or should it be DUuuuuuuuuuuum...
DemocratSinceBirth (49,786 posts) http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026353322
We are looking into the abyss
The Democrats are one lost presidential election away from being irrelevant and its lower point since the advent of the New Deal.
-The Republicans control the House of Representatives
-The Republicans control the Senate
-The Republicans control the Supreme Court
-The Republicans control the state legislatures.In fact the Republicans now controls 68 out of 98 partisan state legislative chambers
-The Republicans control a majority of state's governorships. In fact there are currently 31 Republicans, 18 Democrats, and one independent that hold the office of governor in the states.
We are one election away from total defeat.
I don't care if you're a yellow dog Democrat, a Mickey Mouse Democrat, a New Democrat, a Third Way Democrat, a social Democrat, a progressive Democrat, whatever, that reality should scare you.
I don't know how we got here. I don't give a rat's ass about who is to blame. But I want to see it fixed, not necessarily for me, I'm in Los Angeles, my mayor is a Democrat, my governor is a Democrat, my congressperson is a Democrat, and my state assemblyperson and senator are Democrats. I am as insulated from Republican tyranny as an American be.
I want to see it fixed for those that depend on government; for the glbtq person who wants the same rights as his fellow Americans, the working man and woman who want a living wage, health care, and a safe and clean environment to raise their children, the retiree who wants to retire at an age where he or she can enjoy their golden years free of want and need, the graduating college student who wants a good paying job upon graduation.
I am an unhyphenated Democrat and those are my concerns.
6 years ago you were shouting it was the end of the Republican party. What happened, snowflake?
deutsey (18,860 posts)
1. The 21st Century is not turning out to be the future we imagined it'd be n/t
Seems the rest of the world didn't believe your hype either.
olegramps (4,490 posts)
46. The Republicans launched a brilliant campaign that began at the grass roots.
It began with organization the local level most often with the enthusiastic support of fundamentalists and evangelical congregations. Their leadership concentrated on issues their leaders preached were a threat to basic Christian morality. Heading this list was homosexuality, sex education, same sex marriage as undermining fundamental Christian Family values.
Democrats were denounced as liberal ungodly evil purveyors of everything indecent. While the protectors of everything decent concentrated their efforts on local control of school boards and elected positions, there was little or no opposition to their campaign. This was subsequently expanded to state government and then national offices. As has been pointed out the results prove just how effective their tactics have been.
Meanwhile the capitalists waged a campaign to destroy their most powerful enemy. The unions. This campaign has met with the same success as unions membership when from a high of thirty six percent range to six percent. The fatal coup d'etat campaign has been expanded to the majority of states with the passage of Right-to-work laws with the Republicans intent to make it a federal law.
While this was taking place, what was the reaction of the Democratic leadership. In reality it was next to nothing. The belated interest in the decimation of unions that is now emerging may be a case of too damn little, too damn late. Rightfully the unions are reacting and have stated that they will not endorse or contribute and longer to candidates whose only interest in the working class is when they are looking for handouts.
it's not that the leftist theories failed. It's that the right cheated.
randr (5,608 posts)
5. One important item: Elected Democrats across this land represent a far larger number of people. Democrats control Districts and States with populations far
greater than their Republican cousins. We have the numbers and the Republicans know it; that is why they are so hell bent on voter suppression.
Last night John Steward offered an accurate analysis of the "Faux is the most trusted network" myth.
In a survey that offers one conservative network and a dozen "liberal" networks as choices and the conservative network garners 27% of the sample, they are not the majority!
There are more leftists than RW-ers but the RW-ers cheat all teh time.... yeah... that's the ticket!
DemocratSinceBirth (49,786 posts)
9. You make some good points
1) Land doesn't equal people
2) The House of Representatives is gerrymandered to favor Republicans
3) The Senate magnifies people's votes because a big state has as many senators as a little one.
The Republicans have a smaller constituency that is more likely to vote than our larger constituency that is more likely to vote.
HereSince1628 (30,618 posts)
10. Having lived under tea-party controlled government, yes, there is not doubt that all minority party's would be ignored as they go about securing their hold and shoving deform down our throats.
That is a part of the Wisconsin experience.
At the same time I have to say, there is a need to be honest about the significant difficulty of winning a third consecutive term for the presidency. We need to push on all fronts, so the approach really must be bigger than that single race. Dems really must have a bigger plan than just the presidency. It has to include a fight for control of at least one house of Congress.
The senate looks to be the best chance for that, but the challenge also goes to the struggle for the House. The end of a two-term presidency, looking at no control in congress is a time to regroup, to assess disappointments and make course corrections to catch the wind of voter support.
We saw in WI how lack of such correction fails, even with pretty impressive GOTV (WI had 2nd hhighest voter turnout in the nation last Nov) and -that's- other side of the Wisconsin experience holds lessons, too.
CrispyQ (19,342 posts)
30. Too bad the dems ditched Dean's 50 State Strategy. -nt
Yes. Please go back to that.
TheKentuckian (21,836 posts)
26. I'm not seeing any practical falling apart. Their failed worldview is now dominant.
Myrina (11,330 posts)
31. We need "Liberal Koch Brothers" to buy elections and select candidates to represent OUR issues
.... money is the only thing that talks in politics anymore.
If there is ever going to be a rebirth of progressivism / liberal democracy in the US, it's going to have to come from a well-monied interest like the Kochs (but with a left-er perspective) framing the arguments/policies and buying candidates & the pulpit.
It's going to come down to a few extremely wealthy interests on either side, that shape our fate. Sadly.
Soros maybe?
whereisjustice (1,337 posts)
36. good luck - the DNC/3rd way candidate has been chosen by birthright, pushing voters even farther outside the process of representative government. Hillary is about as mainstream and status quo as it gets. Things will continue to get worse before they get better.
We've had enough of business as usual. You better start picking sides. The 3rd way has monopolized Democratic Party policy for decades. If we want to fix what's broken, we have to stop our reliance on the kindness of Wall Street.
In Ferguson, like Wall Street, we have a mountain of evidence showing fraud and abuse. Yet once again, no prosecutions for the perpetrators. This creates a vacuum of justice that cannot be maintained indefinitely.
The 3rd way deference to authority, power and wealth is creating a danger to us all. It's time to flush the money grubbers out of the Democratic Party and let principals guide our policies once again.
stillwaiting (1,735 posts)
41. If the Democratic Party hadn't sold out to Big Business and Wall Street
this would not be the case.
We're here after how HORRIBLE the Republican Party was throughout the Bush Administration. The Democrats COMPLETELY squandered an opportunity to demolish the Republican Party by passing good legislation that would greatly benefit average Americans. They didn't do that, and they have failed to effectively communicate to America the many, many, MANY horrible things that Republicans have done (and continue to do).
Of course, it's important to keep Republicans out of power. It becomes very, very difficult to do that when elected Democrats behave (the things they do and DON'T do) the way they have (especially when they continue to prop up the Republicans by pursuing "bipartisan" solutions).
The Republicans are ****ing nuts and are horrible for our country. If Democrats can't expose that to Americans in a way that resonates they simply don't want to.
IthinkThereforeIAM (1,729 posts)
47. I know how we got here...... money was allowed to find it's way far too deeply into our governance. They chipped and chipped and sometimes chipped in the middle of the night using a, "plumber's van". By then, a whole core of corrupt in and out government officials who had no care for fair elections were allowed to walk the streets and take money under the table.
I don't want to get, too, wordy, so I will stop here. I am sure something will click.
