The New(est) Republican Message

Vote Republican because “Joe the Plumber” says so!

I have been reviewing the entire campaign cycle and came to a stunning conclusion. Whereas the Obama message has remained largely constant and unwavering, the Republican message had been erratic and ever shifting.
For instance, take a look at how the Republican brand has submitted their closing arguments to the American people this week. After nearly two years of intense campaigning, the Republicans are concluding their campaign with “Joe the Plumber”, and the “redistribution of wealth”. Think about it… that’s their entire message!

I will cast my vote based on:
1. Party platform

(Democratic platform) (Republican platform) (Green Party Platform) (Libertarian Party Platform) (Ecology Party Platform) (Socialist Workers’ Party Platform)
2. My perception of the candidate’s competence

So now, with 168 hours before the polls open, the Republicans are force feeding the electorate with the most trivial of arguments. We have descended into a high school-like national debate about socialism. This is as stupid as it is unacceptable. Do you mean to tell me that the views and philosophical musings of a guy who cleans septic tanks in Ohio is more important than the actual ramifications of a crashing economy and our involvement in two wars? Anyone who brings “Joe the Plumber” with them into the voting booth, deserves to have their pipes cleaned!

Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Last night (10/28), Olbermann ended Countdown with a 5 minute special commentary on Sarah Palin and socialism. I know full well that Olbermann has never read this blog. Heck, I am not sure if anyone reads this blog, but imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I wrote about this same subject two days ago!
Read my short blog entry on Sarah Palin and socialism (here) and watch Olbermann’s commentary below. They are eerily similar.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist

Monster kudos go out to Florida Republican Governor, Charlie Crist for declaring a “state of emergency” and issuing the following Executive Order on Monday:

Effective immediately, every early voting site in the state will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. through Friday, October 31st, and for a total of 12 hours between 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1st, and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2nd.

Governor Crist should be commended for putting democracy above partisanship!

Feel differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it!

Florida Election Special: The Last Person Left Endorses…

In 7 days YOU DECIDE. Your vote counts!!! Here is my take on the Florida races, Constitutional ammendments and county ballot initiatives.

National
President/Vice-President
Barack Obama/Joe Biden (D)
This is real no-brainer. While Obama talks about change, McCain talks about Joe the Plumber. Though not too experienced, Obama appears to have the intellect of a good president, something missing from the oval office this century. As for Sarah Palin… Can we actually send her to Russia?

Florida Congressional D-16
No endorsement
Self-confessed adulterer and soon to be divorcee, Democrat Tim Mahoney, who replaced Republican pedophile Tom Foley, does not deserve to hold office. One can only wonder if there is anything in the water supply near Lake Okeechobee. Just write in your own name. Who knows? You may actually win.

Florida Congressional D-17
Kendrick Meek (D)
If this race were a boxing match, it would have been stopped during the singing of the national anthem. Challenger Fernando Steven Neira is nowhere to be seen or heard.

Florida Congressional D-18
Annette Taddeo (D)
The CEO of a language interpretation and translation company, Taddeo may fall somewhat short. She has self-financed her campaign to the tune of $350,000+. Though the anti-Republican wave is strong, it’s still Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s race to lose.

Florida Congressional D-19
Robert Wexler (D)
Again, a no contest here is expected.

Florida Congressional D-20
Debbie Wasserman-Shultz (D)
This is my voting district and she definitely has my vote. She has gotten a lot of face time on CNN and MSNBC as of late. Challenger Marc Luzietti is not even on the radar.

Florida Congressional D-21
Raul Martinez (D)
The former Hialeah mayor has a real shot at dethroning Republican incumbent Lincoln Diaz Balart. Even though he’s a Democrat, the Cuban community of Hialeah loves him. There are corruption issues with both candidates but how can you not vote for a guy who looks like a Latin Boris Yeltsin?

Florida Congressional D-22
Ron Klein (D)
Upstart Ron Klein should win this one with ease. Boca Raton keeps the Democrat.

