Opinion: Millions of baby boomers like me protested the Vietnam War, chanting, "Hell no, we won't go." We hated President Johnson, to whom we chanted "Hey, hey, LBJ how many kids did you kill today?" We called Richard Nixon "tricky Dick". We had no use for either party. Our movement to end a mistaken war we saw as intimately connected to two-party rule in America. Dr. King never endorsed Kennedy. He moved independently with us to fight to open up electoral competition in America.
It was an imperfect insurgency and we failed. But let me remind you, it was Nixon, not LBJ, who was forced to get us out of Vietnam. That is not an endorsement of Donald Trump. I'm just saying that Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have some dues to pay for what is happening in Ukraine and Israel, just as Nam forced LBJ to not seek reelection.
For now, there is no major independent challenge to Biden or Trump that can claim the mantle of getting America out of perpetual war and our related $34 trillion debt -- and counting. Trump had his chance and blew it. Biden is blowing it.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is running as an independent for President, has failed the test as a candidate for peace, having consistently supported -- even more so than President Biden -- giving Israel a blank check in the Middle East. Today, we see the out-of-control Israel's escalation of a regional war in the Middle East. Who among us doesn't at least feel the possibility of WWIII? What can we do?
We will see in May who the national Libertarian Party nominates and in July, who the Greens nominate as well. Rather than demonizing them, the major parties and their candidates could move to adopt their anti-war positions -- if they espouse them -- to counter their "vote-splitting" arguments.
What do these wars have to do with Texas politics?
This TV ad is now running in Texas funded by the Washington-based Club for Growth.
Club for Growth is all for "free-market" competition, but apparently not in our electoral arena.
I almost want the Texas Taliban to succeed. It's as if they're taking their cues from Netanyahu. They will kill the Texas GOP much faster than we could by competing with them with better ideas. But there are some good people in the runoffs in addition to Rep. Phelan. In particular, natural resources protectors, Reps. DeWayne Burns (HD-58, Cleburne) and Gary VanDeaver (HD-1, New Boston), allies in the fight to protect Texas land and water.
Join us to talk about Open Primaries, the GOP runoff primaries and the Texas Taliban with former State Rep. David Simpson and Rich Winger of Ballot Access News on Tuesday, April 9, 7 pm. Sign up here to join us online.
For the deep dive into the current mess of US foreign policy in Israel and Ukraine:
Watch independent journalist Glenn Greenwald's April 2nd interview with Professor John Mearsheimer as Israel moves even further out-of-control after bombing the Iranian embassy in Syria and killing humanitarian aid workers, all paid for by U.S. taxpayers:
Prof. John Mearsheimer Dissects Catastrophic US Foreign Policy: Israel-Gaza, Russia, China, & More | SYSTEM UPDATE #252
Great Additional and Quick Reads:
Read: "I wear no Man's Collar," Rep. Glenn Rogers, reprint from the Weatherford Democrat
Read: "Texans Must Demand Reform to End Extremism, Scandal," former Galveston Mayor, Joe Jaworski, reprint from The Daily News (Galveston)
Read: "David Simpson: declaring political independence," by former State Rep. and Republican, now independent, David Simpson, reprint from Longview News-Journal.
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