Kamala Harris joins with Bernie Sanders
"Sen. Kamala Harris is the first Democrat to announce she'll co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders' single-payer health care bill when it's introduced in September."
-- Kamala Harris to co-sponsor Bernie Sanders' single-payer health care bill, CNN
So just to be clear, Harris is co-sponsoring a bill which she knows has zero chance of going anywhere and she's doing it with Bernie Sanders. Huzzah! Her progressive bona-fides are established! There's one fly in that ointment.
I'm excited to stand with Hillary Clinton. She has fought for decades to create opportunities for California families. I have a deep admiration for her, and I know that she will be a phenomenal president. Will you join me in helping elect Hillary as our country's first woman president?
-- Kamala Harris
Now I understand that the attention span of the American voter isn't very long. But still, it was less than a year ago when Harris' chosen leader, Hillary Clinton, said flat out, that single payer was a ridiculous pipe dream that was too expensive. She got her trained circus clowns to trot out the 20 trillion dollar lie.
So perhaps Harris' progressive bonafides need a bit of looking into. And I know just the man to do it. Take it away Lee Camp!
[video:https://youtu.be/64XpK-ieJUc]
They got away with this shit year after year before the internet really kicked in. I'm curious to see how many credulous fools are buying this time around. This is Obama all over again. But after Obama screwed the whole nation over so recently will they be able to do a replay like that?
Oh, and just for some more fun, let's note that CNN put Harris, a rookie Senator before Sanders... the guy who's been championing this forever. They also described her like this:
The California freshman -- seen as a rising star in the party and a 2020 presidential prospect
"Seen as a rising Star." That statement begs the question, "Who sees her as a rising star?" I sincerely doubt it's anyone outside of the canape crowd. One also has to wonder why was her name suddenly thrust onto the national stage? She's a newcomer... a nobody. Of course we all know why. The plutocrats, in consultation with ClintonCo have decided that it's her turn.
I am ready, however, to make a solid prediction right here and right now. I'd bet big money that despite the fact I may well vote for a woman in 2020, I'll be a sexist for passing on Ms. Harris. Once again, allegedly intelligent people will fail to comprehend that I vote for policy not plumbing.
Comments
Lee Camp is...
too legit to quit.
Love that guy.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
I've seen a lot of people in FB Bernie groups happy about this
Which is unfortunate, because this is such a blatant ploy to increase Harris' "progressive" credibility. CA Democrats have a history of saying they support single payer until they have the power to implement it.
Yes.
Blatant enough that she bought time on twitter to promote the "fact" she was joining Bernie on Medicare for All.
Yeah. Red flag. . . If you have to resort to buying time on twitter "promoted", I'm thinking you are desperate and dishonest.
Is Podesta advising her? Neera?
Maybe it is me that is out of touch, but I saw that promotion and laughed. Who the fuck does this? Yeah, OK spend the $$ and you are now worse off because your team is a bunch of idiots.
I'm OK with this the more that I think on it...
I've just come to accept the fact
That most Bernie supporters didn't actually listen to Bernie. In addition, most of them haven't read Gilens & Page. They don't really understand what they are dealing with.
There are still lots and lots of people caught in the propaganda matrix. Most of those who have liberated themselves are lost and confused and not knowing where to turn. In short, we're a long way from a people's revolution yet. Another GFC and another 2 rounds or so of awful presidents will help people to focus.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@SnappleBC It's kind of an
It's kind of an unavoidable condition when you first liberate yourself from the Matrix, especially when there's no ready-made full-blown revolution waiting for you to step into. In a way, Neo was lucky.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
And from what I've read his bill isn't really
even Medicare for All but includes "private" insurance companies as part of the "competition" with a public option. There was an article in Common Dreams and I think another in Counterpunch basically pointing that out. So once again, even Bernie is leading us down a rosy looking path that gets us right back to the same fucking place. Of course Kamala's on board with that.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Obamacare 2: Kabuki Boogaloo
I'll admit, I have had a lot of crap going on keeping me from reading as much about this stuff as I'd like, but what I have read sounds like more incrementalism that no one expects to go anywhere anyway. I may be off the mark, but it sounds to me like another watered down bill that still isn't want we need thrown out there to look like someone is doing something though it's going to do nothing. That Harris signed on gives me no reason to think otherwise.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Dr JC--You've definitely not off the mark. Actually,
Harris' sign-on to his soon-to-be proposal for a public option, or multi-payer plan, might jut be the tipping point that enables lots of folk to connect the dots. At any rate, IMO, the exercise is mostly 'Kabuki,' or a mid-term electoral gimmick.
Tom Perez pretty much said so to a D.C. Beltway radio host (Tim Farley) on XM Radio this past week. I'm putting his quote in a sig line in the next couple of days--folks need to know where the Dem Party Leadership is really coming from.
Have a good one!
Mollie
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
@lizzyh7 Sounds like a public
Sounds like a public option. Which they won't give us either. Competition? Like hell they're going to allow any real competition. They're essentially a cartel.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
There is no way they can offer "competition"
Just think about that for a moment. As I understand it, Insurance alone is roughly a 30% bite off the top. Then, of course, there is the collective bargaining power that a true public option would offer. There is no way whatsoever that any private solution can come close to competing with any halfway decent public option. To suggest that it can is just more conservative framing.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@SnappleBC I realize this is a
I realize this is a capitalist frame, but here is what I meant:
If the public option and the private options exist and are all options for the person buying insurance, then they are in competition for that person's money. When people flood into the public option, which, as you say, is almost certain, the public option will out-compete the private ones. This is the one mechanism capitalists tout as the way capitalism stays fair, and its business owners are kept honest: people tend to, if they are able, spend their money on the better deal. (They aren't always able, at least not in practical terms, which is one reason the mechanism doesn't work as well as the capitalists say it does. There are many others.)
