The party left needs to throw up a few wildly divisive draft planks, not cultural but of the tax variety. Like a net-worth tax on the one percenters, and a payroll tax cut on SSI.
Nothing new here, of course, but the notion is, let's smoke out the money-changers' party familiars, then let's attack the foreign aid budget -- no more arms tech for anybody. That oughta smoke out some stooges too.
Plank battles like these -- not gay marriage and abortion and gun control -- will get at the real wire-pulling fiends
On another popular topic: forget campaign reform. That's changing the frame, while it's the picture inside that's ugly.
As I mentioned with other words in a comment here -- want to stop big money or Zionic influence? Well -- if you promise to screw 'em they won't donate.
Of course this is an impossible dream, but the point is to force the fiends to answer the musical question, "why the fuck not?"
Comments (9)
The party (DLC wing of it)has already gone on record in favor of increasing the home mortgage deduction and college aid. That should show us what social class they're aiming for.
What do you mean by "smoking out" the stooges? We already know who they are.
Dean's grassroots program seems to be, or thinks it's about developing candidates at the local level who will carry these kinds of proposals to the national some day. In my experience, once candidates hit the state level, where lobbyists can find them, they quickly change their stripes.
I just read an article by Steve Sailor in American Conservative (print version ) about "What's Wrong with the Democrats". He says some loathesome things, but makes some points worth thinking about. I dont know if this is the place to bring them up or not.
Posted by bobw | July 29, 2006 1:46 PM
Posted on July 29, 2006 13:46
Sure, why not?
Posted by MJS | July 29, 2006 3:37 PM
Posted on July 29, 2006 15:37
bobw writes:
"The party (DLC wing of it)has already gone on record in favor of increasing the home mortgage deduction and college aid. That should show us what social class they're aiming for "
no no
thats the middle klass
they're swell
i'm after the real big fish
the real big donor klass
and
ala bryan
i suggest a
plank war
to smoke em out
why cause after they expose themselves defending
the status quo
then we throw em out
or we split
show em their not welcome
either
in front or behind
the green door
of any party we'd vote for
let alone be in
----------------------
mortgage deductions
and tuition tax credits ????
whats wrong with that
its clinton's
wind fall
97 cap gain tax cut
and the rubinomics
close the fed deficit
bs
that's what we need to spotlight
-------------------------
say we recomend
just for fun
a 3% annual TAX ON ALL NET WORTH ABOVE
12 MILLION DOLLARS
to pay the debt service
on the borrowings that the morbid combo
of reaganite tax cuts
for the super rich and trans nat corporate
war machine budgets produced
or
how about reversing the bi partisan pay roll heists
of the last twenty years
that have accumulated 2 trillion in overtaxation
( regressively)
of job holders
lets
put the ssi system
back on pay as u go
where it belongs
not covering the federal deficit to the tune of 100 plus billions per 365
and while we're at it
lets
return the trust funds
that
exist now
dollar contribution
proportioned
to those still living
who over paidall these years
since the mid 80's
shit man
we haven't seen party planks
with real class balls in 66 years
Posted by js paine | July 29, 2006 5:42 PM
Posted on July 29, 2006 17:42
It's hard to overstate the utter pointlessness of trying to change a party as deeply corrupt as the democrats. The tiny remnant of democrat "left" is so compromised (How compromised are they?) Thanks you. They're so compromised they think Howard the Donk is a liberal! (Bah-dun-dun!)
But seriously folks - considering the democrat party is 99% lip service and empty promises, how much worse could it be to dump it entirely? What are we losing here? College tuition breaks?
Do we even have time to screw around with the dems anymore? I, for one, don't think so. Dem party "liberal" have so little clout they couldn't get Beltway Al to support the Koyoto Treaty.
So what it comes down to - do you want college tuition breaks or do you want to work for real change?
Posted by AlanSmithee | July 29, 2006 6:48 PM
Posted on July 29, 2006 18:48
AS :
in substance of course u are correct on all counts
now the question becomes
how do you defeat this
long eared
beast of wall street
i contend its a two front war
independent action is primary of course
but the internal opposition remains critical
the bizz as usual
dems must not co opt the fury of repug rejection
and they will
unless they are exposed
most will not be as easy as nut meg joe
take st hill
surely
her credentials are not as tarnished as they ought to be
propaganda and agitation
are not for the thinkers and visionary set
but even though we see others as yet don't
and lesser evilism must be elevated to main enemy status
and that i believe requires a good faith grapple for control
of the party of jackson and bryan
we lose we leave we win
we fuse with the true left
whats not to like
long as we all know
the progressive movementson the ground
against the empire
and assorted pro corporate
anti union crap
gets the bulk of the time and effort of us all
there is no substitute
for
direct action
this is a side show
but a necessary one
so i say
on with
the klass based
split issue politics
its paramount
for those still
working inside
the donk machine
Posted by js paine | July 30, 2006 12:55 PM
Posted on July 30, 2006 12:55
JS,
who can argue with you, or Alan either? Throw in a living wage, raise taxes on corporations, penalize corporations who take jobs overseas, return the medical deduction on personal income, give $50K in trust to every child reaching the age of 18, and throw in universal health coverage. That will really smoke 'em out!
But it all sounds like Zsa Zsa Gabor talking about men. When do we start the serious work?
Posted by bobw | July 30, 2006 3:19 PM
Posted on July 30, 2006 15:19
I do have doubts sometimes, but everything points to Alan being right. I think the Dems have achieved a neurotic singularity of greed, cowardice, group double-think and panicked stupidity, with occasional outbursts of hysterical triumphalism. They've been incorporating the wingnut narratives into their strategy for so long that they believe them. They paddle around with gold plated rubber duckies in a puddle of sewage and moan about the ingratitude of the people who won't join them. And those are their good points! Don't get me started on their flaws.
Posted by J. Alva Scruggs | July 30, 2006 3:54 PM
Posted on July 30, 2006 15:54
It's hard to overstate the utter pointlessness of trying to change a party as deeply corrupt as the democrats. The tiny remnant of democrat "left" is so compromised (How compromised are they?) Thanks you. They're so compromised they think Howard the Donk is a liberal! (Bah-dun-dun!)
My take on Hollering Howie.
http://www.rogouski.com/blog/2006/07/keeping_the_ame.html
Posted by Stanley Rogouski | July 30, 2006 7:48 PM
Posted on July 30, 2006 19:48
at least everyone on this blog is on the same side! And I do appreciate the dark literacy of our two bloggers.
Sometimes I'm not quite sure what JS is saying, but above he (or she?) seems to be saying we can follow two strategies -- one smoking out the dems (which I think means discrediting them) and at the same time building whatever rational or irrational, temporary or world-historical movements we can on the side.
I'll go for that. That's what I do anyway.
There's one thing we're not addressing, though: the great cultural rift in the country and the signs of totalitarianism. What do we do about that?
Posted by bobw | July 31, 2006 2:01 AM
Posted on July 31, 2006 02:01