Will Al Gore Run - Or Not? There Might Be Something There

I am frequently asked as I was last night by a political ally at the annual Gore Family Dinner, “Do you think Gore is going to run?”

"I'm not sure either way", I told them. Even after talking to a few people high up in his current organization, people like Josh Cherwin, Roy Neel and Lisa Berg, I have no real clue. I don’t think they know either, but I do know Al continually leaves the door ajar even when he could easily shut it and lock it. After what happened in 2000, never say never is something I suspect Al Gore understands very well. "Who woulda thunk" back then that Gore would not succeed Clinton?

When I asked Roy Neel he told me “Al Gore is not a candidate – at this time”. To me that’s like saying keep your powder dry which is the old mountain man quip that means “be prepared”. I didn't say he is running, I didn't say he isn't.

Even Harold Ford Jr. speaking at last night’s event commented, “I see a lot of you wearing Gore stickers tonight”. He paused and said, “There might be something there.”

When Gore was recently asked by Larry King what would have to fall in place that would cause him to run Gore replied he hadn’t really given that much thought to it (bullshit!) but he would know it when he saw it. That means he’s watching - which is enough to keep me hopeful, energized and prepared.

I think Gore understands that if he were nominated he would most probably win the election easily. The electorate, Republican and Democratic, are fed up with Bush-Cheney, the Republicans and the corruption. This nation wants change. The Republicans in office have made such a mess of things that I believe even a lightweight, controversial Democratic candidate could win if he/she were fortunate enough to be nominated. Well, except for maybe a woman – or a minority candidate. It’s a romantic idea that we as a nation might do that, but despite early popular support there is some question whether this nation, once in the voting booth, will actually pull the lever for either.

As for Gore, it’s the election process that turns Gore off. He suffered through it and is quick to say there are things he’s not good at and campaigning is one of them. He’s still wary of the media and the unfair way he was attacked and maligned in 2000. I’d say he’s bitter toward the media in general and disillusioned by the errant and compromised electoral system.

Is he going to eventually run? Who knows? I don't think even Gore himself knows for certain.

Gore, I think, is somewhat unconsciously running by not running. I don’t think it’s intentional but he’s not doing anything to keep it from happening. Everyone is aware of the attraction created by playing hard to get and I think it’s happening in Gore’s case but I don’t think he planned it. Everyone is attracted to those things that seem just beyond reach. You can have Hillary, Obama, Edwards or the rest just for the asking, but Gore . . . he’s just tantalizingly there - on the highest shelf – very desirable but not for sale, and at least not until Gore’s value shoots through the roof would he likely become available. Like I said, what’s happening is just happening, and Gore is just an observer like the rest of us, but I’m convinced he’s paying very close attention. Maybe the stars won’t align properly - but then what if they do? What if providence awakes?

Morris Udall was quoted as saying “There is only one cure for presidential ambitions and it’s embalming fluid.” If that’s actually the case then Gore will not pass up the grandest of all opportunities to fulfill that most pervasive ambition of those who seek public office. Consider also, Al Gore Sr. who reportedly was intent on grooming his son for the highest office. One might presume that Al Gore Jr., a polite southern boy, would not intentionally deny his daddy that dream.

Whatever comes, it remains that Al Gore is the man for our time. The nation at large knows he was denied an election that he in fact won. They now see the folly of those who envisioned the New American Century and their attempt to rule the earth at everyone’s expense except their own.

There’s this great post by Larry Abrams in the Huffington Post entitled Weighing the Field. Abrams likens Hillary to an 800 lb gorilla and says that Gore is the only other 800 lb gorilla in the room. He comes to the conclusion that Gore himself holds the outcome of the next election in his hands. Abrams states, “I don't think Al is going to run unless it looks like Hillary's going to sweep the field in the early primaries. Nonetheless, we can be sure he's paying close attention.” Abrams thnks despite Obama’s surge of popularity there are only two candidates in the end who can take on Hillary, Edwards and Gore. “Edwards is in decent shape, but is still a little light in the butt. He needs to put on about ten pounds of muscle to be a real heavyweight.” As for Gore, Abrams says, “Al Gore needs to take a good look at himself, without his shirt on, in the mirror.”

