Elections

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By David Swanson

That does it. It’s time for the Democratic Party to stage its own debate, ask its own questions, and offer the video to networks as a completed package. Allowing CNN to not just air a debate but to ask the questions proved on Thursday night (even more dramatically than in the past) to be a soul sickening disaster.

A serious debate would begin by asking each candidate (including Mike Gravel, who was locked out of the room) what he or she would do if elected president. read more

By David Swanson

It sounds silly, but for a long time it just didn’t occur to me what the implications would be. Thus spake a college student who agreed to ask Senator Clinton a planted question. And thus, alas, must I speak as well.

Senator Clinton asked me to impersonate a citizen of the United States, and I was tempted to play along. The assignment she had marked “(citizen)” on the script on her clipboard, read:

“A citizen is a member of an electorate. A citizen’s read more

By David Swanson

When someone whose opinions I respect as much as John Nichols’ joins those who have been saying since 2003 that Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich should announce that he’s not REALLY running for president, I feel compelled to reply.

Nichols, like most Americans, supports the same policy positions that I do and that Kucinich does. Nichols would end foreign occupations, cancel NAFTA, create single-payer health coverage, invest in education and green read more

By David Swanson

I’m live-blogging an Obama rally here in Charlottesville VA. I just wrote 10′ tall in chalk on the Charlottesville “Freedom of Expression Wall” the following: “Hey, Barack, If you’ll filibuster the spying, why won’t you filibuster the war funding?” I’d love to actually ask him, but I couldn’t afford the $1,000 for the small gathering that is just ending. Instead, I’m at the big outdoor gathering for the masses read more

David Sirota and Jonathan Tasini both have blogs out this morning celebrating John Edwards’ denunciation of corporate trade agreements and opposition to new ones. Both paint Edwards as a ferocious opponent of NAFTA. But neither of these bloggers mentions the fact that Edwards stood on stage in Soldier Field and joined every other candidate except Dennis Kucinich in affirming that he would NOT end NAFTA. He would try to “fix it.” Now, you can try to make an argument for prefering read more

STORY #1

Clinton Bucks Trend, Rakes in Cash From Weapons Industry
By Leonard Doyle, Independent UK

The US arms industry is backing Hillary Clinton for President and has all but abandoned its traditional allies in the Republican party. Mrs Clinton has also emerged as Wall Street’s favourite. Investment bankers have opened their wallets in unprecedented numbers for the New York senator over the past three months and, in the process, dumped their earlier favourite, Barack Obama.
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By David Swanson

There are now two types of Democratic presidential candidates, the ones who promise to end the occupation of Iraq, and the ones who say they may very well keep it going for another four years.

MSNBC hosted another Democratic presidential debate Wednesday evening. Due to a technical error, the cable network failed to identify itself as a subsidiary of General Electric, a major weapons maker. Due to another technical shortcoming, viewing the debate streaming live on the MSNBC website read more