US Presidential Elections: Deadly Game, It Lacks Transparency
By Naziha Saleh
Cynthia McKinney was a member of the Democratic Party in the United States of America, and then became a member of the Green Party of the United States after the 9\11 event year 2003.
She is an activist against the racism inside and outside the United States such as supporting the Palestinians in their cause. She accused George W Bush of making history for himself over the American people blood, and for that she called for an honest investigations into unexplained aspects of the 9/11 events.
Cynthia as a politician and activist has always something to say about United States of America and its internal and external policies. Moqawama.org had this special interview with her:
Q: As an official member of the Green Party, it's clear that you and other political parties have been removed from the political race which is being narrowed to include only two major parties who are the main runners of the presidential election. What is your reaction to this issue and political life in general in the US?
A: Life in general inside the United States is increasingly regulated by fear and propagandized criminalization of whole peoples. There was a time when such treatment was reserved for Black people inside the US. However, now Muslims of every color, Arabs of every color, Latinos of every color are being targeted and criminalized. This secondarily allows for political persecution because one has been deemed to be a member of a stigmatized group. What is surprising and shocking and saddening is that there has been relatively little to no pushback against this. Instead, the vast majority of US residents have become collaborators in this shocking circumstance or bystanders. I encourage people to become courageous resisters to such injustices as experienced in everyday life.
The Green Party has a wonderful foreign policy platform. Unfortunately, the 2012 Green Party nominee has a weak position on "Israel"/Palestine. For that reason, I will not vote Green at the Presidential level in November.
Q: As a US citizen, do you feel that your vote in the presidential election is respected?
A: Neither the votes of the US electorate are respected, nor the values of the US people, who oppose by a large margin the interminable wars that are thrust upon them to finance and die in. Candidates are chosen in back-room deals and then sold to the public as "their" leaders. Any innocent people in other parts of the world who still think the US is a "democracy" have not been to or studied the real situation in our country. And clearly, there are those who still believe the myths about the US. Maybe that's because they would like to join the global "club" and are willing to sell their native lands to people who will never care about them or accept them as equals.
Q: How about the 2012 election?
A: If there were one million voters willing to vote their convictions and abandon the Democratic and Republican parties that are just two wings of the same War Party, then we could see real change in the domestic and foreign policies of the US.
Q: How do you look at this democratic game in the US?
A: It is a game, but it is a deadly game. Sadly, the most potent voting bloc of the US--Black America--is caught up in a game of marbles while the architects of global destruction are playing chess. Everyone loses.
Q: What is the role of the media in influencing the votes of the people to the benefit of one candidate over the other?
A: The media were used in COINTELPRO to steer public opinion. At the time of the 1999 trial that found the US government complicit in the planning and execution of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, approximately one-third of CIA funding was expended to "buy" media supportive of the official government "line" whether it was true or not.
Purchase was necessary because more often than not, the official US government line was not true. This cost the lives of many heroes who struggled to make the US more democratic and open for all. Now, the Pentagon openly admits it tampers with the media in its "perception management" operation which places operatives inside newsrooms.
Q: Is there transparency in the issue of how the presidential campaigns are financed?
A: Until US elections are publicly financed, there will not be transparency.
Q: How about foreign policy? The Iranian nuclear program and the Syrian crisis which are the most important files waiting to see how the next president will deal with them. How do you think each candidate would deal with these issues? Do you think the US will give "Israel" the green light to strike Iran? Will the internal fighting in Syria become worse?
A: The United States is at a crossroad, because inside the government behind the scenes, those who support "Israel's" stated interests are being opposed by those who support the US national interest. That is the only reason that a "hit" on Iran has not yet taken place. We will see in the coming days which side proves to be more powerful.
Source: moqawama.org
