some immunity from corporate news monopoly attacks. He is not afraid of them. He won't play their games. That is a tremendous strength, since--in addition to the riggable voting machines--the corporate news monopolies and their deliberately trivial and debilitating pursuits are the other major problem with our democracy.
A candidate really and truly chosen by the people. Imagine that. He may not be everything the people want--and God knows what hand grenades the corporate predators may toss at him as president. But there is this: that he is beholden to the people for his success. The BAD "machines"--the one that has pretty much run our own party since Reagan, and the fascist Bushite "machine"--hate that, and have tried every filthy trick in the book to prevent it. And frankly I didn't think it was possible just yet. But it seems to be happening ahead of my expectations. It doesn't mean Obama is FDR. He certainly is not. It doesn't mean that he will end the war. I don't know if he will. And he is no fundamental reformer (badly needed), from what I can see. But, by God, he IS beholden to his supporters and to the many, many Americans that they represent, including the whopping 70% in the country that wants the war ended. THAT is different, and much, much, MUCH better than what Hillary Clinton had to offer. Hell, she put a paid agent of a foreign government, Colombia, in charge of her campaign--a foreign government with one of the worst human rights records on earth! THAT's what I mean by a bad machine. Obama's machine, which may have its roots in Chicago, but is now nationwide, and activating communities everywhere--in unheard of places, in places that the DLC establishment wrote off to the Pukes--is fresh, is new, and heartens me and fills me with hope. And it is the PEOPLE, more than the candidate, who give me that inspiration.
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