Astroturfing the McResistance
Is it even possible to astroturf an already artificial, corporate political movement?
It appears that we are about to find out.
"The Resistance" has significant support from the non-profit industrial complex and the Wall Street-stuffed coffers of the Democratic Party. Such support is evident in the organizations MoveOn.org, the Town Hall Project, and Indivisible. The Democratic think-tank Center for American Progress (CAP) assists each of these so-called anti-Trump focused organizations. On CAP's Board of Directors sits Democratic Party elites Madeline Albright and John Podesta.
Indivisible is not a group I had heard of before. So I did a search and found this.
With more than 6000 chapters by early February, the classic Astroturf organization “Indivisible,” set up by two Democratic Congressional staffers, has worked to channel popular anger into manageable mainstream channels that offer no challenge to the nation’s unelected and interrelated dictatorships of money, class, empire, race, gender, and ecocide. Indivisible talks about the need to get past “ideology” and unite Americans across partisan lines to “get big things done” through government – standard “pragmatic” neoliberal language. An activist and attorney from California’s Monterey County recently wrote me on how Indivisible is a “mechanism for co-opting the anti-Trump resistance and channeling opposition to Trump into support for the Democratic Party.” By the activist’s account, Indivisible “has had a devastating impact on local organizing. A broad-based and diverse coalition was developing here in the first few months after the election; it collapsed as soon as Indivisible appeared.”
...I’ve received similar reports from other correspondents. One of my favorite ones comes from South Florida, where an Indivisible chapter invited as a speaker its notorious right-wing corporate-Democratic Congressperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz – an arch-neoliberal Democrat who led the rigging of the primaries against Sanders as Democratic National Committee chair and who has openly pledged allegiance to big money campaign donors over single-payer health insurance. As Florida progressive Taylor Raines reported last May 2nd, “not only did this group invite one of the most divisive women in liberal politics to speak at their meeting, but they openly prepared to silence dissent by banning signs, and promptly removed protestors who spoke up against her.” Any angry Floridian who had the accurate audacity to note that Wasserman-Schultz wing of the Democratic Party essentially elected Trump (Sanders would likely have defeated the orange-tinted beast) was evicted from the gathering – in the name of “one nation, under God, Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Wow! The Dems moved fast to co-opt legitimate, grassroots anger and fear, and completely gut it.
I should point out that Debbie Wasserman Schultz was one of the 25 House Democrats that have been working for the last few months on a bill that would remove Trump from office. So DWS is also part of the McResistance.
Now some of you might think that I'm being unfair by calling this prepackaged, heavily processed, over-marketed, unhealthy political movement The McResistance.
The reality is the name is extremely appropriate.
Yes, really. This is an actual McDonald's web site.
Even the Tea Party wasn't this phony.
The apparel carries several slogans such as “vive la résistance” imposed over fast food or the image of Ronald McDonald’s fist raised in solidarity—notable that it is the mascot’s fist raised in solidarity and not that of, say, a fictionalized employee. The imagery is the explicit merger of the language of resistance with that of global capitalism. Political action is reduced to another commodity on the market.
...Here resistance becomes another product paradoxically upholding the status quo rather than challenging it. Wall Street’s problem isn’t that the financial industry explicitly profits off others poverty, they just need more women as board members. McDonald’s hasn’t fought paying employees a living wage—it’s part of the resistance. That liberalism is largely uninterested in challenging the status quo makes this emphasis on the symbolic necessary.
Give the Republicans some credit.
At least the GOP could maintain some thin, superficial appearance of a grassroots movement.
The Democrats are completely unable to do the same.
It is only natural, then, for Democrats and progressives to look back at the Tea Party for some guidance in 2017, which is exactly what the authors of the widely read Indivisible document did last December, offering “a step-by-step guide for individuals, groups, and organizations looking to replicate the Tea Party’s success in getting Congress to listen to a small, vocal, dedicated group of constituents.”
...Of course, the “resistance” has been far from perfect, and at times liberals seem to be imitating the Tea Party in all the wrong ways. For example, many liberals have also come to ignore reality and create their own facts, while falling for conspiracy theories that bolster their increasingly paranoid worldview (particularly when it comes to Russia). Just as Tea Partiers once accused Obama of being a Kenyan-born Muslim, many liberals are today convinced that Trump is a Russian spy who is guilty of treason.
If the resistance has been all too ready to embrace the Tea Party’s paranoid style of politics, it has simultaneously been too reluctant to adopt the anti-establishment politics that made the Tea Party such a dominant force in American politics.
One thing you have to give credit to the Tea Party was that it challenged the GOP establishment. The Dems, on the other hand, seem obsessed with making sure that doesn't happen to them.
While Hillary has shamelessly hitched herself to what is supposed to be a "grassroots" movement, Obama has kept it more quiet.
But the private activity suggests that the former president, who left the White House with a 60 percent approval rating, is quietly doing more to shape the party than is often visible.
...The conversations between Obama and the lawmakers and party leaders are said to vary.
With Perez, the men discussed the outlines of the party's future. With others, he has discussed policy.
What might be his advice? Protect Obamacare and pass TPP? Oh, and find out why we lost the Rust Belt when you get a chance.
Obama is singularly unqualified to guide the Democratic Party back to something that represents its grassroots.