Florida Congressional D-23
Dr. Marion Thorpe (R) Incumbent Alcee Hastings has had a lock on this seat since 1992. Dr. Marion Thorpe, who is also African-American, is the former Florida Chief Medical Officer. He has very strong credentials. In this election, the Republican is the best man. It’s a shame he won’t win.

Florida Congressional D-24
Suzanne Kosmas (D)
This one is going to be good folks. Incumbent Republican Tom Feeney is on the ropes and is ripe for the picking. Feeney has apologized for hitching a ride with Jack Abramoff to Scotland in 2003. Look for voting irregularities in this one.

Florida Congressional D-24
Joe Garcia (D)
Another Diaz Balart, this time Mario may be looking for a new job in January 2009. Mario has brought in substantial federal funds for Everglades restoration (which by the way, McCain had fought against). It’s time to sunset the Diaz Balart dynasty.

Florida Constitutional Amendments

Number 1: Declaration of Rights
Vote YES
This will do away with the “Alien Land Law”. This stupid law was enacted to prohibit Asian immigrants from owning land in Florida. It was stupid back then and it it’s stupid now.

Number 2: Marriage Protection
Vote NO
This is yet another attempt to discriminate.

Number 3: Residential Property
Vote YES
This gives tax breaks if you make improvements on residential property for energy efficiency or windstorm protection.

Number 4: Conservation
Vote YES
This will encourage land conservation.

Number 6: Waterfront
Vote YES
This will give a tax break for marinas to remain marinas and not become condominium property.

Miami-Dade County Issues

Question #1: Strong Mayor
Vote NO
We all know that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is a stinker.

Question #2: Commissioner’s Salaries
Vote NO
This would raise the salary of a commissioner from $6,000/year to $92,000. Many have commented that at a $92,000 salary, commissioners would be less likely to indulge in corruption. Yeah right! Has any one realized that this is Miami-Dade?

Question #3: Office Qualification
Vote YES
Now you can get on the ballot by petition as well as by filing.

Question #4: Petition Initiative
Vote YES
This will requires the County Commission to hold public hearings when a petition is approved for a ballot.

Question #5: Petition Initiative
Vote YES
This will give the Clerk of Courts the power to approve initiative petitions on the ballot and not the County Commission.

Question #6: County Fire Rescue
No opinion

Number #8: Community Colleges
Vote Yes This allows for a small tax increase for 5 years to fund community colleges.

Judicial Retention Elections
Vote YES to RETAIN ALL the judges.

Clerk of Courts
Harvey Ruvin

Broward County Initiatives

Create Metro Transit Authority
Vote NO
This initiative will duplicate what already is in existence. Dumb!

Commission Non-Interference
Vote YES
This initiative would strengthen the ban on interference by county commissioners with county staff who report to the county administrator. It’s common sense.

Commission Voting Conflicts
Vote YES
This would ban commissioners with conflicts of interest from DISCUSSING any issue and forces them to leave the chamber rather participate in the discussion and then recusing him/herself from the vote.

Regional/County Focus Policy
Vote YES
This question makes clear that county government’s role is countywide and regional, a reinforcement of its present role. It is a statement of the obvious.

Create Broward Housing Council
Vote NO
This is simply not necessary.

Park Preservation Policy
Vote YES
This would prohibit the sale of county-owned parks unless 60% of voters agree.

Environmental Ordinances
Vote YES
This is a policy statement for fighting global warming on a local level.

Create Ethics Commission
Vote YES
Who can be against an Ethics Commission?

Hiring a Redistricting Consultant
Vote YES
If this consultant is truly independent of partisan politics, this is a good idea.

Management and Efficiency Meetings
No Opinion

Broward County Sheriff
Al Lamberti (R) Another Republican endorsed by LPL? Having actually met the guy, I actually like him. He succeeded convicted felon Ken Jenne (D) and has really brought the BSO into line.

Feel Differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it!

