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Independents Day: Awakening the American Spirit

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If you've watched "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on CNN, INDEPENDENTS DAY will reinforce and complement what you've seen. Advocacy journalist (his own label) Lou Dobbs always communicates his views unfalteringly on his nightly news and information program, and his new book does likewise. It is another opportunity to use a different medium to address the crucial issues he has tirelessly sought to present to the American people. The purpose of this polemic is to inform and provide history and facts and figures as well as persuade.

Acting as a guide through pressing issues that Americans must confront as our nation approaches the 2008 presidential elections, INDEPENDENTS DAY stops short of endorsing any specific candidate -- perhaps because Dobbs sees none fit to endorse -- or of detailing remedies for the chronic failures in our system. For example, Dobbs advocates border security first and methodical national dialogue concerning the further immigration and naturalization policy; he does not advance a plan of his own for how the U.S. might justly contend with the illegal aliens currently inside our nation. Instead, he concentrates on laying bare problems:
our creaking political system
our overreaching presidency
our status as a debtor nation
our shadow government
our superpower struggles
our declining education system
our crumbling infrastructure
our drug dependencies
our religion vs. state conflicts
our corporate one-world push
our media's focus on trite matters rather than substantive ones

Dobbs makes no bones about his own antipathy toward the politicians of both parties and with the power structure slowly choking the life out of America. He writes, "The quality of life for the vast majority of Americans is being assailed by a host of forces unleashed by the elite establishment in the pursuit of ruinous free-trade policies, costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and against global radical Islamists, and unchecked expansion of federal entitlement programs."

Elsewhere in INDEPENDENTS DAY he adds that we "can no longer... allow our elites to waste more time, money, energy, and precious American lives in thoughtless and careless pursuit of agendas and goals that neither honor our traditional values nor assure that the American way of life will prevail in this new century....Let's get to work."

INDEPENDENTS DAY provides a strong overview of America's critical condition and sounds the warning that we Americans must not hide our heads in the sand with regard to them. 2008 is our chance to vote into office politicians who can and will represent us, not the "elite establishment," and who can and will meet our nation's problems head on.

Dobbs is an unapologetic populist. Americans who read this book, whether they are already viewers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" or not, may well find they are too.

Lou Dobbs says, "Ours is a nation in pain." For Dobbs the source of this pain and the biggest threat to the American nation is the triumph of special intersts over democracy. Illegal immigration, indiscriminate outsoucing, the decline in educational standards, the war in Iraq, and a host of other problems are, according to Dobbs, the result of elected officials who abandoned the people who elected them to serve the corporate interests who pay them.

He spends several chapters on his favorite issue, illegal immigration, but most of the book discusses other issues such as trade imbalances, the failure of the federal government to protect the public from harmful imports, the misuse of religion in American politics, the decline in education and others.

His greatest ire is reserved for the pathetic state of both political parties and how they are becoming virtually indistinguishable. He describes the parties as "brands" that are marketed to the public like consumer goods. In most cases elected officials are little more than lackeys serving the needs of the corporate special interests that packaged and marketed them. Some of his harshest criticism is aimed at the current Bush administration. In Dobbs' view the current administration has failed on all counts.

Dobbs' views on illegal immigration and globalization are often, and sometimes deliberately, misinterpreted. His true concern is for the welfare of the American people. He is a nationalist, but he is not insensitive to the plight of those who cross the borders looking for work, legal or otherwise. What angers him is the cold-hearted, Orwellian manipulation of the illegal immigration issue by churches and political parties trolling for new members, and corporate interests eager to repeal the Emancipation Proclamation in order to maximize profits.

Nor is he a strict protectionist. Dobbs fully understands the importance of fair and open trade to the American economy. But he does not think that it requires the dissolution of our borders, the destruction of our standard of living, or the control of our government by special interests to achieve fair trade.

Dobbs is a proud populist, a much maligned and misremembered movement. His is a quaint notion that elected officials should serve the interests of the people who elected them. Despite the fact that he is very negative about the current state of American affairs, Dobbs is cautiously optimistic about the future. He sees a change in the American public, a turning away from any fixed party affiliation to a more critical and independent frame of mind. This independence is beginning to show up in the voting booth. His optimism is based on his populism. He has faith in America and her citizens. Whether his faith is justified remains to be seen.

CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is an award- winning journalist who has served as an anchor and reporter for more than thirty years. He has written a few books about economic and social concerns and Independents Day follows the same theme. The book is meant as a rallying cry by Dobbs; a summoning of all the citizens of the United States to study the important issues more closely, formulate a sensible position on the most critical problems faced by the nation, and work for change in all of these areas. Dobbs is concerned about the failed War Against Iraq. He is worried about the inability of the public schools to educate America's youth. He is concerned about substance abuse and its high cost to society. He is worried about the crumbling infrastructure. He shows a high level of anxiety over the immigrant issue and the possibility of amnesty. The issues he presents and the stands he takes will likely resonate with many voters.

Dobbs greatest concern is the lack of leadership in America and the trend away from populism over the past thirty years to a more selective political philosophy that favors one group over another. He notes the many problems that this trend has created and he blames the failures of American leaders to take the necessary initiatives to solve these and other problems. Many politicians talk the talk, but few follow through with what they say. One example of this is the concern about energy shortages and the dependence on foreign oil. Most every U.S. president has stated his concern about the need for alternative energy sources and many have spoken optimistically about their plans for the future. But none of these plans has ever taken effect and no president has demonstrated the tough leadership necessary to implement a change in energy policy. Like with other issues, presidents of both parties have offered lip service and nothing more.

Many important issues are raised in this book and most readers will agree that immigration, the national debt, education, war, etc., are all important topics that determine the health of the nation. I can agree that these are important also, but I don't necessarily agree with Dobbs solutions to some of these concerns. He seems to think that the only solution is to throw more federal money after the problem and hope it goes away. More money will solve some problems (like crumbling roads and bridges), but it won't necessarily solve others, like the failure of public schools to educate. With education, Dobbs does mention other things that need to be changed (like better training for public school teachers), but he doesn't offer a feasible solution to accomplish the goal, other than adding more federal dollars to the budget. At the same time, he states (accurately) that the national debt is far too high and needs to be reduced. He doesn't come out and say it, but what he is advocating is a sharp increase in taxes to accomplish these ends. If debt has to be kept under control, and if it's the federal government's job to take care of these things, then raising taxes is the only solution.

Dobbs concern about the state of America seems genuine and is certainly admirable. He feels that citizen activism is necessary to end the disarray caused by partisan politics and he encourages every voter to adopt an independent position when it comes to voting. Dobbs is critical of both Republicans and Democrats and he feels that no real change is ever going to take place if we continue to elect individuals from the two established parties. He feels that the influence of big business and special interests, coupled with the increasing tendency of elected officials to vote on partisan grounds, pretty much insures that we will get nowhere as a nation if we continue to vote for all the "R's" or all the "D's" on the ballot. We need to cast aside these political biases in favor of an independent mindset; one that encourages active dialogue and independent evaluation of a candidate's positions on the important issues before a vote is cast.

Overall, Independents Day is a good book by a veteran of television journalism. Its solutions are not always well- defined and many of them would require large increases in taxes to implement. But there is no denying Dobb's passion for the welfare of all Americans. It is this guiding spirit that makes Independents Day a book worth reading for those of all political persuasions.

America is a great nation whose leaders have become intoxicated with the idea that our previous successes cannot be exhausted, that the USA has superior DNA and provenance from God, and a blind faith in markets. Questions such as "Why are we the world's leading debtor nation, Why can't we defeat an insurgency and sectarian conflict in a third-rate nation of only 25 million, Why does the government refuse to secure our borders and ports, Why have we run 31 consecutive years of trade deficits and now are dangerously dependent on others for oil, computers, and even basic necessities" are pushed aside and ignored.

There's no question that we have a government for sale, and that there's little difference between the two parties on key issues such as free trade, dependence on corporate donors, fiscal pork vs. responsibility, and until recently, immigration. The "good news" is that Dobbs sees growing numbers of disaffected independent voters determining the outcome of the '08 election.

America is now the world's largest debtor nation, with a record national debt of $9 trillion and an accompanying record trade deficit of $6 trillion which is rising even faster. Personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures are also at record levels, while the dollar hits record lows and our leaders hold fast to the programs that created these problems. (Absent the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate America ($1 trillion/year), our national debt would be decreasing.)

