#1: Dirty Money - Obama's Campaign Funded by Private Military Corporations
US citizens protesting Blackwater
(courtesy of Google Images)
As seen in Paul Street’s book Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics, Obama’s anti-war stance is really not all that anti-war. In the beginning of his presidential term, Obama pledged to “try to remove all combat brigades within 16 to 18 months” (144). “Try to” turned out to mean “probably won’t” and as of today, we have yet to see a full withdrawal of troops from the war zone.
Street also points out that Obama’s presidency had reason to sustain the occupation of American forces in Iraq. “The Obama campaign could not rule out using private military corporations like Blackwater Worldwide, Dyncorp, and Triple Canopy in Iraq” (145).
This fact clearly illustrates how Obama made false claims about removing troops from Iraq simply to appeal to his audience and placate the masses. People needed to believe that an end to the war was coming soon, but the reality is that Obama and his committee have absolutely no plans for withdrawal.
After doing some research, I found out from this blog that Blackwater (currently known as Xe) receives 90% of its revenue from the US Government. This means that a mercenary company is being almost entirely funded by American taxpayer’s money. This mean that TAXPAYERS are FUNDING TERRORISM. And all the while we are tricked into thinking that soon there will be an end to the war.
(courtesy of Google Images)
#2 - Hidden Truth - The American Public was Deceived
Street suggests that Obama is actually far more centrist and conservative than he claims to be. “...his rhetoric and image (Like those of Hillary Clinton) have been carefully crafted to tell progressively inclined primary voters that he is one of them” (Street, 167). Street claims that this deception spawns from the work of Republicans, who have “long practiced the art of pseudo-populist deception, to no small effect in U. S. Political life and policy” (Street, 167).
Check out this viral film by filmmaker Alex Jones:
#3 - The Top 1% Controlling the Polls
In order for Obama to become president (or anyone to become president for that matter), he had to gain the approval of the top 1 percent of American voters. These are the people who own most of the nation’s financial wealth and they contribute more than three-fourths of campaign contributions.
(Courtesy of Google Images)
“People from within (the top 1% of Americans) that opulent and highly class-conscious category of Americans are quite notoriously and logically hostile to left progressive ideals and movements, which threaten their disproportionate wealth and power” (Street, 195).
How can our society make any progress as a “democratic” society there are such disparities in wealth among our citizens, and if such a small, powerful, concentrated sector of our population is really in charge of what goes on in political, economic and social arenas?
#4 - A Fresh Face
America's stagnant political landscape prior to Obama's introduction into the national political arena had a lot to do with the way Americans reacted to his campaign. His was a fresh, young, intelligent guy. He was black! He was different and new. Apparently people assumed that those traits would translate into actual political actions and "change".
“A Pew poll showed voters identifying the name ‘Barack Obama’ with the words ‘new,’ young,’ ‘charismatic’ and ‘smart.’ Obama’s relative youth, combined with his race and his seemingly (for most Americans) odd-sounding name - and the fact that he had emerged on the national stage seemingly ‘overnight’...” (Street, xxv).
The aspect of newness is really important to American voters, and this could have a lot to do with Obama’s success at the polls. It was a tense time economically and politically in America and his fresh face correlated with the change that he preached.
#5 - The ‘Melting Pot’ Personified - Obama’s Multicultural Appeal
Obama was presented to the American public as something like a “cure-all” for racial inequality and injustice, yet his actual presidency has not really done all that much to end this problem. “Obama has been noticeably reluctant to explicitly align himself with the historical struggle for black equality or to confront the continuing problems of race and racism in America and Global Affairs” (Street, 80).
A lot of people used Obama's race and ethnocultural heritage as a way to justify voting for him. So said a political donor in NH, "His election would do more to restore people's faith and belief in the U.S. around the world.... I think it would be a remarkable moment in history" (Street, xxvi).
It just goes to show that people were getting way too romantic with the concept of Obama as president, instead of actually thinking about whether or not he could actually do something to improve the many failing aspects of our country.
#6 -Head Honchos - The Corporate Agenda
Obama was picked and prepped for us as a president by the “national power elites” and the large corporate entities that dominate our society.
"The process of selecting elected officials in the United States is largely controlled by those who have the money to fund expensive campaigns... (The corporate community's) supposed interest in funding the 'democratic process' cloaks their darker and largely successful agenda of undermining democracy and turning it to their own ends both immediate and systemic"" (65).
The big companies with fat wallets are the people who pick our president. It has nothing to do with polls and votes!
For the sake of the future of our country, social movements in America seriously need to “take back control of the country from big money” (Street, 213).
#7 - America, Grab Your Guns - Obama and National Defense
People tended to correlate Obama’s alleged anti-war/anti-imperial foreign policy to his black/multicultural identity. In March of 2008 Obama began to develop a much more conservative approach to the issue of the Iraq war policy.
“There is little chance of ultimate success for a candidate who questions the inherent underlying nobility of global dominance and/or the need to back American hegemony with a stupendous military budget and a fierce readiness to use military force...”
#8 - Media Mayhem and Obama’s Success
The media blatantly portrayed Obama as the most positive choice for democratic candidate for presidency. In a Newsweek spread, the magazine did a cover story on Obama and Clinton and showed only black and white, dreary photos of Clinton, while showing only vibrant, color photos of Obama and his family.
The Rolling Stone Magazine featured Obama on numerous occasions as well.
“Once he attained dominant media favor, this coverage became perhaps the critical driving force behind ‘the Obama phenomenon’... It’s all part of that media’s remarkable capacity to create celebrity and to shape hearts andminds for or against specific public personalities” (Street, 178).
Neil Postman would agree with Paul Street that our society has very “image-centered elections system and political culture (Street, 166).
#9 - The Cost of Campaigning
"Nearly half of the more than $5 million Obama raised for his 2004 Senate Primary came from just 300 donors" (15). These donors included owners of the Hyatt hotel chain and and the military contracting company General Dynamics. Obama received $13.2 million from 'lawyers and law firms' between January '07 and January '08. The majority of these are massive, global corporate law firms obsessed with enforcing capitalism across the planet.
The entire Obama campaign and administration is extremely contradictory and hypocritical in and of itself..., Obama insists that he refuses to take money from lobbyists, but many of the "lawyers" that were donating money to his campaign were also registered lobbyists for large corporations.
#10 - A Desperate Need for Restructuring
The final Obama Revelation I have had is that a serious “change” is needed in how the political spectrum of our society is conducted. Street suggests many ideas to achieve this goal:
- Executive leadership for the creation of an “Active Citizens’ Network”
- Reconstruct the corporation’s legal status and social purpose
- End big money and corporate domination of U.S. politics and policy
- Counter global corporate blackmail and exit threats
- Transform the “moral values’ conversation and honor the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
- End and reject the Iraq occupation on moral and legal grounds, not just pragmatic and strategic ground
-Renounce empire and big brother
- Fight climate change.
I understand these things won’t happen overnight, but it’s definitely the right direction!
