What Are Your Demands?
Howdy folks! It's been a while since I've written much of anything. Since the election, I've been pretty much dealing with the anger and disgust at what has happened.
I've read a lot of election post-mortems and proposals for how left/progressive people should move forward in the current political climate.
It appears that there is a very real political realignment going on now. On the right, there is a lot of energy, enough to elect somebody who promised to pay attention to the 99% (though seems quite unlikely to do anything useful for them). On the left, there is energy, but it is (as usual) being co-opted by the Democrat party and being channeled into a fake resistance movement which is an attempt to associate electing corporate democrats and preserving Obama's neoliberal "achievements" as real change that will help the 99%. The establishment Democrats at the head of this fake resistance have no intention of making actual change.
If left/progressives don't organize behind an agenda and force the Democrats to swallow it, the "resistance" will fizzle out into support for more of the same, sorry, "pragmatic" corporate crap that establishment Democrats have been shovelling out for decades and the right will own the nation's politics - perhaps even awarding them the preponderance of states (they are one state shy now) to amend the constitution or call a constitutional convention.
The stakes are a lot higher than most people realize and the corporate donors behind both parties would be delighted by an opportunity to modify the constitution to more fully lock down the prerogatives of the 1%.
A Path Forward
Given the control that the establishment Democrats maintain on the party apparatus, it seems pretty useless at this point to attempt to take the party over. The Corporate Democrats have made it plain that they will not give up their party, that they will lie, cheat, steal and rig elections or even lose elections rather than allow progressives to lead the party.
The best path forward is to promote an agenda and threaten the party with extinction if it doesn't comply. If the party can't claim to have a viable base of voters, it can't rake in that sweet, sweet corporate cash, donors will drop like flies and a vast number of Democrat party officials, functionaries, fixers, flunkies and campaign consultants will find themselves without their phoney-baloney jobs and their ability to peddle influence.
Here are the steps forward.
1) Create a consensus list of medium-term achievable demands that reflect the popular will of the 99% - one that cuts across party lines.
2) Post the demands in C99 webspace as a linkable pdf doc.
3) Invite other web and real communities to join in the fun.
4) Use social media (Twitter, Facebook) as well as old media (letters to the editor, mail campaigns to office holders and candidates) to promote the demands.
5) Create a spreadsheet of politicians that support/oppose/ignore our demands and post it in C99 webspace (linkable)
6) Use variety of media available to promote public awareness of the positions of politicians promoting those who sign on and dinging those who won't.
7) Encourage prospective candidates and primary opponents to adopt the agenda in their platform.
It's time to utilize our resources and talents and play hardball with the corporate Democrats.
A Proposed List of Demands
General principles.
From time to time, a people creates a government to perform functions that no other institution is able to. It is vested by the people with significant powers to promote their common interests and the people retain the right to have that government respond without favoritism to the governed. A government should be judged by the quality of life that all of the governed experience, especially those at the bottom of the economic order. Government officials should be ashamed to find that there are citizens that are hungry, homeless, poorly-educated, without means to support themselves, lacking access to healthcare or other necessities of life - and such a government and its officials should be held accountable. Such conditions in a wealthy country are inexcusable.
Demands
1) Public financing of elections. In any election where a candidate elects to privately finance, all candidates relying on public finance will be granted equal financing. All licensees that occupy the public airwaves are to be required as a condition of their licenses to provide a certain amount of free airtime to candidates that meet a threshold of signatures, as well as free airtime for a set number of debates in the month prior to the election.
2) Single-payer health insurance/Medicare for all. The marketplace has failed. There has never been adequate healthcare for all Americans despite the vast sums of money spent and the decades that the private sector has had to accomplish this task. It is time for US citizens to have what is available in virtually all other first world nations.
3) Fix Social Security the right way. In 1983 the Greenspan Commission "fixed" Social Security in perpetuity; well, sort of. The commission set up a solution that (at the time) taxed 90% of all income, which was sufficient going forward to fully fund Social Security at the promised rates and ages of retirement. There was a flaw in their thinking about income distribution which they thought of as static. It wasn't static. Wealthy individuals now take a much larger share of all income than they did in 1984. The right solution to this problem is to raise the income cap on the Social Security tax so that it applies to 90% of all income. Alternately, income could be redistributed downward, but that would probably be more difficult to arrange and far less palatable for high income earners.
4) Break up the big banks/re-impose Glass-Steagall/regulate derivatives/end the revolving door between regulatory agencies and Wall Street banks. Since the vast greed and corruption of Wall Street bankers crashed the economy in 2007, no serious re-regulation of the banks has occurred, no penalty has been imposed on those who created the failure and Americans are still at risk of another crash.
4) End the Federal Reserve's role in regulating the money supply. There is no need for the nation to contract out the creation of its money supply to bankers and pay interest to them for the privilege of using money that they create with the stroke of a pen when the United States is completely capable of creating its own money. This gift to bankers is a waste of the taxpayer's money. Further, the Federal Reserve's lack of transparency when doing the peoples' business is an abuse that should not be allowed.
6) Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. Index it for inflation going forward.