The DLC Dog and Pony Show at Opryland

The Democratic Leadership Council's National Conversation will be held July 28-30 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Harold Ford Jr., chairman of the DLC, and the rest of the leadership will be in attendance and I suspect that may include, Hillary Clinton, who chairs the DLC’s American Dream Initiative.

Ford is also scheduled as the featured guest of the 3rd annual Gore Family Dinner the night before, on the 27th (tonight) being held at Lowe’s Vanderbilt Plaza. This event is the big annual fund raiser for the Davidson County Democratic Party that normally has Al Gore in attendance. Unfortunately Al and Tipper Gore are not going to be there this year. This may come as a surprise to those attending. The organizers failed to point this out when promoting this event. I suspect it may have affected ticket sales – do you think?

Speaking of Harold Ford Jr., when asked to chair the DLC earlier this year, Harold fawned all over Al From calling the previous DLC work “exemplary”.

Exemplary of what? Twelve years of Democratic Party failure? Twelve years of Republican rule, political corruption, raiding the treasury and corporate excess? Twelve years of seeing our jobs outsourced and immigration laws ignored? Twelve years of rolling over for Republicans? Twelve years of serving corporations rather than the people? Twelve years during which they supported the invasion of another country that didn’t attack us or threaten our safety and then continues to fund this ill-begotten war and all the carnage and damage to our reputation it’s caused?

I recently remarked to a prominent national Democrat that Harold could thank the progressives for paving the way for Harold’s almost successful campaign for the open senate seat here in Tennessee even though many progressive Democrats who supported his campaign did not approve of his positions. He didn’t comment but looked sideways at me in a suspicious manner like – you’re not one of us, are you?

They don’t get it. It was Howard Dean and the progressive Democrats who opposed the war long before it began. It was Howard Dean and the progressive Democrats who raised hell, shook the party by the shoulders and said “wake up!” It was Howard Dean and the progressive Democrats who showed the rest of the Democrats how to run a modern campaign utilizing the internet and grassroots activists; that you can raise campaign funds from average Americans rather than rely on corporate bribery.

That’s what gave Harold Ford Jr. a chance to win here in Tennessee. Not the policies of the DLC.

It’s the corporate-funded DLC; the free trading, Clinton fawning, Republican-Lite centrists, who have caused and allowed the Democratic party to decline in power. You know the ones – those who allowed Bush to steal the elections in 2000 and 2004, those who wouldn’t stand up to Bush and the Republicans on the war and all the other issues, those who keep funding the war, those who are against impeaching Bush and Cheney, and those who didn’t want Dean as DNC Chairman and then criticized Dean’s 50 state plan which is now bearing fruit. Without the progressives and Howard Dean battling Bush and laying the groundwork, Harold’s campaign here in Tennessee wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as it turned out. In fact, he probably wouldn’t even have attempted it.

And even more so, the elections in 2006 wouldn’t have returned control of Congress to the Democrats without Howard Dean and the progressives setting the stage.

Harold said before becoming DLC chairman the DLC should put out a booklet similar to a previous DLC publication, “Putting People First”. What a joke! Everyone knows people come last on the DLC’s agenda. DLC members come first, then their friends, and then the corporations, and then the party, and then finally the people – if at all. “Putting People First is a populist slogan and the DLC is anything but populist.

So, I find it not surprising that Harold is now taking shots at any form of populism by saying, “Right-wing populists claim immigrants are stealing Americans' jobs. Left-wing populists say trade is shipping our jobs overseas. Both look backwards toward an allegedly better past and argue that, by sealing our borders and retreating from global markets, government can recover it. Our country's problem isn't immigration or trade, its uneven prosperity.”

