Tester's Folly, Continues....
Last time on Greateco Presents:
John Tester's latest contributions to "best practice"
"How to wreck the environment, the Democratic way"
On closer examination, it's nothing more than the traditional Republican Way (bribe, coerce, threaten, and intimidate) anyone who stands in the way of "jobs" and corporate profits. For some reason, we thought Jon Tester was an "environmentalist" who would protect our wildlands, and keep the "resource companies" from raping us any further. We thought he would be an implacable opponent of Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, Dow, and the other destroyers of healthy, safe food and a sustainable environment and ecosystem. Apparently, he has no friends outside the MWA who actually understand these policies, and those who do are afraid to say anything. Jon is such a big, intimidating guy. Who dares speak truth to him?
Now the shoe is on the other foot, allowing the Republicans to look good for preaching fiscal responsibility and for attacking those "socialists" and "anti-business", anti-labor "environmentalists." Hey, they want to feed your cattle to the wolves and bears! They want to outlaw trapping. They want to "lock us out" of national forests, and keep them all for East Coast liberals and "animal rights" people. Do they buy gas and drive cars? Then they can't complain about the Bakken, or XL pipeline, right?
What about our rights? What about Montana? What about our high-paying jobs in the coal, oil, and mining industries? Here's your chance to be "bi-partisan." Prove to us you hate environmentalists, and will fight with us to stop them! And Jon says, "sure thing."
2-6-14 Update
Since writing about him, I've been paying a lot more attention to what Sen. Tester is actually saying, and the assumptions behind his views and remarks. I'm from an old Montana homestead family myself, so I understand Tester better than probably anyone who is writing about him now - at least that I know of. And I know his reputation among his friends (good, but skeptical), and we share a couple of close ones - or did, before he became the Junior Senator (Baucus's Apprentice) from Montana.
It really doesn't make much sense. Just when I think we've got him headed in a good direction, we get a slap in the face. The example that best helped me understand what was happening was re-broadcast last night on the Helena public TV channel 21-5 (Legislature and various presentations about government or policy), with Tester addressing some sort of group which included the media (Brian Kahn) and maybe the Democratic faithful - I didn't see many tough or accusatory questions. The program was recorded about a week ago, and I actually watched it fairly closely the first time, but missed this part of it.
Immigration
Someone asked Sen Tester about the immigration bills and debate, and what came out was mind-boggling. Yes, all sorts of progress was happening, and Jon was going to hold firm on one point - NO AMNESTY for these refugees from failed US farm policy, oil dictators, the cocaine cartels, Marxists, or whatever. We've got to build a wall, and make sure no more come in. Never mind the havoc caused by our drug demands and laws which punish the suppliers. Never mind the 20 or more democratically-elected governments in Latin America which our government, with taxpayer's money, overthrew or subverted, often resulting in civil wars in which millions ultimately died. Never mind Monsanto's destruction of the genomes of our basic food and fiber crops, outlawing sustainable farming practices for 100's of millions of people in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Never mind the illegal invasions and blockades of Cuba, a country which we pretended to have "liberated" by stealing the assets of the former Spanish owners.... These immigrants are ILLEGAL, and as such they have to be deported as our President is faithfully doing. Blah, blah, blah.
All that Jon actually said was "NO AMNESTY" and he emphasized that. All the rest is what is IMPLIED by the idea that refugees are criminals and need to be "handled" or deported, without giving them any of the rights or privileges of American Citizens. We only want those LEGAL immigrants who are somehow beneficial to the capitalist system.
Supporting Capitalism
Did you ever vote for the capitalist system? Because everyone who runs as a Democrat or Republican appeals to the rich and powerful , they just assume that we support it. Do you know what capitalism is and what it does? Do you understand imperialism? The funny part of it is, I think Jon does. After all, he has a degree from UGF, whose Irish revolutionary roots are well-established. Maybe he thinks that as a Senator in Imperial Amerika, he has no option but to support the racist, imperialist, war-profiteering system. Disaster Capitalism. The Shock Doctrine. Military Keynesianism. "These are the words we live by", to quote a Farmer's Union ad on the Monsanto Farm Bureau Channel, Northern Ag Broadcasting (founded by former Sen. Conrad Burns).
"We've got to keep them out,
said Chief Powhatan
100% red-blooded American."