Of course, it doesn't exactly work that way even under better circumstances than these, but in this late-stage capitalism, predator capitalism, crony capitalism, disaster capitalism, or whatever we want to call it, they are basically abandoning a lot of the behaviors that allowed them to pretend that such competition was going on. Insurance right now is a cartel. Sort of like our political parties are. In fact, I suspect the banks (mostly) function as a cartel as well, though I detect a bit of competition between Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, but not enough to disturb their alliance when relating to the rest of the world.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Dhyerwolf Well, no matter how much
Well, no matter how much one might like, respect, or even love Bernie, anybody who believes that at this moment he is actually practicing progressive politics is likely to believe a lot of things.
Let's ignore his shoving election fraud under the carpet, his support for Hillary, his willingness to at least attempt to extend his moral and political capital to Tom Perez and the DNC, essentially his willingness to be volunteer coordinator for them so that he can offer them the only justification they have for existence outside of the incalculable evil of Donald Trump--let's ignore all that.
In fact, let's ignore the fraud and corruption that surrounds Debbie Wasserman Schultz like a moral shroud.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz went to bat for payday loan companies.
Tim Canova is challenging her.
Last year, Bernie supported Tim Canova.
This year, he said he didn't know anything about Tim Canova. That was a lie. Whatever you might think of that lie and why Bernie said it, it is obviously not a gesture of political support. It's about as far as you can get from it.
Question: Isn't DWS basically exactly the kind of corporate, elitist, anti-worker politician that Bernie's Brand New Congress, indeed his whole revolution, are supposed to be trying to oust? Isn't Tim Canova's primary challenge an example of the tactic Bernie and others are trying to sell to the whole country as the way out of this mess? So what does it mean when Bernie doesn't know Canova, when last year he did?
It means he's not practicing the progressive politics he says he is. And if he's unwilling to take a stand in so clear a case as Wasserman-Schultz vs Canova, it's pretty damned clear that Ro Khanna is about the best we're going to get out of this deal. I-only-took-big-donations-from-rich-individuals-not-corporations-I-really-loved-Hillary-till-this-Justice-Democrats-thing-came-along Ro Khanna.
Now we can talk about why Bernie Sanders made that choice. My intent here is not to attack him personally; I have my own ideas of why he did what he did. But do it he did.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Whle for me
, Bernie has dropped another step lower in my esteem.
Surely he knows she is a corporatist. Yet still he shows up on tv and reminds me to be human when he says no it is not a time to retaliate against those 20 Texan Republicans who voted against Sandy funds and funds for his own state of Vermont when they declared disaster. "People are hurting," he said. "People need help!" He shamed me because I was chortling about comeuppance.
What is Bernie's problem? Is he half in the bubble and not seeimg what he is doing with all his support for these corporatists???
I'd consider voting for him if he ran independent, but I would remain distrustful and would not contribute. To be sure, I won't have anything to do with the Democratic party at this point. I'll stay home for the first time in my life, even if they run Mengele. They made their bed. They can lay in it. And they are not going to fix it unless they get real.
You will be a sexist and a racist
Kampala is part Black don't forget.
And as you stated, it doesn't matter if the democrats were selling us universal health care, the democrats don't have a chance to get it passed. And they know this. But the demobots are as happy as pigs in Sh*t. 4 diaries have been written about who's on board for MFA.
Where was Conyer's voice for MFA during the health ACA debates? Why wasn't he on every tv news show speaking out about having the chance to get this passed?
How would MFA match up with universal health care?
To Bernie: Now Is No Time to Compromise
Why is Bernie trying to get MFA passed instead of universal health care? I'm glad you asked:
But let's not forget about the games that the democrats play with us when they are offering us what we want:
The Democratic Party’s deceitful game
Finally the time that Rockefeller was waiting for had come and since the democrats were going to use reconciliation to pass the ACA, surely Rockefeller would hold true to his vision of a nation wide public health care plan, right? Sadly no.
Ah, here it is again. Just before the
Washington Generalsdemocrats were finally going to win against theHarlem Globetrottersrepublicans and pass the legislation that everyone was dreaming of, the timing just wasn't right.Can my sigline be more appropriate than now?
Sigh.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Excellent comment, SD - thank you! I have
a piece that I'll be adding to what you just presented, from an interview earlier this week with WaPo. BTW, if anyone is hoping that Dems will make a single-payer (or multi-payer) system a 'litmus test' for all Dems, they'll be very much disappointed. They won't.
And, don't expect any incumbent Dem lawmakers to support 'progressive' challenges to their fellow lawmakers--including Conservadem Senators Manchin and Heitkamp. It ain't gonna happen.
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
It's just amazing how the democrats think we are stupid
the fool my once......saying is what they are trying to do to us again.
I fell for it in 2006: "vote for us and we will stop the Iraq war and roll back the Bush abuses to the Empty Suit's Hope and Change promises of rainbows and unicorns". Remember when Hillary said that "universal health care will never, ever happen!?
Pelosi herself told us flat out that she doesn't think that they need to change anything in their platform, and Schumer has repeatedly stated that he is willing to work with the republicans and Trump. For gawd's sake, republicans spent 8 years blocking the democrats and Obama's legislation and blocking and filibustering bills, yet Chuckles is willing to work with them. Jeeebbbuuusss!
I doubt that many members her going to fall for this again, but as I stated, the members of ToP are happy as flies on Dawg poop about how many democrats are signing on to MFA.
But these are the same people who wish that Barry was still president, that they would love to see Biden run for president, or see a Harris/Warren ticket.
Exactly what has Kampala done since she has become a senator that makes her qualified to run for president? At least people knew about Obama because he gave a speech at the democratic national convention and people like what they heard and saw from him.
But Harris? The people in California know exactly what she stands for. Not them.
My biggest complaints about her is not going after Mnuchin for illegally foreclosuring on people's homes and defending using prison labor and not agreeing with early parole because it would raise costs for businesses who use the prisoners.
This makes her qualified?
uugghh!