7) Withdraw from or renegotiate all free trade agreements that include an Investor-State Dispute Settlement "feature" to remove this unconstitutional, anti-democratic, illegitimate legal system dodge. Remove all other, anti-worker, anti-environment provisions or scrap the agreements.
8) Address climate change on an emergency basis. End all subsidies for fossil fuel extraction and production, freeze the permitting process for new fossil fuel infrastructure and expedite the conversion to renewable energy sources. Retrain and deploy workers from affected industries to manufacture, install, maintain new renewable infrastructure and mitigate the effects of climate events.
9) End the war in Afghanistan/repeal the 2001 AUMF/close Guantanamo/require the President to respect the constitutional role of Congress in declaration of war. The primary remaining adversary in Afghanistan, the Taliban, are a local movement and have not exhibited ambitions to attack the US in its "homeland." Continuing this war serves no purpose that is greater than the recruiting value it creates for jihadi movements. Guantanamo is similarly a recruiting bonanaza for jihadis, the military commission trials system should be abandoned and those remaining in Guantanamo should be tried in US courts or released. During the so-called "war on terror," the executive branch has failed to respect the limits of the War Powers Act and international law.
10) End the militarization of police forces. Discontinue all programs which provide military equipment, including surveillance equipment and training by the military of state and local police forces. State and local police are peace officers, it is inappropriate to offer them the same equipment and training as given to those whose job is to kill enemies and destroy their infrastructure. End the practice of sharing incidentally collected intelligence about US persons from NSA and other federal/military databases with states and localities. Require the Justice Department to report to Congress annually on statistical trends in police killings of civilians, deaths in custody and acts of police brutality and actions taken by Justice to stem abuses and hold those who violate citizen's civil rights accountable.
11) Reverse media consolidation/Repeal Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012. Media ownership is concentrated into far too few hands with just 5 companies controlling 90% of all US media. This is too much power in too few hands, which allows the easy spread of propaganda and fake news through a system with too few competitors presenting challenges to the narrative of consolidated media.
12) Repeal the Patriot Act/end all warrantless surveillance of US persons (including by the NSA)/end the practice of border security demanding passwords from US persons and searching devices and social media accounts/reinforce the 4th amendment and protect citizens from warrantless data mining by preventing the sale or sharing of citizen data by private sector with US government. Modern communications technologies are enabling government and corporations to invade the privacy of people as never before. The 4th amendment promises security in "their persons, houses, papers, and effects," against searches and seizures that are not based upon probable cause and permitted expressly by warrant. The spirit of this constitutional promise is most certainly under attack by both over-zealous public officials and greedy business interests.
I stopped at 12 because any more and I think average people's eyes will glaze over. We might want to reduce the number of demands or shorten the explanatory material in some cases to reduce the burden on citizens with shorter attention spans than goldfish we have.
Since election rules are largely governed at the state level, there are some issues that we should push with state legislators. Among them are an end to gerrymandering, open primaries for states that don't have them, a level playing field for ballot access and public funding for state and local elections. I'll take this and some other ideas up in another essay when I have the time to put it together.
Anyway, the floor is yours.
Comments
howdy folks...
i'm off to a mother's day brunch and i'll be back in a while to catch up with your comments.
I gotta go with
Monopoly=Bribery=Corruption=War
Break Them Up!
peace
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
afternoon tbau...
yeah, consolidation/deregulation is the source of many ills. we have federal anti-trust laws, but getting them enforced, now there's the rub. it's damned hard to find an executive that will see to it that the laws are faithfully executed where the interests of the 1% are at stake.
I'm In!
MichelleB
thanks! n/t
This is a step in the right direction, joe.
Actually, it is step, a viable step, we need to take seriously and run with. I'm on board. I already write LOE's, so I'll write more. I already contact my congress critters, so I'll contact them more. I am committed to do my part and work to be the change I want to see.
Thanks for the kick in the pants, joe.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
thanks ra! n/t
Good List!
I would create a 13th demand and add to demand number 8.
Demand 13--reschedule marijuana to be legal in the United States (with restrictions on driving, use by minors, etc.).
The reason for that is to put a big hole in the counterproductive "War on Drugs", reduce targeting of minority populations, reduce the ability of police forces to arrest people, put a big hole in the private prison for profit population (i.e., legalized slavery), reduce the number of people in prison, etc.
Add to Demand 8 (Address Climate Change on an Emergency Basis)--For national defense purposes, shift one-third of the military budget, leaders, and personnel to a new civilian government agency tasked with protecting our power, water, and rare-earth mineral infrastructures. Tasks would include, but are not limited to 1) transitioning the nation to renewable, distributed power sources to increase our non-polluting energy production, including offshore wind turbines, solar installed along government owned roads, parking lots, and buildings, and voluntary installation of solar on lower-income housing units, as well as developing technology and strategies for effectively storing that power; 2) work with power companies across the nation to create a national electric "smart grid" to dynamically distribute power from renewable and all sources to where it is needed, reroute electricity transmission automatically when a portion of the grid is attacked, destroyed, or damaged, and transition power companies away from fossil fuels; 3) evaluate water supply constraints due to likely climate change forecasts to ensure all citizens have access to clean drinking water--including long-term, sustainable plans for rerouting of water supplies, desalination, or other production of drinking water; 4) restart a foundation of manufacturing production in the United States for rare-earth minerals needed for renewable energy and technology since much of the mineral assets used in these currently only comes from China or Russia. (Did you know Russia is the only country that produces titanium!!) 5) train the majority of leaders and personnel in this new agency to transition to private industry to upkeep such initiatives over the 20 or 30 years this agency is active.