The Hunt for Reds in October

The Republicans are escalating their attacks against the Communists!

The Republican Party fear machine has been out in full force the last few days. Sarah Palin’s comments while on the stump in Des Moines Iowa last weekend actually suggested that Barack Obama’s tax plan would lead to a communist state. Interestingly, John McCain has now added to his rhetoric the perils of “one party rule”. Florida Senator Mel Martinez was quoted as saying “…Where I come from, where I was born, they tried that wealth redistribution business. It didn’t work so good down there. That’s socialism, that’s communism, that’s not what Americanism is about.” Joe McCain, the brother of the Republican nominee, also chimed by referring to the Arlington and Alexandria areas of northern Virginia as communist country. Not to be out done, ultra-conservative spinster, Bill O’Reilly called Obama a communist while on “The View”. Today, while speaking in Dayton Ohio, John McCain continued to characterize Obama and the Democrats as wealth redistributors.

Sarah Palin’s red-baiting is particularly interesting in so far as she is the governor of Alaska, the one state that actually practices socialism. In Alaska, every citizen receives $2,000 annually from the state’s permanent fund as a result of a tax levied on oil companies. Palin championed a measure where the state government doled out an additional $1,200. Talk about spreading the wealth!

The truth is that there is a real problem with the disparity in wealth in the U.S. The top 1% controls a staggering 38% of this nation’s wealth, whereas, the bottom 40% controls less than 1%. To some, this may be meaningless but, this gap in wealth can have catastrophic consequences. One of the main triggers of the Great Depression was the huge gap in the distribution of wealth.

So call me a socialist but come Election Day, I’m voting for the so-called “Bolshevik” (even if he’s not one!).

Feel differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it!

The Real-life Pirates of the Caribbean: An Economic Observation.

The Bailout, Excise Taxes, Rum, and How Puerto Rico Got Screwed

The Bailout
As you may recall, a few weeks ago, Congress passed an $800+ billion dollar bailout for the financial markets which included what was termed as “sweeteners” to grease along its passage. The following morning, the news outlets reported that a major recipient of this pork were rum producers on the island of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the tune of $192 million dollars. The tax break was in essence, a restoration of the funds given back to the local governments in the form of excise taxes. It did not sound like your typical “corporate handout” but if you look closer you will see that this “pork” actually hurts Puerto Rico and the USVI rather than help them.

The Excise Tax
Generally speaking, an excise tax is levied by a government on the producer of a certain product and not levied against the consumer per se. The money collected by the government in the form of this tax is then used to “protect” the consumer against the physical and/or moral corruption the use of the product may cause to the populace. Excise taxes are heavy on products such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Sometimes referred to as a “sin tax” or “Pigovian tax” its intention is more to raise funds to deal with the consequences of the proliferation of the product in the society and to a certain degree hopes to work as a deterrent to the use of the product.

Rum Excise Tax
For almost a century, the excise tax collected on rum producers in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have been returned to the islands’ government for their discretionary use. In order to keep the rum producers happy, some of these funds were used as credits for the rum companies themselves, such as the Puerto Rican government’s “Rums of Puerto Rico” advertising campaign on the mainland. (View website). Up until recently, Puerto Rico and the USVI collected about $13.25 per proof gallon sold, or almost one-half billion dollars annually. At the end of 2007, the amount returned to the islands was lowered to $10.50/ppg. The bailout sweetener reinstated the return of excise tax funds retroactively to the original level of $13.25/ppg and extended it until the end of 2009.

Spread out over 10 years, the tax refund reinstatement will cost about $192 million dollars.