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
"a 'litmus test' for all Dems" Nope.
thanks Molly. What about that Chicago Trib article too? Maybe you posted in the EB, it was a good one.
In Midwest Trump states, Sanders tries to push Democrats to the left on health care
If it's gonna take more years to change minds, the Overton Window says start with OAP equivalent benefits. Ask why we can't have the healthcare Congress has? It is publicly funded. So if we're gonna talk talk talk another few years please start from somewhere that makes more sense, not the bottom of the barrel. Maybe The People will finally get a good healthcare deal, instead of negotiating for scraps and crumbs. Go for the cream on top! Thanks.
good luck
That is what the first article I linked states
the democrats consistently start from the bottom of the scrap heap instead of starting from a position of strength and negotiating from there.
We saw this time after time with Barry when he was dealing with the GOP. He consistently gave them more that they were asking for.
This isn't a weak fighting position, this is done on purpose.
How many years have everyone from writers to commenters asked: When are the democrats going to grow up backbone, or if the democrats want to win back congress, this is what they should do.
Hell if everyone knows what they should do, then so do the democrats. I woke up to this fact when they let the GOP prattle on all summer about Death Panels without one person from the party or the WH going on TV and telling people what that provision actually meant.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
@eyo The only litmus test
The only litmus test for our professional political class: Do you want to be a millionaire?
Do revolving doors make you dizzy?
they spin so fast now, must be G-Force capable. haha
Bernie has been inside/inside for decades now. He talks a darned good outside game though, very good. Working class millionaire. If he is what millenials and their kids want, well alrighty then. I don't know what else to say. "Don't hope for much, it's going to take a long time." Democrats 2018, meh.
good luck
Good to see you, eyo--thanks for posting
the excerpt and link.
IMO, activists, including myself, probably can't look to politicians to get a single-payer system passed and implemented. If there's going to be any success on this front, it will probably have happen outside of both legacy corporatist parties.
When and how, I haven't a clue.
BTW, I'm with you, I want the same health care that 535 members of Congress and SCOTUS justices receive--from Washington Monthly in 2009,
(Con't)
Hey, there are quotes in those paragraphs that are begging to be included in a signature line!
You have a nice Labor Day weekend . . .
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Still hot, still grouchy
thanks for your work and sorry I spelled your name wrong. Deck thermometer hit 115 today and I have never seen it do that. I thought 112 was insane, huh. Heat sickness, ick.
I have to dig up my copy of SB 562 analysis now it's back on the table, sort of. Maybe. Seems redundant, but it's good for "the conversation" I guess.
eyo, no problem--at those
temps, don't know how you're able to function--much less blog!
It's been years since we've experienced such hot temps--in Oklahoma, of all places. There was one saving grace, though--it was in a desert dry part of the state. Thank goodness!
Hey, thanks for bringing up OAP (The Office of the Attending Physician)--I appreciate every opportunity to post a blurb about it.
BTW, hope you stay good and hydrated. A couple years ago, we purchased a Brita water pitcher, which is pretty economical, and makes up a decent tasting pitcher of water. Frankly, it was better than the bottled water we buy--probably, because we don't buy the expensive brands.
Hope you have a break in your weather, soon!
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
I voted for Jill Stein and and Ajamu Baraka
But I'm a sexist and racist because I didn't vote for HERself and the whitest guy she could find to run with. I'm a Russian agent too...
" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "
@boriscleto You're also probably a
You're also probably a Nazi. At the same time that you're a Russian agent.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Isn't that the bigger story?
That it appears Sanders is proposing a public option, not single payer?
Absolutely correct. Excellent comment
and this was covered by the alternative media when he backed off from proposing UHC and went for MFA.
This dawg isn't stupid. I know exactly why he is doing this.
Funny how this is a far cry from what he was telling people during the primary isn't it?
Actually, it isn't funny at all. It just one more damned sell out from the party that says it stands for the people.
That is true. It's just now We the People, it's the rich f*ckers who pay their salaries.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
@snoopydawg Overly partisan? Overly
Overly partisan? Overly partisan???
Man, I'm so glad that I'm out of there. I still hear their bullshit on a fairly regular basis, but it's not the same.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Black Agenda Report On Harris
This link is to a comment I made on a diary by gjohnsit on 8/02 that includes a link to BAR's opinion of Corey Booker as well:
https://caucus99percent.com/comment/284706#comment-284706
And an article from In These Times:
Don’t Coddle Liberal Politicians Like Kamala Harris—History Shows They Should Be Pressured
http://inthesetimes.com/article/20451/kamala-harris-left-democrats-debate
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Black Misleaders
I just wanted to pull this link up so it doesn_t get neglected:
https://www.blackagendareport.com/baradio-20170724-pascal-reobert
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
This is such a disingenuous move by
Harris, but the loyalists will not see through it. Hopefully, real progressives WILL see it for what it is - an opportunistic move in order to be granted a turn at the brass ring. She disgusts me.
"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
I agree, but also I notice that Bernie is enabling this scam
It's getting to me lately when I hear about the draft Bernie third party efforts, that people still think Bernie is serious about his "political revolution" rhetoric. If he truly believes what he said - that we need a political revolution in this country and that the Democratic Party is failing us, he could easily become a catalyst to bringing them down and starting that revolution he said was vitality important.
Instead, he's backpedaling on single payer universal healthcare, introducing a bill with no chance of passing so that democrats can posture behind it, and providing cover for people like Kamala Harris. All the while, democrats continue to attack him and blame him for Her losing to Trump, call him a traitor and say he's not even a democrat. Yet he still helps the party. No revolution will be forthcoming from Bernie. He seems to be trying to put out the fire he started.
It's time to move beyond Bernie.
I'm grateful for his effort in educating/waking-up America. He's done his part. He continues to be part of the establishment because he doesn't want to lose his job - I get that - but it's over now. We cannot count on him to do the right thing on behalf of us and still maintain his "standing" with that party. I understand that he feels he can do more good by remaining on their good side. However, it is a problem and will remain a problem for us.
