2008: Déjà vu all over again?

Unless there is a big change in the Obama campaign's approach to the issues that matter to me, I suspect that come November I will be voting for a third party or independent candidate. It is possible, I suppose, that, under the tutelage of Ted Kennedy, Obama can find his way to the left, but I doubt it. And so, once again, an independent candidacy is required.

Should it be a close election, and the Democrats lose to John McCain because the margin of victory has been ceded to an independent, perhaps, faint hope, I know, but perhaps the next time they will chose a progressive as their nominee instead of letting the media decide which dependable proponents of empire and economic oppression we can be allowed to consider.

Whom to vote for instead will depend mostly on who's on the ballot. There is a genuine possibility that the California Peace & Freedom Party will endorse Brian Moore, the nominee of the Socialist Party USA, making him much more of a national candidate. Should that happen, I plan to vote for him. In another scenario, Ralph Nader may be on the ballot in California as both a Green Party and a Peace and Freedom candidate, and a vote for him would also be acceptable.

In the meantime, I think the pressure should stay on the Democrats on the issues of empire and economic justice, including genuine health care reform. The American military budget now -- grotesquely, absurdly -- exceeds that of all the other nations of the world, combined. Neither Obama nor Clinton has indicated any objection to this state of affairs; on the contrary, each is a proponent of an aggressive, militarized foreign policy.

And so Brian Moore is submitted for your consideration. He certainly deserves at least a look.