Getting Screwed
The kicker is in the details. Having an extra $192 million dollars is pretty nice given the current hard economic times of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Now why would rum producers lobby Congress to reinstate the level of excise tax returned to the islands? Obviously, it has to be that the rum producers are good corporate citizens and wish nothing but health and happiness for the people of the land that bases their production facilities, right? Wrong!
As it turns out, Diageo, the makers of Captain Morgan (#2 selling rum in the world) and other spirits, worked out a deal with the Virgin Islands government to have a brand new plant built in St. Croix to the tune of $500 million dollars, in effect, abandoning Puerto Rico for a more lucrative treasure chest. The USVI’s government will also generously pick up the tab for 90% of Diageo’s income tax and exempt it from paying any property taxes for the next thirty years. Oh and did I mention, a $2.1 billion dollar marketing subsidy, as well as, a subsidy on molasses? Where is the USVI getting all this money? Yeah, that’s right… the EXCISE TAX! Diageo’s Captain Morgan mutinous move to St. Croix will cost Puerto Rico an estimated $6 billion dollars in lost revenue. In other words, the excise tax reinstatement is going straight back into the rum producers’ pocket. It appears to be a very slick move indeed. But wait, there’s more. Do you think that the Bacardi Corporation, the world’s largest rum producer, plans to sit on their hands and not take advantage of this golden opportunity to extort the Puerto Rican government for greater givebacks? In short, the $192 million dollar “tax break” will have a much deeper and costlier effect. In order to keep the Bacardi plant on the island, Puerto Rico will be forced to grant more tax breaks to the corporation and other rum producers. Simply put, the excise tax, which is meant to protect the people from the ill consequences of rum consumption will now be used to subsidize the rum itself.
This is a bounty even Captain Morgan himself would have been proud of. “Arrgh”

Read more on this subject: Marcus Stern in Politico.com: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14939_Page3.html

Feel differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it.

So Now… I’m a Communist!

An email response from a “friend”.

This morning when I checked my email, I came across this correspondence (in Spanish) in my inbox. As you can tell, McCain backers are desperate and as a final resort have turned to name calling and slanders. BTW, the writer has been removed from my mailing list…Good riddance!

from: Name removed
date: Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 8:39 PM

subject Re: How The Republicans Will Try To Steal The Elections.

mailed-by aol.com

Companero Comunista,

Te pido de favor que no me envies mas mierda retorica y socialista.. Que sea lo que sea, que gane el que gane. Me importa un divino carajo. A Como salgan los resultados electorales, Este Grandioso Pais que es Los Estados Unido de America va a seguir igual. Y el restos del mundo nos va a tener que CHUPAR hasta el cabito.

La Republicana hasta las TAMBORAS y a muchisima honra!

MY RESPONSE:

On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 7:39 AM, Hernan Febres wrote:

Dear Name removed,

Sounds to me that you have finally come to terms with the inevitable defeat of McCain/Palin. That notwithstanding, I will remove you from my mailing list. It is not surprising that you have to resort to name calling and the likes…
I am sure that my readers will enjoy reading your email (without your name). It just reinforces the stereotype of the ignorant Republican that you are.

I wish you well.

Hernan

Feel differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it!

Voter Suppression: Robbery in Progress!

How The Republicans Will Try To Steal The Elections.

Over the past two weeks, there has been quite a bit written about voter fraud. Two recent articles: Andrew Burmon’s Salon.com piece and a remarkable article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast in Rolling Stone point out the dirty tactics that the Republican Party is employing to suppress the vote. (Scary article…A MUST READ)

There is absolutely no virtue in stealing elections. Yet, the Republicans have turned voter suppression tactics into an art form. Primarily done to diminish the minority voting bloc, voter suppression can take many forms. Many years ago, a poll tax was levied upon voters primarily in southern states. The Supreme Court’s decision in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) made such acts by states unconstitutional. Now, the Republicans use a tactic called “voter caging”. This is done by sending a letter to the voter’s address listed on the rolls. If the letter is returned as undeliverable (address change, military deployment, or foreclosure), a party representative can petition to have the voter removed from the rolls or challenge the voter when he or she shows up at the polls. Voters are then forced to vote using a provisional ballot which generally does not even get counted. Voter caging continues to be done today and it is ILLEGAL!