It is now up to us to identify the people who will work on behalf of we, the people. It's starting - many of these folks are running for office - but a new party is in order. We cannot reform the DNC. They are a lost cause.
"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
That sums up my thoughts on Bernie nicely
I believe his heart is in the right place...
However I disagree with his political calculus and instead agree with yours...
At this point, he's just siphoning off energy from the progressive revolution which I truly believe he wants.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@CS in AZ Starting to look like
Starting to look like the real purpose of the bill is to redefine Medicare for All and give Harris some undeserved political cred.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Married Doug Emhoff, a wealthy lawyer/lobbyist. Ding!
That was the sound of the last straw for me, way before she was appointed to Boxer's seat. I have no idea why so many people voted for her, none whatsoever. The choices were her or Sanchez, top two sucks. Another blank box.
Douglas C. Emhoff, Partner
blah blah blah etc.. Opensecrets Venable, LLP: Firm Profile: Summary, 2017
Top 5
just fyi
Lee Camp's summary of her record really says it all.
Of course, the Hillbamas will either not know, not care, believe she found jesus, or be glad she isn't Trump. So for President, the Dems will run black Hillary or one of the two new Obamas, Booker and Patrick. They really are doubling down on the identity politics. If they can fool the black folk in 2020 like they gamed them (and most everyone else) in 2008 and 2012 to a lesser degree, billionaires win again. But the lower # of voters each election since 2008 indicates to me that the black community not belonging to the limousine liberal crowd won't be buying it.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Minor correction:
It's not a lesser # of voters each election, it's a lesser # of Democratic voters.
On to Biden since 1973
This Kabuki is so stale...
even the pigeons won't eat it.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
A self-fullfling prophesy
If people keep saying this Medicare-For-All bill won't go anywhere because of Kamala Harris, then that's putting up obstacles to a historic bill that might get somewhere. I don't understand. Should Bernie spurn Kamala's sponsorship? Then the bill really won't go anywhere. If everybody puts enough pressure on their Congress people then the bill will pass Congress and it will be on Trump to sign. If the whole Country puts pressure on their respective Congress people then Trump's veto will be over-ridden by a 2/3 majority. I think our hate of all things having to do with the Democratic establishment can get irrational and self-defeating. It sucks that Kamala didn't investigate certain Wall Street crooks, but she hasn't been all bad as California's Attorney General. She was a much better Attorney General for California than Jeff Sessions is for the US. She helped make weed legal. She was against police brutality and the death penalty. I'm giving my full support for this Medicare For All Bill. When the CBO scores it, it could be a winner. If it does pass, Bernie will get much more credit for it than Kamala. That's what he campaigned on.
Edited to replace all the "thans" that should have been "thens" and to make a couple more points about Kamala.
Beware the bullshit factories.
How many straw men...
can you fit into one comment?
Nobody is saying that MFA will go nowhere because of Kamala Harris. It will go nowhere because the Dem party leadership has 0 interest in upsetting the health insurance lobby.
Likewise, nobody said Bernie should spurn Harris as a cosponsor. However, we should all recognize that sponsorship as the cynical PR stunt it is.
That's cute.
I prefer 'realistic and DLC defeating'. These people are not our allies. They are actively trying to undermine the Progressive agenda at every turn.
So she's better than Jeff Sessions. Not exactly setting the bar very high, are you?
And you'd have to be more stoned than an apostate on a high holiday in Old Jerusalem to think that her band wagoning on making weed legal in the future excuses her atrocious record on freeing those locked up for weed in the past.
I'm sure we can all agree on that.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
@Not Henry Kissinger Wow, I missed that part
Wow, I missed that part. She hasn't been all that bad as Attorney General?
Um, what about this?
“Prison reform advocates have raised concerns that the state is so reliant on the cheap labor of inmate firefighters that policymakers may be slow to adopt prison reforms as a result. The concern was magnified last fall, when lawyers for state Attorney General Kamala Harris argued that extending an early prison-release program to “all minimum custody inmates at this time would severely impact fire camp participation—a dangerous outcome while California is in the middle of a difficult fire season and severe drought.” Harris has since said she was “troubled” by the argument, and the state has ruled that minimum custody inmates, including firefighters, are eligible for the program so long as it proves not to deplete the numbers of inmate firefighters.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/20/mass-incarceration-prison-labor-...
Here's where she said she was "troubled" by the argument her own attorneys made, and tried to get out of being associated with that argument by claiming she had no idea they were going to make that argument.
https://thinkprogress.org/california-attorney-general-says-her-offices-d...
While I understand that leaders can't micromanage every little thing, I am less than impressed with the political practice of having sin eaters downstream from you among your subordinates, whom you sacrifice to the press to maintain a shiny image, and at the very least, I think it shows poor management skills and worse ethical principles to rely on blaming the staff. Though I can't stand Truman, he was right when he said "The buck stops here." If you're a leader, you take responsibility not only for your own actions, but for those that happen under your auspices. If you don't understand that, don't apply for the job.
It's pretty damned sad when Oliver Queen has a better moral compass and grasp of leadership than people being groomed for the Presidency of the United States.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
A PoC supporting....
de facto slavery. The ultimate triangulation.
Compare and contrast:
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
I don't think they 'groom' young political aspirants
anymore. They are now simply trained to do what their corporate/Wall Street bosses want them to do.
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
I guess I'm trying to make a larger point about everybody
Daniel Kahneman is a psychologist who won the Nobel prize in economics. His main point is that people go through 2 stages when they form an opinion. The first stage is a gut reaction to some event that they observe. The second stage is to filter everything seen afterwards so that it conforms to the opinion created by the gut reaction. This is hugely exploited by advertisers and political hacks. It's what keeps MacDonalds in business and it's how people get manipulated and brainwashed. Everybody in this Country has fallen prey to that. Trump supporters, Hillary supporters, establishment haters, racists, anarchists, everybody. The shafting of Bernie during the primaries and Hillary's lies and warhawk positions created a gut reaction in us that maybe blinds us to a full picture of what the heck is going on.