That’s like saying the environmental problem isn’t companies and manufacturers, it’s the toxic chemicals and waste entering our food, water and air.

Of course corporations are all for unrestricted immigration and trade, wide-open borders and wide-open trade, which are not the problem according to Harold. Spread your legs wide America and the corporations will implant you with prosperity while having a great time at it. Harold Ford Jr., the Clintons and the rest of the DLCers are corporatists, free traders and globalists, not national populists, so why are they pretending to put people first?

The DLC and the crowd of sycophants who support them are part of the corrupt system of beltway freeloaders who kiss corporate ass as a means to stay in office and feed off the more and more corrupt system that politics in DC and our government has become. The DLC is so accustomed to being in power, controlling the party and picking the candidates, they don’t like it when someone like Howard Dean, who ran outside the system, shakes their tree. It worries me that Barack Obama, who appears to be a populist, will become just another DLC fraternity member if he hasn’t already.

Harold Ford Jr. and the DLC will meet here tomorrow in Nashville to discuss a renewed commitment to fiscal discipline, reforming the federal tax code to reward work, innovators and long-term investing and expanding international trade while vigorously enforcing trade laws to punish rule breakers. Also the need to rectify long-standing social injustices and ensure that no U.S. worker is left behind in today's competition for the world's best jobs. And how to close America's education achievement gap by attracting better teachers and paying them well. And how college must be more accessible and affordable for all Americans. We used to rank first as the nation with the most citizens with post-secondary degrees and now we rank seventh. They’re also going to discuss how we can guarantee all Americans affordable health insurance and reduce the cost of health care to individuals and businesses, and root out inefficiencies and stamp out the greed in our health system. Those and other issues.

Sure! When have we heard all this BS before?

Most of our elected representatives don’t really care how thinly veiled their motives and agendas are. They know most Americans are fools and are easily manipulated.

The average Venezuelan peasant is likely better informed, understands and participates more in the politics of their nation than most Americans do theirs. Those who control our government know how to dangle bright shiny objects in front of us, distract and entertain us, while they pick our pockets and have their way with us.

There will be staging and rehearsal of the newly scripted DLC dog and pony show at Opryland Hotel this weekend. Look for it to open in your neighborhood soon.

Gary

Americans Have Had it With Iraq?

More and more of our elected representatives, Republicans and Democrats, are coming to the conclusion that the invasion of Iraq has not produced the expected results and that the patriotic fervor of Americans who once supported this invasion has sputtered out. But this apparently wasn't easy for them to grasp. It took them five years. Most Americans were way ahead of them on this.

Republican and Democratic elected representatives have seen what happened to many of their fellow representatives in 2006 who supported the war and stuck by Bush and the American warlords, and they’re getting nervous and edgy as the 2008 election season is about to begin. Apparently the corporate whores up for reelection, rats that they are, will quickly jump ship as their reelection chances begin to take hits.

For example: Responding to Republican Pete Domenici’s defection, Susan Collins, a Maine Republican up for re-election next year said “talks with voters" in her district convinced her that the war remained the top issue and she joined Republican Senator Domenici, also up for reelection, in saying the patience of many Republicans with the Iraqi government was virtually exhausted.

Patience with the Iraqis? She spins it in a way that suggests the voter’s have exhausted their patience with the Iraqi government, not that voter’s have lost patience with her and the rest of those representatives in congress who supported this war, both Republican and Democrat. How astute of Collins to all of a sudden figure out that 70% of Americans are against this war – but only after “talking” to her voters. If she is just now finding this out she’s really paying attention isn’t she? It shores up your faith in her leadership ability doesn’t it?

Collins wants us to believe that Americans have finally lost patience with Iraqis, a people whose country we invaded and turned into a living hell; a people who, despite Saddam’s brutal treatment of those under his rule, didn’t want us to invade their country and destroy it with weapons and bombs, didn’t want us to kill and maim upwards of 200,000 of them, to occupy their country and steal their oil. A full 80% or more of them may have wanted Saddam gone - but they didn't want American occupation or the destruction of their country and their lives.