We also have another $59 trillion in unfunded liabilities, and need, per ASCE, $1.7 trillion over the next five years to bring our infrastructure up to at least acceptable levels. Dobbs is also concerned about the considerable degree of privatization being used to side-step problems. Seaport management, toll roads, military support, and water treatment and supply is farmed out, often without competitive bidding and sometimes even in secret; foreign nations often take ownership of these key assets. (Additional insidious reasons for privatization are to reduce the power of a typical Democrat party source of strength - government workers, and to increase the business contribution base for mostly Republicans.

Dobbs is also concerned regarding the amount of political involvement by many religious groups - clearly illegal, and often directed to supporting illegal immigrants. In 1999 the INS devoted only 240 agents to workplace enforcement; in 2006 it had fallen further to 100. Amnesty for illegals and chain migration (goals of many religious groups) would have astronomical results - chain migration (allowing relatives in) already brings in about 250,000 per year for those legal now).

Illegal immigration is not our only problem with Mexico. Between 70-90% of cocaine entering the U.S. from South America comes through Mexico.

Interesting asides: Despite howls of protest from those supporting illegal immigration, 71% of Hispanics say that English should be the official language of government operations. Five decades ago there were only four congressional caucuses - now there are about 200, undermining national unity because they are mostly dedicated to specific countries, regions, races, and ethnicities.

More scary news - we now report over 80% of our seafood, and less than 2% is physically inspected and only 0.5% laboratory tested.

Excellent, but maddening insights.

Amazon ate my earlier review, probably because they did not like all the links I included to make the point that while Lou Dobbs is dead on target as an individual minds, there is a *huge* convergence of public opinion from left to right that boils down to this: government is broken, from war criminals in the White House to doormats in Congress abdicating their Article 1 responsibility to balance the power of the Executive.

The table of contents is spectacular. This may well be one of the most important books at the dawn of the 21st Century, along with The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed Are Tearing America Apart, and A Power Governments Cannot Suppress.

The author sees himself as an advocacy journalist who is both independent and populist. Allthough he lacks a strategic framework such as you can find at Earth Intelligence Network (see the free weekly report on the ten threats, twelve policies, and eight challengers), his signal role at this time is to give everyone a reason to get back into politics, which is the art of self-governance when--and only when--We the People are informed and engaged.

A few other books supporting his thesis that 2008 is a tipping point year:
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy)
Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders
Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition

With our failing 2 party system, Lou points out the Left & Right's failings while sharing his recipe for a successful America. Lou is fiscally conservative and morally "liberal" (for lack of a better word) and I think that describes the majority of Americans. As all his books, this is an excellent read from a man that should be running for president. You've got my vote, Lou!

Dobbs is billed as a conservative which by this book would show he is not. I am so disappointed when "Conservative" writers are so unaware of the writings of Karl Marx, Frederich Engels, Trotsky and other socialist writers. His ignorance of what a American constitutionalist really is makes one think that he has been listening to the pundits of his former network too much and not spending enough time in the library.

His diatribe against the Republicans AND Democrats is refreshing, though something we have heard over and over since George Wallace declared there isn't a dime's worth of difference between them, so, "Lou, what's new?" Great you just caught up with 1960's political scene.

This book is repetitive, boring and gives little new information to the initiated in Washington shenanigans. To the novice casual observer of mainly CNN/NBC cable news, it will be a shocking revelation. So, to those who know, skip it. To those who don't, prepare to see the sun rise in a different place.

My husband and I both have read Lou's book(s) actually on the second one now. He gives a very honest hard look at how things are today without the political ties of Republican or Democrat, We have both changed our status to Independent. Lou gives an honest review and tells it how it is, Too bad HE isn't running for President, it would truly be a no brainer!

Lou sometimes says goofy things on his CNN show. But I acredit that to his being on live. I figured his book would be more calculated and thought-out. It was, but at the same time a lot of the book could've been culled straight from the show. Though I often agree with his criticisms, I still wish Dobbs would provide more s'far as alternatives go. Give us some more details!

Still, it's an enjoyable read. And despite what it lacks, it is moving in the right direction as I see it. It'd be good to break down excessive government and to secure our borders. But we also need to restructure the immigration process so that it's more easily within the reach of those would-be-immigrants who choose to enter the U.S. legally.

Personally, I like Dobbs last book better.

Lou Dobbs hit the nail right on the head. Very interesting to read. The least I know now that I am not the only one who thinks on this line. I found over the years that most people are like ostriches with their head in the sand. It looks like these people, eveso they should realize it, do not want to know the truce.
I will stick to my way of seeing things and I will not get any nasty surprises in the future.

Herbh. Voigt
Canada