Beware the bullshit factories.
I am at stage 30.
Which is one stage for every year since 1992 I've listened to the Democratic leadership bullshit me about public health insurance + 2 more each for Hillarycare (1994) and Obamacare (2010).
Now throw my gut reaction to Kamala's sponsorship and we've got an even 30.
Face it, the jig is up for the corporate Dems. After Obama's Presidency and Hillary's rigging, only hardcore partisans believe anything the Dem leadership says anymore - on Healthcare or anything else.
And no amount of patronizing psychometric babble will change that.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
@Timmethy2.0 No, he shouldn't spurn it
No, he shouldn't spurn it. But her support shouldn't buy his silence on her awful record with regard to prosecuting financial crime, or her investment in the prison-industrial complex.
Sad to say, she doesn't need to buy his silence, because he is a part of the same machine the Clintons are, at this point. He'd probably support her if she kicked him in the face, because team spirit is more important than anything else.
In any case, the idea that if we all call our Congresspeople enough times they will give us single-payer is highly implausible. They didn't do that when they had large Democratic majorities in both houses and a new, extremely popular, President who had run on the promise of change. They gave us Romneycare and told us how progressive they were for giving us warmed-over Heritage Foundation scraps. Now that we have Republican majorities in both houses and a right-wing Republican president, are we gonna get what we couldn't get with Democratic majorities and Barack Obama?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
"suggesting it’s inevitable given the current climate"
"She helped make weed legal." Despite her policy of not taking positions on ballot measures? okie dokie
How California’s top officials are voting on ballot measures
Follow the ellipses for the full effect, it's a pretty good list and could mesh with Bernie's Criminal Justice platform juust right. Sounds good. I quoted what "her past articulations"on legal weed implied, I think. heh
Did she speak up in favor of Tulsi's bill? https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1227/cosponsors
I don't know.
edit: of course she would not co-sponsor a House bill.
good luck
Bernie himself says it won't go anywhere
Bernie Sanders Knows His Medicare-For-All Bill Won't Pass. That's Not The Point
So, we're having a conversation about it. Mission accomplished, yay. You don't need to worry that having a discussion about the fact it won't pass will stop it from passing. That's not why.
It's also not just because there's a right wing republican congress and president. Bernie's not being completely honest there.
Got that? We can forget single payer. This is a campaign ploy.
Do not kid yourself that this bill has a whisp of a chance of going somewhere. Literally no one involved in pushing it right now even thinks that. They readily admit it won't.
Just like his candicacy
Not really trying to win, just trying to start a conversation. I mean that's swell and all, but it seems conversation is all we've ever gotten as long as I've been a voter. I know others are much more OK with this "trying to get a conversation going" stuff, but maybe these people should just be professional talking heads if conversation is all they're concerned with.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
@Dr. John Carpenter I have a slightly
I have a slightly different take.
A war is being waged on many fronts. One of those fronts, perhaps the one where the bad guys have found it most difficult to win, is the war on the human imagination. I'm not saying they haven't had a lot of success in controlling people's perceptions and ideas of what's possible--but there has actually been active and successful opposition on this front, and a rather startling resilience in a population that has certainly been pummeled and softened up for the propagandists. Time and again, I'm surprised at how quietly stubborn the American people have been since around 2005-2006, and even more so since around 2012. It's not that I'm saying this front is looking good, exactly--it's just that the bad guys aren't achieving the quick squashing of opposition they might have expected, and which they have achieved on the political, economic, and military fronts (well, until Russia somehow leapfrogged over them with some defensive technology).
They have achieved great victories on the cultural front--in fact, that is where they have had the victories that, IMO, have enabled all the others. But they can't quite quell the culture because, no matter how much social engineering you do, the culture ultimately lives in people's minds. So they're obsessed with controlling perception.
As for Bernie, I think he's smart enough to see that certain ideas are being erased out of knowledge. The history of them is being ignored or wrongly told. In the present, the current political landscape cannot accommodate them and neither politicians nor the media ever mention them or act like they exist. I think his candidacy was an attempt to halt that process of rendering invisible the possible alternatives to the status quo, or at least slow it.
Like it or not--and I don't, entirely, because basically I agree with you about how crap it is to tell us we should have a conversation--without Bernie's campaign, we would, right now, literally have no way to identify ourselves to others in a way they would understand. There would be no word for us. "Liberal" is Hillary's. Even "progressive" is Hillary's. And now, what with Antifa and the movement to take down statues, even the word "left" sure doesn't mean me. (I get that not everybody here feels the same). The word "right" doesn't mean me. The Clintons shit all over the word "center" a long time ago. Without Bernie's campaign, "independent" and "socialist" would be the only things I could say, and people would have a much worse idea about socialism than they do since his campaign.
He moved the Overton window left for the first time since I can remember. I thought we did it with Obama, but in retrospect he was vague enough in his speeches that when he tacked hard right it was easy for his campaign promises to sink silently beneath the waves--because they weren't that specific, most of them. Bernie's were specific policy proposals that he repeated about one hundred thousand times all over the country, and people remember some of what was said. That's good.
He struck a solid blow on the right side--it just wasn't a blow in the war we thought he was fighting. And, unfortunately, he's been undoing the good of it as best he can since roughly last June. He has become a primary proponent of controlled opposition. It's awful watching someone get their hooks into someone else; I didn't even like it when it happened to McCain, and he's one of the Keating Five!
None of this excuses what he's done--or hasn't done--in regard to election fraud, and taking people's money essentially under false pretenses. And it certainly doesn't excuse the crap he's been doing for the DNC ever since. But he did do something valuable.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I relate very much to the
Disturbing notion that there is no way to comfortably label ourselves, if we fall out of the duopoly of both big parties, or if we reject a "third way" idealogy or if we no longer can call ourselves moderate. "Moderate" is now being defined too many different ways, so its "M" could be for Muddled, Mis-informed, or a moniker that RW'ers use to pass for independent.