Something to that effect. We need to cut the military and transition that money and those jobs into something that will really protect the country! Hell, add on infrastructure improvements and mass transit improvements and take 50% of the military! We'd still have a military twice the size of anyone else on the planet!!!
afternoon apenultimate...
good suggestions. i had thought about an end the war on drugs item, but i was also thinking that this is slowly being addressed at the state and local level. ultimately, it might be better to let the issue devolve to a lower level of government since states are beginning to have vested interests in maintaining legal marijuana and will be able to fight the fed intrusion in ways that individuals can't.
your suggestions about addressing climate change are excellent and i agree that modifying the wording to indicate that climate change is a national security issue will make it more palatable as an issue to certain constituencies. i think, though, we should try to keep our demands concise as a larger audience that this is aimed at generally avoids discussions that get too far into the weeds of policy. it seems to me, just getting addressing climate change in an expeditious manner on the policy agenda would be a huge victory over where we are now. once we get agreement, then we can hit them with more detail.
that said, whatever the community comes up with is fine with me.
I'll add
that we need to characterize the climate change shift in military spending as a national defense posture badly underfunded. This will get the "fraidy cats" in this country on board or at least mitigate their fear that we are weakening our national defense.
It IS part and parcel of our national security.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
And
An end to corporate personhood.
Eliminate the Electoral College.
The two above would likely require a constitutional amendment.
A decades-long infrastructure project that addresses our country's massive needs.
Guarantee the right to vote nationwide with automatic voter registration (with an opt-out option), all paper ballots.
A Wall Street transaction tax.
End the War on Drugs.
Dear Dems: You lost the WH, Senate, House, dozens of governors, state level SOS and AG and about 1,000 state legislative seats. Maybe...you're doing something wrong.
What would replace the electoral college?
I'm from a low population state and already don't feel counted in national elections. The electoral college at least attempts to bring parity to the states. Is that what you oppose?
I agree
Banning the EC would open up rural states to (undoubtedly foreign funded) land and asset grabs on a grand scale. Nor would the rights of First Nations be respected.
Mary Bennett
How this?
How so?
The Electoral College only affects one election, that of President. Eliminating it would almost certainly mean a direct election of that office, without consideration of the States at all -- the way it should be. A vote should be a vote, no matter where it is cast.
So how would elimination of the current sorting by States via the Electoral College subject rural States to "land and asset grabs on a grand scale"? The rural States still have two Senators and at least one Representative apiece, and this level of policy is far more determined in Congress than in the White House, even today.
Please do not misunderstand me. I'm not bashing you; I genuinely fail to understand your objection here, and would appreciate actually understanding it.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
I think my vote for President should count just as much
Whether I'm living in California or Wyoming. I think smaller states do need to have a voice beyond the Senate, but the President is supposed to represent/serve/answer to all Americans. I like primaries starting in small states and political conventions being organized by state.
Beware the bullshit factories.
California or Wyoming
capitalization adjusted
As things now stand, a single voter's Presidential vote counts a lot more in Wyoming (3/650,000 of an elector) than it does in California (55/39,000,000). These fractions represent the number of electors the State is entitled to, divided by the number of people.I realize this isn't totally accurate, as every person the Census shows as living in a State isn't a voter; but it gets the general idea across. Expressed decimally, a Wyomingite Presidential voter represents 0.000004615 of an elector, while the Californian voter represents 0.00000141 of one. This works out to the Wyoming vote being roughly 3 1/4 times as valuable as that of his Californian counterpart.
That's plain wrong, folks.
And we haven't yet addressed the fact that full-time residents of Washington, DC don't get to cast meaningful votes for President at all. Yet there are more of them than there are Wyomingites.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
But it's okay for a very few of cities on each
coast have the advantage over everyone else (particularly us hicks out in the sticks in 'fly-over' country)?
That's not going to.fly either.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
@gustogirl If some sort of
If some sort of representative buffer to the direct election is indeed necessary, we could always give each state an equal number of representative votes and award them proportionally.
I'm sure there's an obvious flaw in here somewhere, but at least it's "fair."
