[Peace-discuss] the primaries before Iowa

[Ricky Baldwin]

Somewhat along the lines of the article Mort just shared, the latest issue of Z has an article
with some telling data on the "elite's hidden primary."  It's not even all that hidden, the
sources being readily available (and it's not a new story, but updates are important for telling
the story).

For example, over 80 percent of all presidential campaign donations as of fall '07 went to six
candidates: Clinton, Obama, Romney, Giuliani, McCain and Edwards (in that order).  Almost 70
percent were over $1000 (meaning: not from you or me or probably anybody we know).  The author
goes into great detail, and it's fascinating, breaking out groups of big donors.  "Big Capital"
(finance, real estate, insurance) favors Clinton, then Giuliani, Romney and Obama.  The big law
firms favor Clinton, Edwards then Obama.  Etc.

But it's not just donations.  Carl had earlier raised the grim point that the evil Zbigniew
Brzezinski is working for Obama (apparently, as in one of the articles Mort shared, because he is
supposed to have the best grasp of the "historical moment", a sort of Machiavellian term as I
understand it, meaning he'll do the most to advance nasty US ruling class interests 'at this
juncture' as Bush Sr used to say.

But all six of these top money getters also have high-powered advisers from the notorious Council
on Foreign Relations: McCain's list including Henry Kissinger, Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander
Haig, George Schultz and Colin Powell.  Clinton of course has Bill and Madeleine Albright, who've
been sharing the stage with her, but also Richard Holbrooke (ugh!) and Bush Jr's "surge" plan
co-author John M Keane.  Not that the one with the most CFR members necessarily wins, but the four
with the most CFR help seem to be the front runners, and those without ... well, they're starting
to drop out even before we in Ill. can pretend to vote for them.

I think it's especially important for us here in Ill., and for us who know so many in the
"professional" class that strongly supports Obama, to keep on Obama's tail.  But the jist of the
article is more important, altho it's no shock to most of us, or (I think) to most people: the
ruling class has narrowed the field so severely based on its interests and its estimations that
whoever wins will suit them just fine.  (CFR is just one big way, a sort of "peer review" for the
ruling class, and a fair amount of donations will naturally accrue to whoever donors believe is
the likely choice - notice I don't say whose choice.)

And the corollary, for us activist types or just anyone harbors a democratic hope, is the most
important of all, tho the author has to cram it in quickly at the end, presumably for reasons of
space: none of the "serious" (i.e. elite, and therefore non-snowball) candidates will do what the
majority of people really need done unless we make them do it.  The author calls it "people's
movements" and "direct struggle", which seems to just about cover it.  

Keep it up, folks, groups like AWARE are the closest thing we have to a real vote.




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