[lbo-talk] foreign policy vs. domestic issues in US

John Bizwas bizwas at lycos.com
Wed Nov 3 16:35:03 PST 2004


Sorry I lost track of the thread in the flurry of digests and their post-mortems for the Dem. Party's Kerry incarnation.

But I wanted to get back to this. I really can't see the distinction as being a very clear one. If Americans back a pro-war president, it's both a domestic issue and a foreign policy one. If they back a trade protectionist, it's both a domestic issue and a foreign policy one.

So are American VOTERS very aware of foreign policy issues? I'd say, yes, quite obviously. The most ardent supporters of the Repugs and Demoncrats strongly believe in American dominance through military and intelligence spending--and now homeland security--and this has huge foreign policy implications. It's basically a projection of domestic politics onto a world stage where the US has hegemony--a financial superpower, with HUGE stocks, bonds and futures markets, and unlisted equity holdings--backed with enough firepower to destroy the world many times over. The problem is it's a very consciously self-serving (GREEDY) but ultimately subconsciously nihilistic foreign policy. Things are not going to end very well for the American superpower (and its European and E. Asian backers), but I guess the larger question is: will the world survive? See, it's the ultimate fusion of domestic and foreign issues.

F

PS: nitty-gritty post-mortem type analysis of the Kerry-Edwards loss up next

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