They say that there's a broken light for every heart on Broadway
They say that life's a game and then they take the board away
They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the story
And leave you all to improvise their vicious cabaret-- A. Moore
afternoon cb...
all important issues. the constitutional amendments should be addressed under separate cover, i think, because they are long-term processes. the point of this set of demands is to impose upon the legislature an agenda that is both broadly politically popular with the 99%, will make a jumping-off point enabling further efforts and is potentially achievable in the medium term.
move to amend is doing yeoman's work organizing around the goal of ending corporate personhood and we should consider supporting their efforts.
i think that it might be good to fold the language of a large infrastructure project that you mention into the climate change item, so that we not only fix infrastructure, but the efforts are viewed through an environmentally-friendly lens so that public transportation, renewable energy projects, etc. are considered in place of merely fixing existing infrastructure.
completely agreed on voter registration and paper ballots.
i had thought about a tax fairness/reduced complexity item, but it's a difficult issue to nail down in a few sentences and one that there's not broad agreement on across ideological lines (once you get beyond the general sense that we all pay too much in taxes and get too little for them).
see my reply to apenultimate (just above your comment) about the war on drugs and making it a state issue.
Thank you for making number 1 number 1.
Way to get me on board at the beginning joe shikspak, ya sneaky.:D Seriously, those aren't necessarily in order, right? For me, campaign finance reform should be number zero, the basis of every decision decider, the roots, the radical change part.
I don't even feel a part of any franchise any more, but still have a worthless vote. I don't know where the hell my "voice" ends up in California now, to Feinstein and Harris it goes /dev/null, also Being (represented by) Jared Huffman must be great, in Marin County anyway.
Those demands don't seem too radical to me, just plain common sense in my view. I support each one, hopefully with more than just words in the near future. Thanks for compiling it and getting things going.
Peace
afternoon eyo...
heh, you're welcome.
i didn't put the list into a particular order, but i did put public financing of campaigns first, because until we manage to wrest control of the election process back from the elites that control it, we will never be able to address the rest of our issues - unless, of course, as gilens and page suggest, our positions are the same as the 1% on a given issue.
you're right, they are not radical demands. they are intended to be the sort of things that even mainstream americans (the 99%) that don't particularly pay much attention to politics could look at and say, "yeah, i think those things should be done."
Wow. Great idea and great list. Somewhere I have reams of
overly detailed & specific "agenda" ideas, but your approach seems far better. I note that you attack specific oligopoly/monopoly targets, and wonder if there should not also be a generalized demand to cease encouraging consolidation and monopolization in all industries and to begin to enforce anti-monopoly and restraint of trade provisions and bust up some of the worst offenders in all areas.
Your position on trade agreements might specifically go after the WTO to the extent that it isn't seen as being covered by point #7.
#9 might be expanded to point out that wars of choice are criminal and should not be indulged in, and specifically call out "regime change" and assassination as prohibited acts and motives.
Gotta run - thanks for this.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
afternoon el...
yes, i picked specific oligopoly/monopoly targets for a couple of reasons. one, because the ones i picked (especially the media) are key to reproducing the political order dominated by the 1% - and because the issues around them are well known to average people and there is movement against them already. there have been strong education efforts about media consolidation, net neutrality and trade issues. that means that hopefully, these issues will appeal across party lines.
i agree that we should fold in language about wars of choice, regime change and assassinations.
Two adgendas one at the federal level and one for state
action is a good idea. It assists in a more focused attention on how to achieve the results. The marijuana laws being a good example. The issue is not really solved until the Feds take action, but pressure can be brought at the state level for change.
If mentioned as a federal goal, one should realize any progress in their state is a step in the right direction. The fight must continue at the same intensity until the change is met at the federal level.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
afternoon soe...
yes, exactly. it allows states that are closer to agreement to be a beachhead against the feds while the process of achieving the necessary constituency for success proceeds in other states. there will be a tipping point when enough states have changed their laws that the feds will be forced to back off.
most of the issues that i think that we need to pursue at the state level, though, revolve around voting. we really need to clean up our election process and level out the playing field so that we can wrest the government from the hands of the 1%
Nice work, brother.
Nothing to add at the moment. Helluva start.
I think you are right to seize on the fact that amidst the chaos and despair there is opportunity. We may have a better chance of succeeding in this moment than we ever have. It may sound paradoxical but it's a paradoxical universe.
Anyway, I applaud your effort.
Going back to give it a closer read.
thanks opol! n/t
Please
don't take this as being flip, not intended that way, but we have the Senate to somewhat equal out population disparities.
Also, IMO, the EC likely decreases total turnout. It's possible more Dems would turn out in Utah and more Repubs in Massachusetts without an EC. But mostly I just feel that the EC is anti-democratic and needs to go.
Dear Dems: You lost the WH, Senate, House, dozens of governors, state level SOS and AG and about 1,000 state legislative seats. Maybe...you're doing something wrong.
heh...
i think that ultimately the best thing to do would be to make the national election for president really national won by popular vote, rather than a series of state elections.
there is an effort underfoot which has been passed in some states to achieve this in effect by casting the state vote for the winner of the national popular vote.
NB - crib ideas from groups ike EFF,sepcifically, their
changes to copyright and DRM laws and provisions. Include along with net neutrality and some other stuff in a catch all section.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
ah, tough one - but what do I know anyway - nothing.
I do not understand the sentence I highlighted. Please help me with it. Do you mean that a constitutional convention by default and necessarily will end up the 1% having a more fully lock down on their own prerogatives?
