Why I Can't Support Barack Obama

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June 11, 2008

Why I Can't Support Barack Obama

By JOSHUA FRANK

Four years ago, as the sentiment against George W. Bush's
administration mounted, the entire left-wing spectrum hung on tight to
the coattails of John Kerry, grasping for dear life. Critics called it
the "Anybody but Bush" syndrome, but it should have been more aptly
coined "Nobody but Kerry.”

Virtually every progressive cause, from labor to the environment, had
been co-opted by a mindset that would have ensured more of the same.
There was no pressure put on Kerry to change, and he didn’t. As a
result, the antiwar movement collapsed, with no demonstrations and a
strict allegiance to the Democrat’s pro-war campaign. Fortunately, the
movement to end the war was resurrected by Cindy Sheehan's as she
erected her tent outside the Bush compound in Texas months later.

Today we find our political climate in a similar state of shock. Call
it the "Nobody but Obama" epidemic. Senator Barack Obama has now
sealed up the Democratic nomination, and the usual suspects, from
MoveOn.org to Progressive Democrats for America, are falling in line.
Sadly, what seems to be reigning in this year's election is even worse
than the storm that flooded our issues in 2004.

After eight dreadfully long years of Bush, it is to be expected that a
lot of voters would support any Democrat if it meant kicking the
wretched Republicans out of the White House. Obama's message of
"change" has certainly resonated well. But underlying his rhetoric is
a brilliant public relations campaign, orchestrated by DC insiders,
that is void of any real substance.

In 2006, the Democrats were ushered in to Congress with the
expectation that they would end the war in Iraq. Democratic campaigns
across the nation exploited the popular anti-Bush sentiment, promising
that real "change" was on the horizon.

It's a familiar refrain indeed.

Two years later, we have nothing to show for it. The Democrats have
controlled both houses of Congress, yet have rubber stamped virtually
every Iraq war spending bill that has come down the pipeline --
ensuring the bloodbath for years to come. All major Democrats have
echoed the Bush line on Iran, promising a military confrontation if
the country does not cease its nuclear experimentation. By and large,
Bush's backward Middle East foreign policy has not been met any real
opposition from the Hill.

Like the majority of his colleagues, Obama has done very little to
change the face of American politics. He has voted for war spending,
appeased the pro-Israel lobby, and helped build the erroneous case
against Iran, saying nothing about Israel's plentiful arsenal of
nuclear warheads. In short, Barack Obama is not an ally to those of us
who oppose the ambiguous War on Terror.

"I want you to know that today I'll be speaking from my heart, and as
a true friend of Israel," Obama announced a day after he locked up his
party's nomination to a crowd of pro-Israel zealots. "[W]hen I visit
with AIPAC, I am among friends, Good friends. Friends who share my
strong commitment to make sure that the bond between the United States
and Israel is unbreakable today, tomorrow, and forever."

Yet here we are again, like 2004, with "progressives" and other
lefties ogling a hope-filled candidacy. But it's not just Obama's war
support that should raise our hackles.

Obama supports the death penalty, opposes single-payer health care,
supports nuclear energy, opposes a carbon pollution tax, supports the
Cuba embargo, and will not end the vast array of federal subsidies to
corporations, including those to the oil and gas cartel.

And as the United States economy slides into a deep recession, Barack
Obama is promising more of the same, despite his criticism of John
McCain’s economic plan. But behind the curtains of Obama's strategy
team is the same set of economic troglodytes intellectuals that led us
in to our current financial disaster.

Obama's advisory team includes Harvard economist Jeffrey Liebman, a
former Clinton adviser, who believes we ought to privatize social
security. Then we have the renowned David Cutler, another Harvardite,
who believes our economy can be boosted through an increase in
privatized health care costs. Writing for New England Journal of
Medicine in 2006, Cutler explained, "The rising cost ... of health
care has been the source of a lot of saber rattling in the media and
the public square, without anyone seriously analyzing the benefits
gained."

And that's just the tip of a very large iceberg.

Perhaps all of these issues are aiding the independent candidacy of
Ralph Nader, who is consistently polling above 5% nationwide. This,
despite a virtual media blackout and very little support among
progressives.

Nader still faces many hurdles, from ballot access to fundraising, yet
his support is higher at this point than it was at a similar stage
during his 2000 Green Party bid. I still believe that if Nader wanted
to put real pressure on Obama and the Democrats this year he would
focus his finite resources and energy on the states that matter most:
Ohio and Florida.

All in all, progressives and others working to bring about real change
in this country, ought to escape from under the dark "Nobody but
Obama" cloud that hover above. For his campaign, when it comes to the
most pressing issues of the day, does not represent "change" and
"hope" anymore than Senator McCain’s.

Joshua Frank is the author of Left Out! (Common Courage Press) and the
co-editor, with Jeffrey St. Clair, of Red State Rebels: Tales of
Grassroots Resistance in the Heartland (AK Press). Visit the new Red
State Rebels website at www.RedStateRebels.org.

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