In a January 2017 interview with Vox, former President Barack Obama said, “In the ‘dissatisfied’ column are a whole bunch of Bernie Sanders supporters who wanted a single-payer plan. The problem is not that they think Obamacare is a failure. The problem is that they don’t think it went far enough and that it left too many people still uncovered.”
Indeed, Sanders supporters don’t think Obamacare went far enough because it left 28 million people uncovered in addition to millions more with virtually no coverage given the high premiums and deductibles they face. Criticisms of the AHCA—that it would take away health coverage for millions and cause countless deaths—are true for Obamacare as well. The debate taking place within the Democratic Party between establishment Democrats and Sanders progressives is about how many people it is acceptable for a government health care system to abandon: none or millions.
As I pointed out the other day, the entire health care system is failing, while Obamacare does nothing but subsidize health insurance for some people.
To be fair, there is a progressive insurgency inside the Democratic Party that is outside of the McResistance. The GOP has their grassroots problem as well.
No matter how much astroturfing the parties do, this popular rebellion will not go away. Not as long as the nation remains an oligarchy.
Comments
Caitlin Johnstone's take
how to resist Trump
After Caitlin, don't miss this from umair haque
I happened to read Caitlin's piece just before cruising in to c99 today. I also read umair haque's (Why) The Resistance is Losing which may well be even more powerful. It certainly complements Caitlin's article.
I'm about to head to work and have no time to go further, but I urge everyone to read this article. The nail is hit squarely on the head.
The averge Joe Blow
doesn't have a clue what's going on, nor does he care. And without that there is no "resistance" except for the astroturf variety. Until most of those Joe Blows wake up none of what we "woke" do will make much difference. I work side-by-side a Ton of 47%ers that are Trump supporters, look at me in disbelief that I'm not. So much for the "resistance."
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@Wink Offer them something
Offer them something that isn't a sack of shit and they might listen.
One of the useful lessons from Bernie's campaign.
"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
Not fools
Exactly. The Democrats offered nothing but more of the same shit.
I've mentioned this before, but the first inkling I had that a sea change was upon us was when my (supposedly) right-wing co-workers started asking very sincere questions about Bernie ... and - mind you - these workers all lived in either deep-red south Louisiana or deep-red Texas.
These people would not vote for Hillary Clinton - or anyone similar - if you held a gun to their head ... and they didn't. They still won't and they never will. Many of them expressed to me that they couldn't stand Trump. In the end, they either voted for him anyway, or did not vote at all.
The whole thing is as phony as it comes.
My wallet is zipped, and it will stay that way.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
So Obama is consulting on policy and how to lose elections?
Way to make a lot of money. Convince corporations he is the power behind the throne.
Obama was lucky he
ran against Mittens in 2012. Almost anyone else would have beat him.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@dkmich As someone who used
As someone who used to be Van Hollen's constituent--and even put on an event for one of their better bills--let me provide a small bit of context--ever since Obama got there, Van Hollen has been his strong ally. He was his voice on budget in the House, to the extent that Van Hollen went against (I think) his own instincts and supported some evasively-described version of Social Security cuts when the President did. (He had never supported such cuts before, not even when he was on the hideous SuperCommittee--or at least, if he did, it never got public enough that I knew about it. In fact, he used to be a fairly reliable voice for federal employees' benefits, which, given where his district is, is no surprise.) This move on his part caused him some political inconvenience later, when Donna Edwards ran against him for the Senate seat. It was one of the few places she could really solidly attack him. But he's one of the few people who's peachy as far as his political machine is concerned (MD is absolutely a machine state) and also, at least up till I left in 2015, popular with the people. He has one of the safest seats in Congress, and he won.
Anyway, my point is, he's been joined at the hip with Obama since early 2009. There used to be a picture of him with Obama in his office that you could see easily when you went in--and not every Democratic Congressman had that. I'd say he hitched his wagon to Obama's star, but he was well established by the time Obama got there, so I'll just call it a strong alliance. And apparently, it's still going strong!
"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
Re: Julian Assange tweet
Hey! The McResistance is about the important issues facing Americans today!
/s
@LoneStarMike Aw, man!!!!
Aw, man!!!!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Thanks gjohnsit
I was hoping that you would write an essay on this story.
Well done.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Been saying this for a while.
The DNC took a look at the Tea Party and rather than trying to poke holes in that "movement", they took notes and looked for ways to improve it (by which I mean keep control of the monster so it doesn't threaten to attack its creators and benefactors.) That's exactly what the McResistance is about and why I'm convinced the Democratic Party is beyond reforming. They're obsessed with creating a better, more obedient monster rather than changing and sadly, too many are willing to go along.
Great essay.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
The parallels between the Tea Party and the Resistance.
I think, as you say, the Democrats wanted to keep the disappointed Dems inside the tent, so they built a play area where angry Dems can express their neutered rage. But the Resisters are not trying to reform the Party or move it to the left or to the right. They just want to assemble and be heard, with no particular goal in sight but waiting for someone to come along and impeach the President.
The Tea Party was a movement within the Republican Party, also protesting the election of a President they despised. Like the Resisters, they sometimes took it on the road. They, too, were funded, but the Tea Party did want to Reform the Republican Party and push it to the right. They formed a voter's-alliance that would support any Tea Party type running for office in the US, or mounting a primary challenge against any moderate Republican up for re-election. They saw Obama vs. Romney as "the lesser of two evils" election — but when they did have a choice, the Tea Party's voter's-alliance succeeded.
