A Soft Power strategy to win the new Cold War

Millions of Americans share these sentiments concerning the Democratic Party:

QUOTE: The central political task of a progressive movement in America is to transform or replace the Democratic Party, both organizationally and in the realm of policies, programs and values. Toward this end, people need to build mass, democratic membership organizations...END QUOTE [source: David Friedman in his article, "The U.S. Needs a Second Political Party"].

Actually, David Friedman made his first mistake in his choice of title. What we should aim for is a Second Political Force, since the First Political Force and its exclusionary ground rules work only for the benefit of the Dem/Pub combine. Even better would be a Zero Party System, since our current polarizing arrangement is directly to blame for our lack of legislative innovation. This Zero Party concept is a great example of the "soft" approach which can successfully destroy the Dems and Pubs. And it's my proposal for creating a non-party (called The Independent Contractors’ Party, or ICP for short), which can move with the surety and stealth necessary to oust the Oligarchs.

I underscored and boldfaced eight words above, which typify the traditional (or "hard") approach favored by US political reformers. This hard approach will fail. Why? The FBI and the major parties themselves will do their utmost to infiltrate and undermine such a movement and intimidate its leadership. Of course, these potential saboteurs won't have to bother with any new party stupid enough to have any of these words in its name: Peoples, Socialist, Workers, Masses, Labor, Solidarity, or Liberal. Even "Progressive" is borderline.

A Soft-Power Strategy

It's important to avoid trying to build a traditional opposition party, complete with leaders and members and physical assets. These can be too easily compromised. The only way to fight a Shadow Government is with a Shadow Opposition "party" or force. Right now, the Independent Contractors Party (ICP) is the only entity that fills this bill. It's the only one that has any chance of success, simply because it exists only as an idea and doesn't have to exist in any other way (that is, no infrastructure is necessary).

[More on this at: http://ind4prez2012.blogspot.com/2010/09/zero-party-system-for-us-politics.html ]

Talk this thing up, and it will come to life. Please don't assume, as a friend of mine once claimed: "We've got to have a revolution to force any kind of real change."

My reply: "You'll never win that way. They've got more guns than you do. Only a soft power approach will work."

How We-the-People Lost the Cold War

Ever since the U.S. won the Cold War, its intelligence community has been primarily concerned with potentially dissident U.S. citizens of the (generally) liberal persuasion. You'll be surprised at the lengths our government goes to in keeping the domestic front under control. Have you ever wondered why American Nazis, Survivalists, White Nationalists and other fringe groups haven't been in the news since 9/11? Those organizations have been so thoroughly infiltrated by the FBI that they are no longer a threat.

Many Americans are okay with that. The problem is, the FBI and CIA don't know where to stop. [Remember the old saying about absolute power corrupting absolutely?] Back in the early ‘70s, when I was in the military, I was under investigation as a possible security risk. One night, I was alone in the Headquarters office catching up on some paperwork. While sorting through some files, I found a 50-page FBI report which I wasn't supposed to see...on me. Certain sections were blacked out, and it didn't take me long to figure out why.

[Side note: I wasn’t an officer – just an ordinary enlisted man.]

I had attended a number of anti-war rallies and meetings prior to enlisting in the USAF, though I was never a leader or a financial contributor. I was just one of many who wanted to hear why so many opposed the Vietnam War. The blacked-out portions on my report were the names of the FBI informers in the groups who had collected names and taken notes of the proceedings.

If the FBI could manage to compile a 50-page report on a Mr. Nobody like me, imagine what they might have on you! Actually, it's a pretty fair bet they've got a dossier compiled on every US citizen, having been at this work for decades. In the eyes of our intelligence community, each and every US citizen is a potential enemy – and that’s exactly how they feel about us as they go about their day-to-day tasks. We are the enemy!

Conclusion

The ICP’s most profound advantage is that it doesn't have an ideology. Any candidate can run as an ICP candidate as long as he offers a written contract to the voters, mandating loss of office if he is elected and then violates his contractual provisions. The aim of the ICP is to elect candidates who are beholden to their contracts (therefore, beholden to the voters) and not to a "hard" political party.

We can do this.

Steven Searle for U.S. President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“Join the New American Revolution: Declare your independence by voting for independents.”

Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com

Labor versus Management…and the rest of us

There is no “right” to collective bargaining in the US Constitution. The fact unions are allowed the unique privilege to bargain with their employers is a violation of every non-union citizen’s Fifth Amendment right. It says, “No person shall…be deprived of….property without due process of law…”

If union and management reach an agreement at the bargaining table, any pay raises end up being a cost passed on to the consumer (or taxpayer). That’s me. And I wasn’t at that bargaining table, therefore I wasn’t represented. Therefore, there’s no “due process of law.” And yet, my “property” – that is, the purchasing power of my dollar – has been reduced due to those costs being passed on to the consumer/taxpayer. And that reduction deprives me of (some) of my property.

However, I am not anti-union as much as I am pro-independent. Only by getting Independents in office, completely replacing the Dem/Pubs, can we restructure our legal environment. Then we’ll have the level-playing field which pro-union (actually, pro-worker) activists have always dreamed of.

There was a time when unions served a purpose. And I salute the brave pioneers of the early days of the labor struggle. To be sure, a lot of workers feel like cattle that are being manipulated by their bosses. But seeking shelter in a union is not the best answer in this day and age. Far too often, the unions are in bed with the elected power structure.

There are three practical weapons in the hands of the average citizen that can bring about real systemic change:

ONE: Take your business elsewhere. For those of you who deal with the nation’s largest financial institutions – take your business elsewhere. You might say, “Smaller institutions won’t give me as good a deal as the big boys.” If, however, you look at the long-term detrimental effects of mindlessly supporting big business, any short-term gain you’d realize with them will be massively negated. Your continuing support will allow big business to get even bigger to the point of working even more effectively against your interests.

TWO: Vote for independents for office. Once people wake up to how truly horrible the Dem/Pubs are, they’ve got to make it known they’re in the market for alternatives. There are a lot of extremely talented leaders in this country who aren’t politicians. In fact, few politicians are even that bright – they’re only good at following orders from party leaders. But we’ve got to let these legions of the talented know we want them to step up to the plate. Writing in the names of your preferred candidates on election ballots would be a start – even if they’re not running for office. Even setting up web pages (for example, on Facebook) as a home base for Friends of Independents would send a signal.

THREE: Stop behaving so predictably. People who market for a living count on your predictability. Knowing how you’ll most likely behave, they can tailor their advertising campaigns accordingly. So dare to be different. It wouldn’t even take much. For in spite of what Obama said about “Change you can believe in,” real change scares the hell out of movers and shakers who thrive on your predictability. For instance, if everybody in Chicago stopped buying the Tribune for a month, that fascist rag would go out of business. And it wouldn’t even require “everybody” to boycott. But we’d have to start somewhere. And that’s the problem…we’re so predictable, no one can even muster the will to entertain the thought.

Because of the internet and the popularity of social networking sites, the common man has a lot more power now than he’s ever had. Problem is, he can’t quite escape thinking of himself as a common man.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“Join the New American Revolution – Declare your independence by voting for independents.”

Contact me at: bpa_cinc@yahoo.com

Ron Paul vs. Steven Searle

Introduction:

Just to show how little has changed:

I had originally posted the following essay on Nov. 21, 2007:

Ron Paul vs. Steven Searle for President in 2008

That was months before the 2008 primary season kicked into high gear. However, just to show how little has really changed (in spite of “Change you can believe in”), I decided to repost this piece. I am convinced that Ron Paul will seek the GOP presidential nomination this time around. But the points I made (below) are as true now as they were in 2007. I address these points to the legions of frustrated idealists out there who feel in their hearts that there just has to be some way, some how for an enlightened politics to emerge.

I feel (still feel) that there is. So before I commence with my past post, I want to give you my battle cry for the 2012 election cycle (no, I don’t have the heart to call it a “slogan”):

A New American Revolution:

Declare your independence by

Voting for independents

More on this later. Meanwhile, enjoy this blast from the past:

Ron Paul has at least one glaring flaw: He wants to be the next president but says absolutely nothing about our biggest problem: The evils of the Two Party System.

Steven Searle realizes that profound and vital change can be fully realized in America, but only with a Congress composed of independents.

Ron says nothing about throwing the [Dem/Pub] rascals out Congress. He apparently thinks his election as president will set things right. Or maybe he's such a gentleman of the Old School (who would never say anything negative about a colleague) that he thinks they'll help him out of the goodness of their hearts by passing the necessary laws.