I detest the US electoral system, the electoral college is to me "deplorable". Winner take all? Since when is that democratic and just? You have no proportional representation, you do not have a parliamentary system. How often did I hear that as an answer and explanation.
So, my demand would be, to completely end the current electoral system and have a proportional representation in a new to be implemented parliamentary system, in which third parties would at least be represented in the parliament and would have to go into coalition with the big two parties, if none of the two big ones gets the absolute majority.
I had hopes that a constitutional convention could possibly accomplish that. But you say it's the opposite. We need to be scared of a constitutional convention, because the elite powers and their donors will clamp down even more and oppress the 99% interests, if I understand you correctly.
Sigh.
I am in. For sure. But I like to add one more demand other than to throw out the electoral college.
Legal permanent residents, who live in the US for more than 15 to 20 years and raise children in the US, they should be allowed to vote. They have to vote, because they have an interest to shape politics for the interests of their kids. They can't. I was a permanent legal resident in the US for thirty years (got a greencard for life) and could never vote in the US and I think I should have had that right after a while.
I also would demand that any immigrant person, who receives US citizenship as an adult, should not have to lose their original citizenship from the country they emigrated from.
Just my 0.002 cents.
PS. I also don't understand how to do that:
How do you threaten a party with extinction? You can't kill that party's voters. Who would take such a threat seriously? I wished it would be possible, but the first thought, reading that sentence was: "How do you do that?"
PS-PS. Btw the Social Democrats in our local elections in North Rhine Westfalia have apparently lost big time. Same trend as in the US. For the same reasons too, I believe.
https://www.euronews.com/live
afternoon mimi...
an article v constitutional convention, once convened can come up with almost anything. the convention is made up of legislators from the several states. should the republicans control the legislatures required to convene the convention they would dominate it - they are one state legislature short at the moment.
the republicans would propose amendments and then ratify them in their state legislatures. the requirement for convening the convention is 2/3 of the states, the requirement for state ratification of amendments is 3/4 (38 states). if the republicans should come to control the legislatures of 38 states they would have the power to create a 1% utopia - and they would certainly do it.
ever heard of the whigs?
for our purposes, political irrelevance = extinction. if a party cannot maintain a voter base that allows them to fill offices and/or it is so divided that no voting faction within it can successfully operate the party, the party dies.
Thank You, I will dig into the Whigs
and it seems to be a quite complicated historical lesson, frankly.
You mentioned in one of your comments the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which I don't remember to have heard about. Or may be I just don't remember it anymore. So, I am digging into that as well. It looks on first glance somewhat promising. May be one could support the NPVIC efforts.
Your list was impressive and I wouldn't simplify it. Single Payer health care and tuition free education in all universities and colleges and a general military service for all American citizens for 18 months, unless you claim to be a conscientious objector, which then would mean you had to serve for the same time period in a social service related field, would be something I support.
But I guess with that I would be a lonely outlier among the 99percent folks.
Thanks for writing it all out.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Equal law for all
you ok torture....jail
you ok killing of citizens w/out due process.....jail
letting cops get away w/murder.....jail
banks commit fraud.....jail
law needs to go back to what if it ever was, blind
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Yep. None of this Lanny Breuer “too big to prosecute” stuff
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/04/bill-black-lanny-breuers-defense-...
We let them bail out Long Term Capital Management, and that set a bad precedent. From that point on the 1% just took that as an invitation to take bigger and bigger gambles, knowing the government would, at the expense of the 99%, cover any losing bets.
There are many points that can be considered
ground zero for when the banks knew they could do
what they desired. NYC/WS-DC all have only one thing in mind
what's in it for me
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Single-payer, joe,
that's all we need for now. Call it a litmus test, call it a purity test, whatever. Does the Democratic Party want to be relevant or do they want to shrivel up and die ? Answer the question Dems, single-payer, yes or no ?
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
I tend to agree with this
While I personally agree with everything on Joe's list and many of the additional suggestions, I think consensus is very hard to build when you include too many ideas. People do, after all, have the attention span of a goldfish. Getting them to read even 12 issues with a papagraph of explanation on each, is difficult at best. Getting broad agreement on that many or more becomes impossible.
Many of these would be controversial in a larger audience, especially trying to bridge divisions among the 99%, which includes many people who don't agree with us on all of these issues.
MFA/universal health care is a simple core idea whose time has come. Medical bankruptcies cross party lines. We have "liberals" now advocating "let them die" for Trump voters. The ACA is not working to contain cost or provide healthcare and security of access to care for millions of people across the political spectrum.
Whoever is voted in, we still have to make them do it.
This is the thing about demands though -- whether just one demand or a list -- it has to be clear: no votes, no dollars, no support for either party or their candidates if they don't support this and actually do what we want. No baby steps and maybe someday and it's too soon, yada yada.
I feel like we keep playing this game of thinking if we just vote in the right people, things would change. But that never works. Candidates lie, or if they are for real, they don't win, if they do win they go into office and change into a compliant part of the status quo. Meanwhile we the people run and run on the endless treadmill of just trying to survive.