Where this comparison falls apart is that the Democrats have an unaccounted for third component, still out there. It's an enormous group with a compelling cause. They want to reform the Democratic Party and want to push the Party to the left. The movement doesn't have a name yet, or a plan, or an alliance. I suspect that's by design, with their various leaders variously compromised to keep it aimless. The hope is the reformers will get bored eventually and go their separate ways, adding their numbers to the disenfranchised and silent.
But there are events that can come along and shake things up.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Exactly.
I agree with your comment and thanks for fleshing my comment out.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
events
And those events are coming, will or nill the powers that now be.
Pitchforks aren't that far off....
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Just as the Tea Party was a rebranding of the most extremist
far Right elements of the Repug Party, and underwritten by their most villainous oligarchs (most notably the "Libertarian" Koch Bros, CNBC and FOX, the McResistance is its perfect counterpart, designed to re-install the most Neoliberal components of the Dim Party, but under the false aegis of real opposition against those ruthless thugs on the Right.
The McResistance stays in business advertising themselves as more benevolent, when they're just as much thugs who have been paid off by the same campaign donors to keep up the charade.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
The CIA might be involved too
... what the Washington Post has done is basically served as a megaphone for John Brennan, the former CIA director, and really revealed Brennan as the ringleader of the leaks and the whole Russia campaign. It's actually Brennan, former CIA director, former director of Obama's global drone wars, who stimulated the so-called resistance, the organized liberal grassroots against Trump, with these leaks, which is really troubling.
Interview with Max Bloomenthal (15 min or transcript)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19441:US-Voters-Aren%27t-Buying-the-Rus
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
If the leaks are true (a big IF) then
Brennan should be in prison for releasing classified information.
The paper I signed when I got my clearance said I was liable for five years in prison (for perjury, we don't have an official secrets act) if I violated my oath to not reveal classified information.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Is Sanders going to let us down?
link
looks like he does ... sigh ... why? /nt
@gjohnsit He just did.
He just did.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Same thing Bernie told Jake Tapper earlier today,
IIRC, this is what Ralph Nader said back in February of this year, when he wrote Bernie an open letter. (I'll post it at EB.) Also, it explains the brusque reply that I got almost two weeks ago when I called to follow up on Bernie's MFA bill.
I was told that they could not "discuss the Senator's legislative calendar." And when I replied 'fine,' but can you say if he'll introduce it this legislative session--same reply.
Oh, and here's what Manchin said today on Fox News Sunday,
So, looks like the Dem Party Leadership cleverly (to their minds) put out lawmakers whose views are purported to be diametrically opposed, in an attempt to get the Dem Party Base on board to 'save the ACA.'
BTW, as I posted recently at EB, Manchin was one of the co-sponsors of the even skimpier 'Copper' Plan--that's the kind of 'solution' I fear that we'll get, if there is a bipartisan bill.
(That would be in keeping with what Rand Paul wants. That, and Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs.)
As Jonathan Chait practically said in a recent piece--if there is a bipartisan 'holding of hands,' or a compromise reached on ACA reform, electoral pressures from having propped up a lousy bill will mostly be eliminated for both parties (regarding the ACA). Hence, no need to listen to, much less acknowledge the wishes of their respective constituencies. (Of course, he appeared to be condoning this behavior, not objecting to it.)
In other words, 'Game Over.'
[Edited: Deleted 'n.']
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."--Helen Keller
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."--Old English Proverb
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Manchin is nothing more than a FRightwing mouthpiece.
He's not even that good at evading the question. Sprouted a bunch of clumsy lawyer legalese.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
I know Manchin
is ultra right-wing.
According to the New England Journal Of Medicine, an inadvertent result of the extreme clampdown on opioids has been the heroin addiction crisis. (He had a major hand in getting this accomplished, legislatively.) Combined with the change in formula that made it much more difficult to abuse opioids, the rescheduling of them from a Schedule 3 to a Schedule 2 drug made their cost skyrocket--to the point that street heroin was, and is, much cheaper to obtain. Talk about incompetent, if not flat-out immoral.
I didn't object to changing the drug formula; but the rescheduling of the drug appears to have caused more problems, than it helped. IMO, the most sensible action would have been to have made addiction treatment more readily available to folks whose use was not clinically necessary. In other words, provide help to recreational users/addicts, so that they could kick their habit. Don't make new 'rules' which deny folks with true severe and painful chronic conditions the ability to manage their pain.
As far as his choice of words on Fox News Sunday, I think that he was being very forthright. Notice what he said,
What he's getting at is that he agrees with a 'consumer driven health care model'--and Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs. Which is ridiculous for very low income people.
It also sounds as though he's endorsing severe 'managed care' measures.
Overall, I thought his words were quite demeaning.
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
@gjohnsit - For what's it worth - gets confusing, this is
what Sanders said on Democracy Now today: Bernie Sanders on Resisting Trump, Why the Democratic Party is an "Absolute Failure" & More
Have no nerves to read this now. Just saying.
@gjohnsit If implementing a real
If implementing a real open-to-all (inc. those with employer-based ins) public option (national, not state based) and lowering the Medicare age is done as a transition toward single payer I'm all for it.
This is absolutely true, no doubt, but I don't think throwing single payer off track is Bernie's intent.
