Ron Paul:U.S. "slipping into a fascist system"

No doubt the term "fascist" is used loosely but what Paul means is that the system is dominated by government and business at the expense of the liberties of citizens. Paul gave a fiery speech at Kansas City Union Station. A short distance away a Republican banquet was taking place.

Paul attracted several thousand cheering supporters while the party establishment supporters dined nearby at the Missouri GOP annual conference. Paul said:"We've slipped away from a true Republic,""Now we're slipping into a fascist system where it's a combination of government and big business and authoritarian rule and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every American citizen."

Although his aides were aware that Paul was in competition with a speech by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnel who was speaking at the conference Paul himself said he was unaaware of the conflict. Some actually left the banquet to attend the Paul rally.

Among those leaving the banquet for the rally was Ralph Munyan who said he agreed with Paul's warnings. He also supported Paul's vow to end U.S. involvement in wars overseas and also opposed the war against drugs. For more see this article. There is little mainstream coverage of Paul's campaign. His anti-war message is anathema to establishment Republican hawks.

South Carolina: And the Winners Are? Cain and Colbert!

     Herman Cain the former front-runner in the Republican race for president but long out of the running teamed up with comedian Steve Colbert to stage a mock rally in Charleston South Carolina. The event drew larger crowds than rallies for the serious candidates.
     Colbert however interjected some serious thoughts into his satire. In particular he lashed out against the influence of money in politics after the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were persons and had the right of free speech. He also noted the influence of well funded PAC (Political Action Committees) that campaign for well-heeled special interests.

     Colbert and Cain sang together. Since Colbert is not on the ballot in South Carolina but Cain still is, Colbert urged the crowd to vote for Cain. In spite of a string of sexual misconduct accusations that doomed his own campaign for president, Cain was well received at the event except when he tried to promote the Tea Party or his website. Apparently he did not promote his former pizza enterprise Godfather's Pizza.
    About 3,300, many students, attended the event at the College of Charleston. Cain agreed with Colbert on the need to change campaign finance laws. I have  appended a short video on the event. For more see this article

 

What do Allan Keyes, Bob Barr, Gloria la Riva, Brian Moore have in common?

You don't know? Have never heard of them? It is not surprising. Even though they are all candidates for the president of the United States the press does not inform the public of that.
This is a clear example of the consequences of framing a discussion. There are endless hours of coverage of the U.S. presidential race but it is almost all within the frame of the two main party candidates and vice-presidential candidates. Even coverage of better known independent candidates is very rare. When was the last coverage of RalphNader you saw?
All of this is part of the Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum expensive circus that constitutes much of western democracy nowadays.
It really matters very little whether Dee or Dum are elected. The two major parties both are tied into the system in a manner that makes any radical change impossible. What one has is product differentiation in the sales pitch and the creation of illusions about what each product will do to change things for the better. You can't get your money back. You just have to wait for the next election when you can change the product for a different one very much the same. Of course if you have lots of money you can hire a lobbyist to help you out.

Bob Barr is candidate of the Libertarian Party. Gloria la Riva is candidate for the Party for Socialism and Liberation Brian Moore is candidate for the Socialist Party of the USA. Allan Keyes is an independent
There are many other candidates including Cynthia McKinney the Green Party Candidate.There is a list of the other candidates at this site.