It will take a mass movement to effectively demand real change, on even one issue. While these areas are all vital, I thought it's too long, too much to be able to reach a large enough consensus around. The more you add, the harder it will be.
People, for better or worse, care most about their own well being, and their circle of family, loved ones, and friends. Jobs, money to have food and shelter, medical care, a sense of safety and personal security - these are necessary before people will care much about the plight of other people or groups, or more distant-seeming threats and problems.
So my demands would be first, universal healthcare. That alone is a heavy lift in this backwards country. If I added more it would be infrastructure/jobs, higher minimum wage, and stronger social security -- that is, if I'm thinking about consensus that crosses left/right ideological lines. My own personal wish list is of course much longer.
Thanks for this essay Joe. It's the conversation we need to have.
We can't beat Col. McMartha in CD2
with wishy-washy corpo-Dem bullshit. She's too competent. I say go straight at her with an openly progressive candidate campaigning on single-payer.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
afternoon azazello...
single payer is absolutely a great issue. as you say it is a wedge issue and litmus test within the democratic party. i think though that we have an opportunity right now where an awful lot of people, across party lines agree on a number of issues and it would be a shame not to strike while the iron is hot.
while the corporate democrats are a problem and an obstacle to the 99%, they are not the largest problem that we are facing, which is the 1% oligarchy. we might have an opportunity to take a big chunk out of the oligarchy. it seems worth the effort to go for a larger prize.
And to the Trump voters, keep hammering away at the message that
single-payer is “the real Trumpcare” — a huge deal that really would “make America great again” and definitely something people across the spectrum, from Trump haters to Trump devotees, want to see him deliver.
To get Medicare for all / single-payer passed, depolarize it as an R-versus-D partisan issue. It’s not “socialism,” it’s like Ike building the Interstate Highway System in the Fifties. To capitalists, argue that, like good highways, it’s a national capital investment that automatically makes a panoply of other kinds of capital asset in the country more valuable.
And ask yourself: if you were in Congress and push came to shove, in exchange for single-payer, what ugly trade-offs might you be willing to accept? Would you trade “build the wall” for single-payer? Would you accept single-payer for citizens and legal aliens only? Single-payer that covers abortions only in some cases or not at all? Etc.
Agreed!
Excellent list, and strongly agree we must keep it simple and that its appeal must cross all party lines.
One suggestion regarding elections: There should be some provision that ensures all votes are counted honestly and accurately. Many of us don't have any faith in the plethora of closed source electronic software out there, much less the process.
For all states, the right of citizen initiatives to be brought to popular vote should be enshrined, although they must be compliant with state and federal constitutional law. But because our list of grievances is really so very long, this at least gives us a foot in the door for future work. I'd like to see citizen referendum rights at the federal level as well, but know the requirements would differ at that level.
afternoon gustogirl...
i completely agree with you that faith and accuracy need to be restored to vote counts. those counts are done by states, though, so we need to organize a state-level effort as well.
I am tired
Of the word entitlement. Any diminishing of purchased benefits, shall be met with a furious response. Paul Ryan, any place, any time, let's throw down. Peace.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
afternoon tim...
i agree, the word should be scrubbed. it can be replaced in every instance i can think of with either (human) rights or pre-paid benefits.
Entitlement is correct.
One is entitled to what one has paid for.
(R)'s and and centrist (D)'s use the the word in an opposite sense. Unentitled benefits.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Thank you Joe!
This cheers me up immensely as it does not prescribe reforming the nonredeemable Dems. or fake resistance to the duopoly from hell. Somehow we the people need to restore the basic rule of law which is gone daddy gone. It may not have been all that great to begin with but they really tore it up using 9/11 as a final blow to bury it. The arrogance of the current ruling class is stunning and it seems to me the time is ripe for the 99% to take them on. More and more people are aware of what is going down. This is a good thing as it helps people to cut through the endless barrage of fear and loathing they pump at us daily. Thanks again. I will be back later to read this essay in more depth.
"Repeal the Patriot Act" and also the mother of all this evil the AUFM.
thank you shaz! n/t
Isn't this effort
just meant to change how the EC works and not a true national vote effort. I also believe it is the brainchild of the right-wing to ensure they win more presidential elections. Could be wrong and don't have the time to look it up now.
Dear Dems: You lost the WH, Senate, House, dozens of governors, state level SOS and AG and about 1,000 state legislative seats. Maybe...you're doing something wrong.
um...
i'm guessing that you are responding to my mention of the national popular vote interstate compact.
as far as i know it is not a right-wing project. the idea came from a computer science prof at stanford and has had bipartisan support. most of the states that have adopted it are bluish.
maryland, new jersey, illinois, dc, vermont, hawaii, massachussets, rhode island, new york, washington, california.
Thoughtful and cogent!
Count me in, Joe. Best analysis and proposals I've read since the election. Now to get it out there for widespread consumption and discussion. Cheers!
thanks, stagehand! n/t
Two repeals you missed in your list:
..... the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. These evil laws stripped us 99%ers of vital financial protections, turned our financial markets into pure gambling casinos, and gave a shot of steroids and crystal meth to the upwards movement of our nation's wealth.
