[Peace-discuss] Teapartiers & the Left

Mon Apr 25 11:57:13 CDT 2011

On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 11:54 AM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> wrote:
> I should have thought that we'd had enough of candidates who appear to be
> against the war - and garner votes on this basis - and then aren't.

But you haven't produced any evidence that Gary Johnson fits this
description. The fact that Raimondo doesn't like him proves zero.

> The fact is that anti-war and anti-Wall Street objections to the incumbent
> administration are coming from a variety of directions.
>
> That has two particular effects: (1) counterfeits, like Robert Kennedy's
> candidacy during Vietnam (to avoid repeating recent examples); and (2)
> frenzied divide-and-conquer efforts by  the incumbents.
>
> The task is to avoid these traps and make the broad and multifarious
> opposition to the administration's policies effective.
>
>
> On 4/25/11 9:59 AM, Robert Naiman wrote:
>>
>> Even Raimondo, who clearly has a pike against Gary Johnson and wants
>> to discredit him in favor of the "pure" Ron Paul whom Raimondo
>> supports, concedes that Gary Johnson is against the war in
>> Afghanistan, which is the central story at the moment. Obviously folks
>> for whom Ron Paul's goldbug and anti-abortion views are central may
>> not accept Gary Johnson as a "counterfeit" for Ron Paul; but I suspect
>> that this is a small number among libertarian-leaning Republicans;
>> after all, Ayn Rand supported abortion rights:
>>
>> "One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning.
>> Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving,
>> the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living: the right
>> of young people to set the course of their own lives."
>> - Ayn Rand, "A Last Survey — Part I", The Ayn Rand Letter Vol. IV, No. 2,
>> 1975.
>>
>> P.S. Raimondo makes much of the fact that Gary Johnson has indicated
>> openness to supporting "humanitarian interventions" in principle; but
>> Raimondo neglects to inform us that Gary Johnson is against the
>> military intervention in Libya.
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 9:07 AM, C. G. Estabrook<galliher at illinois.edu>
>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> These views among Republicans obviously resemble those among teapartiers
>>> (often the same people).
>>>
>>> But could Justin Raimondo be right in his view (characteristically
>>> expressed) that Johnson is "a cheap knock-off" of Ron Paul?
>>>
>>> "...I doubt many will fall for the counterfeit ... It is all too clear to
>>> me
>>> what the Johnson campaign represents: the attempt by the so-called
>>> 'cosmopolitan' (cosmotarian?) wing of our movement [i.e., libertarianism]
>>> to
>>> create 'the next Ron Paul' – and dump all that antiwar, anti-Federal
>>> Reserve
>>> 'kooky' stuff, which the Beltway libertarian organizations funded by the
>>> so-called 'Kochtopus' look down their noses at..."
>>>
>>> <http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/04/21/gary-johnson-caveat-emptor/>.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 4/25/11 8:23 AM, Robert Naiman wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Meanwhile, according to the Washington Post: the majority of
>>>> Republican voters want to raise taxes on the rich and the majority of
>>>> Republican voters want to see a substantial withdrawal of combat
>>>> troops from Afghanistan this summer; half of Republican voters say the
>>>> war is not worth the cost.
>>>>
>>>> If Gary Johnson's candidacy for President prospers, these anti-war
>>>> sentiments among Republican voters could get significantly more
>>>> attention...
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 8:02 AM, C. G. Estabrook<galliher at illinois.edu>
>>>>  wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Poll: 70% Of Tea Partiers Oppose Cuts To Medicare, Medicaid
>>>>> Jon Terbush | April 20, 2011, 3:05PM
>>>>>
>>>>> ...In a McClatchy-Marist poll released this week, 70% of registered
>>>>> voters
>>>>> who identify with the Tea Party opposed making cuts to either Medicare
>>>>> or
>>>>> Medicaid -- the government-run health programs for the elderly and the
>>>>> poor
>>>>> -- to help reduce the nation's deficit. Meanwhile, only 28% of tea
>>>>> partiers
>>>>> said they'd be willing to cut spending on those two programs.
>>>>>
>>>>> Tea partiers were not alone in opposing Medicare and Medicaid cuts. An
>>>>> overwhelming 80% of all respondents said they opposed such cuts, with a
>>>>> majority of every demographic measured in the survey lining up against
>>>>> them.
>>>>>
>>>>> ...The Tea Party has led the charge to slash government spending, but
>>>>> the
>>>>> Marist poll suggests they're loathe to touch what amounts to about 20%
>>>>> of
>>>>> the entire federal budget.
>>>>>
>>>>> The Marist poll was conducted April 10-14 among 1,084 registered voters
>>>>> nationwide. It has a margin of error of 3.0%.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/poll-70-of-tea-partiers-oppose-cuts-to-medicare-medicaid.php
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Paul Ryan Gets Booed By Constituents For Opposing Tax Hikes On Rich
>>>>> Benjy Sarlin | April 20, 2011, 2:37PM
>>>>>
>>>>> Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), architect of the House GOP's budget, drew a
>>>>> resounding chorus of boos at a town hall appearance in his district
>>>>> after
>>>>> touting the benefits of tax cuts for the wealthy.
>>>>>
>>>>> In a video posted by ThinkProgress, an attendee at the event this week
>>>>> told
>>>>> Ryan that he believes the rich should pay higher taxes to help close
>>>>> the
>>>>> deficit and strengthen Social Security.
>>>>>
>>>>> "The middle class is disappearing right now," he said. "During this
>>>>> time
>>>>> of
>>>>> prosperity, the top 1 percent was taking about 10 percent of the total
>>>>> annual income, but yet today we are fighting to not let the tax breaks
>>>>> for
>>>>> the wealthy expire?"
>>>>>
>>>>> Ryan protested that "We do tax the top," before being drowned out by
>>>>> the
>>>>> audience's jeers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Polls have shown increasing taxes on the wealthy enjoys strong public
>>>>> support across the political spectrum despite near-universal opposition
>>>>> from
>>>>> GOP lawmakers ... Ryan's budget proposal ... cuts taxes for the rich
>>>>> while
>>>>> making major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/paul-ryan-gets-booed-by-consituents-for-opposing-tax-hikes-on-rich-video.php
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org