There will be thousands of lawyers representing the Democratic Party at the polls nationwide. In the event that your voting status is challenged… Try your best to avoid being forced to vote using a provisional ballot! Make sure your ID matches perfectly with your voter registration card. As RFK Jr. says, “Steal back your vote “.

Broward County Florida Update

In trying to allay my concerns, I sent the following email to Dr. Brenda Snipes, the Broward County (FL) Elections Supervisor on Tuesday 10/21:

Esteemed Dr. Brenda Snipes,

My name is Hernan Febres. I am a registered voter of the 20th congressional district in Pembroke Pines Florida. I run a blog named Last Person Left at http://lastpersonleft.blogspot.com/. The blog focuses on political commentary from a liberal perspective.

Over the past few weeks, my friends have been commenting on our county’s state of readiness for the upcoming elections. In an attempt to reassure my friends and readers, would you be so kind as to answer the following questions:

Are there sufficient safeguards in place to accommodate the expected high voter turnout?
Have poll workers received adequate training in dealing with Election Day problem scenarios?
Are there protocols in place to efficiently deal with voter roll discrepancies?
Are there assurances that the DS200 and Ivotronic voting machines will tabulate votes correctly and are tamper proof?
Can you assure us that every vote, regardless of party choice, be counted?

I thank you in advance for answering these questions.

Best regards,

Hernan Febres

As of this morning, I have yet to receive a response from the Supervisor.

Feel differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it!

The Obama Administration

Should Barack Obama win the presidency, who do you think would make up his cabinet? Today’s entry will focus on the critical post of Secretary of State.

FRONTRUNNER
The next top ambassador will have to deal with a vastly different and globally influential Russia. Though Russia may not be the same formidable Cold War foe, it is still a country that should command our respect. In addition, the next Secretary of State will have to do some fence-mending with the Medvedev-Putin administration. The American reaction to the Georgian crisis and to a much greater degree, our lead push to recognize Kosovo as an independent state has caused a chill in US-Russian relations.For these issues alone, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar (bio) may be the right choice. Senator Lugar, a Republican, has experience dealing with the Russians. He served as the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (1985–1987 and 2003-2007) and co-founded the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Senator Lugar and Obama are friends. Senator Lugar is on record favoring Obama’s diplomatic approach over McCain’s. Barack Obama may want to use this cabinet position to prove that he is ready to cross party lines to ensure national security. An actual endorsement of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy would not surprise many and may just seal the deal.
Odds: 2-1

NOT FAR BEHIND
During the past decade, Latin America has shifted dramatically to the left. Currently, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela are headed by left-wing or moderately left governments. In May of this year, 12 nations signed on as members of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). This organization strives for a European Union style federation with the creation of single market along with defense and economic integration as its goal. With a combined population similar to that of the United States, this union poses foreign policy challenges to the future administration. Left-leaning Central American governments include those of Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti. Cuba, with an ailing Fidel Castro, is ripe for upheaval. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (bio) is very much in the mix. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1997-1998) and served as Energy Secretary (19998-2001). While serving in the House of Representatives (1983-1997), he undertook many trips abroad. One of the leading Hispanic figures on the national stage, and a fluent Spanish speaker, Governor Richardson may be the right pick to manage the emerging strength of our southern neighbors. His surprising March 2008 endorsement of Obama is a major plus. (watch the video)
Odds 3:1

ALSO STRONG
With similar credentials to Senator Lugar, the former Democratic Senator from Georgia, Sam Nunn (bio) has a strong shot at being offered the post. He served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee for nearly two decades (1987-1992). He also serves as distinguished professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech. With Senator Lugar, he serves on the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group working to reduce the threat of rogue nuclear weapons proliferation. A conservative democrat, his right of center views may play well to Republicans. He was rumored to be on Obama’s short list for the Vice Presidential nod. Sitting on the Board of Directors of Chevron may work against him.

