It's not that I don't think Digby and her cohort at Hullaballoo, David Atkins are wrong. Digby's piece notes that we're making small but sure strides to get progressives elected but that it's going to take time (she notes it took the Antoinettes 40 years to get where they are) and that we have to keep slogging forward even though it isn't always exciting. Mr. Atkins notes that, again citing the "it isn't exciting but we need to do it anyways" motif, we need to get a lot more involved at the city and county, or local, level because that's where change starts. To Mr. Atkin's credit, he also notes that we won't be doing ourselves any favors by not turning out for President Obama, something Digby seems to be unable to voice, perhaps because she's too busy patting herself on the back for being one of about three Liberals who aren't surprised that Obama didn't embrace our entire agenda.
My question, though, is...what exactly are we supposed to do for the next forty or so years we're building this progressive majority? I mean, we have exactly one unabashed Liberal in the Senate (Sanders) and maybe a dozen or so who are with us 90-95% of the time, which leaves us about 48 short of what we need. The House has maybe 75 members who are solid Liberals, leaving us about 150 short. Hell, even at the state level, the Michigan State Senate couldn't even be won back by Democrats, let alone Liberal Democrats, in the Democratic wave elections of 2006 and 2008.
How much farther can our wages and benefits fall before we're underwater? How much more shredding of the government's safety nets can we stand? A lot more damage can be done in forty years. I mean, Digby notes that we cannot be sidetracked again by a charismatic leader (that means you, President Obama!), but frankly, I think it's our only hope. FDR and LBJ accomplished a lot in a short period of time--and I admit that may not be possible in this day and age of republican obstructionism.
But I shudder to think of the damage that could be done--and my college educated kids working for pauper's wages in a nation that bears an economic resemblance to say, Somalia--while we're busy building this Progressive Majority.
It doesn't have anything to with excitement--it has everything to do with survival.
Peace,
emaycee
Showing posts with label David Atkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Atkins. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Depressing, Part II
"Democrats never agree on anything, that's why they're Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they would be Republicans."--Will Rogers
The above quote is one of those quaint little things we like to pat ourselves on the back for, all the while getting our asses kicked again and again by republicans. Instead of discussing Obama's stance on gay marriage in a positive light--i.e., what it can do for Democratic victory in 2012, how it rallies the base, Digby wants to discuss semantics.
David Atkins on the other hand, takes a nice little piece of propaganda for the good guys and lets himself get all hot and bothered because we passed laws outlawing the banning of interracial marriage, but doggone it, we still have people who are prejudiced and the people who were against it were never held accountable.
We are not Jesus--we are not going to feed the multitudes with a handful of fishes and a few loaves of bread. In a perfect world, Obama would take a strong stance on marriage equality and no one would be prejudiced. That is not the world we live in, and the self-righteousness of Digby and Atkins doesn't do a goddamn thing to advance the agenda.
Over the past couple of years, we've had a chance to see what sweating the small stuff has gotten us--Gov. Walker in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott in Florida, Gov. Kasich in Ohio, and Gov. Snyder in Michigan. It's also gotten us statehouses that are full of republicans free to pass their agenda because of overwhelming majorities because we "Progressives" would rather stand around and have a circle jerk of ideas.
Frankly, they can blow their self-righeousness out their asses: I'd rather fucking eat.
Peace,
emaycee
The above quote is one of those quaint little things we like to pat ourselves on the back for, all the while getting our asses kicked again and again by republicans. Instead of discussing Obama's stance on gay marriage in a positive light--i.e., what it can do for Democratic victory in 2012, how it rallies the base, Digby wants to discuss semantics.
David Atkins on the other hand, takes a nice little piece of propaganda for the good guys and lets himself get all hot and bothered because we passed laws outlawing the banning of interracial marriage, but doggone it, we still have people who are prejudiced and the people who were against it were never held accountable.
We are not Jesus--we are not going to feed the multitudes with a handful of fishes and a few loaves of bread. In a perfect world, Obama would take a strong stance on marriage equality and no one would be prejudiced. That is not the world we live in, and the self-righteousness of Digby and Atkins doesn't do a goddamn thing to advance the agenda.
Over the past couple of years, we've had a chance to see what sweating the small stuff has gotten us--Gov. Walker in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott in Florida, Gov. Kasich in Ohio, and Gov. Snyder in Michigan. It's also gotten us statehouses that are full of republicans free to pass their agenda because of overwhelming majorities because we "Progressives" would rather stand around and have a circle jerk of ideas.
Frankly, they can blow their self-righeousness out their asses: I'd rather fucking eat.
Peace,
emaycee
Friday, April 27, 2012
Aaaaa...oh, never fucking mind
In another piece of good news for the working men and women of American, CEOs now make 380 times the wages of their employees. Waiting, waiting, waiting...that trickle down and jobs they're going to create any minute now...not just yet....
Yeah, right.
David Atkins had a nice piece in Hullabaloo outlining the lies being told American workers concerning their wages being competitive with those overseas, and how apparently that only applies to the little people. He also talks about how progressive taxation is an important tactic to combat the every widening income inequality in America.
The AFL-CIO--for my money the most progressive major union in America--has started a nice website to bring this to people's attention....
Education and taxation are all well and good, but they won't put food on the table. Fully one-sixth of Americans now live in poverty. I see no reason to believe that number will get any lower--it's only going to grow. What is the level of Americans in poverty at which American take up arms to feed their families? Is is a quarter? A third? One-half?
Time will tell--meanwhile, those CEOs might want to start investing in well stocked underground safe havens. My guess is people will have even less empathy than these CEOs when they're starving....
Peace,
emaycee
Yeah, right.
David Atkins had a nice piece in Hullabaloo outlining the lies being told American workers concerning their wages being competitive with those overseas, and how apparently that only applies to the little people. He also talks about how progressive taxation is an important tactic to combat the every widening income inequality in America.
The AFL-CIO--for my money the most progressive major union in America--has started a nice website to bring this to people's attention....
Education and taxation are all well and good, but they won't put food on the table. Fully one-sixth of Americans now live in poverty. I see no reason to believe that number will get any lower--it's only going to grow. What is the level of Americans in poverty at which American take up arms to feed their families? Is is a quarter? A third? One-half?
Time will tell--meanwhile, those CEOs might want to start investing in well stocked underground safe havens. My guess is people will have even less empathy than these CEOs when they're starving....
Peace,
emaycee
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