For one, his definition (the progressive definition) of a public option is different than your average Dem establishment hack. Bernie's version is national, not state-based. This is a huge difference. The ACA's version was supposed to be national, but the gutting of it that happened before it was finally slaughtered included changing it to state-based. That was one of the very early concessions made in the senseless chase for bipartisany good cheer. Same goes for the exchange in general. It was supposed to be one national exchange, based on the exchange federal employees have had for ages.
A national exchange would have had the advantage of one huge national pool for cost reduction. It also would have been a lot harder for red states to sabotage the way they did.
The other very key part was that it was supposed to be open to all, even those with employer-based coverage.
It would have created a real public alternative, for anyone who wants it, to the private market. The savings of the huge (because national and open to all) pool + low admin costs was supposed to create real downward pressure on the market.
That's why they killed it. It's the one part of Obamacare that would have fucking worked.
On an even playing field, private insurance cannot complete, no way. The public option (as it should have been implemented) would have moved huge swaths of the population to a government plan and over time exposed the private insurance industry for what it is: a useless, blood-sucking middleman.
If the open-to-all national exchange would have been implemented with the national public option, insurance companies would be half neutered by now and a lot more people would understand and accept why single payer makes so much sense. Eventually private insurance would either die off completely or be relegated to what it is in many countries with true universal care: supplement plans for people willing to pay for some extra convenience or comfort.
Yes, most Dems who mention the public option at all are only paying lip service to avoid talking about the real solution: single payer. But that's not where Bernie is coming from.
I haven't seen the Sanders bill that you've referenced--
do you have a link to it, please?
The only Sanders bill that I've seen is from 2013, and it is state-based. There's some federal oversight regarding 'guidelines.' Anyhoo, not saying there isn't another bill, just haven't seen it. If folks recall, he put out a summary/brochure during the election, but never followed through with the legislation for his proposal. (Again, that I know of. If anyone has seen one, please let me know.)
Here's a link to the 2013 bill.
As it's (the 2013 bill) written, I can't advocate for it. It dismantles every federal health care program except for the VA program--which, of course, has been privatized since this bill was offered--and the Indian Health Service.
Here's how is reads,
and,
IOW, folks enrolled in the Social Security Act Title XVIII (Medicare) and Title XlX (Medicaid) programs would lose their current insurance.
What I can support is an OAP-type program. Or, and I'd have to see the bill first, a bill calling for Improved/Enhanced and Expanded Medicare-For-All.
IOW, a bill that calls for eliminating all of the deductibles and co-pays for the existing Medicare program (Improved/Enhanced), which expands the coverage to cover every aspect of general medical, dental, vision, and long-term care, and which extends the coverage to everyone at birth (Expanded).
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
@Unabashed Liberal I wasn't referring to
I wasn't referring to any specific Sanders bill since ACA, I'm talking about what was supposed to be in the ACA. If his post-ACA bills suggesting improvements are state based I'd guess that's because the exchange ended up being state-based.
Thanks, Dopeman. I look forward to seeing
the bill that Bernie's talking about introducing.
It's my hope that it will be a 'federalized' version. The cool thing about our current Medicare program is that base benefits are identical, regardless of where you live. Same is true of the Medigap supplement policies. (It's up to the individual State Insurance Commissioners regarding which plans to offer, whether to allow folks to move freely between plans, etc., etc.) However, all the benefits in a Plan F or Plan G or Plan A, whatever, are the same--regardless of your residence/location. The only difference is the cost and/or service rendered by the individual insurers.
Which is one reason that I can't back a 'Medicaid-For-All' type of plan. Benefits vary so widely from state to state. Several years ago TN basically abolished it SNF/nursing home benefit. You can have dementia, be incontinent, and generally near helpless, and still be refused nursing home care. The state dropped the '2 ADL' guidelines--now there's a convoluted 'point system.' Also, if you have relatives that they believe should be caring for an elderly person, that person will likely be refused institutional care. Thankfully, we've switched our primary residence, which will soon be outside the US, anyway, but still, the idea that corners would be cut to that extent is unconscionable (IMO).
I don't doubt that Bernie wants a decent single-payer system. But, I have real doubts about many of his fellow Dem (much less Republican) lawmakers. Joe Manchin said today that he was not on board with a single-payer system (on Fox News Sunday).
Have a good one!
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."--Helen Keller
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
If we can't have OFA, then at least make Medicare sliding scale
thanks, MfA is zero improvement for me. I am "one of those people" with insurance but no money to pay for services. There are no mental health services to pay for, except a lifetime addiction to pharmaceuticals. No thanks, but MediCal does work for the poor because payments are sliding scale so millions of immigrants, children, and seniors have access to healthcare. The ones who need it the most, I'd say. MfA inside an already corrupt system is asking for trouble. Lobbyists and consultants, start your engines.
Bernie is who he is, I think a lot of people are going to be hurt by his words eventually. Already the focus is trying to shift to Turner, another "new" face for the private D party. Good luck.
peace
edit: replaced OPA with OFA, whatever Congress has is good enough for all.
Hiya, eyo! You'll get no argument out of me
regarding the adoption of a sliding-scale model for Medicare premiums. Premium surcharges were added several years ago, and as medical inflation escalates, that may be the most reasonable solution.
Without a doubt, there is much more disparity of income/wealth today, than there was when the Medicare program was implemented.
It might be workable to establish a very, very graduated monthly premium scale. IOW, none of this lumping a professional person in with a billionaire, or something silly. I had in mind charging a slightly different premium for every $3,000-5,000 difference in income. So, for the most part, everyone but the very poorest, and/or the Warren Buffets of the world, could say, "Hey, there's someone who pays less than I do, but, there's also folks who pay more."
