David's post on Romney [and the 2012 election]

David McReynold's thoughtful and well written critical post on Romney has, happily, stimulated some discussion.

As I've noted, I cannot in good conscience vote again for Barack Obama.  I've read several often long and tedious rationalizations about why one must -- must -- vote for Obama.  I even picked up somewhere the strange comment to the effect that this is not the time to deal with what Obama has done or not done! 

 Sorry, I didn't grow up that way.

More often than not, we've done the third party thing -- Commoner, Nader, write-in for SPUSA et al.  But we caucused for Obama, made modest financial contributions, and voted for him.  I see his administration, by almost any measure including, certainly, his many campaign promises and commitments, as a failed thing.

Early in the summer of 2009, when the Congressional district meetings were emerging en masse, I wrote several times that the concerns being  raised at those increasingly problematic gatherings had to be addressed constructively -- pronto.  And I pointed out several times that all of the angry people could not be easily dismissed as simply  "racists"  -- even though those strains were certainly present in a goodly number of cases.  When the Congressional district meetings began to morph into the Tea Party, I continued to raise, a number of times, the fact that this was a very dangerous development and that, sans constructive action by the liberal and liberal/left and Labor forces -- and certainly the Obama administration -- we could "inherit the wind."

Throughout this, in 2009 and into 2010, I used the term "right wing populism" many times.  Others may have been doing so in their bailiwicks.

Despite the fact that I could be considered a pretty seasoned radical, having started in early 1955 and continuing to the present moment -- with every expectation of continuing for a very long time to come -- whatever I wrote was essentially ignored beyond a few good souls on our own discussion lists.

Later, in the fall of 2009 and into 2010, I wrote again and several times, on the need for Labor and liberals and left liberals et al. to form some sort of coalition, however loose, to pressure the Obama administration to meet its commitments.

That, too, seemed to fall on deaf ears.  Instead many liberals and left-liberals simply wound up avoiding any criticism of Barack Obama et al.  For example, little of critical nature was said when he tripled troop strength in Afghanistan and expanded the war into Pakistan -- or when, in direct contradiction to his promise to dismantle the Bush 2 domestic surveillance operations, he expanded those far beyond the scope of the previous administration.  And those are just a couple of the many sad examples.

Obviously, people have to weigh matters in accordance with their own values, make their own individual decisions.  But I have made mine.  We're voting for Rocky Anderson/Luis Rodriguez.  And there are certainly other honorable alternatives:  Green Party, SPUSA, probably some of which I haven't heard.

But there's another dimension -- one much deeper, much higher:  the urgent need for extremely intensive and widely pervasive and sensibly pragmatic and long range visionary social justice grassroots community organizing. That, as I often say, is Genesis.  Ultimately, if effected well, many of those streams will flow into a mighty River Force.

And only very good things can come out of That.

In Solidarity,

Hunter [Hunter Bear]


HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis 
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk 
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´ 
and Ohkwari' 
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
www.hunterbear.org 
(much social justice material)

See Hunter Bear's Movement Life Interview (extensive,
detailed.) Done by Bruce Hartford, webmaster of Civil
Rights Movement Veterans: 
http://hunterbear.org/HUNTER%20BEAR%20INTERVIEW%20CRMV.htm

And see the Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Expanded and with more photos in June, 2012.)
 
For the new, just out (11/2011) and expanded/updated
edition of my "Organizer's Book," JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- 
with a new and substantial introduction by me.  We are now at 
the 50th Anniversary of the massive Jackson Movement of
1962-63.  http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm