[video:https://youtu.be/ta5eNrrVxMQ]

I'm tired of progressives tied to the democratic party ignoring the killing and destruction, including of our own country, of U.S. imperialism.

What are you tired of?

The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is "an American nonprofit progressive political advocacy organization. Founded in 1996, the organization bills itself as "the strategy center for the progressive movement."

"Within the Democratic Party, it often serves as a counterweight to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). CAF argues that the Democratic Party should draw sharp contrasts with the Republicans and advance a progressive agenda."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_America%27s_Future

The CAF recently released a "Pledge to Fight for America's Future" which includes an eleven plank "agenda". This agenda of theirs is evidently a product of 70 progressive "leaders of the resistance" who had supported democratic party presidential candidates Hillary the Warmonger Clinton and Bernie the Savior Sanders. Talk about resisting eh.

http://campaignforamericasfuture.org/

"Democrats can’t build an enduring majority for real change without clarity on an agenda far different and bolder than the neoliberalism of the past years. But now, 70 leaders of the resistance—supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Bernie, Sanders—have released a Pledge to Fight for America’s Future that outlines an economic agenda and vows to build the movement needed to make it a reality. (For list of signers, go here; to join the pledge go here. Full disclosure: This was spearheaded by Roger Hickey and released by the Campaign for America’s Future, which I co-founded.)

The agenda is not a grab-bag of glittering new ideas. Rather, it reflects an emerging consensus among the activist base of the Democratic party that began to take form in the DNC platform born from negotiations between Clinton and Sanders in 2016. Parts of the pledge are also in the “Better Deal” agenda that Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are rolling out, but can be found too in the stirring platform put out by the Movement for Black Lives and 60 other organizations in 2016."

https://ourfuture.org/20180227/how-democrats-can-offer-real-solutions-to...

Those 70 "prominent progressive leaders" evidently include author Naomi Klein and Our Revolution president Nina Turner. Here's the "11 planks of the agenda".

(1) Jobs for All—Created by Rebuilding America
(2) Invest in a Green Economy
(3) Empower Workers to Reduce Inequality
(4) Opportunity and Justice for All—With Focus on Communities Harmed by Racism
(5) Guarantee Women's Economic Equality
(6)High-Quality Public Education—Pre-K to University
(7) Medicare for All—and Shared Economic Security
(8) Make Corporations and Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
(9) A Global Economic Strategy for Working People
(10) Close Wall Street's Casino
(11) Rescue Democracy from the Special Interests

Robert Borosage, president of the CFA says "the pledge is a document in progress. It hopes to spark a debate, and to encourage others to join. It doesn’t claim to be comprehensive, and doesn’t address national-security policies nor social policies."

What's up with this nonsense from the progressives, like Bernie Sanders himself, of ignoring "national security" as Borosage puts it? Why put out a progressive agenda supposedly to "draw a sharp contrast with the republicans" that doesn't include war and imperialism?

When I originally saw their 11 planks I was outraged by the omission of anything related to foreign policy and this country's global military empire. I found it hard to believe they could stoop that low. Then I found the article by Robert Borosage which did admit to leaving it out along with the explanation that the agenda was a work in progress. He didn't however say that the foreign or national security issue was going to be addressed.

I did find this statement at the end of the "A Global Economic Strategy for Working People" plank.

"Our current national security policies commit us to policing the world. The result costs lives and drains public resources. We need a real security policy that makes military intervention a last resort, and focuses on global threats like climate change, poverty and inequality. We should reduce military budgets and properly support humanitarian programs."

Oops, they gave it away right there in the first line - "policing the world". That's the standard propaganda line for why we have 1000 military bases, 14 aircraft carriers, and special forces in 150 countries, to act as the world's policeman, like we're some kind of benevolent country acting to keep the order, help people in danger and spread democracy. Nope, wrong answer 70 progressive leaders of the resistance. That's not what our government (and those that control it) is doing with the global military machine. That's the propaganda we're fed like in the Navy and Army commercials that proclaim their mission as a "global force for good".
Obviously the CAF, as an appendage of the democratic party, will support U.S. imperialism including as a lead in the "let's go to war with Russia" mania sweeping the country because the Democratic party is now the lead war party of the duopoly, or at least co-lead.

The United States is a (dying) global imperialist military empire controlled by an oligarchy which includes a military/intelligence/security industrial complex (MIC), trying to enforce and maintain hegemony over the entire planet, and the space above it. A U.S. president, Eisenhower, warned about the MIC back in his 1961 farewell address.

To do this, the United States marauds the earth waging war, enforcing sanctions, destroying countries, and killing people, including innocent men, women, children, and BABIES. It threatens, bribes, punishes and lies like a criminal mafia. It spies on it's own people. It's estimated that the U.S. has killed, or is responsible for the deaths of from 20-30 million people since the end of World War II. The immorality of U.S. imperialism is off the charts and to ignore this aspect of U.S. government is beyond the pale.

Then there's the impact to the federal budget and domestic and social programs.

The total combined imperialism budget is approximately $1.2 trillion per year, including the $700 billion for "defense". The rest is made up of intelligence, homeland security, Dept of Energy (nukes), Veterans Administration, etc. There are two broad aspects to the federal budget, the discretionary budget and the non-discretionary budget. The non-discretionary budget include programs that are backed by law, such as Social Security and Medicare. Congress cannot touch those unless they change or add to the law. The discretionary budget includes programs that Congress has the discretion to authorize annually. The Department of Defense is a discretionary program as are most intelligence and homeland security programs. Currently the total budget for defense, intelligence and security, and related such as the V.A and Dept of Energy (nukes), take up about 65% of the discretionary national budget.

Like with Bernie Sanders, the inability to address U.S. global militarism and imperialism while proclaiming support for Medicare for All or a higher minimum wage is not only a glaring hole, it's a hypocritical omission that discredits their other claims of populist policies. There is nothing more racist and destructive to the humans on this planet at this time than U.S. imperialism.

There is no way we're going to get any of the things on the CAF list unless we end the ruling class agenda for global hegemony. Look at what's happening now with the republicans in charge. They've implemented a ten year plan to greatly increase the imperialism and police state budget (no doubt preparing for war with Russia and China, not to mention North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Africa, the next great oil battlefield), while cutting and gutting social programs including Medicare and Social Security, privatizing infrastructure, and furthering increasing of the stupendous wealth inequality that has enveloped not just this country but the entire planet. All being done with the help of the democratic party.

So Robert Borosage, Robert Hickey and Campaign for America's Future, how about a debate? Let's start with why you and those 70 progressive leaders of the resistance don't want to confront U.S. imperialism?