oh those last minute holiday decisions

Peter K. peterk at enteract.com
Fri Mar 29 21:00:44 PST 2002


On the one hand the victory brings to mind some lyrics from a Marxman song:

tinker, tinker, tinker, Mr. Tinker Man / tinkering with symptons, can't you understand?

However, the baddies have taken a blow with the "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002". At least when Clinton sold out "his side", like with welfare reform, he showed he was proud of it and would bring along some average citizens as props to the White House Lawn for a signing.

One might credit progressive Democrats, but there's also some Republicans to thank, specifically McCain. Why else did it pass? Nader's presidential campain's drumbeat against the current campaign finance system? Because of the growing and overwhelming cynicism of the public that has become even too much for the politicians?

Arthur Andersen's CEO just quit. Kissinger was forced to cancel his trip to Brazil because leftists had organized protests. Italy's unions fighting in Rome. The recent protests in Barcelona. The protests in Argentina. In a news article, today's New York Times reported that the current Palestinians insurgency is more "muscular" and organized than it has been in the past.

One thinks of Hardt and Negri's recounting of the old theory that it's Capital that reacts to the multitude and not the other way about. (although it's probably a bit of both as Forrest Gump would say) 11 years into the post-Cold War world and neo-liberalism still hasn't got it's act together.


>CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- Two days after signing a new law restricting campaign donations, President
>Bush bypassed Congress to install one of the law's Republican critics to enforce it.
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>Michael E. Toner, the Republican National Committee's top lawyer, was named to the Federal Election
>Commission, a six-member panel that enforces campaign finance laws. He succeeds fellow Republican
>Darryl Wold, whose term expired last April.
>
>The RNC opposed the ban on unlimited contributions in the bill that Bush reluctantly signed
>Wednesday.
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