Again, in the mid-1960's, a flat premium may have been workable and fair. But, in today's economy, I tend to think that most flat-rate premiums/fees/charges--just like very high state sales taxes--are simply too regressive.
Have a good one!
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."
____Author Unknown
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."--Helen Keller
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
One more thing, I'm with you regarding advocating for an OAP-
type medical benefit. Eventually, I'm going to figure out something for a signature line that addresses this program.
Posting about the OAP--Office Of Attending Physician--a time or two won't get it, in regards to getting the word out about this Congressional/SCOTUS 'perk.'
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Obamacare would have been better if Ted Kennedy hadn't passed
They may have even got a public option in there, but Ted Kennedy passed away and was replaced by the soulless sellout, Scott Brown, prior to the final vote on Obamacare. That gave the Republicans enough votes for a filibuster, so the compromising with insurance and pharmaceutical corps was ramped up.
Beware the bullshit factories.
@Dopeman Remember, the original
Remember, the original version of the Public Option was a non-profit health insurance program run by the federal government. It later morphed into allowing the public to buy into the same private insurance plan provided to Members of Congress.
Implementing a PO as originally proposed back in 2009-10 would be a very big step towards Medicare for All, with the primary difference being the public paying premiums directly to government owned insurance plan vs funding via an increase in payroll taxes. It's a little more complicated than this, but you get the picture.
"If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, take their money and then vote against them you've got no business being in Congress."
Good to see you, Betty
Looking forward to seeing you find more room to think here.
Look exactly at what you've quoted.
but Tuesday he stated publicly at a Planned Parenthood rally that his priorities are to first defeat the Republican health plan, then to improve the Affordable Care Act with a public option or allowing people to buy-in to Medicare, and then we can work for single payer.
----------------------------------------------------------------
*improve the PPACA with a Public Option or/and
*Reduce Medicare buy-in age to 55
*Introduce and work to get Single Payer done.
Sanders is trying to get enormous repairs done peacefully to a country totally wrecked by a backwards-thinking, prehistoric, corporate mindset that uses organized religion (another example of fossilized thinking) as its storm troopers. The mindset owns a lot of media, has been gradually destroying public education for over 35 years, hates equal rights for women, and thinks it can tame Mother Nature. (Good one there.) I don't agree with Bernie 100%. I'm a pure Futurist and he's not. But, we are both awfully close in our thinking. He is not selling out! Sheesh! Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Don't agree.
He failed in the grand attempt. Now he's trying the incremental approach. I think that's a tactical switch after a failed frontal assault. Not a sell out.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I haven't seen anyone mention this
if the republicans are able to pass their health care bill and dismantle Medicaid, would the democrats need to have a plan waiting in the wings in case they regain control of congress again?
If Medicaid is dismantled or defunded, the democrats should be able to restart it when they have both houses, right?
I realize that they will also have to have the presidency too, but hopefully, if people die because of what they did, then more people will vote for the democrats. And if they don't bother to try doing something, then we will know that they are okay with this.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
@snoopydawg
Don't we already know that the corporate Dems are OK with people dying essentially due to a lack of money, which expands far beyond lack of healthcare access? The fact that they let people lose their homes and the public pay to enrich bansksters who cleaned up on the bony backs of the American public yet again and the Dem horror at the thought of a living wage for the American worker kinda gives the show away.
Or did I miss a snark tag? Actually, if I was feeling better, I would have assumed snark was intended...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Dems still more unpopular than Trump
blue wave?
Anyone want to make an essay of this?
Meanwhile, Hillary breaks the glass floor
What, me worry ?
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Look at that. Mike Pence has the highest favorables.
Americans like the politician with the least camera time and the least talking.
Who can blame them?
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
True, but I haven't found
a group yet that isn't part of the McResistance. Seriously disapointing. And, much of that lack of real resistance is on Bernie who refuses to lead the parade.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
McSanders seems to fit.
sorry to say.
This is sad news. Sanders
This is sad news. Sanders kept saying he was going to introduce Single Payer, and didn't, and didn't, and now evidently won't. VERY disappointing to me. Lived in British Columbia a few years ago, and Single payer was FINE. (Wife has a chronic condition...90 day supplies of pills, blood work right at the Doctor's office, ZERO hassles). $116/mo CDN for a family of 3.
OTOH, a pack of Rothman cigarettes was like $10, and a 6 pack of Molson's about the same. But that was Vancouver Island, and transportation costs impact everything.
Thanks for posting the piece about PBO, gj. I was
going to post it, if you hadn't.
The problem is that the Dem Party Establishment usually succeeds in co-opting its Base. I can't figure out what it will take for the Dem Party Base to realize that the upcoming 'fight for MFA' is mostly an election cycle farce. Hopefully, as it all plays out over the next weeks and months, it will be come obvious.
In the meantime, instead of pushing for MFA, I plan to begin to advocate for the equivalent care that our President, Vice-Presdent, our Congresspersons, and SCOTUS receive--care from the OFA, Office of Attending Physician--or, the equivalent.
(I have a video about this program that I imagine will make folks sick. These privileged folks didn't even pay a penny for this care until about 1992. And the cost--$503 annually--has not risen since.)
And, that annual cost is not near what Mr M and I will pay for Medicare and our two supplemental policies--monthly.