Isn't that part of a poem by Stephen Vincent Benet or somebody? We had to read that anti-racist stuff when I was a kid. And yet, Jon is a good advocate for Native Americans. If he was in New Mexico, he'd be defending Hispanics, right? Maybe not. It was Tester who raised a big uproar about how the Canadian border was so permeable - people from Montana go there for health care, right? And Canadians come to Montana to shop or attend concerts. Might be some terrorists among them. We've got to shut that down!
Seriously, he held up Congress to keep a small border station open (maybe 5 local civil service jobs, as well as shoppers and farmers from both sides inconvenienced) because the new Homeland Security standards have resulted in two major up-grades for all crossings - probably $10 mill or more each - radiation detectors, giant x-ray machines for trucks, etc. He and Baucus both insisted on as much of this spending in Montana as they could scare their colleagues into approving.
I didn't vote for Tester the second time, but I did vote for him in 2006, thinking he would at least recognize the pledge he made to Paul Richards in the primary, on a few vital issues, one of which was don't give up any of the wilderness lands already roadless and in study areas. Nothing is better than something bad, in this and every case. So Jon, with the cheers of labor and even AERO and the teacher's unions (who think they own him) ploughed on ahead with his compulsory logging bill and demand that local governments have control of National Forests and the larger environment in general. The current farm bill even has an amendment that prohibits any lawsuits by environmental groups or other concerned citizens to prevent logging which is harmful to the larger ecosystem, the watersheds, wildlife habitat, etc. Only 2% of timber sales are ever challenged (and the Forest Service has been trying to "maximize" logging and subsidized road-building) forever.
Rep. Daines' recent bill, which only satirizes the wrongs in Tester's, is being denounced universally by Tester Democrats, thus demonstrating once again that whatever Bush or Reagan did wrong, it's OK when the Democrats do it, so long as it's popular (or even lucrative, apparently - very little of the Bush Doctrine was popular with anyone except maybe sports fans and the fossil fuel industry).
The only question that remains is, "can we fix it?" Can we actually use the power of the state, of elections, of public broadcasting, of public education, research universities, etc. to benefit the people and the planet, instead of a few corporations which own our willing and cooperating "elected" representatives?
Is reform possible? Is it even desireable? Doesn't it simply mean a change in some winners and losers? It's still a negative or zero-sum game. And it relies on exploiting the workers, the intellectuals, parents, students, our common environment, air, water, soil, and anything else we thought it was designed to help.
Yes, government has failed. As presently constituted, it is the problem, not the solution. Now, I would say to Tester: If you can't help, don't hinder. Don't pretend you're representing us when you do the opposite of everything we expected of you, and what you promised. And don't pretend you're helping us by continuing huge subsidies to private corporations and their "investors." Don't pretend that massive budget deficits are "OK", or that we can keep importing $1 trillion more in low-wage goods and services than we export. Don't pretend that this is "laissez-faire" or "free markets." It's totally controlled and repressed by the greatest surveillance and police-state apparatus in history, with more prisoners to prove it.
In a recent news clip, Sen. Tester now says he supports the NSA surveillance, and opined that Snowden "probably did help our enemies" by releasing the data from the NSA spying against Americans and allies. As one of 100 Senators, you have the power to vote for or against war. You have the power to approve or reject ambassadors. You have a vote to approve or reject Supreme Court and other nominees. Use it wisely. If you don't believe in what the president or Congressional leaders are doing, say so. Otherwise, we'll assume you're one of them. Are you voting with AIPAC and the neo-cons on foreign policy? Are you voting for (and even speaking out in favor of) nuclear weapons development and deployment? That is the one sin which knows no forgiveness. If you don't understand the issue, ask some questions, Express some doubts and reservations. Don't just mindlessly say we need to maintain a nuclear Doomsday Machine in your state, and to hell with anyone who disagrees. Do you really believe anyone supports that?
Do elections matter, then? Not if we're not going to hold the winners to their promises. Tester is so thoroughly damaged now that he'd just as well have not run a second time, and I begged several Democrats to primary him. Steve Kelly might have gotten a fair hearing this time - although the media situation is no different, and they virtually never support anyone but the party machine candidates.
We finally wear out, burn out, or just don't care, anymore. Try to encourage the next generation to do something. Jon's real mission was advancing the agenda of Pearl Jam, I think. And in that he is succeeding....
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/climate-solutions/pete-seeger-how-can-i-keep-from-singing
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