Steve knows that any serious challenge to the established order and its ingrained policies cannot be accomplished by one man. Only new blood – independent Congressmen who haven't been bought and sold – can be counted on to pool their wisdom (rather than trade their favors) in order to implement the reforms necessary for our survival. [I am not such a gentleman of the Old School.]

Ron believes in the U.S. Constitution and wishes to reinforce our sovereignty.

Steven believes the Constitution has to be scrapped and totally rewritten, and has no use for the antiquated concept of national sovereignty (one of the greatest causes of human misery on the planet).

Ron Paul believes in dismantling a majority of government agencies.

Steve Searle realizes that a gradual and systematic approach to reducing the size of government is necessary due (at least) to the shock to the economy of throwing such a large number of civil servants out of work. Any reduction in government, including elimination of Paul's much-berated IRS and Federal Reserve, must be carefully arranged by a Congress of Independents.

Ron Paul is in favor of backing the U.S. dollar with gold or silver.

Steven Searle is in favor of rethinking the entire foundation of our monetary system. And this rethinking can best be done by an honest Congress consisting of independents. ["I've never been able to figure out why I should give someone $800 of my hard-earned money for a single ounce of yellow metal. Should I do it cuz it's so purty? Cuz everyone else is doing it? I can't help but think: There's got to be a better way." - Steve.]

Ron Paul is running for president as a Republican because he "knows" that third parties don't work. Just ask Ross Perot, who had received 19% of the popular vote in the 1992 election yet failed to receive even one vote in the Almighty Electoral College. Or just ask Ron Paul himself: "Ron, you're running for the GOP nomination now, because running as a Libertarian Party candidate back in 1988 didn't work, right?"

Maybe we'd all be a lot better off if Ron Paul had "stayed the course" since 1988 by fiercely denouncing the Dem-Pubs and trying to make a viable third party out of the Libertarians. But, no: It was easier to re-enter the GOP fold. Or maybe there's a simpler explanation: Ron Paul is an elderly gentleman who's set in his ways. No crime in that, but that won't get done what needs getting done.

An urge to work within the established structure of the Two Party System is not unique to Ron Paul. For instance, the Tikkun Magazine-affiliated NSP sent me an e-mail urging:

"The Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) is proposing that we begin building an alternative presence within the parties [my emphasis - Steve], one that is committed to a new bottom line of love and caring, kindness and generosity, ethical and ecological sensitivity, the ability to experience other people as embodiments of the sacred and to respond to the universe with awe, wonder, and radical amazement."

Hear me loud and clear on this:

"Only by supporting a third party can the Dem/Pubs be motivated to change their evil ways (or become extinct because they won't). That would be the outcome of good old-fashioned competition. But not just any third party will do. Only The Best Party Available* can beat the Machine. BPA* is a concept party which will serve as a rallying point for independent candidates running for office on the basis of offering a contract to the voters. I am taking the lead in this by offering my own contract as the basis of my run for the presidency."

Letting Off Steam

Remember Howard Dean? Remember MoveOn and the thrill of raising huge sums of campaign cash? Remember what it felt like to believe you were making a difference and genuinely impacting the political process? Ron Paul falls into the same category as Dean, MoveOn and Perot, which is: Safety Valve. According to conventional wisdom, the voters need an outlet to vent their anger or else. ["Or else" things might get ugly, to the point of having to call out the troops to quell domestic rebellion.]

You, the voters, are expected to stop acting silly and behave yourselves after you've let off your steam. That means, support whatever the Dem-Pubs care to ram down your throat after you've had your temper tantrum. [You gave the Dems majorities in Congress in the '06 elections with a mandate to get us out of Iraq but ... we're still there. Anyone out there still think the Two Party system is responsive to the will of the people?]

The Two Party strategists know that voters get riled once in a while, but then they settle back down into their predictable patterns. They "know" you wouldn't consider an option as unlikely as The Best Party Available*, which exists only as a concept - not even having members, officers, bank accounts, and a street address. They "know" you will spend enough during the Christmas Buying Season to restore confidence to Wall Street. They also "know" you would never support anything as un-American and revolutionary as an economic boycott to force Bush and Cheney to resign.

I can only pray that they don't "know" you as well as they think they do.

Steven Searle for US President in 2008 [and 2012]

"Ron Paul makes good copy; Steven Searle would make a good president."

 * The Best Party Available was the name of what I now call The Independent Contractors’ Party - Steve

Contact me at: bpa_cinc@yahoo.com