tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post8250774660172835263..comments2024-01-17T00:45:37.075-08:00Comments on Bud Meyers: Is Senator Bernie Sanders really a Radical Extremist?Bud Meyershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-6722071434655477172015-06-04T12:59:45.802-07:002015-06-04T12:59:45.802-07:00UPDATE:
Al Jazeera --- The Democratic Party needs...UPDATE:<br /><br />Al Jazeera --- The Democratic Party needs a swift kick in the ass: A grass-roots revolt from the left could remake the party into something electable again<br /><br />http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/6/the-democratic-party-needs-a-swift-kick-in-the-ass.html<br /><br />The party hasn’t had this little power since Herbert Hoover was president ... Of America’s two major political parties, the Republicans have become the party of extremists determined to privatize the commons, neuter the government’s ability to police polluters and corporate tax avoiders and redistribute wealth to the rich. The Democrats, on the other hand, have simply failed to stand for anything other than a watered-down version of what Republicans are proposing ... [The Democratic party machine] has made it clear they have no interest in changing course in their embrace of policies that disenfranchise the middle class, nor are they listening to the grass-roots movements demanding economic, environmental and racial justice. Even as the country moves further to the left, Democrats continue to lose ... What the blue party needs right now is a swift kick in the ass. And as much as independent parties like Socialist Alternative or the Green Party try to draw enough disaffected leftists from the Democratic Party in the next few election cycles, their ascent will remain a fantasy as long as America has winner-take-all elections ... Because primaries are almost always low-turnout elections, grass-roots movements such as Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street can make powerful statements by running their own candidates and mobilizing their members to vote in Democratic primary elections AGAINST entrenched {Democratic] incumbents. If the incumbent is ousted in the primary, one of two things will happen: Either a candidate with an unabashedly progressive platform will be your new state representative, governor or member of Congress or a Republican against all those things will win the seat. Either way, the grass roots will have pulled the state party organization significantly to the left, making it known that all future candidates had better adopt the populist values demanded by the people or be defeated. And when the grass roots have successfully shifted the conversation to be about the issues affecting their communities and livelihoods rather than the false issues trotted out by party bosses, conservative Democrats and Republicans won’t hold their seats for long. <br /><br />* In other words, if the 43% who identify as "Independents" (and others) didn't always vote for the "better of two evils", and if they didn't vote for people like Hillary Clinton (even if it means losing an election cycle to the GOP), it will move future Democrats more in the direction of people like FDR, Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders — that, or they'd lose their elections. It all makes sense. <br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-6731182249895241062015-05-30T15:16:58.850-07:002015-05-30T15:16:58.850-07:00Is the Corporate Media Rigging Elections?
http:/...Is the Corporate Media Rigging Elections? <br /><br />http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-corporate-media-rigging-elections.html<br /><br />Bernie Sanders takes heat for a 43-year-old "sexual" essay <br /><br />http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2015/05/bernie-sanders-takes-heat-for-43-year.html<br /><br />The Media and Cable Monopolies (Cont.) <br /><br />http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-media-and-cable-monopolies-cont.htmlBud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.com