But I guess we know each other from the beliefs we share, the ideas we hold and the things that have shown themselves to be THE reality so we aren't able to accept what so many Americans put up with. Instead we are working on finding a new path.
Believing in the improbable can make your life a miracle.
Hi, CS! I totally agree, but there may be one bright spot--
if more and more corporatist Dem Senators glum onto the upcoming multi-payer proposal, or even Brian Schatz's "Medicaid For All" proposal to allow folks (on a state-by-state basis) to buy into the Medicaid program--sooner or later, the 'cognitive dissonance' manifested [by their conflicting stances on various issues] will become glaringly obvious.
This time, I believe that the Dem Party Leadership has grossly underestimated the intelligence of the American People--including its own Base. Sure, there will be lots of 'spin,' but when all is said and done, a lot of people will question lawmakers' sincerity when they see that they not only support fellow lawmakers who refuse to support - Conyers' MFA/Bernie's public option/Brian Schatz's "Medicaid For All" and/or Stabenow's "Medicare At 55 Act - they agree to campaign for them!
As they say, this may become a 'teachable moment.' (We can hope, anyway.)
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
There is a long way from here to there.
We'll see what Bernie can pull off, and we'll see who the Dems win. If Bernie is the candidate, I will vote for him despite knowing his credibility has been muddied. If it is Kamala Harris, I will not vote for a Third Way centrist ever again.
It won't blind us. It exposes what the heck is going on. As much as it might hurt, we have to hold them accountable for everything. If we want to change the direction this country is headed, we have to force it. We do that by holding the parties accountable and making them deliver.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I first heard of Kamala
as I'm sure others out here have, as the "brave" Attorney General who "refused" to sign off on the bank's settlement, nation-wide, for whatever practice it was during 2008, for $25B. She stood her ground for a bit, saying it wasn't enough, but all of a sudden, it got settled - no further liability for the banks either. I don't remember the particulars with her part after that, but her taking money from the foreclosure king just about says it all to me.
This is just an opportunity for her go persuade a few people that really, she IS on our side, it's just those damnable Repugnants who'll never, ever let it happen. But hey, she'll keep trying, valiantly, until she won't. Just like the rest of them. Sure, Bernie can take her "support" as he too knows this goes nowhere. So sick of their games, playing around with people's lives for fuck's sake.
I'm sorry in a way, I know it sucks to know there is literally NO ONE who will do what is required. They'll pay lots of lip service, and as you point out later, they know how to do it and have for decades.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Hmmmmm, I disagree...
Who's saying that? What I'm saying is that it is safe for Democrats to champion progressive causes in an era in which they control none of the branches of government. I find it suspicious that only a few months ago wanting a real medical system was rainbows and ponies and now they are all on board. It makes me want to look deeper into both the motives and the actual bill.
Wow. In your opinion are Congress people responsive to the input and needs of their constituents? I can tell you that my two Senators are both utterly worthless as is my Representative. And while we're at it, wasn't the approval rating of congress below that of cockroaches? I think calling my "representatives" is just more kabuki theater. Let me ask you this. What do you think I have that they desire? They certainly don't need my money. Given how they've carved up the political pie, they don't really need my vote either. Why would they be responsive to me?
For starters, I do not "hate" them. I simply recognize the sociopathic menaces they are and hope to do something to fix the situation for the sake of my children. Do remember, these are the same folks who rigged their own primary. These same folks lied blatantly numerous times during the primaries. These same people lied us into two wars... war crimes both... and hid a few others here and there. Tell me how it is that I'm supposed to partner with them. Where do you see the compromise?
Wow. How compassionate of you. But here's the deal. Those "Wall Street crooks" are pillaging this nation unchecked. They are causing untold suffering. Well, actually, now that stats on the opioid epidemic are coming out the suffering is starting to be told and it's horrific. So yes, her decision to align with them "sucks" in the same way that Hitler "sucked".
Here is the problem with lesser-evilism. When both sides are incredibly evil then if you support either side you are supporting extreme evil. More, you're just kicking the can down the road... hoping to slow down the destruction of this nation and everyone in it rather than actually fix the problem. I've decided that there's little point in fighting a war I plan to lose.
Yeah sure, it could be. The key is going to be in massive collective price negotiation. I'm willing to bet good money right here and right now that that particular feature won't be included.
As you say, we will wait and see. I can guarantee you that I am not going to get all excited based on a bill's title. Heck, Obama gave us the "Affordable Care Act" and look how laughable that is.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@SnappleBC Wow. Preach.
Wow. Preach.
It sucks that Kamala didn't investigate certain Wall Street crooks
Wow. How compassionate of you. But here's the deal. Those "Wall Street crooks" are pillaging this nation unchecked. They are causing untold suffering. Well, actually, now that stats on the opioid epidemic are coming out the suffering is starting to be told and it's horrific. So yes, her decision to align with them "sucks" in the same way that Hitler "sucked".
Except that Hitler thought he was increasing the prosperity of his country (despite the fact that he was murdering a large number of his countrymen), whereas I don't think these people have any such illusion. The great thing about being a disaster capitalist is that there literally is no place like home.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@SnappleBC I agree with you about
I agree with you about the prices. Either there has to be massive collective price negotiation, as you describe, or the government simply has to fix the prices. Neither one will happen.
The thing about the public option is that, if it actually existed and actually provided the lower price that becomes possible when you're not trying to make profit off something, people would flock to it in droves, and probably not many would stay with private insurance. So, if they ever gave it to us, it would have a poison pill in it somewhere, maybe some dodge around where the public option is accepted.
But they don't need to go to the trouble of constructing a poison pill. They'll just let it die. Meanwhile, it's useful for their next campaign...maybe.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Neoliberal Voltron
Kamala Harris is Neoliberal Voltron.