By and large, if Congress passed a law with the word "Modernization" in it after the Johnson Administration (LBJ, not Andrew!), you can count on the law to be evil, harmful to the 99%, and needing to be repealed.
And thank you for this essay, js!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
afternoon tk...
yep, i tried to imply those things by demanding to reinstate glass-steagall and regulate derivatives. i was trying to avoid making the document a series of repeals of bills that most people have never heard of, but perhaps there's a case for inclusion of those two.
Number 10
Require all monetary awards against bad behavior by LEO be taken from LEO pension funds, not local taxpayers.
This would encourage police officers to police their own and weed out the violent offenders in their ranks. Institute "If you see something, say something" as department policy.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
afternoon earthling...
heh, satisfying as that might be, it would tend to split any coalition of support for the other items, i would imagine. it might also have some issues of fairness. it also signals the jurisdiction's government that they will not be held accountable for failing to adequately oversee the operation of their police department, while it provides additional incentive for police organizations to cover up for their bad actions/actors and present false testimony.
but you probably weren't being serious.
Number 1
Bring back the "Fairness Doctrine".
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Those are all great issues IMO
Issues that "cut across" the labels with which we're being prodded. I agree that there is a "glazing over" risk if there are too many issues. The problem is that there really are too many critical issues, barring misinformation and brainwashing, about which everybody is on the same side. The issues that are being used to prod us into our boxes are not as critical.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Number 3
Return all taxable S.S. income to the S.S. Trust Fund, instead of the General Fund.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
"Labour Party Platform Amazingly Specific And Pro Worker"
Throwing a vid by Jimmy Dore and crew on the pile. Great action verbs, heh. Good idea. Thanks
Labour Party Platform Amazingly Specific And Pro Worker
Number 12
Re-institute the Bill of Rights as the law of the land. Increase the penalties for breaches of these rights to High Treason against the American people, regardless of their station in government.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Great post , Joe
Lets pissoff Norquist and steal his line.
"The New Contract With America"!
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
How would Ronald Reagan sell all this? How would JFK have?
JFK made going to the Moon seem as American as mom, apple pie, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and even after his death, both LBJ and Nixon seem not to have had any choice but to follow through.
Legalize or decriminalize marijuana
and stop mass incarceration for non-violent drug offenders. That is end the drug war.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Upon re-reading, one other thought
I really don't feel invested in targeting democrats specifically. I'm not a democrat, haven't been registered as one since around 1998. Crossing party lines to form a coalition with people I have little else in common with, except general agreement about the 1% who are screwing us all, means targeting and pressuring all politicians to do the will of the people. For all their bluster, republicans do back down to grassroots pressure too. Especially since their voters gave them Trump. They know their jobs are at real risk. And most street-level republicans do agree with us in certain areas.
Listening to people like the Resistance Chicks, for example, who Caitlin Johnstone brought to my attention, I see where we have common ground, them and me, and I also see where we don't. I laughed and laughed at their comments about Hillary emerging from the woods: "Can't America get a restraining order against Hillary Clinton? For stalking us?" We agree on that!
They are against the escalation in Syria. They see through false media stories to drum up the war. So there's that. They talk about the deep state, so I'm assuming that's a sign we might find common ground around Wall Street and bankers needing to be tamed at least, as well as the war machine. They are against big Agra, Monsanto, etc. I don't even know yet where they are on many other issues.
To work with people like them, I think we have to listen to them and look for crossover ideas... and also for land mines that would blow up any alliance and have to be avoided, set aside for now. Religion, for one huge problem. From what I've seen I'd say they seemed like extreme christians. They are against birth control, FFS! And totally wrong about gay people. I could go on. Alliance is difficult! But the 99% by definition includes a huge number of people I feel that way about. To defeat the oligarchs, that's what it's going to take, I think - to get together over where we do have common ideas. Then we can deal with education and getting to know each other as people, hopefully find ways to iron out some of those other problems eventually. Not much of a plan, I know. I'm trying, because Caitlin made a good case this kind of alliance is the way to go.
Absolutely agree CS
We can work with them on globalism, the banksters, the escalation of war everywhere, AND Hillary stalking all of us. We just need to focus on those issues we abhor in common.
It seems ironic that we would be more able to find common ground with the right than with those at TOP.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
The scary politics of the USA
are worrying Canada and many other countries. I would like to see a line on Foreign Policy - how the United States exists in the world. A word about broader international issues like Human Rights, Fair Trade, World Poverty and Hunger, Peace etc
On your list, at first I wanted to put Climate as number one but then to be realistic, the country will get nowhere on Climate until money is out of politics, Repeal Citizens United. Then again how can millions of people without healthcare, a decent minimum wage and social security fight for mitigating climate change? So it goes back to your #8.
To thine own self be true.
Just a thought on priorities.
I am with you on all issues, and the issues posters have added like legalizing pot and thus crippling the drug wars, mass prisoners.
Let me start with an image or scenario. The progressive community gets enough money to create tons of nice posters with the progressive agenda. Since space is limited on the poster, which of the 4-7 policy demands/changes would go on it?
