-Caveat Lector- ----Original Message Follows---- From: "pendragon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@clark.fix.net;> Subject: !b_a_Act: Fw: [indymedia] US Democracy in Crisis Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 11:40:08 -0800 Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org US Democracy in Crisis Monday 27 Nov 2000 author: Brian Oliver Sheppard ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) summary US election crisis: int'l opinion as surveyed from world press; contrasts US stance on similar crises in western hemisphere. Reaction to US Election Crisis by Brian Oliver Sheppard ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) 11-27-2000 No Real Democracy in the USA The US Presidential election has resulted in many peoples' worst suspicions being confirmed: the US has no real democracy in any meaningful sense, and to the extent that it does it is hated by elites who see it as a nuisance, infringing upon their entitlement to rule without interruption or distraction. The Electoral College, the two party system (actually two factions of the Business Party), media manipulation, soft money contributions - all these add up to a rather unsavory picture of how the American system operates. Although many people have been arguing for decades that the U.S. system is unfair, is not democratic, and is not a reflection of trust in the people's ability to govern themselves, it is interesting to see so many newcomers get turned onto these ideas. In June of the year 2000, elections in Peru were marred by allegations of fraud, backroom dealings, etc., just as US elections are now. This was considered a crisis in the Western Hemisphere by the Organization of American States (OAS). The US reacted swiftly and held several press conferences to condemn undemocratic practices in Peru. A press briefing issued by the US State Department (available on the web at http://www.usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/peru/oas5.htm) states that the US felt it best to "send a mission to Peru in the aftermath of that country's recent controversial presidential election." Former Florida Governor and Clinton Administration special envoy to the Americas Kenneth McKay warned everyone that "the state of democracy in one country inevitably affects us all" and that "[w]hen one country's democracy is weakened, the entire inter-American system suffers." The US, as always, had no qualms about stepping into the fray as self-appointed expert on democracy, to arbitrate and manage another country's affairs. The US always does this, all the more so when there is a buck to be made by US corporations or when the interests of geopolitical power can be strengthened. Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering remarked that Peru's election fraud was "the most critical issue the Organization has faced this year." (His comments at this press conference are online at http://www.usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/peru/pick5.htm) He said that "profound systemic weaknesses in Peru ... led to the deficiencies in the electoral processes" there. He stated that the allegations of fraud reflected a "crisis of credibility" in Peru's democratic structure. He also stated that the US was perhaps not perfect itself, and that "we hope that in fact this organization [OAS] which has devoted so much time and attention to democracy will also be there to lend a hand when any of us need help and assistance and support." This seems to suggest that if the US had an electoral crisis that the OAS, the Electoral Observation Mission, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and others might step in and "help" us out as well - and that, in fact, such an action would be welcomed by the US State Department. International Reaction to US Elections is Sarcastic, Cynical No doubt Undersecretary of State Pickering was suggesting that other countries might need to dispatch delegations to "any of us" when we ran into election trouble so that the appropriate veneer of humility and egalitarianism would be provided. This display of humility surely makes US meddling seem more tolerable. The US intervenes abroad regularly, whether overtly or covertly, whether welcomed or not, because the US doesn't tolerate anything that even hints at a hatred for democracy, or so the prevailing sentiment seems to be. Democracy and freedom were what our forefathers fought and died for, and, by God, it really irks us to see others suffering under undemocratic regimes. But apparently we are irked only if the ones suffering under an undemocratic regime aren't us common folk here at home. The Association of Democratic Nigerians Abroad: "May we suggest that a delegation from the Organization of African Unity be dispatched forthwith [to the USA] to investigate? And as in Africa, where political reform has gone hand in hand with structural adjustment, the OAU can pass on the lessons we have learned under the tutelage of the World Bank and the IMF, beginning with an end to agricultural subsidies, cuts in defense spending and social services, drastic reductions in tariff barriers, and above all, expatriate monitors to the US Treasury." Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Roque Perez: "I believe that those in the United States who have always tried to become judges of elections that take place elsewhere must be receiving a lesson of modesty and humbleness." In addition Perez said that Cuba would "gladly send monitors for a new election if asked." The Mail, a newspaper in South Africa: "It is a shameful reflection on our continent that, in the United States' hour of need, we were not there beside our American brothers and sisters to help and advise where we could." Lavarice Gaudin of Veye Yo (an immigrants' voting rights group in Florida): "It was God himself who made this thing happen the way it happened, so that the whole world can see how the Americans have absolutely no moral authority to go supervise or judge any election in any other country...." Ben Dupuy, National Popular Party of Haiti: "While it dubs itself the greatest democracy in the world, the United States electoral system isn't democratic at all. The US Electoral College supposedly is a precaution against the passions of the American people. In other words, they don't even have faith in the people. They say they are too impassioned. But when they have to go to war, they have no trouble whipping up passions. 'Remember Pearl Harbor,' they chanted during World War II to whip up people. We ask that the OAS (Organization of American States), CNO (National Council of Observers) and all the observers which usually go to the small countries decide whether the U.S. election has been well done or improperly done... In fact there is always some election monkey-business or scandal exploding in countries such as France or Germany and now the U.S., and the day they accept for the developing nations to observe their elections, then we will not have a problem to invite them to come observe our elections." Haiti Progres, a Haitian newspaper: "Fraud, corruption, voter intimidation, confusing ballots, racial profiling, lost ballot boxes, destroyed ballots, incompetent and abusive polling site supervisors, polling sites closing early, and many other irregularities have all come to light due to the incredibly tight U.S. presidential race between Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.... This year's electoral crisis reveals the more general bankruptcy of the U.S. political system. As usual, less than 50% of eligible voters bothered to vote because they don't feel there is that much difference between the two U.S. ruling parties. 'There is no great ideological chasm dividing the candidates,' admitted outgoing New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan." The Star, a newspaper of Johannesburg, South Africa: "International observers should be put in place because the United States must join the established democracies." Was US special envoy to the Americas Kenneth McKay correct when he said that "[w]hen one country's democracy is weakened, the entire inter-American system suffers"? If so, doesn't that seem to warrant that others intervene in the political processes of another country, if it affects everyone else? Shouldn't, by this logic, other nations feel compelled to intervene in our elections? What about Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering's statement that "we hope that in fact this organization [OAS] which has devoted so much time and attention to democracy will also be there to lend a hand when any of us need help and assistance and support"? Are these honest sentiments, or does the US ruling elite really not want to play by the same rules that it insists others play by? In fact, history has shown that that is indeed the case. The US system is not democratic, and not merely because your favored candidate did not win, or may not win. There are a variety of reasons that we in America still labor under a fundamentally undemocratic system, and they must each be challenged and tackled in turn. There are two choices: The mass of the US public can continue to ignore what the rest of the world finds so obvious about us, and we can continue to happily fool ourselves that we are a self-governing nation. Or we can call a rat a rat and begin to work to undermine this system. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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