And Representative Susan Collins says the American voters have just about had enough of them – the Iraqis that is – not the elected Republicans or Democrats, but they’ve had enough of the Iraqi government.

I just wanted to make that clear. How insolent of the Iraqis to not be grateful, cooperative and fully submissive after what we’ve done for them?

How benevolent of American voters to have supported the effort to turn Iraq into an American territory with a puppet government selling out to American corporate and military interests. Voters in Susan Collins’ district have endured the Iraqi people for five years now but have finally lost patience – with the Iraqis that is – not with Bush, her and other elected representatives.

The Iraqi people were supposed to greet us with flowers and dancing in the street like we were told they would. They didn’t.

The Iraqi people were supposed to submit to us, their liberators, their betters, and allow us to tell them what to do, how to do it, and relinquish all control to us. They didn’t.

The Iraqi people were supposed to accept the puppet leadership we set up to govern them, a leadership that must follow our direction and approval. They didn’t.

The Iraqi people were supposed to roll over and give up their oil to the corporations we appointed to take over their oil fields. They didn’t.

The arrogant ingrates! The insolent bastards!

So now, according to Republican Susan Collins, American voters in her district have just about had it with them and I suppose that the other seventy percent or more of Americans feel they have also lost patience with the Iraqis – not with Bush and our congress. I just wanted to make that clear.

The fact is, Saddam’s Iraq, despite the sanctions that were making life miserable for Iraqi’s and for which they still angrily remember the role played by the US, was not anywhere near the chaos and hell it now is. People forget that before the Gulf War America was buddy-buddy with Saddam and encouraged him to attack Iran. The American government provided weapons and support to Saddam including biological weapons, and turned their heads as Saddam used these weapons, even against rebellious factions within his own country. And then they practically baited Saddam to invade Kuwait which precipitated the Gulf War.

Iraq was generally stable after the brief Gulf War; and citizens traveled relatively freely within and outside of Iraq. And although a brutal dictator, Saddam was not a religious fanatic. He was likely a deist or atheist and, as so many have observed after the rush to invade this boiling pot of manic Muslim fundamentalist crazies, even Christians and Jews were allowed to meet and worship in Saddam’s Iraq.

While Iraq’s Sunnis of which Saddam was a member controlled the government and held most of the positions of authority, they found ways to keep the various religious and ethnic factions, like the rebellious Shiites and Kurds, under control. It was obvious to middle-eastern experts that only a ruler using the tactics and methods employed by a brutal dictator like Saddam could be effective under the conditions he and his ruling party were faced with.

This boiling pot of unstable bedfellows was a result of a disingenuous legacy wrought by the invasion of the British early in the last century that established borders for Iraq without consideration for tribal territorial claims and religious factions. What should have remained a separate Kurdistan was lumped together with Sunni and Shiite tribal lands, two religious factions that had been at war with each other for centuries.

History is clear. When Bush and Cheney stole the election in 2000 they gathered together those who saw opportunities for mega-billions in profits now that they had control of the government. The corporatists from the oil and defense industries and all others in line to profit were falling all over themselves to invade Iraq. The lure of black gold and profits from war and extending American empire were just too much for the gang of thieves that hi-jacked our government to resist. Indeed it was in the planning long before the office of president was illegally grabbed by the Republicans. They had deluded themselves into believing they could pull all this off – and you know what – they were right.

Only four years in office were needed to make most of them obscenely wealthy but they hit the big lottery in 2004 –four more years. American voters, who were stunned, confused and full of fear due to the events of 9/11, were manipulated once again and punched the ticket for the evil cabal to ride the gold train to a thief’s paradise. They now have billions upon billions of illegal war profits and stolen treasury sacked up and stashed away - they just don’t have the oil completely locked down yet.