It seems to me that Bernie was very effective as he focused on a few key issues. Trump did well in this regard compared to Clinton who had no key issues other than she was not Trump.
At Town Halls, health care is getting even more PR than the Russian bashing by dem party plants and shills. It seems to be the proverbial nose of the camel under the tent that can open up other issues.
In creating the list of changes, maybe also have a separate list for each state?. For example, I have been following David Sirota on Twitter and the fracking is big in CO since a well blew up near some homes.
bring in the mechanics
we can fix this
We HAVE to work across party lines. And work local.
I would add, and support the Green Party.
Candidly, however, I don't see the right being able to support some of the things on your list. And, I think we should start with a shorter list.
I also think we need to think about how to build bridges between the right and the left and where we'll compromise in order to get support from the left.
Oh, and a clean vote, counted cleanly. I think we need especially to flesh out the clean count bit.
Without a clean vote, counted cleanly, nothing will work. Voter registration drives might be good, too.
Great post.
Practically speaking, it seems to me kicking both parties down to the ground is the starting point for any real change. There was a recent poll that had 88% saying both parties have no interest in the public; just there to line their pockets and have power.
Say a movement demanding both parties be investigated for RICO violations; breaking their stranglehold on the electoral process. Whatever it takes to make them shit a brick and scramble to offer the citizens something relevant to actually fixing real problems.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Free Beer!
Let's be realistic. If you want people to like you, you have to start with free beer.
I like your list, but I would shrink it/emphasize universally popular items:
1) Fight corruption: I can't emphasize this one enough
2) Medicare-for-all
3) Shrink the military empire: even Repubs have had enough of the endless, useless wars
4) Break up the big banks: This works with both Trump and Sanders fans
5) Repeal or re-negotiate FTA's like you said
Thank you for this diary.
It really is get serious time and we need to be having this discussion.
A couple of points:
1. Me, I want to see a robust and uncompromising antiwar stance. As in, close the overseas bases (on a schedule) and bring back our servicemen and women, not to be dumped out on the street, but put to work on matters of urgent concern here at home. Dismantle the empire! Oh, and fire the mercenaries. Yesterday.
2. You will never get minority communities on board without addressing the prison industrial complex. I would say, cancel all contracts with private prison operators. Set up a truth and reconciliation commission, county by county, city by city to review all sentences for non-violent offenders with a view to getting these citizens returned to their families and neighborhoods, with culturally appropriate services in place to aid in reintegrating them into society as productive citizens. I said services, NOT "programs", where some idler gets to be "director" and ride around in fancy cars and have "meetings" in expensive restaurants. That would take about 1-2 years, and would be followed with a commission which would do the same thing with regard to violent offenders, backed up by thorough examination of trial records and DNA evidence where available. Such a commission could use law students, with participation being a requirement for graduation. The commission should be empowered to release the innocent, where found, and recommend commutation of sentences to state governors where appropriate.
3. Likewise, you won't get working class folks, mostly but not entirely white, on board without addressing the high cost of living, especially rents and utility expenses. It does not do me a damn bit of good to make a higher minimum wage if landlords can just turn around and raise rents accordingly. One possibility is to outlaw absentee ownership of at least housing stock. Rent controls is another. Utilities should be managed by the public for public benefit. The experiment of "privatization" has been a dismal failure. Privately owned utilities should be nationalized immediately.
4. Tax Wall Street transactions, with maybe exceptions for one off sales for things like paying for college educations. This would raise revenue for the repair and rebuilding we so urgently need and demonstrate our willingness to make the 1% percent pay their share for the privilege of living in our country.
Item #1 in particular is the deal breaker for me. If I don't see a robust antiwar proposal I am voting Green Party.
5. Finally, once a set of demands is agreed upon, NO COMPROMISE. I am so fed up with But Israel, and But my cousin's job, and But someone else's investment. Too. Freaking. Bad.
Mary Bennett
Rein in the Federal Reserve Bank, make it serve the people
Make the Federal Reserve Bank with its enormous economic power serve the 99%, not just bankers and billionaires.
Whom exactly does this zero-interest-rate policy serve? Or the trillion-dollar bailouts? Is it trickling down to you? What’s the interest rate on your credit card? Are you able to get cheap mortgages and use them to buy rental properties and flip houses?
Make full employment a top Fed priority again, along with preserving the purchasing power of the dollar. Granted, economists will say the two are contradictory. But right now the 99% are getting neither. Make both a top priority and maybe we’ll get at least one.
And transparency! Audit the Fed, or abolish it. Broad swathes of the Right are highly critical of the secretive cabal at the Fed — any “Left” worth its salt should be too.
Focused on the SCOTUS? FRBOTUS is the economic equivalent. The whole 99-versus-1 percent thing is defined by economics. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Wall Street are virtually the same thing. Has Bernie’s revolution nothing to say about the Fed? Follow the money, lots of trails start with, go through, or end at the Fed.
As I've said before,
I'm past demands, or alms for the poor as I call them. I'm past demanding our politicians that work for the oligarchy give us a bigger slice of the pie. I want the pie. That's my demand, the pie.