Something's wrong with this picture!
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."--Helen Keller
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."--Old English Proverb
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Good point. And good
Talking Point! Riddle me this, Paul Ryan, how is it that you elected futhermuckers pay just $503 /year for your health care while we, your lowly constituents, pay that much - and more - Each Month for our health care? huh? huh? huh? Bueller? Single Payer, futhermucker!!
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Employer based
I've had employer based insurance that cost me only $100 a month (family) but cost the company a lot more.
Right now my BCBS insurance is $550 a month but the government pays an additional $1100 a month.
See link, plan code 105 https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/premiums/2017/nonpostal-ffs.pdf
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I remember when you had to go to TOP for diaries of this quality
Great work
Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles
This diary
would have gotten me bojo'd.
Moving Directions
It is far easier to move to the right than to move to the left.
Look at the Tea Party (yes a group that was financed by the big money in the first place) but that is a reason why: They wanted to push the party right, in which case, they did. Why? Because that is not only acceptable, it is desirable.
Moving to the left is "impossible". It just can't be done as is the repeated mantra through the propaganda network. This "resistance" is all about moving to the right. We will resist the rightwing by...going to the right.
It's frightening to me to see folks so caught up in this "resistance" garbage. As if they have anything like the French during WW2 or other groups of people who fought against an oppressive power. What are you going to do? Buy a McDonald's t-shirt? Raise your fist alongside psychopathic warmongers and destroyers of the world?
Resistance requires action
besides banging on a keyboard. Something most Libs and progs aren't willing to do, even faced with the prospect of losing everything. We'd rather type about it, apparently hoping someone else will fix it.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@Wink Well there is the
Well there is the "resistance" and then actual resistance.
Those in the "resistance" are doing actions, its just that those actions are terrible. They resist Trump because they wanted Clinton...which would do us no good at all.
Resistance would be fighting against the duopoly at a minimum (which would still be mired in our corrupt political and government system).
I mean, yes, I've thought of going for office one day (not certain of what kind). But, I don't know how far I would make it as an Independent/Green/Something. Also young and poor, which are kind of strikes against you.
The thing is, you need a sudden awakening of...40 million people. Boom, eyes open scenario and they march in unison with an unwavering determination. Far too many people are still sleepwalking, some have kind of been jolted awake but they are still groggy and don't know how to point their finger on it.
So yeah, I type (I like to write haha). But if I was in a position of a microphone, I'd give a speech. All in all though, we have a system where people have no power at all. The ultimate question is: What are we going to do about it?
The answer so far seems, well, nothing. And this isn't on an individual scale of say you Wink or myself, it's us as Americans, us as the whole world in fact.
sudden awakening
I hear you better than you know, being old, poor and sick. (Three strikes, yer out!!)
And, as I pointed out to Wink, the powers that be (PTB) are working overtime to make damn sure that "a sudden awakening of...40 million people. Boom, eyes open scenario and they march in unison with an unwavering determination" never happens.
Indeed, I look upon my blog-typing as having much the same role in today's political environment as Jean-Paul Marat's L'Ami du Peuple had in his time (French Revolution). Like myself, Marat was essentially homebound due to illness. But he did what he could do to get the ideas out there. He used the Internet of his age. Were Marat alive today, he'd be doing what I do -- for the same reasons that I'm doing it.
(And I'm not thinking about dating Charlotte Corday any time soon, either!)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
@thanatokephaloidesI hear you better
Ha, so, that is interesting. So on the Dems, they stick with their oldies (Pelosi, Schumer, Clinton, Feinstein). Now they suddenly have a batch of "younger" (their 40's and 50's) folk which I'm not a fan of either. The Repubs still have McCain doddering around, along with Mitch, but the Repubs actually have a decent crop of younger folks (decent being the number, not anything to do with policy).
They only time Dems will like someone 30 or younger is if they are following the establishment line or from money (like Ossof). Being in my 20's, I'm told to jump into a party and push for change. But that is just bullshit. They want the facade of opening up to young people, without actually giving the young folk anything in return.
In the end, going for any office means you have to follow along the corrupt, rotten political system we have (basically good luck changing anything). In the end, as I get older, I'm going to watch the world burn in one form or another, either from nukes or climate change. Hooray for my future I guess.
this:
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
We north of 50 progs
put little faith (or much of anything else) toward the under 30 crowd becuz we have 25, 30 years and more experience under our belts, just like the 55 year old neighborhood plumber. Given a choice between the 55 year old or the 25 year old (in any endeavor) I'm taking the 55 year old 92% of the time. And, if I'm hiring, I'm taking the over 40 job seeker. S/he is much less likely to be calling in sick, blowing off a work day for the hell of it, or have a smart phone attached to a pair of thumbs. Most 40-something workers I know blow 20-something workers out of the water. Just the way it is. There's an expression among blue collar union workers, "get some dust on your locker" (before making any waves). in other words, mind your business, pay attention, and get some time on the job before thinking you're something special, gonna change things.
And, that said, the "movement" - whether aligned with the Dem party or not - needs a bunch of 20-somethings and 30-somethings! Just be advised to pay attention to the over 50 geezers. They just may know something that you don't.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@Wink Given a choice
The issue isn't an age, generational thing automatically. I mean, if a bunch of 80 yr olds were giving me policy I would support, wouldn't care how old they are. Likewise, the Dems are pushing "someone young, preferable WOC" as their saving grace, which is the exact opposite of my point.
