Nicholas Ruiz III
for U.S. Congress 2012
FL District 24
For the new wave of American progress.
A Little Lie
by Nicholas Ruiz III

It is with relief and even glee that the currently debased political
establishment buried Ted Kennedy on August 25, 2009. The last
long-standing icon of liberal politics was the nail in the coffin of an
era.

Many thought that ‘Era Ends’ – like the painting by Ed Ruscha. In
some sense, this is true.

I know – Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is a liberal juggernaut – and yet, he
alone cannot be expected to carry the weight of progressive
Democratic politics as far as America needs it to go. Dennis
Kucinich (OH-10) - another progressive icon – also cannot be
expected to shepherd the entire progressive agenda by himself,
despite his unwavering resilience and liberal efforts. Alan Grayson,
former congressperson from FL-8 – God love him – lost in 2010, in
the epic sweep of the radical right. And BHO – the liberal world
knows – is in need of some serious help reorienting his legislative
priorities.

I was born in 1970 in New York City, the epicenter of American
liberalism if there ever was one. In the very same year the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was born, as was the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was also
created that year. The onset of progressive politics and commentary
wrought by FDR, reaches its terminal apex in the 70s. What would
stall FDR’s inspired progressive legacy of course, symbolically and
otherwise, is the election to the U.S. presidency of the salesman and
actor, Ronald Reagan. The irony of Reagan (and the current crop of
Reagan wannabes on the right – and even some on the left) is of
course, that Ronald Reagan – the false god of punch-drunk
conservatism - voted for FDR not once, but four times.

We should recognize that this first stage of FDR-inspired American
liberalism, the kind of liberalism that holds ideas like Social Security,
Medicare/Medicaid, financial and credit market regulation, human
rights and collective bargaining, equal opportunity and non-
discrimination, unemployment insurance, federal guarantee for
bank deposits, universal healthcare and so on, as first principles of
a democratic commonwealth and legal fairness - is now giving birth
to a second stage. Let it not be stillborn. Our second stage of
American liberalism must offer new protectors and philosophers of
democratic liberty who are committed to the expansion of American
progress and opportunity for new generations of Americans to
come. The status quo is not enough.

If the status quo fails, like they currently are failing – they will go
down in history as the last guard who stood against the second
stage of another rising current: the global fascism of corporate
wealth and privilege.

American democracy needs the support and confidence of the
American citizen-voter if it is to succeed as our model of
government. And America needs to realize that despite the self-
styled antics of media celebrity crusaders and self-absorbed group
opportunism that often passes for democratic progressivism and
liberal politics – there is only one way to enact a progressive
agenda - by the election of not one or two, but a multitude of
congresspersons to achieve any meaningful difference at the
federal level. Of course, a few strong personalities go a long way, as
with some of the people we mentioned earlier – but obviously, it
takes more than that to legislate New Deal politics. And a brave
person can do great things – as FDR has already proven.

But in the end we must understand that our political lives cannot be
left to the discretion of party careerist tropes and wealth-seeking
troubadours, ‘rising stars’ and a coterie of yes-people and such.
Theirs is an agenda of self – such is the reality of the little lie of 21st
century corporate American politics.

What we truly need is an agenda of the many. And that is what I aim
to enact.

The aristocratic and commercial interests that speak so loudly
through the conduit of their enormous wealth; who have the ears
and hands of the parties, and their fingers on the purse strings of
each party and most affiliates are not those that would best
represent the democratic majority of people of the United States.
There are obsessive interests plotting and encircling, which would
have all the world’s resources for themselves, while the people have
little and next to nothing.

The truth is, much of the political establishment has sold itself to
highest bidder – and that is not you. The highest bidder is corporate
America and the wealthiest global interests they serve. But you
already know that. No need to take my word for it.  If you doubt what
I say – I ask you to look at the last thirty years or so of our so-called
‘progress.’ What do you see? Is it wide-spread prosperity and
generational success? Chances are you have seen your working
conditions deteriorate, as well as your benefits, retirement and other
things.

And yet, the political careerists would have more from you, in a
dazzling variety of shrewd and self-serving ways. They would raise
your retirement age, raise school tuition, and let inflation erode your
income and your way of life. They do not care about you, despite
what they say to your face. They care only about themselves - and
their political, ideological and legislative actions are all the proof you
may need.

The indulgent parade of Republicans and Republicrats in this 113th
Congress wants to sell you Grecian austerity with an American
veneer and fascist potential. But 13 is unlucky for a reason. The
dogs of debt scream: “Deficits!” and “Patriotism!” But all they have
to offer is fear. This current pile of politicians is truly a rancid crop of
craven individuals descending upon the American psyche like a
pack of hyenas.

I do not envy your position as citizen-voter, anymore then I sustain
my own as citizen-candidate, but I know in my soul that you and I
must make the difference here and into the future, or they will have
won. There is much work to do, and few who are truly willing to do
it, because it’s easier to go along with bad business and just get
paid. You know what I mean – and you see it all around you. You
see the results of decades of such behavior corrupting your
neighborhoods and institutions. You see America becoming
something else.

I ask you, wherever you are to demand a democratic American
difference, rather than a superfluous ‘change.’ It is the only way
forward from here.

Put a progressive Democrat in Congress.






























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Political advertisement paid for and approved by
Nicholas Ruiz III, Democratic candidate for Congress
Nicholas Ruiz III for Congress
PO Box 1372
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170

nicholasruizforcongress@intertheory.org