A few token policies aside (such as a watered down healthcare reform, ending the Iraq War and repealing ‘Don’t ask, Don’t Tell’), the Obama administration has shown once again that, essentially, there is little difference between the Democrats and Republicans, and that they simply represent different sides of the same coin. Some examples follow:
1) Surveillance state
Edward Snowden revealed the NSA’s PRISM surveillance programme.
2) Persecution of Whistleblowers
More whistleblowers have been prosecuted than under any other president:
- Jeremy Hammond (hacker)
- Barrett Brown (journalist)
- Tim DeChristopher (environmentalist)
- Bradley Manning
- Edward Snowden
3) International Crimes
- Guantánamo Bay still open
- Extrajudicial drone assassinations
- Backing or condoning of coups
- Continuation of internationally condemned trade embargo on Cuba
4) Continued Preferential Treatment for the Super Rich
- No repeal of the no-strings-attached bank bailout.
- Focus on federal debt by cutting services rather than funding of jobs programmes or other forms of economic relief for the people.
5) Immigration: Iron Curtain Border
- More boots on the ground on the southern border than at any other point in US history.