Odds 5:2

LONG SHOT
Believe it or not, Obama may be considering Dr. Rice for the post. Not Dr. Condoleezza Rice but Dr. Susan Rice (bio). A Rhodes Scholar recipient, she served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (1997-2001). She serves on the Council for Foreign Relations and up until recently, she was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She had served as foreign policy adviser to both the Kerry and Dukakis campaigns. Having Madeline Albright as a close friend is a plus. She may be better suited to serve as National Security Advisor or maybe United Nations Ambassador.
Odds 15:1

Feel differently? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it!

The Campaign to Nowhere

What to expect from the McCain camp as it heads to, well, nowhere.

As the Election Day of judgment draws closer, I am becoming increasingly anxious over what will constitute Republican nominee, John McCain’s final push in his bid to reverse his fortunes in the polls. States that voted for George Bush in 2004 and 2000 are now in play or outright favoring Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Florida, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Colorado and Nevada – with its combined 100 electoral votes are leaning towards the Democrats. Traditional red stalwart states like Georgia, West Virginia, Indiana, and Montana appear to be moving within striking distance. (View interactive Electoral map) The clouds are darkening over the McCain-Palin ticket and there is every indication that the storm may be severe. And the campaign is low on cash.
What should we expect from the McCain-Palin camp?
We have already seen that the Bill Ayers non-controversy did not help the Republicans. Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience has had little traction. The Socialist/Muslim smear has actually hurt the Republicans. There is talk that Reverend Wright may be back in play. There has also been some talk about “Obama’s drug dealer”. I think that this may be the next angle the McCain camp may take, partially in response to an unflattering profile of Cindy McCain in the New York Times, where her past drug addiction was mentioned.
We must prepare for the worst smears and innuendos yet in this campaign.
The nation is holding its collective breath. In the meantime, we are all turning blue.

Colin Powell, Barack Obama and Islam

When General Powell endorsed Barack Obama’s candidacy yesterday on Meet the Press, he made a pretty startling declaration regarding religion and American politics. He bravely stated,

“I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.” Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America”.
“I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions”.

Here is the picture that General Powell was referring to:

So the next time you get another “Obama is a Muslim” e-mail, just reply with this photograph and inform them that Muslims have died for this country also! It is time to stop the hatred and bigotry in this political campaign.

NEW: Click on the link to watch a video of a McCain supporter who is handing out “Obama is a Muslim/Socialist” propaganda. He is confronted by Pro-McCain Muslims.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1417423198/bctid1866657225

The Socialist Lie (Truth)

It is obvious to every one that the global financial meltdown was caused by the out right failure of laissez-faire capitalism. The notion that there should be no government role in the economic affairs of our society (see: minarchism) has been discredited. Today, we decry the greed of Wall Street as if the CEO’s were somehow perpetuating the dirty sin of greed within a capitalist vacuum. Yet, the mechanism that promoted this phenomenon is exactly what the Republican Party has advocated since the Reagan administration. But now, many Republicans are running for “regulation cover”. Even Republican presidential nominee, John McCain has expressed that he is in favor of “some” regulation. This is totally contrary to his legislative record and past public pronouncements. A change in political position is derisively termed a flip-flop. But to flip flop on a fundamental pillar of one’s political/economic philosophy is dishonest at best, apostasy at worse. John McCain is a philosophical fraud.
The Republican administration has now decided to buy stakes in financial institutions, constituting a de-facto nationalization of the financial sector. What makes the situation the more surreal, are the new attacks on Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The McCain campaign has characterized Obama’s economic policies as “socialism”. He tries to paint Obama as a neo-liberal, social democrat of the European type (How un-American). McCain now has begun to use the code phrase, “redistribution of wealth”, as if Obama were a closet Marxist. (See this bizarre YouTube clip) Yet another thinly veiled Republican smear. With less than three weeks to go until the elections, we can only expect sharper attacks from McCain. The sadness of this prognostication is trumped by my anticipation of the laughable nature of these tactics.