Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
American Democracy=Cuban Democracy Raul Castro compares the US party politics as similar to choosing between himself and his brother, Fidel, in a surprisingly adroit manner. Dr. Ron Paul seeks to challenge that notion.by Big Louie
(libertarian)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Even though Fidel Castro has been very ill and recovering from intestinal surgery, his brother, Raul Castro, said Monday evening that the Communist Party of Cuba supports his brother Fidel's re-election to parliament and then the Presidency, saying that he is exercising two hours daily and gaining weight while keeping his mind healthy with reading and writing.
Raul made these comments on Cuban state television Monday evening
Talking about Cuba's electoral system, Raul Castro observed that the U.S. democratic election process pits two identical parties against each other, and said that a having a choice between a Republican and Democrat is like choosing between himself and his brother Fidel.
"We could say in Cuba we have two parties: one led by Fidel and one led by Raul, what would be the difference?" he asked. "That's the same thing that happens in the United States, both are the same. Fidel is a little taller than me, he has a beard and I don't."
As American Citizens are preparing to vote in the Presidential primaries, we have to compare the candidates running for office. This comparison leads us to believe that Raul Castro may be correct.
The "top-tier" candidates of both parties DO seem eerily the same. Pro-war (all promise to keep troops in Iraq), Anti-liberty (all support the Patriot act in one form or another) and Pro-Big Government (they all have more federal govt. mandates to implement)
Not since Ross Perot in 1988 has the United States had a viable ,though he was probably not electable, third party candidate . It was many decades before that since another third party candidate has had a chance of winning the White House. The political machines of both parties have become too big to compete against and have become entrenched in the political system. Third Party candidates are always labeled as "fringe" by the 2 major parties and the Main Stream Media.
This election, however, has thrown both political parties into turmoil. The entrance into the presidential race of Ron Paul has challenged the notion of Big Party Politics. Even though he is running on the Republican Ticket, Dr. Paul, a medical doctor by profession, is by his own definition, a libertarian and constitutionalist. He does not agree with the platform of the current Republican party and is running a campaign to bring the party back to it's roots of small government, non-interventionism and personal liberties.
Dr. Paul ran as the Libertarian Candidate for President in 1998. However, he realized that to have a chance to succeed, he had to run on the ticket as a Republican. The same ticket that he has run on, and won, during his 10 congressional campaigns in Texas.
Ron Paul is drastically different from the politics of the Status Quo. His Campaign is Grassroots versus the Big-Money/Lobbyist funded campaigns of the other candidates. On December 16th, his grassroot's organized "moneybomb" netted more than $6 million dollars from nearly 60,000 donors, almost half of which were first time donors. This is different from most Presidential campaigns who collect their money from a few large donors.
What does this mean for the Political System that favors only having 2 major parties? That remains to be seen, but it does mean that the choice of voting for the "lesser of two evils" may finally be over.
The views expressed in this
article are those of Big Louie only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Big Louie is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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