1- Female, young, Indian-Jamaican in origin, married to a white man. So she's black, but not TOO black. Ticks all of the demographic boxes the DNC likes. She is weaponized identity politics given form. That makes her extremely dangerous.
2- Former state prosecutor turned senator. Ticks the "law & order" authoritarian boxes that the DNC thinks will cater to conservatives and the moderate Republicans that they continue to chase after in vain.
3- Was the toast of the town during a Democratic Party fundraiser in the Hamptons last month. The donors absolutely loved her, which means she's the neoliberal they want running in 2020. They will put their money behind her.
4- She has the political savvy to hitch a ride to the Sanders bill without having to worry about it, since it obviously won't pass. If it comes up in the future where Democrats have the numbers to pass it, she'll simply say, "We don't have the votes" or use some other dodge.
5- Location, location, location. The internet. I've already seen the cheering from leftist/left-leaning/liberal circles on social media who should know better after eight years of Barack Obama.
Kamala Harris is going to be difficult to oppose. The earlier her past political stances and views are brought to light, the better.
@cybrestrike How leftist is leftist?
How leftist is leftist?
I mean, what kind of groups are you talking about?
Because even Jimmy Dore called out Kamala Harris.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Exactly, cybrestrike!
I've said that before. People have to be told she's black. The white woman lying about her race and high up the naacp ladder had an easier time of passing, imho. But we're told she's black and if we oppose her policies or political history, we're racists and mysoginists.
#3 frightens me!
#4 pisses me off.
As far as getting her policies and history out there, we did that with Killary, and it didn't matter. Hillbots are Hillbots are Hillbots. They refused to hear it then, and they'll refuse to hear it about the Golden Girl.
Unless some bombshell is brought to light, we're stuck with this one. And even then, I'd bet Ft Knox that even if she eats babies for breakfast, you'd get banned at dkos for simply mentioning it.
What "bombshell" might be brought to light?
With Hillary we brought up the fact that she lied overtly and directly to manipulate us into another war... just like Bush... who we hated... until we liked him.
I don't think there is any fact or facts that can shake their partisan bubble. I think we need to focus, instead, on providing some sort of "ready made revolution" (as someone above said) so that when people do manage to liberate themselves from the matrix they have some sort of compass & map.
Trying to convince the true believers is like trying to convince a Christian that God isn't going to save Houston.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Hey Lee,
Glad you came back by to say hello. As you can see, we haven't changed one damn bit.
"Not too black and rich" is exactly the line up for 2020: Harris, Booker, Patrick. Do they honestly think people won't notice what they're doing? Just want the country wants is Obama back.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Oh holy hell! Three thumbs up for this line!
That was beyond priceless.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@cybrestrike And btw, glad you came
And btw, glad you came by.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
It's good to see you again, cybrestrike--
all your points are excellent.
On your point about Harris's popularity with left-leaning folks on social media, I do agree that she will probably greatly excite the Dem Party Base, and, that there's a lot of cheering for her (already) from Dem Party hacks--partly, because they believe that she is the ticket to exciting and turning out the 'O' Coalition.
But, I'm less inclined to believe that Harris will overly excite left-leaning Independents. Surely, after WJC and PBO the majority of those folks (which I am a part of) understand that all that she would bring to the table is another (Democratic) corporatist neoliberal presidency--wrapped in a lot of 'progressive' talk, or mumbo jumbo.
Hey, don't be a stranger!
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
All this means is that at TOP
You will now be able to post a Single Payer diary without getting it trolled or yourself banned.
I've come to accept the fact that no Democratic President will pass single payer. Remember public face/private face Hillary? She is merely the one Dem who openly admitted it in a speech to Wall Street. The rest aren't as stupid and arrogant to admit they will never push for progressive policies once they are in power.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Too bad only people like us will educate
ourselves about 'our' candidates. I'd make everyone who even THINKS that their politics lie anywhere on the left side of the political 'spectrum' watch this video.
Especially the SJWs who thought their protests and pink hats were going to turn the election around and the Clinton Creature was going to somehow replace Trump in the White House.
Now they're going to try to use the same tactics to get the one-term, black, female senator with a shady history in the White House. Any opposition makes you either a misogynist, sexist, or racist. And the campaign has already begun. And she's joined at the hip with their bestest sheep dog ever. She's a co-sponsor now on his healthcare bill. Well, it started out as Sanders bill. But now the Dims and the DNC have made it all about Harris. That says a lot about Sanders, the Dims, and Harris. None of it good.
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
Breaking Brown
On The Black Bourgeoisie:
5 Ways the Black Bourgeoisie Betrayed and Intentionally Undermined the Black Poor
More here:
http://breakingbrown.com/2014/03/5-ways-the-black-bourgeoisie-betrayed-a...
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Numbers
The entire country could be run by Democrats:
House
Senate
President
Not just majority, but actual 100% full seating...
And we still wouldn't get single payer
Real climate activism
Ending American imperialism
And more
We would be told that everything is great and wonderful.
And therein is the rub
I have simply been lied to too many times to trust them. My brother asked me the question, "So what would the Democratic Party need to do to regain your trust?" and the question stumped me. Honestly, I don't like that. Seldom do I admit of a situation in which another party has absolutely no path to redemption in my eyes. Yet the best I could respond to him was a vague, "Well, they could stop doing everything they are doing and perhaps start telling me the truth sometimes and that'd be a start." When I said that, I wasn't kidding about "a start". The path to rebuilding my trust in them is long but they haven't even set foot on it yet.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@SnappleBC What would make me
What would make me trust the Democrats, hmmmm....
They can start with a climate bill that will decrease our petroleum consumption by 75% over the next three years. The social upheaval caused by that will be significant, but the government certainly doesn't lack for law enforcement funding these days. And it's not our fault they decided to leave it this late. And when I say "start with a...bill" I don't mean three people co-sponsor it and the rest go play with the Republicans. I mean a genuine push, the likes of which we've seen rarely in this country since Nancy Pelosi, not yet Minority Leader, nearly stopped the Iraq War in 2002.