Part of the thing is, that the youth will be more affected by what happens today than those that are older. Telling younger folks to just wait 20 something years to get experience and then try, while they watch Congress destroy the world through their inaction on climate change, is well maddening.
Look at someone like Rex Tillerson. Guy is 65. So...say he has another 20 years (makes him 85 when he passes away). Is something like the sustainability of the planet on his mind, knowing that he will have zero concern of its effects? No, cause he won't be around to feel it. Yes, there are older folk who care, who are thinking about the future. And those guys are great. But when you have older folks, Bushes, Clintons, Trump, and they continue to destroy a habitable future, I don't have the time to wait.
At the end of the day, it isn't the age that concerns me. Just have someone who is actually fighting for a better tomorrow. If that person is 85, so be it. It's the courage and the spine, not the age of the spine, I'm concerned with.
Exactly. I also said,
"And, that said, the "movement" - whether aligned with the Dem party or not - needs a bunch of 20-somethings and 30-somethings!"
I'm just saying don't dismiss a geezer just becuz they're a geezer. Bernie's a geezer. I'm with Bernie. If we're going to make this work we need all age brackets, skin colors....
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Precisely what do you suggest, Wink?
Precisely what do you suggest, Wink? Protesting (and by this I mean Occupy, not Hillary Clinton's phoney-baloney nonsense) didn't work. Voting didn't work. Traditional channels of activism (petitions, GOTV, etc.) didn't work. "Working locally" didn't work.
And civil disobedience isn't working worth shit either -- ask those who acted against the Dakota Access Pipeline if you don't believe me!
So just what manner of action are you talking about? What have we not covered that you think would allow us access to the problems to fix them?
I mean you no disrespect, Wink. But I'm not the only one who suffers this frustration:
-- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, chapter 2, section 53 source
And (as usual) Papa Francesco smacks the nail directly on the head. Actual progressives, especially non-rich ones, aren't deprecated; we're excluded. We're treated as if we don't exist. Even when we make major noise and cause major trouble, we don't ever make the news -- by design. Even the most powerful among our kind are swiftly marginalized and neutralized, as anyone who supported Bernie Sanders for President in 2016 knows painfully well.
Again, Wink, not only do I mean you no disrespect whatsoever, but, on the contrary, you've aroused my curiosity. What manner(s) of action(s) do you think we proggies ought to be doing in order to break this deadlock and get these things fixed?
Inquiring minds -- not least of which being my own -- would love to know!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
One, whatever it is,
we all need to be doing it. From sea to shining sea. I simply work locally - door to door - until we collectively figure out what to do. Somebody here thought tRumpCare might be a rallying point, becuz it crosses party lines. I agree! I think tRumpCare is Exactly What We Need to get people in the public square on Fridays with the signs and t-shirts. Drive Time, 4-6pm locally. I guarantee local media will cover it if the MSM won't. And we know the MSM won't. It will likely be local radio or tv that covers the event. The local newspaper is likely affiliated with one of The Six that own everything, so... they won't cover it. But, whether the local media covers it or not is not the point. Exchanging names and email addys is the point. Local media is just icing on the cake.
Use FB to generate a crowd, even if the "crowd" turns out to be one or two FB users. One or two is a good start. I started the local Occupy thing with just me on the public square. A week later some college kids asked me what I was doing and hung around, showed up the next week. We eventually grew to 15-20 of us. Not bad for an "organization" that had zero support system. Twenty-somethings can work FB twenty times better than us geezers, so if you know one or two on FB have them share a Flash Mob shoutout to his or her FB buds.
So, what would I do? Find a way to get a million of us (or two million) in Washington, D.C. in October (before the weather turns to crap). That gives us 3 and a half months. Sounds impossible, but FB can get it done.
One day a week go door-to-door with a printer-generated blip about our dismay /disgust with tRumpCare and "meet with us on the public square on Fri. afternnoon... "
Then do that on Fri. afternoon. Let those that show up know that "this is happening not just here, but from sea to shining sea."
Follow up the Fri. afternoon protest with a trip to the local pizza joint. Not all will go, but one or two will. Those one or two are the ones you're looking for.
Mention the monthly MeetUp at the local pub /hotel (some place that's generally dead on a Tuesday night. A pub is best, same place the Founders met. It's a once-a-month place for new people to meet and get a taste of what's going on.
Rinse, repeat. Nothing really new, just a matter of doing it. And, doing it is where Libs and progs fall short. We'd rather type.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
"get a million of us (or two million) in Washington, D.C."
and then what? I guess you are going for Bernie's "hey congress look out your window" moment that he talked about while campaigning for Prez, or similar. Why would the politicians vote any different from what K Street wants, even then? Because a few million folks got permits to march around and shout inside zones of speech? Or are you talking about actually occupying K Street and the surrounding areas, shut that whole thing down. Build an Obamaville in front of the White House why not, homelessness is not really Trump's fault yet. Questions, questions.
I heard a cry for peaceful revolution, well what about it? How many will march to stop bombing the world to peices, to end nuclear proliferation, disarm terrorists, save the planet from further war destruction. Nobody gets "nice things" without peace first, pretty simple.
I like what you said about going door to door, and regular local meetups, but don't talk about electoral politics, just ask what your community needs and start building it now if possible. Prepare for systems to collapse because they are, despite what the media keeps saying. All I need to do is look outside my window, maybe it's a lot worse here (and inside my head) I don't know. Everything needs to change, quite radically at this point. It is much like "Waiting for Godot", good talk thanks.