Oh well, even without controlling Iraq’s oil for the long term it worked out well enough for most of them – and it’s not over. Even after their removal from office the lingering corruption and the power and influence of those who have gained this illicit wealth will continue to take its toll on Iraq and on America. It will take several decades to get rid of the debt, weed out the criminals, and repair the damage to our nation and that of Iraq caused by the most corrupt and evil power grab this country has ever seen.

How sad that most Americans were so easily deceived and manipulated. Even the election of someone like Gore in 2008 and eight years of their leadership won’t easily wipe away the disastrous effects of Bush and company. Our country may never recover.

A Thief Living In Your House?

Why would you allow a thief to live in your house and rob you and your family blind? Sadly, it's actually happening and you are allowing it with hardly a whimper of protest. Why would you not stand up to protect your family’s future, stop this thief and bring him to justice?

The huge expense of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan somehow seem eerily familiar to the Russian invasion and occupation of Afghanistan that lasted 10 years and put Russia in dire financial straits. Russia is still in recovery. That war was also a failure. Now the US has been sucked into the same quagmire and will likely suffer the same results. This can mean nothing but trouble and hard times ahead for the average American.

The Bush administration has ran to the bank over and over to borrow billions upon billions of dollars to finance this war and has used the war as an opportunity to reward themselves and their corporate partners in crime who are robbing this country and its citizens blind. They are also destroying our military and our national security in the process. Bush and his administration will go down in history as the most corrupt and the worst this nation has ever had. And he will smugly flip his middle finger at us as he and his gang of greedy corporate madmen ride off with the biggest treasure ever amassed by a criminal cabal and thieving horde.

The stories of corruption, hundreds of millions of dollars missing and over-billing by Haliburton and other contractors is mind-boggling. Continuous cost overruns on every project, bribe money, inflated overcharging and other extremes are going unchecked and unaccounted for by the Bush administration and the military. There are reports of warehouses in Iraq that contained pallets loaded with shrink wrapped hundred and thousand dollar bills that have disappeared without a trace. Haliburton has reportedly constructed a plant to produce cola drinks for the troops and is charging American taxpayers $45 per six-pack. Haliburton or another contractor is charging our government $99 to launder a small bag of clothing that could easily be washed by the troops for three dollars. That's just two tiny examples of corruption and theft.

And get this: Haliburton and the other contractors must have security while they steal from us, so our own tax dollar financed military provides free security along with employees of another Bush-buddy contractor, Blackwater, who reportedly has about 40,000 security personnel on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, a sizable mercenary army that is not subject to any law or military command.

And consider this. These free-range, private contractors, most of them managed by recently discharged career military officers, are hiring away our troops as their enlistments come up. This is depleting our military of trained and experienced men and women who simply quit the military and go to work for these criminal enterprises at five to ten times what they were being paid to do the same jobs they were previously doing while serving in the armed forces. This drain on experienced troops has caused the military to lower admission requirements for new enlistees thus affecting the quality of our military overall. These replacement troops must be trained and are being moved quickly through the training process which is an abbreviated training regimen that allows improperly and poorly trained troops to be sent to combat zones imperiling not only their own lives but those of the career military who must rely on them and the civilian population as well. In turn, the morale of those in uniform is taking a big hit as they watch their once fellows-in-arms now working along side them, doing the same jobs, but banking a hundred to two hundred thousand a year instead of the $25,000 to $35,000 they are being paid.

When will sanity return to this nation – or will it ever? Are we doomed at the hands of these greedy madmen in office, both Democratic and Republican, who parade and posture as American patriots but are instead nothing but unconscionable criminals? Are they nothing but low-life thieves living in our house and systematically robbing us and our children of our future, our freedom, and the opportunity to live the American dream?

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq
New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush administration has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of the war-torn nation.
By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer
July 4, 2007

The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns.

More than 180,000 civilians — including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis — are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

For the complete report go here.