Next, they can re-set the tax rates in this country to what they were under Eisenhower. When people oppose it, they can eventually move to the compromise position of re-setting them to what they were in the early years of the first Reagan administration (before he started fucking things up). This bill should also include severe penalties for tax evasion, including using the Grand Caimans and other havens to take money out of the United States. Penalties like revoking their corporate charter. If you don't want to contribute to this country, you can take your business elsewhere.
Third, nationalize the banks. At least provide a "public option," one per state, like North Dakota's state bank, so people don't have to deal with the private crooks when they want to start a business. We'll need that financing to start new businesses after we throw out the ones who don't want to pay taxes here. Oh, and put the ratings agencies on notice that if they try more shit like they did leading up to the crash, they will be jailed. Also, make a law that standards for such ratings must be equal for all businesses--Jeff Bezos doesn't get to run several quarters without profit and remain highly rated, while all other firms have to play by the old rules.
Fourth, go Eliot Ness on police departments throughout the country. Root out the white supremacists there. End the Israel junkets where they learn pacification techniques worthy of an invading army. Take the military weapons out of their hands. Change the training at police academies to focus on protecting communities rather than controlling them. Repeal Patriot Acts I and II. Restore Miranda. Killing a civilian should result in an investigation (a real one, not a charade). Killing an unarmed civilian or anyone under 16 should be a firing offense.
Fifth, end the wars. Bring the soldiers home. Some of them can be put to work rebuilding our nation's infrastructure. Jobs should be created for all of them that can work, and treatment should be provided for those who don't. The Middle East is a wreck, but we can't fix what we broke, unfortunately. At least not with armies.
Sixth, raise the minimum wage until it is a living wage--in other words, make minimum wage no longer a poverty wage. You don't want to crush small businesses, so you'd want to combine the new "living wage" law with policies that would favor small businesses (this is usually defined as 50 employees or fewer). One of the hardest things for small businesses to manage is rent, so you could give a tax break to landlords for keeping rents to small businesses below a certain level, and a tax penalty if they go above a certain level (these rates would obviously be reckoned differently in different places. The simplest way would be to do it by state, but large states should be divided into regions--there's no point in acting like Texas or California is all one big lump). Also, you could establish--and publicize--a Small Business Network online, costs of which should be tax-deductible. [EDIT: Actually, why not have the entire thing publicly funded? As long as the government is creating it, let the government fund it.] There should be PSAs about it everywhere, online and off, a giant marketing push. In other words, let's have a "public option" alternative to Amazon. Why should Jeff Bezos get to run the whole show?
Criminalize fracking and clean up water pollution coast-to-coast. There is no independence without water. There is no security without water.
Oh, and pardon Edward Snowden and Jeremy Hammond.
That should do to be going on with.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
::breaks into applause::
Excellent! I take my hat off to you.
@lotlizard Thank you. I didn
Thank you. I didn't mention the National Health Service they should institute.
My new strategy is, every time they triangulate, I ask for more.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Here's the rub
The Democratic party has no power at any level virtually anywhere. They cannot DO any of those things. All they can do is talk about them.... much like their health care mumblings now. Yet talk is cheap and when someone has lied to you so repeatedly for so long, the talk carries no weight. So I'll never give them my vote on the basis of talk and without my vote they won't have the ability to prove their good faith.
How can they demonstrate that they are a party for the people when they have no power. That's the question. The only stuff I could think of are internal things... things like:
The Hillary Victory Fund: This was clearly created to launder money skirting campaign finance regulations. Worse it was created to put Hillary in the oval office at the expense of down-ballot Democrats everywhere. This and all similar shenanigans need to stop.
Get rid of Corporate Democrats: OK, the party itself cannot get rid of them, but the party could actively help US to get rid of them. As it sits right now, the party protects them. This would also tie into:
Running clean primaries: They rigged their own presidential primary for crying out loud. They could stop doing that and that'd help. In my mind what that looks like is the party establishing funds & structures to support Democratic candidates and supporting them even-handedly without consideration to who they are running against. The support should be based on their liberal credentials.
They could tell the truth about the MidEast: I'd like to hear one of them say, "Yeah, I know we told you we were there to stop terrorism but that was a lie. The real reasons we are there are..."
They could tell the truth about public health care. Bernie says it flat out. Why can't others? How hard would it be to say, "The reason you don't have a humane health care system is that rich donors don't want you to have one. We've decided that's no longer acceptable."
They could coronate a progressive instead of Ms. Prison Labor.
From the "Already crossed the Rubicon" category:
Snowden & Manning: Sadly it's already too late on this one and the Democratic party clearly declared themselves my enemy here.
Perez: Again, too late. By putting a guy who is arguably the face of Wall Street corruption into the top chair at the DNC they, again, pretty clearly declared their allegiances.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Well put, SBC! When you said
I was able to immediately identify with those feelings.
Nice essay--generated a lot of interesting and thoughtful comments. Thanks!
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
@SnappleBC Well, of
Well, of course it's true they can't accomplish these things, because our current politics will not allow it.
But if they made a genuine effort to do those things, consistently and persistently, I'd trust them a lot more. Look at the Green Party. They have no power to do anything, but they are pushing for the right things. I don't rely on them, because I know they have no power, but I do trust them. They have (some) credibility with me (somewhat injured because of the weird pro-Hillary shenanigans Stein did at the end of the year).
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
There is more than one fly in Ms Harris' Ointment
And that is how she let various economic criminals prosper and thrive inside California.
When the Attorney General for California, she gave a get out of jail free card to far too may banking fraudsters. One of them happened to be Steve Mnuchin, who Trump then appointed to head the US Treasury. And when Kamela found out about that appointment, she was livid.
Yet had she actually prosecuted Mnuchin for various violations of banking regulations, while she was AG. the guy might be wearing an orange jump suit now instead of being the head of Treasury.
Believing in the improbable can make your life a miracle.