The only reason for
two million in D.C. is media coverage. Politicians couldn't care less if ten million showed up. But, it's hard, even for them - the oligarch-owned media - to ignore two million. Local needs to morph into national. Local monthly MeetUps need to lead to Quarterly and Yearly Conferences, million man marches.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Thank you, Wink!
Your fine, well-thought-out, and cordial answer to my question proved to be quite valuable. Your basic idea was well put into musical form by the renowned Alan Parsons and his Project crew:
source
[video:https://youtu.be/v1ehEi4PIyY]
note: Video a little weird; chosen for best audio quality.
In other words, much of what proggies have been getting out and doing needs to be turned up and continued (i.e., your "rinse, repeat" remark). For nothing fails like sitting in silence.
As I remarked above, I do my blog typing because it is what I have to offer. I am housebound due to health and mobility issues. (I actually contemplated taking the userid of "Marat" here om c99 for that reason!) But I went out on actions while I was still able to do that. This is also why the 20- and 30- somethings are so critical; they have the ability to thrive on the bodily abuse that sometimes comes with direct action, and their strength and enthusiasm -- their vitality, if you will -- is vital to our success. As is the accumulated wisdom and experience of those of us with some dust raccoons around our lockers! Victory will only come to us with both; neither can stand alone.
I only have one remaining quibble. I am emphatically not a believer in the use of Facebook for any purpose whatsoever. I feel that it is part and parcel of the problem. But The Anarchist Cookbook did say that "the easiest way to organize an army is to borrow someone else's, especially if it belongs to your enemy." (Recited from memory.) So perhaps this is something that can be used as you suggest.
Gentle comrade Wink, my thanks again for shining light into the darkness of despair!
EDIT: Hit "Save" rather than "Preview" with this Comment about 2/3 complete. Apologies!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Like shooting the Majority Whip?
That is the sort of thing that the French resistance did against Nazi occupiers.
That's why I hate the whole allusion to an occupation and armed resistance. It's the sort of thing I'd expect from the RWNJ's.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
who advocated that? n/t
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
@Wink http://www.latimes
http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-up...
That's what happens when you compare the government to Nazis and call for Resistance. Someone loosely hinged, unhinges.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
So, something I "advocated"
(Didn't) led to a shooting? wtf...
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Dangerous words -
Resistance requires action besides banging on a keyboard.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
ah! clarity.
Well, one, we're never going to stop the loosely hinged from unhinging, and, two, movement, in this case, does Not advocate violence - although I do not see how this current struggle between rich and poor ends peacefully. The Ubers and Filthys will not give up power and wealth without a fight. I fully expect torches and pitch forks unleashed before this is over. Or, maybe we simply lie down like lambs. I'm Irish / Scotish / German / Viking. I will Not go down quietly into that good night. Still, there's no advocacy of violence. Movement does not equal violence, nor do I advocate violence. I just do not see how this fight ends without bloodshed. It never does. Blair Mountain.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
It's far easier to move right . . .
because the Tea Party was willing to take down people like Richard Lugar and Mike Castle even if it cost the party control of the senate. When the left is willing to say we'd rather see a Republican than Munchin and vote to make it happen we will be treated more seriously too. Moderate Republicans are ostracized. Blue Dogs are given control over the legislative process. It's about time to give them something to worry about.
@FuturePassed
I'd suspect that it comes down to donors/paymasters.
What's being termed 'right-wing' (and now 'centrist' by corporate Dems) is not really a conservative political position and certainly conserves nothing.
It's about conditioning people to an 'inevitable' servitude under 'their betters', about draining them to further enrich those already having most, about incrementally social-engineering their passive acceptance about the wealthiest taking their power and future by pretending that the public can be stripped of everything, including inalienable rights, because someone in the public service says so and their sponsoring billionaires can buy more politicians, hire more lawyers and install more judges than the people can.
A truly democratic two-party system would have both parties working together to do their best for the welfare of their country and people - not that a two-party, winner-take-all system is at all practical or desirable.
Democratic government is not supposed to consist of one party acting against the public interest and another often rather implausibly pretending not to; any actual political party intended to represent the people actually does care about and work to serve the public interest and doesn't predominately consist of those obsessed with how rich and powerful they can get from actively harming their people and country before the world explodes from the destructively exploitative 'policies' such as they enact for what they personally can get out of already obscenely wealthy self-interests.
The US corporate parties cannot govern because they have no intention of governing; they are there to suck the last drops of life-blood out of the entire living world for their corporate/billionaire masters, who more and more are themselves moving directly into the US government.
This is not a legitimate government; this is the looting phase of what amounts to maddened pirates on a ship they have already begun to sink in the midst of a very large and empty ocean...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
aka "controlled opposition"
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
You didn't go to March for Impeachment today?
Or the march to demand a Russia investigation or march for Trump's tax returns? These are what I call "dem talking point marches". Obviously no marches for anything but all anti-Trump replaying Hillary's campaign against Trump themes.
Today's march in the context of the Senate working on their horrible health care rewrite. You know, thousands will die, but impeach. Trump leaves Paris and dems protest Russia essentially.
@Wink @MrWebster They can't
They can't criticize him for things they're doing too.
"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
Great Post, Kudos!
The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.